Boat Sailors Novel byJamesWNelson

(Vietnam War action by fleet submarines)

During the Vietnam War most submarines just patrolled offshore, but three subs (or "boats" as sub sailors lovingly refer to their home submarine) left over from WWII, did a little more, especially the USS Perch APSS 313. She carried and silently launched marines by their rafts, and through the Escape Trunk, while submerged, launched UDT personnel and SEAL teams for their many secret missions.
Yes, I was in the navy during the Vietnam War too, but my two commands only patrolled. To write this novel I contacted the man who ran the Escape Trunk for the Perch and interviewed him by email, and of course I changed all names and added some totally fictional characters and material. But the operations described are what the men of the USS Perch did.
Brice Moser, fresh from an Iowa farm and bootcamp, is the main fictional character. He (as all sub sailors) must learn all operations so that if caught alone in a sealed compartment during an emergency he will know what to do. This chapter begins with him on the bridge on lookout for the first time; the boat dives and he operates the stern planes (horizontal rudders located on the stern) for the first time. I personally remember my first dive from lookout to stern planesman; it truly was a trip on adrenalin.

Contact and extra information follows this chapter. What follows here is the last line of the preceding chapter:

About two more minutes passed, then, “Clear the bridge! Clear the bridge!”

Chapter 8 "Dive! Dive!"

   Moser grabbed his binoculars and slipped his arm under the strap, made the left turn, grabbed the ladder and jumped! Amazingly, his feet clutched the outside of the ladder and he slid down and hit the Conning Tower deck! Then he heard the diving alarm, ARRUUGA! ARRUUGA!

    About one second later, “Dive! Dive!”

            Moser knew his mind was still up on the bridge, but somehow he made the other left turn, did the same with that ladder and hit the Control Room deck, then saw Bonnet.

            “Hit that switch, Moser!” Bonnet pointed. Moser hit it. “Now hit that one!” Bonnet pointed again. Moser hit it and stood up straight, and realized he was shaking, and facing the stern planes wheel. It was the first time he had seen it. He heard the starboard lookout hit the floor behind him, then felt Bonnet’s hands on his upper arms, “Take it easy, Moser. Just take hold of your planes wheel and turn left.”

            Moser did it, then heard the OOD hit the floor, “Full dive! Both planes! Periscope depth!”

            Bonnet pointed to a gauge that showed two arrows. The one on the left was pointing slightly toward down, “That shows the stern planes in the ‘dive’ position.” Then Bonnet pointed to a tube about six inches long fashioned into a pouty-mouth, “And that shows you where your bubble is. You’re not quite at full dive, so turn your wheel a little harder….”

            Moser did it. The bubble went clear to the bottom!

            “OK!” Bonnet said, “Ease off a little.”

            Moser did it—or thought he did! But the bubble went streaking back in the other direction.

            “Bonnet!” the OOD said, “Take over. Get us to depth and angle and then give it back to Moser.”

            “Yes, sir!”

            Moser stepped back. Bonnet moved in, “Now watch, Moser. You have to move this wheel not like you’re driving a car. It’s hydraulics. Every time you move the wheel it sends a message by oil back to the pistons that actually move the stern planes. Whatever you do up here is instantaneous back there, so you usually have to do it gently—“

            “Ten rise,” said the other planesman.

           “OK, Moser, the other planesman is the bow planesman. He just said ‘Ten rise.’ That means to us to go to five dive, meaning to compensate for what he’s doing. He controls the depth. We control the angle. And the Officer of the Deck up there is the Diving Officer down here. So, you want to get back on here?”

            “Yes, sir.” Bonnet stepped back. Moser again grasped the stern planes wheel.

            A full half hour passed as the Diving Officer gave orders that pertained to getting their ship in trim, meaning fully balanced, as going into rough seas they better be balanced to face sometimes huge waves.

            From the Conning Tower and the captain of the ship, “Take us up!”

            From the Diving Officer, “Full rise! both planes!”

            From…somewhere, “Surface! Surface! Surface!”

            From Bonnet, “Wheel to the right, Moser!”

              From…limbo, ARRUUGA! ARRUUGA! ARRUUGA!

            From the Diving Officer, “Blow bow buoyancy!”

            Came a distinct up-angle—

            From the Diving Officer, “Blow main ballasts! Secure the planes!” The Diving Officer moved to the ladder leading to the Conning Tower.

            Moser glanced at Bonnet and knew his eyes were wide.

            “The starboard lookout will go up after the OOD,” Bonnet said, “Then you, just get up there and start scanning the horizon, and report anything you see, including sea bats and whales.” Bonnet smiled, “You did good, Moser.”

            Moser gave a half-smile back, “Thanks for your help, Bonnet.”

            “You’re welcome. That’s how you get qualified, so that you won’t be a danger to every man on the ship. You get out there and learn!”

            From the Chief of the Watch, “Red light on the Conning Tower hatch, sir.”

            “Very well.” The lieutenant j.g. started up the ladder. The starboard lookout started up right behind him, then Moser.

            Once back on the bridge Moser did as Bonnet had told him. He looked far and wide with the naked eye first then scanned with the binoculars, and saw nothing, “No contacts, sir.”

            “Very well, Moser.”

            So, it appeared Bonnet had a shred of decency inside him too, or was he just taking his job seriously and doing it? Moser didn’t know. He guessed he would wait for the next confrontation—or meeting. He hoped it would be just a meeting, and not a confrontation. Time would tell. In the meantime he would begin his qualification process, but of course he had no idea where even to start. Certainly somebody knew of some kind of guidance of where to start, or at least a list of exactly what he had to know. He knew he didn’t have to know everything…just almost everything. In the mean meantime he looked forward to getting to the Philippine Islands, and maybe some shore time.
End of chapter

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