USS Tang 'The Loss of the Tang'

[@ub1953]

Last survivor of USS TANG William BILL Leibold still alive as of June 2022; living in assisted living facility in Escondido California

[@GermanShepherd1983]

Jerry Paris from the Dick van Dyke show, Alvy Moore from Green Acres, and Bob Denver from Gilligan's Island.

[@seansky2721]

Dudley Morton and Dick O'Kane are two of my childhood US Navy heroes, of the all volunteer "Silent Service". I am a much older child these days. I can't say how much I treasure these videos! The end of each episode with Admiral Dykers and one of the brave men who were actually there is astounding to see.

[@TERoss-jk9ny]

Ed Beach is one I would add to that. But there are so many we would never hear about without shows like this. My oldest boy is a Chief in subs. Amazing people in the “boats” then… And now.

[@seansky2721]

@@TERoss-jk9ny I agree! The list of heroes is longer than I mention here. Sam Dealey, Dangerous Dan Daspit, Howard Gilmore and many others. No offense was meant to Ed Beach.

[@TERoss-jk9ny]

@@seansky2721: No stress, homie. I’ll tell you my greatest sadness, and it’s the fact that America is now over a cliff and there is no coming back to the era where these fine men served (and died) to preserve the freedoms that today’s generation is willingly giving away. It means that if we do NOT change course immediately, then their feats were all in vain. It breaks my heart.

[@Scott-hb1xn]

It wasn't the sour juice that Caverly was worried about O'Kane finding- it was the still in the radio room! He told O'Kane about it in the Japanese POW camp they ended up in... The crew was always afraid he'd notice it- he never did! (This was how they always had fresh alcohol when they got into port!)

[@nonna_sof5889]

Later record analysis actually lead to the Tang's counts being upped to 33 Ships and 116,454 tons making her top in both.

[@davidthelander1299]

Just finished “Clear the Bridge,” by Captain O’Kane. Very, very good read.

[@mebeanonymousonytube]

I knew Floyd Caverly... my understanding is he died about 9 month ago. he was a good guy.

[@glenholman3612]

Frye was played by Alvin "Alvy" Moore who was an Iwo Jima Marine who also played county agent Hank Kimball in Geren Acres.

[@djmech3871]

Hank Kimball was one of my favorite characters on Green Acres, along with Mr. Douglas.

[@codystout5353]

Its crazy the way that old sub emergency blows out of the water.

[@chriscolemusicalsound]

was looking for this comment. the angle of attack is insane.

[@evilstormtrooper305]

My grandmother 1st husband Philip Andersen died on the USS Tang.

[@rexcaverly3788]

Floyd was my second cousin. Great guy. He always had great stories. He’s so uncomfortable here though lol

[@kennethward9582]

The youngest American KIA from WW2 was a 15 year-old mess steward on Tang.

[@djmech3871]

What was his name?

[@rene2072]

@@djmech3871 Rubin MacNiel Raiford

[@marthakrumboltz2710]

Noticeable “crewmen” aboard, “Gillian” Bob Denver, and Alvy Moore- “Hank Kimball” county agent on Green Acres.

[@stevegardner9258]

The Japanese, never nice to captured servicemen, were especially harsh when they got their hands on submariners . . .

[@Scott-hb1xn]

Interesting was the fact that the escorts were NOT IJN vessels, but belonged to the Japanese Merchant Services (name?) O'Kane asked the skipper of the IJN destroyer they were transferred to why they were treated so differently on his ship, nd he was told that the escorts were not IJN... Very Good Book- "Clear The Decks" by Richard O'Kane

[@rpbajb]

I remember watching this series when I was a little kid. My Dad served in the navy in WW2, and he would add interesting side notes to the programs. I loved it, and it gave me a life long interest in military history. Read Dick O'Kane's book, "Clear the Bridge", it's extremely interesting.

[@josephpadula2283]

I met Admiral Fluckey and he autographed my copy of his book Thunder Down about the Barb. I also met Ens. Gay the aviator shot down during the battle of Midway who watched the whole battle. I saw Admiral Bulkeley of PT boat fame in a restaurant but he was INSURV at that time and I was on active duty so we did not bother him…

[@douglaslally156]

The Mark 18 torpedo was rushed into production in 1942. And it had problems not the least of which was it's habit of circular runs.

