POLARIS MISSILE FACILITY, ATLANTIC 34 Years of Service to the Fleet 29 March 1960 - 05 January 1995

The first Japanese casualty to American arms during WW-II was an aircraft shot down on 07 December 1941 by the Tautog.

The first submarine force casualty suffered in WW-II was G. A. Myers, Seaman 2, shot through the right lung when Cachalot as strafed during the Pearl Harbor raid.

The first "live" torpedoes to be fired by a Pearl Harbor submarine was fired by the Triton (Lent), 4 stern tubes fired on the night of 10 December 1941.

The first Pearl Harbor boat to be depth charged was the Plunger (White) on 04 January 1942 - 24 charges.

The first "down the throat" shot was fired by Pompano on 17 January 1942.

The first Japanese warship to be sunk was torpedoed by Gudgeon (Grenfell) at 9 AM on 27 January 1942, the IJN I-173 (SS).

The first major Japanese warship lost to submarines during WW-II was the heavy cruiser Kako which fell victim to S-44 Moore) on 10 August 1942.

The first submarine to fire on a battleship was Flying Fish (Donaho) September 1942, damaging a Kongo class BB.

The first submarine to fire on an aircraft carrier was Trout (Ramage), Damaging Taiyo, 28 August 1942.

The first Japanese ship to be sunk by gunfire was by Triton (Kirkpatrick), near Marcus Island on 17 February 1942. At the time, Kirkpatrick was the youngest skipper to get command at Pearl.

The first man to die in submarine gun action was Michael Harbin, on Silversides, May 1942.

The first rest camp for submarine crews was established at a military encampment at Malang, in the mountains of Java, 89 miles from Soerabaya. Three days were allotted to submarine crews there in January 1942.

The first TDC (Mark 1) was installed in the Cachalot.

The Plunger was the first boat to sustain an "arduous" depth charge attack and survive.

In September 1936, Cdr. C. A. Lockwood Jr., assumed command of Submarine Division 13 composed of the new boats Pike, Porpoise, Shark and Tarpon.

On 31 December 1941, Captain Wilkes evacuated Corrigidor on board the Seawolf to establish a new base at Soerabaya, Java. Simultaneously Captain Fife boarded Swordfish and sailed to Darwin, Australia.

Expressing the view that Japan could not hope to be victorious in a war with the U.S., Admiral Yamamoto was "shanghaied" to the post of Commander of the Combined Fleet (from the Naval Ministry) to thwart a possible assassination at the hands of his many dissenters.

A survivor of the Jap carrier Kaga, at the Battle of Midway, told how some of his shipmates saved themselves by clinging to the air flask of a torpedo fired from Nautilus, which hit the carrier and failed to explode, the concussion separating the warhead from the airflask.

LCDR Francis White was the only skipper who lost two submarines in combat, the S-39 and the S-44.

The IJN I-176 (CDR. Kosaburo Yamaguchi) was the only Japanese boat to sink an American submarine (Corvina) during the war.

The last Japanese submarine to be sunk in the Pacific, the I-373, was torpedoed by Spikefish (Monaghan) on the morning of 13 August 1945, in the East China Sea.

As late as July 1945 Japanese guns on the cliffs of Lombok Strait shelled the Loggerhead as she proceeded through the strait on the surface.

In July 1945 Bugara (Schade) operating in the Gulf of Siam, sank 12 junks, 24 schooners, 16 coasters, 3 sea trucks and one naval auxiliary, all by gunfire.

In the early morning hours of 22 June 1945, Barb, (Fluckey) fired a dozen 5-inch rockets into the town of Hokkaido from 5000 yards off shore.

A Japanese prisoner, recovered from a wrecked aircraft by Atule (Mauer) had the following items in his pockets: 7 packs of Jap cigarettes, 1 pack of British cigarettes, calling cards, ration books, club tickets, diary, note book, flight record and two magnetic detector tracers, with notes concerning them, a thick wad of money, a vial of perfume and a number of other personal items.

On the night of 08-09 December 1944, in a coordinated attack with Sea Devil, Redfish heavily damaged the aircraft carrier Hayataka; ten days later she sank the newly built carrier Unryo.

