Clear the Bridge!: The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang

WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT:She was a submarine and her name was Tang. Well-named: a tang is a small, ferocious reef fish, attacking anything within its territory and armed not only with a scalpel-like spine(s) but also needle sharp teeth.Between August 1943 when she was commissioned and her loss in fall 1944, Tang completed four missions and was on her fifth in the Formosa Strait, single-handedly demolishing a convey. During this time, Tang had one captain: Commander Richard Hetherington O'Kane. Together, Tang, her crew of 86 men, and her Captain sank more tonnage and more enemy ships than any other submarine on active patrol.This book tells the story of each of Tang's missions, the boat, and the men who sailed on her.SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS"Clear the Bridge" was written in 1977 by then Rear Admiral O'Kane, using the expanded patrol reports, sailing lists, and detailed award recommendations preserved by her Executive Officer (and later a Captain himself), Murray B. Frazee, Jr. I am reviewing a 1997 paper-back edition.There are six chapters plus a prologue and epilogue, appendices, glossary, index, nine charts showing the routes of her five voyages across the Pacific and in the hot zones of the Pacific war, four diagrams of Tang's structure, and two photo sections, 480 pages in all. Both the glossary & the index could be improved; the text is, to me, gripping, unpretentious, and eloquent.The chapters tell the story of each of the missions, which included saving aviators shot down in assaults on well-defended Truk Island. The chapters are:I Shakedown cruise from Mare Island to Pearl HarborII First patrol in the Carolinas and MarianasIII Second patrol to lifeguard at TrukIV Third patrol to the Yellow SeaV Fourth patrol off the coast of HonshuVI Fifth patrol in the Formosa StraitThe endpaper map makes clear that Tang went where enemy shipping was well-protected, close to Japan's major islands. The text---written with respect for a tenacious and skilled enemy---makes even clearer how Tang's Captain went hunting, relentlessly, yes, but not recklessly where danger was intense.He was at the time 31 years old, a US Naval Academy graduate, trained in submarine school and through serving as Executive Officer on the Wahoo under the legendary Dudley (Mush) Morton. O'Kane received the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1946. A new Tang was commissioned in 1949, serving in the US Navy until 1980, after which the name was retired. Also commissioned was a destroyer, the O'Kane, who was christened by his granddaughter.Beyond submarine strategy and the battles, I found the ingenuity and refits of Tang particularly fascinating. Some changes improved ability to detect while minimizing detection such as installation of a conning tower platform; some were ingenious additions that improved human performance such as adapting a metronome for timing; and many reflected good human listening such as deep sixing an electric fryer that caused a fire whilst importing an ice-cream maker without adding to the power drain. Most of these were not exactly regulation.OVERALL: Highly recommended for readers who may remember World War II up close and personal, who care about ships and the sea, who enjoy the ingenuity that traded a half ham for sundry improvements (Tang was hardly "standard" by the time her officers and crew had "repaired" her) and who may want to sail, if only through words & their deeds, with some of the greatest generation.O'Kane was proud of the ship and her men, as well he should be. But this is not an arrogant book. Rather it honors the submarine service, the stories not yet fully told, and the men still "on patrol." Some reviewers have felt O'Kane was cold, lacking in heart. I found this not so. This book is both a war story and a love story.