[@douglaslally156]

@Kelly Arthur There's a story I heard many years ago. Two PT boats close in on a IJN warship for a torpedo attack. The first PT launches his spread but the second one doesn't, in fact breaks off from the attack at high speed. The skipper of PT 1 radios the skipper of PT 2 asking why he didn't fire his torpedoes. Skipper of PT 2 radios back "Because I'm trying to get away from yours!"

[@Admiral8Q]

It was a Mark 14, not a Mark 18.

[@hungsolow7090]

🤣🤣🤣

[@markhonerbaum6988]

What a cruel twist of fate to have been destroyed by their own torpedo.

[@ps2hacker]

And worse, they almost didn't, they turned around and went back JUST to fire that one, since it was their last torpedo, might as well use it. So they were really sick the next morning when they saw their target had sunk anyway. The irony is painful.

[@markhylton3944]

So this is where Gilligan got started. Strange how he wasn't more help with the radio on the island as he's a radioman on the Tang.

[@johnmcmickle5685]

I lost an uncle when the Tang was lost.

[@jstetzer01]

Sorry to hear that. You're Uncle was a hero. I had an Uncle on Submarines in WW2. SS 386 Pilotfish and SS 204 Mackerel. Maybe others. He never talked about the war. Had a huge tattoo. An Anchor with Dolphins USN on top.

[@davidvalensi8616]

My father also was in the submarine corp, never spoke about what happened on any of the patrols, they were taught to never to say anything about what happened.

[@djmech3871]

What was your uncle’s name?

[@mnoliberal7335]

This one has "Mr. Kimbell" the agriculture agent on Green Acres.

[@matrox]

Its Gilligan at 16:00.

[@dennyjay4252]

Am reading Clear the Bridge. Excellent read

[@Scott-hb1xn]

Their presentation of the end of the ship is not accurate at all- after the last torpedo was fired, they had about 20 seconds during the circular run till it hit: They sounded the collision alarm, and attempted to turn into it, but were hit in the after engine room(IIRC). O'Kane was thrown from the bridge as was another crewman and lookouts. The conning tower flooded almost immediately, and a fire started in the control room. Men moved forward to the forward torpedo room, where they flooded to level the ship on the bottom: The ship had sunk aft, but was pointing to the sky at the bow: too much buoyancy, and too little depth (ISTR Taiwan Straight was around 100' deep or so there) This was where several men attempted the only known escapes from a submarine in combat using Momsen lungs: There were a few successful attempts, and also the deepest known "free breathing" dive escape form the forward torpedo room. Of those who managed to escape, a total of 8 or 9 were picked up by the Japanese escorts. Read "CLEAR THE DECKS!" By Richard H. O'Kane for the total story. Additionally, "The Bravest Man" by William Tuohy has an excellent account of what happened after TANG was sunk, and the men captured.

[@crankychris2]

Good accurate post. The only thing that coud sink the Tang was a mark 18 torpedo.

[@danielgregg2530]

Who knew Gilligan was a radioman on a submarine during World War II ?!

[@johnrogan9420]

O'Kane lost his crew ...a reckless hothead with a "score to settle"(wahoo..captain mush morton)...at 2:11 a seaman complains that O'Kane lets a destroyer nearly run over the Tang so "he could get his shot". Show is good at showing the inner tickings of the sub although probably by mistake. Clark Gable in the movie "Run Silent, Run Deep" dramatizes as does this "silent service" episode.

[@fandangofandango2022]

Loved Mr Kimberly.

[@DaveSCameron]

Proper Boys Own swag these tales, bravo ☘️👍

[@johnrogan9420]

CAPTAIN COULD HAVE AVOIDED THE RUNAWAY TORPEDO WITH A QUICK DIVE!

[@cd21234]

See if you can spot Bob Denver.

[@brd400]

Claude Asher I thought I saw him in the beginning when the captain was talking to everybody about the medal-they won

[@matrox]

This is the second one where Jerry Paris played in.

[@dks13827]

He did a great job, too.

[@johnrogan9420]

HE WAS A GREAT SKIPPER OF A GREAT SHIP...ISN"T A SUBMARINE CALLED A BOAT?