When Robalo was sunk, presumably by a mine, on 26 July 1944, five of her crew swam ashore and were captured by Japanese military police and jailed for guerrilla activity. They were evacuated by a Jap destroyer on 15 August and never heard from again.

On 27 October 1944 Rock fired 9 torpedoes at Darter, stranded on Bombay Shoal.

In February 1943 Tautog (Sieglaff) laid mines off Balikpapan, Borneo. In April 1944, the Jap destroyer Amagiri struck one of these mines and sank. This was the same destroyer, which rammed the PT-109, commanded by J. F. Kennedy.

the first boat to be equipped with QLA sonar for locating mines, was Tinosa.

When Admiral Nimitz assumed command of the Pacific Fleet in January 1942, he raised his flag on the submarine Grayling. Relinquishing command nearly four years later, he lowered his flag on the submarine Menhaden.

America's first Japanese POW was Sub-Lieutenant Sakamaki, captured when his midget submarine, launched from the I-18, struck a reef in Kaneohe Bay and he swam ashore and surrendered.

The second Japanese submarine sunk, a midget caught inside Pearl Harbor and sunk by the seaplane tender Curtiss, was later raised. Too badly damaged for intricate examination, it was used as fill-in material in the construction of a new pier at the submarine base.

During 520 war patrols in 1944, submarines fired 6,092 torpedoes, more than in 1942-43 combined (5,379).

Statistically it took 8 torpedoes to sink a ship in 1942, 11.7 in 1943, 10 in 1944.

During 1944, U.S. Subs rescued 117 navy and air force personnel; The Tang (O'Kane) picked up 22 for the leader in this category.

During 1944 Japan lost 56 submarine, 7 to U.S. Submarines.

On 21 November 1944, Sealion II (Reich) fired a salvo of fish at each of two BB's, the Kongo and Haruna. The Kongo was hit and sunk, but the DD Urakazi intercepted the fish meant for Haruna and was instantly sunk.

Message to all submarines on 13 April 1944: "Until further notice give fleet destroyers priority over maru types as targets for submarine attacks.

During 1944 U. S. submarines sank 1 BB, 7 Cvls, 2 CA's, 7 CL's, 3 DD's and 7 SS's of the Japanese navy.

So numerous were submarine attacks on the Singapore-to-Empire trade routes in 1944 that a common saying in Singapore was that "one could walk from Singapore to Tokyo on American periscopes.

Emperor Hirohito, upon learning of the Bataan death march at the conclusion of the war, stripped General Homma, the responsible commander, of his medals and decorations.

When the loss of Saipan was announced to the Japanese people on July 18, 1944, Prime Minister Tojo and his entire cabinet resigned.

On 22 February 1945 the Flounder fired four fish at a Jap patrol boat. Two of the fish ran in a circle, causing Flounder to maneuver frantically to avoid disaster. On the following day she collided with Hoe.

The Flounder (Stevens) sank the only German U-boat that was credited to U.S. Submarines in the Pacific.

The last of the German commerce raiders, the Michael, was sunk by Tarpon (Wogan) on 18 October 1943 while enroute to a Japanese port.

On 28 December the Dace (Cole) torpedoed the Japanese collier Nozaki, the last ship to be sunk in 1944.

The last large merchantman to be sunk by submarine during WW-II was the Hokozaki Maru, sunk 19 March 1945 by Balao (Worthington).

The last Japanese warship afloat in the South Pacific, the light cruiser Isuzu, was sunk by Charr (Boyle) after she was previously hit and badly damaged by Gabilan (Parham)

The Flasher sank more tankers than any other submarine.

The largest merchant ship sunk by submarines during WWII, the Tonan Maru #2 was sunk by Pintado (Clarey) on 22 August 1944.

Except for those officers who received the Congressional Medal of Honor, Commander Davenport was the most decorated man of the war.

During 1944, 14% of the CO's were relieved for non-productivity, 30% in 1942 and 14% in 1943.

A total of 7 reserve officers achieved command of a fleet submarine in WW-II.

