Talyn
SAINT
An enlisted man with a thirst for action and a will to win, ‘Swish’ Saunders helped revolutionize how submarines could be used in war.
In the closing months of World War II, Commander Eugene Fluckey saw a familiar scene through the periscope: trains running up and down the remote eastern coast of Japan’s Karafuto Prefecture. As skipper of the USS Barb (SS-220) on patrol in the Okhotsk Sea, Fluckey watched the feathery stream of locomotive smoke against the mountains, trains no doubt loaded with troops and supplies to thwart an American invasion. But how could the Barb stop them?
Fluckey’s comment about wanting to blow up the target perked the ears of Chief of the Boat Paul Golden “Swish” Saunders. He had some ideas.
www.usni.org
In the closing months of World War II, Commander Eugene Fluckey saw a familiar scene through the periscope: trains running up and down the remote eastern coast of Japan’s Karafuto Prefecture. As skipper of the USS Barb (SS-220) on patrol in the Okhotsk Sea, Fluckey watched the feathery stream of locomotive smoke against the mountains, trains no doubt loaded with troops and supplies to thwart an American invasion. But how could the Barb stop them?
Fluckey’s comment about wanting to blow up the target perked the ears of Chief of the Boat Paul Golden “Swish” Saunders. He had some ideas.
The Sailor Who 'Torpedoed' a Train
The target: a Japanese supply train. The weapon: an innovative U.S. submariner.