[@180mph9]

Amazing record.

[@dLLund]

at 13:53, i think that's bob denver, aka 'gilligan', mugging for the camera

[@Capt_OscarMike]

I realize I am late to this party so to speak considering it has been more than 7yrs since this was posted...Regardless, as a 55yr old American who served followed by being assigned to a specific team in the Gold Rush days of PMCs,...I have studied, researched and viewed what I thought was every American-based series about WWII...However, I completely missed this one....which obviously was filmed in the 50s I would assume. Does anyone know when this series was originally released, if it was aired by one of the big 3 networks, or was this more for "in-house" documentary/historical" perspectives with extremely bad acting...but the general gist comes across in each episode of the 2 I have viewed so far...The story of Tang is well known and one of the few US Navy WWII submarines I could name off top of my head along with Capt. Eugene "Gene" Lucky Fluckey's boat, the USS BARB...which I assume is part of this series which I haven't looked through yet...only the second episode after stumbling across this yesterday. In any case, just curious... PS. For anyone interested, there is a KZbin channel that just released its final video of a series this guy made, was part of....The Channel is called, "SMARTER EVERY DAY" and goes in-depth about the inner workings of a US Nuclear Attack Submarine which he was allowed to board and film...the channel has almost 10M subscribers and the series is fascinating for different reasons...I bring it up because the Capt and others on the Nuclear Sub he was on referred to the conning tower as "the sail" which I had never heard that term used before. Thought was interesting... He released the final episode in his series an entire year after releasing the first video which was the only one he had initially planned on doing...The delay to reach the final episode was caused by the Navy having to thoroughly screen and edit the video...the guy is a Mechanical Engineer and a retired military weapons officer specialist...anyway, if enjoy sub vids you would love his I guarantee it...As I said, he has nearly 10M subscribers so this is not a shameless plug just info for any who may be interested...

[@180mph9]

Thanks for the tip, I’ve also been late for the party, although I grew up around shows like Sea Hunt, Worley Birds and Sky King, I missed this show, great stuff.

[@nancybonar7173]

GREG:: (Are you related to Dr. J. Craven, the exceptional Navy leader, who died this weeky at age 90? Yes, as Tang and crew were polishing off a Japanese cargo/supply ship, one torpedo hit this enemy ship, the other torpedo or "bird" circled back and slammed into Tang. Of the 87 crew, 78 perished; one was just 15 years old (I don't know how he happened to become a submariner.). The nine who survived in dark water -- four on the bridge, five from below who worked their way to the bridge -- were captured and transported to a Japanese POW camp. If you want to know more, read Dick O'Kane's book. He was Tang's CO and one of the nine POWs. KZbin has a USS Tang Memorial put together by the USS Bowfin submarine memorial/music. The video's music, Tang March, was composed by David Curry. (Side Note: Two of Tang's 78 who perished were from Cleveland, Ohio, near where I live. Nancy SubmarineSister!

[@Cg23sailor]

Nancy Bonar "fish", Not "Bird" Torpedoes are referred to as fish. Missiles are "Birds". Your, "The nine who survived in dark water -- four on the bridge, five from below who worked their way to the bridge"... Is also incorrect. The only thing you have correct is 9 total survivors. Only THREE from the bridge survived. ONE more made it to the bridge and out from the flooded conning tower. The other 5 who survived did not make their way to the bridge... they went out the Forward Escape trunk in the Forward Torpedo room. There were 9 on the Bridge when Tang sank but only three managed to swim through the night, Joined by the one from the conning tower. 13 men made it out of the escape trunk, only 9 made it to the surface, where only 5 made it swimming through the night.

[@32pacemaker]

+Cg23sailor You learn all this playing games. Or do you have Military records to back up your words. Just wondering how you no what your claiming ?