Grady Woodard - Hello Ron, the attached picture finds how Grady Woodard, of SPC 11 Operation Planning, spends much of his time helping science teachers in schools with their kids on Space and Rockets (from his former employer, NASA). This picture shows Grady explaining how a rockets flies to the Northwood Academy 3rd grade classes.

The Base is being used by the Army to repair military equipment and provide supplies for the ships that travel between Charleston and the troubled areas of the world such as Iraq right now. The work force varies; there is a Civil Service force of approximately 50 or so workers who manage any where from 125 to 500 plus contractor workers. This all depends on how much work is taking place; the work force goes up and down constantly. The workers are mostly mechanic type and supply people who order Army supplies. Workers work on tanks, trucks, trailers, humvees (new type Jeeps), and like type equipment. At times there are thousands of pieces equipment in the buildings and parked on numerous parking lots all over the base. It is extremely busy at times and very, very slow at others with a small crew of people working in the buildings. There are a lot of former Army people who make up the work force. There are a few former POMFLANT people, Ginger Bassett, Leon Steele, T. J. Stanfill, Maurice Teague, Glenn McGee, and myself.

The look of the Base has changed in many ways yet some of the buildings have been modified inside to accommodate the type of work required. All the Missile equipment has been removed of course, this taking place years ago. They have came in and planted thousands of trees in some areas between the buildings (Tree City, USA program). The Guard Towers have been removed. The inner fence has been removed, leaving only the outer fence in place. The old (Motor Paint Building), Building 354, has been removed. The Guard shack at Post 9 has been torn down (Building 311?) Some of the bunkers have been removed or partially removed. Post 11 and the Inner Security Gates have all been removed. Building 316 (Steam Plant) has been torn down. Building 314 (Emergency Generator Building) is being torn down as I write this.

There are now several large concrete and asphalt parking lots all over the base (for track vehicles such as tanks). A 13-acre lot North of the old Post 11. A five-acre lot near the railhead by the newest water tower. One lot of approximately five acres near Building 864, a five-acre lot near REB-3 (now used for medical supplies USSAMA). A three-acre lot West of Building 318 ICPB. A five-acre lot near the old Post 11 gate. There is a large asphalt lot of ten or so acres West of Building 869 (ISB-2). This is used to store empty containers, which are filled with supplies and placed on the ships. There is a large test track located North West of Building 850 (NWS Building). The missile magazines sit idle not being used (except ones used by NWS).

The Calibration Lab (TSB), Building 450, is now used by SPAWAR for their calibration work. Building 318 (ICPB) is used for the Army Command; also some communications operations are performed in the back of the building. Building 358 (HSSB), small supply type building near by, has been reworked and houses numerous Civil Service Workers. Building 317 (IOW), Supply is still being used the same as before, shipping and receiving. The numerous small Supply type building near by are used the same. Building 320, (CRB) is now used for a large high bin supply building with high lift fork lift type equipment to go up 30 or so feet to retrieve parts. The old Container Shed (Building 867) is now used to store large bulk military material. REB-3 (Building 456) is for medical supplies as I mentioned earlier. A few Reservists now use (ECCB) building 356 as an office. (MIB), Building 324 is now used as a Motor Pool to house drivers. (NDTIB), Building 346 is being used as a hazard material handling building. Building 863 (RIB-1) is being used as a plant property management building and also Safety Department office is located in this building. Building 864 (RIB-2) is being used as a DRMO building. DRMO is the storage and shipment of failed large military equipment that has to be sold for junk. Building 458 and 459 (MAPB 1 & 2) are being used for the repair of small type military equipment, there is a welding shop located inside these buildings also. Building 328 (MAB-1) (old Single Line) is being used for the repair of trailers. Building 461 (VMPB) is being used for the repair of small items such as gasoline generators, lights, etc. Building 850, (WMF), (Weapons Station Building) is being used for the repair of Ordnance Equipment. Building 344 (MACB) is being used as an office building for the contractor. Building 322 (REB-1) is being used by few people working on material for containers. Building 869 (ISB-2) is a container operations building that is extremely busy putting thousands of items in containers that are placed on the ships. Building 350 (TF) Transfer Building is not being used, it sits idle. Building 302 (ESB) is used by several different organizations form local military commands. Such as Pass and ID, Security, PSD, SATO, HRO, Finance for WPNSTA, EEO, Communications, and Limehouse College. Handling Building (455) EMB is used very little, once in a while for a meeting; Salt Treaty meeting is held in this building when the Russians come to the base for inspection. Building 348 (REB-2) is being used for medical supplies operations (USSAMA) along with Building 456.