This summer, although an inveterate landlubber, for some reason I binged on a number of submarine books. Those of Edward "Ned" Beach, Eugene Fluckey, Michael Gannon's Operation Drumbeat, and of course Dick O'Kanes Clear the Bridge.It was time well spent with each author as WW2 submarine warfare was a theater of combat that was among the most intense in a conflict noted for its unbridled intensity.These were ardent warriors and they were the right men at the right time. Yet it is very hard for us in 2019 quite comprehend just how ardent they were.The Naval Academy of the 1930s had produced a real crop of fighting men for both the surface and underwater fleets and the Navy did a remarkable job of training the enlisted men who served under them. As an Air Force veteran I have to admire just how good the Navy did with this forging of leaders and the fighting ranks.O'Kane was a product of an elite prep school and then the Academy. He was technically proficient,eager, and had honed his skills in the early parts of the war while serving with the legendary Mush Morton. When O'Kane took command he was ready in every way.As I worked through this book I found it to be grinding in its details: Diving and surfacing. Tracking plots, headings, contact reports, prep for the attack. Page after page after page of relentless details that make your eyes gloss over.But then it dawned on me that this is exactly the point. This type of warfare was relentless. It sometimes took hours to set up an attack and required all these details and tasks to be expertly executed. O'Kane does a good job in imparting that relentless pace and the reader should take the narrative in this spirit.What I found wanting however, was a more inward reflection of the psyche of the submariners. I certainly did not expect a warrior of O'Kanes disposition to be wearing his emotions on his sleeve, but did he make mistakes? How did he balance his good ambitions to fight the enemy with caution--after all, if his vessel is destroyed then it is no longer a war-fighting asset. I understand these gents were eager to fight but did they ever get reckless?I also wanted to learn about what strains men lived with after undergoing severe depth charging. I know that PTSD was not a term back then, but the British had done enough work in the previous world war on the psychological damage of shelling to know what it is about.Not to fault the fighting men of course, but humans react in many ways to horrific conditions and even soil themselves under such bombardments. What was the toll on O'Kane himself and his men? I did not expect scatological details, but there had to be after effects that diminished capabilities.Speaking of the conditions, we get no feel other than the close quarters and good food how it really was on board. Gannon, in his work, at least pays service to just how putrid it must have been even after the first week. The guys working in the engine room must have been totally deaf after a few weeks and I am sure the strain appeared in many ways.Again however, I understand O'Kanes task was to sink shipping and that is exactly what he went about doing. At least he does not describe his actions with the same "Golly gee whizz fellas" Mickey Rooney type language that Fluckey does in his book.Just too much overall seemed to be simply pulled from the logs--including headings down to a single degree such as 087 and the like...a bit too far in the weeds for my taste I admit.Yet I recommend reading this. It is compelling in revealing a true warrior who each time he led his crew out to sea was prepared to return carrying his shield or, so to speak, being carried upon it. His description of his capture by the Japanese is particularly worth reading. He was lucky to get out alive.I will post something similar for the other books with some variation on the details as they all seem to follow the same pattern. Sadly, I just have not yet run across a 5 star sub book yet but am open to suggestions.Neal Schier August 2019

Clear The Bridge is, certainly, the finest book of its type & believe me,I have read them all. Written by Richard O Kane, the top scoring American submarine skipper of World War Two, it tells of O Kane's life in both USS Wahoo, serving as executive officer to the legendary Mush Morton and on USS Tang as captain. Morton,s style of operating, where he did not make periscope observations but let O Kane do it, meant that O Kane got his shooting-eye in early, so that when he left the Wahoo to captain the Tang he was already a seasoned periscope operator. This immediately showed as Tang,s score started to rocket from day one. O Kane ,like most of the high scoring submarine skippers on both sides,tended to operate his boat as a submersible rather than a true submarine, carrying out the majority of his attacks on the surface,where his surface speed gave him far more flexibility than being submerged. It is ironic that this tactic eventually ended his sinkings tally when the 24th & final torpedo launched at a freighter tragically circled & struck Tang amidships,throwing O Kane & several bridge crew members into the sea where they were picked up & held in captivity until the end of the war.If you have the choice of only one book of this type then I recommend Clear the Bridge .......by a long way.

This book is amazing, it was hard to put it down once I started reading it.Absolute bravery of the Captain and Crew of the USS Tang.I would advise anyone interested in Naval warfare of WW11 to read this bookbut be prepared for very sad ending.

I felt as if I was right there next to him!!

Superbe .... A lire si on est fan de sous marin....un must haveEt surtout une fin qui laisse sans voix