[@Cg23sailor]

Kenneth Jackson I served in the US Navy. Served aboard Guided Missile Cruisers as well as an Aircraft Carrier (USS Halsey, USS Kitty Hawk) Not to mention a Historical interest in the US Naval History in the Pacific WW2. and Submarines in particular. No it is NOT from video games and that is rather insulting to imply. I HATE Call of Duty wannabe armchair experts. My avatar is my Bootcamp photo. NO ONE refers to torpedoes as "birds" Americans called them Fish, Germans called them Eels. Birds, are surface to air missiles like the SM-2ER missiles we used aboard Halsey. "Birds away" is the call made when firing the missiles. "Birds affirm" is used when they are locked on and guiding./

[@32pacemaker]

The reason I asked that question is when I check out your info it showed a ton of games hence the question. I served the Marine Corps, but I'm a pup compared to you. Also I wasn't implying anything. Just questioning where the info you had came from because your page like I said shows a lot of games.

[@Cg23sailor]

Kenneth Jackson Even the source that Nancy cites, shows them as "Fish". Don't know where in the hell she got "Birds" from. The Source being Dick O'Kane's own biographical account of all 5 of Tangs war patrols. And yes... I watch certain games on KZbin for Mod spotlights, etc... Sue me.

[@brd400]

Heroes All!!!!

[@martensjd]

At imdb, this is "The Tang's Last Shot (1957) "

[@andywilliamsflorida]

The "Let's head for the barn" guy had to be a friend of the director, because that is one of the most awkward moments of acting I have ever seen depicted on film.

[@markhamersly1664]

How did those guys fit through the hatches with 15 foot diameter balls! From a 3 uniform aviator who is WAY too much of a coward...

[@frontcentermusician]

16:11 Gilligan!

[@josephpadula2283]

Green acres agricultural county agent after the war?

[@dr.wisdom7917]

Good episodes but why most of the special guests seem so rigid and stiff

[@LawtonDigital]

My guess is the guests are reading off cue cards next to the camera

[@grizzlycountry1030]

Wouldn't it have made more sense to dive instead of evasive steering?

[@ps2hacker]

No, there wasn't time to dive, in fact, there wasn't even enough time to get out of the way. They were screwed no matter what they did. In fact, they were hit 20 seconds from the time the torpedo was fired. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Tang_(SS-306)

[@ps2hacker]

Well they were firing, not being fired on. They got hit by their own torpedo, while surfaced. It was literally the last thing they expected. The time to close the bulkhead doors is after they shoot, and do their crash dive. And the blast almost tore the whole stern off, they went down before they knew what hit them. Check out the wiki link I posted.

[@ps2hacker]

They were in water so shallow that the bow stuck out when the stern hit bottom. There were survivors who deliberately flooded the bow ballast to allow the bow to sink. Then the Japanese dropped depth charges on them all night.

[@lancelotxavier9084]

I don’t get it. The enemy rescued the men?

[@kingjames7273]

Yes

[@SilverJ56]

They weren't super nice to them...

[@philgiglio7922]

The unwritten law of the sea is you succor survivors of a sunken ship. Even in time of war, valuable intel may be gained.

[@LawtonDigital]

@@philgiglio7922 normally true, but the rescued crew members found themselves on board a ship that also picked up survivors from various ships the Tang had just sunk. These survivors beat the crap out of the men from the Tang.

[@cliffburton5696]

what movie is this?

[@bryan17293]

Gilligan

[@johnrogan9420]

CAPTAIN WAS SLOW TO REACT TO THE ERRANT TORPEDO...ENEMY SHIPPING SUNK...MOOT WHEN YOU LOSE NEARLY THE ENTIRE CREW!

[@50climbsbybikeinutah92]

The sub

[@happyfox711]

Am I totally wrong, or did the commander ultimately sink it by not closing the bridge hatch, while saving his own skin?

[@LawtonDigital]

The commander and lookouts were blown off the conning tower during the explosion.

[@hnnjo5]

what a load of crap

[@ps2hacker]

What do you mean by "load of crap"? This is a true story, and if anything, it's understated. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Tang_(SS-306)

[@philgiglio9656]

O'Kane barely survived his tour in a POW camp. If not for 2 A Bombs and the surrender coming when he did he more than likely wouldn't have lived.

[@josephtobin3347]

Crap? Its guys like them that allowed you to be born free and prosper.

[@brd400]

You can't be a veteran of our country

[@stevetessier6568]

That is a terrible thing for you to say. You should be ashamed of yourself. The only crap here is you...

[@gregoryleewalker]

Only time the Momsen lung was used successfully during the war.