On June 26, 1945, the USS Cod set off on her 7th war patrol in the South Pacific. She was looking for “junks” small boats bringing supplies to the Japanese troops. Due to a medical emergency, she broke off this patrol in early July and was headed for Subic Bay and the hospital there.
Meanwhile on July 8, the O-19 a Dutch sub that was bringing equipment to Subic Bay was running fast to deliver the goods. They had been informed no hunting until after delivery. She was running at 18 knots in poor visibility, navigating by dead reckoning. The dead reckoning was off just a tad. The sub ran aground on Ladd’s Reef. A distress call to Carrier Task Force 71 was put out. The Cod was the closest ship, and despite the medical emergency, was ordered to go to the O-19’s aid. The crew made ready with life jackets, rubber boats, medical kits, and fresh clothing for the Dutch submariners.
By nightfall on July 8, the Cod was at the reef. O-19 sent her exact coordinates. The Dutch sub also requested a tow at dawn. The Cod’s commanding officer, Edwin Westbrook, messaged the Dutch Captain Drijfhout van Hoof that they would see each other at dawn. Van Hoof displaying a remarkable sense of humor given the situation replied, “We will certainly be here.”
Dawn on July 9 showed that the O-19 was good and stuck. The reef had treacherous currents that made maneuvering difficult. But the Cod was determined to try. The crew knew how they would feel if it was them. To top it off, just as tow operations began, a rain squall started. Finally, the first line came across at 0806. It was tied off through the Cod’s bullnose. Both ships began backing with gunners on the Dutch boat firing the deck guns in the interest of physics (equal and opposite reaction). At 0840 the line snapped.
Just as the line snapped, radar reported approaching planes. The Japanese were known to be in the area. The two subs were sitting ducks. But CTF71 had come through for the rescue mission. The planes were an Army B-24 and a Navy PB4Y-2 Privateer both tasked to provide air cover and protect the boats below.
They tried again at 1155. The line broke again. At this point, Westbrook sent his XO over to have a chat with the Dutch crew. The XO, Lieutenant Ken Beckman, found the crew had been doing their best. They had shifted things around and removed all weight they could. They had even fired their pressure valves during the tow attempts to get more movement (again physics). But, the XO also saw why it was likely that the O-19 was never coming off that reef. Her vertical minelaying chutes had been pierced by the coral, holding the ship in place. The ship would have to lift off the coral first.
By 1416, van Hooff came aboard the Cod to pitch an idea – they would use the O-19’s anchor chain wrapped around the conning tower to pull her up and off during high tide on July 10. Westbrook worried this would take the conning tower clean off or at least cause heavy damage to the O-19. Van Hoof was basically “yeah but it’s the best idea we have.” So the Cod agreed to try.
Morning of July 10, the anchor chain is being moved between the two ships. But that coral had a mind of its own. It kept snagging the chain. Plus the currents were even worse than the day before. The time the Cod had to maneuver to avoid running aground herself while still getting close enough to pass the chain was measured in minutes. They had to mark the end with life jackets every time they had to back out and try again to snag it off the bottom. Finally they sent out the rubber boats to get the chain off away from the coral (honestly it was worse than playing tug with a dog, except the dog eventually gets tired and drops the rope, the coral doesn’t). Finally at 1100 they got the chain up. The Captain of the Cod recorded in the log book “this is wearing on nerves.”
At 1145 with tension on the chain between the Cod and O-19, it snapped. It was all over. Westbrook messaged the sub “We will stand by to take off personnel.”
The rubber boats were lashed together and the Cod crew paddled over to the O-19 to begin transferring personnel. The Dutch submariners were exhausted and defeated that their ship would never sail again. They left with only the clothes on their backs or a few keepsakes. One petty officer brought the O-19’s good luck charm. Although she hadn’t saved the ship, she had protected the crew from harm.
With the personnel being removed, the next step was to scuttle the ship so it and any secrets it held would not fall to the enemy. A demolition crew was sent over under the command of the Gunnery Officer. While there, the found out that the Dutch was not a dry navy. They helped themselves and brought back booze in the now empty demolition bags. They also brought back some souvenirs so the O-19 would go on at least a little bit. The last person off the ship was Van Hooff. He brought the O-19’s flag with him.
The demolition charges were set for 90 minutes. The Cod backed and dove, then resurfaced a safe distance away. The first charges went off but did not completely scuttle the shp. Westbrook ordered a Mark 14 torpedo be fired at a zero depth to hit just behind the conning tower. It was a good hit. The Cod crew as excited and proud about their markmanship even at a stationery target that was so close. Until they looked at the crew of the O-19. They were crying. The cheers stopped. Then silence as the Dutch began to sign Het Wihelmus, the Dutch national anthem.
A second torpedo aimed for the after torpedo room was sent off, hoping this would finish her off. It struck on target destroyjng the stern. But it was still not enough. At this point, the Cod began firing her 5 inch gun at the O-19. This was the death blow. The ship was gone. Cod turned and set course for Subic Bay.
The Cod was crowded but the crews worked it out. The cook made a fantastic dinner that night including fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green bean. There was ice cream for desert. Crewmen turned over their bunks to the guests like good hosts. The air got a bit stuffy but Westbrook created a wind tunnel by closing the main air induction valve and having the diesels pull air through the foreard torpedo room hatch through the ship (physics all over the place).
The Cod made it to Subic Bay without incident and dropped off the O-19 crew. She then resumed patrol, the sick crewman who had necessitated the emergency run had recovered thanks to pencillin (he had lead poisoning from his previous duty station). The O-19 crew hitched their way back to Freemantle, both the O-19’s and the Cod’s home base.
On August 13, 1945, the Cod pulled into Freemantle. Waiting on the pier was the crew of the O-19 with an invitation to a thank you party the next night. Being good sailors who never missed a party, the Cod crew showed up on August 14 expecting to have a fun night of booze, women and dancing. At one point in the evening, it was announced Japan had surrounded. The one night of partying turned into a 3 day rager. To commemorate this historic thank you party, the Cod painted a martini glass on her sail. Which you can see if you vist the USS Cod Museum ship in Cleveland, Ohio.
Information for this post came from the Cod’s Seventh Patrol War Report and Rescue at Ladd Reef by Paul Farace.