World War Two – Page 31 – Old Magazine Articles

Admiral Mitscher, U.S.N.
(Coronet Magazine, 1945)

Admiral Pete Mitscher was one of the primary architects of American naval aviation during the 20th Century.In this column, one of the officers who served under him during the admiral’s command of carrier Task Force 58 recalls why he came to admire the man as deeply as he did.
One of Admiral Pete Mitscher’s officers recalls the man with tremendous admiration:

They used to think a carrier was a hit-and-run fighter, but Pete changed that. He said, ‘Hit’em and stay. Hit’em again tomorrow. And he did.’

Click here to read about Admiral Nimitz…

The Atlantic Convoys
(Collier’s Magazine, 1944)

The War Shipping Administration is never at a loss for an answer when asked what’s been authorized, what’s in the works, what’s been shipped and where everything is at the moment? Nevertheless, the Transportation Inventory Department is a tidy place, with no visible signs of agitation. The TID has never lost so much as a bolt. Once it took twenty-two weeks to find a couple of airplane engines which had got themselves lost.

The Lack of German Naval Power
(United States News, 1946)

Not only did Germany limit the size of her fleet, but she failed to push technical developments. For example, she was behind the Allies in developing radar, and her torpedoes were mechanically deficient. She was ahead of the Allies in perfecting magnetic mines, but these proved to be a short-lived advantage… The priority for naval construction was so low that when the war began in September, 1939, the naval strength allowed in the treaty of 1935 had not been reached.

Thus, in the opinion of Admiral Doenitz, Germany, for the second time within 25 years, lost her bid for world supremacy because of her weakness at sea.

Click here to read about an American destroyer on D-Day.

Death of a Baby Flat-Top
(Yank Magazine, 1944)

The baby flat-top Liscome Bay was sunk by a torpedo from an enemy submarine on the day before Thanksgiving of 1943. The Liscome Bay was on her first battle assignment, covering the occupation of Makin in the Gilbert [islands]…The torpedo struck a half an hour before dawn and it was still dark when Liscome Bay sank.

The ship went under in less than twenty-four minutes; up to that time it was the U.S. Navy’s second largest loss since the sinking of the Arizona at Pearl Harbor. Only 260 men survived.

The Battle for the Atlantic
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1943)

The attached is an uncredited article from the later days of 1943 concerning the continuing struggle for supremacy of the North Atlantic:

It was plain to see that due to the Allied tactics which drove the U-boats from the seas last summer, sinking 90 subs in 90 days, something new had to be added… the newer [German] subs have larger conning towers, painted white this time instead of black – packing at least two new guns, and shooting it out in the open instead of from ambush… Brazil has recently reported 11 sinkings in the South Atlantic.

The Bizarre End of the USS TANG
(Coronet Magazine, 1960)

During World War II, the officers and men of the U.S. Navy’s submarine Tang had a proud boast. Their submarine, they crowed, rarely wasted a torpedo. In less than a year of combat, the Tang mowed down Japanese transports, freighters and tankers with deadly accuracy. But it was her fifth patrol from September 27 to October 24, 1944, that gives a unique place in the annals of submarine warfare.

You see, the Tang was sunk by her own torpedo.

Our Worst Enemy: The U-Boat
(Click Magazine, 1943)

Attached herein are a few authentic sketches [that] show the nerve center of a captured Nazi sub. accompanied by a few informative paragraphs about the beast:

Every inch of a U-boats space, every one of its 45 men, is utilized to the maximum. Each serves the sub’s principal weapon, the torpedoes which speed toward an objective at 45 knots. New models have one or two guns of 3.5-inch caliber or more which are effective against unarmored ships at ranges up to five miles.

Life on a U.S. Navy Sub
(Click Magazine, 1943)

Illustrated with seven color pictures, this wartime magazine article served to give the folks back home a sense of what an U.S. Navy sub is capable of doing:

With a crew of 44 men, an American submarine in Pacific waters may reasonably hope to sink twenty or more enemy ships before the end of this war… By its very limitations, the submarine offers its crew opportunities to do damage to the enemy which are not given to sailors on other types of vessels. Ninety percent of the time during the war our pig boats (ie. submarines) are looking for the enemy. Cruisers and destroyers, on the other hand must often pass up the privilege of fighting in order to carry out some broad strategy objective; thus convoying, reconnaissance and scouting are a kind of boresome duty the submariner seldom knows.

They are a proud lot, our submarine men, but not boastful. They talk less of their exploits than the public likes. The brass hats apparently have decided to keep it that way.

Click here to read a unique story about the Battle of the Sula Straits…

‘We Raid The Coast of Japan”
(American Magazine, 1943)

Proceed at once to the coast of Japan

Sometimes it is difficult to repress an impulse to whoop with delight, and this was one of them. This was the moment we had lived for, the moment every submariner dreams about… We were ready. War was our trade… Now we were playing for keeps. We were eager to get at it.

Click here to read about the rise of naval aviation.

U-507 In The Gulf of Mexico
(Newsweek Magazine, 1942)

For the first time, U-boats became active in the Gulf, evidently under command of men familiar with its shallow waters. Two freighters, one American and one Honduran, were sunk.