I'm sure I have left out some things of interest. I have tried to provide things that might interest those who know nothing about what is taking place at the old POMFLANT FACILITY. The quality of people is not as good but the Base is being used for the security of our nation. I hope this has provided you with some things of interest.

She also asks if anymore knows where the large 'bell' now stationed in front of Building 84 on the Weapons Station, originated? Some folks 'faintly' remember that bell being at Wharf Alpha, but where and when was it moved to Building 84?

We left their mobile home in Kissimmee and went to our son's (Bruce) house in Avon Park to avoid Hurricane Charley. Guess what. Charley changed course and came less than 20 miles East of there. Around 6 PM the power flickered several times and failed to come back on. We returned to Kissimmee to find his preparation was worthwhile. There was minimal damage to their mobile home. Around their place was major damage. Awnings laying on the ground, on top of mobiles, and next-door an awning on top a new car! The area was without power also, so they went to Merritt Island to our son Mike's house where there was power. Later Bruce, his wife Stacy, son Junior, and dog Duchess came over also. Sunday Stacy had to return to Avon Park because of work. Bruce and Jr. remained at Mike's. Tuesday Paul took Bruce and Jr. back to Avon Park and returned to Merritt Island. Their mobile still didn't have electric. In spite of all this a great time was had by all especially as there was minimal damage to our mobile and no one was injured. Note: Very regretfully missed the service for Mike Adair. Both of us knew him and are sorry to hear of his passing. Paul & Rachel Fitzgerald, 3590 Roundbottom Road, PMB F154239, Cincinnati, Oh, 45244.

Lyle W. "Speck" and Ann Holman - Ann and I Celebrated our 50th year together on 03 July 2004 with a dinner party given at the home of their daughter, Donna Crowley. The couple was married in Yuma, AZ, in 1954. Their children are: Paula and Bill Hines of Columbia, SC; Michael Brehm of San Francisco, CA; and Donna Crowley and fiancée Jay Preacher of Round O, SC. They also have nine grandchildren; Patti Kese of Goode, VA; Michael Hines of Albuquerque, NM; Michael Brehm of Phoenix, AZ; Alex Brehm of San Clementa, CA; Tina Brehm of Mount Shasta, CA; Wednesday Brown of Sacramento, CA; the late Zack Brehm; Christy Ware (USAF) of Las Vegas, NV; and Kassi Crowley of Round O, SC. They also have 11 great-grandchildren; Samantha, John, Maggie, and Will Kese of Goode, VA; Sierra Hines of Albuquerque, NM; Ashley Riley of Mount Shasta, CA; Joey Brehm of Phoenix, AZ; Brianna Brehm, Corrina and J. D. Brown of Sacramento, CA; and MacKenzie Ward of San Pedro, CA. Speck retired from the Navy in 1968 and from Vitro Corporation in 1986. Ann, in addition to being a military wife and mother, has volunteered for many years in the South Carolina Low country hospitals.

Since our last newsletter, I have received information that the following co-workers, co-workers family members and friends have died:

Bobby G. Sentell - Civilian, passed 17 March 2004.

Peter Presnick - Joy Presnick's husband passed away 17 June 2004.

Dick Fleming - Civilian, passed 19 June 2004.

Gary M. Cope - Contractor, passed 24 June 2004.

Captain S. Bruce Butrym - Military (former Commanding Officer, passed 30 July 2004.

Dora Lee Driggers Smith - Civilian, passed 05 August 2004.

Claude "Mike" Adair - Lockheed, passed 11 August 2004.

Please keep us informed of any news about our POMFLANT family.

Please keep Ron Thomas and John Maney up to date on your e-mail addresses and or your current snail mail address and telephone number changes.

Please send us information for the next Newsletter. Without your input we have little to write about. Take Care, Ron and Nancy