THE USS BARB: SINKING SHIPS AND FREIGHT TRAINS
The USS Barb (SS-220) was a highly memorable submarine commissioned on July 8, 1942 to patrol the Pacific during World War II. The memorability of this submarine does not solely stem from its wartime accolades, but for the fact that this submarine is responsible for the blowing up of a train. Therefore, it is important to first provide a bit of history behind how the USS Barb was known for “torpedoing a submarine.”Suggested read: The USS New York Is Heading to Manhattan For Veterans Day 2023
The History of the USS Barb
The U.S.S. Barb had a history that many hope modern ships like the USS Santa Barbara can one day achieve. The submarine participated in multiple missions throughout World War II from 1943-1945. After an unsuccessful first mission, the USS Barb was overhauled and retrained. It performed its duties admirably for the next few tours; however, its seventh tour offered the submarine a new skipper named Eugene B. Fluckey. Fluckey made a name for himself commanding the submarine almost immediately through four successful patrol missions. Additionally, the submarine sunk numerous vessels including an escort carrier (Unyo) and a frigate (Gorkuko). After completing a total of eleven missions, the USS Barb was set for its last mission. This mission would give it its most unique achievement yet.
The First Submarine Land Attack
The last mission of the USS Barb was a simple one: “to raise a rumpus.” The true desire of this order was to attack shipping wherever it was found, which Eugene Fluckey took very literally. The goal of this last mission was not to attack shipping in the water, but rather was destroying as much shipping as they could on land.There were two primary land-oriented attacks made by the USS Barb. The first attack was on June 22, 1945. This attack was through the use of 72 five-inch spin-stabilized rockets, each tipped with 10 pounds of explosives. On the night of the 22nd, the U.S.S. Barb slid into the harbor of Shari, just three miles away from the factory district they were targeting. On the skipper’s command, dozens of rockets were fired into the night sky. Within a minute, a torrent of explosions rose from the factory district, making the USS Barb the first submarine in history to use this form of rocket attack.Related read: USS Carney Continues Duties in the Middle East Despite Potential Arson
The ‘Land Torpedo’ That Successfully Attacked a Train
Less than a month after this mission, on July 19, Fluckey noticed a railroad running close to the Japanese coastline. Fluckey and the chief of the boat, Paul Golden “Swish” Saunders, saw this as an opportunity to further disrupt enemy shipping. Rather quickly, they came up with a plan to destroy the railroad. After observing the established train schedules, the two men gathered six other crew-members to help set up their plan for attack.As for what the attack entailed, Saunders and the boat’s third-class electrician’s mate, Bill Hatfield, created a 55-pound bomb out of a scuttling charge. It was then wired to three dry-cell batteries and put in an empty pickle can. This was the famously titled “land torpedo,” which would be set off by a micro-switch detonator under the railroad’s rails.With the plan in place, the crew set the detonator up on the night of the 23rd. Then, they waited until the train set it off. Shortly after setting up the bomb, the crew fled the scene. As the train came in, hitting the detonator and blowing the cargo into pieces, the crew was heading back to the USS Barb, soon to submerge under water in its final escape.The accolades of the submarine were numerous and notable. The USS Barb battle flag had a myriad of patches to represent the different feats it had accomplished. The submarine had sunk seventeen ships and was given a Presidential Unit Citation after its 11th patrol. Furthermore, Commander Eugene Fluckey was awarded a Medal of Honor. Despite these accomplishments, the most striking was a small marking on the bottom of the battle flag. The marking of a kill on a train.Read next: The Littoral Combat Ship Naval Program Is a Failure