There has to be a WW-II story with this

[Daryl J.]

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/09/divers_searching_to_prove_stor.html#incart_river_default

A whiff story that is.

[upnorth]

Considering the fact that the sub chaser got the call from a ship under command of L. Ron Hubbard, you could have all manner of fun with this. 

[Cliffy B]

I wonder if it was solely because they didn't want news leaking that an IJN sub had gotten so close to the US or if it was something more secretive?  I can't help but think that it was possibly a blue on blue engagement that's been covered up for so many years possibly due to the fact that something highly classified or someone VERY important was aboard?  I'm not even going to touch the Hubbard part of the story 

[Alvis 3.1]

The article wasn't 100% clear, but to me it seemed they depth charged something at night, yet they were able to see the oil slick? And blood? Wow, that would be a LOT of blood to make it to the surface intact and all. They thought they'd damaged a "smaller object" next the "sub"?

Mehinks they may had nailed a whale.


Oh well, maybe the divers will find something.

Alvis 3.1

[dwg]

I think you have to consider the L Ron Hubbard aspect, in particular the fact that he was removed from command of Sub-Chasers not once, but twice (that has to be a near unique achievement!), and his systematic exaggeration of his war record, which apparently even extended to lying to his XO on PC-815 that he had been at Pearl Harbor and had been the sole survivor of a destroyer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_career_of_L._Ron_Hubbard

OTOH maybe there is a story here, a WWII version of Baron Munchausen!

[finsrin]

Talking Subchasers; read this book and it provided insights to the smaller ships of US fleet in WW2.
Harks back to old "wooden ships and iron men" phrase.
Ships are smaller but go in harms way like the big ones do.
Their contribution to WW2  gets so little press.  Nice to have it recorded in this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Splinter-Fleet-Wooden-Subchasers-World/dp/1557508178/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353999962&sr=1-1&keywords=splinter+fleet

[Daryl J.]

Truth be told, had I seen that LRH was involved, I'd have skipped the rest of the article.   

[jcf]

Hubbard being peripherally involved doesn't alter the possibilty of Wood's story being true,
they were on different vessels.

The shelling of Ft. Stevens by I-25 in June, 1942 and the same sub launching floatplane incendiary raids
near Brookings in September of that year show that IJN subs were active off of Oregon and Washington.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardment_of_Fort_Stevens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lookout_Air_Raid

More on Ft. Stevens, the only continental US fortification to be fired on by a foreign power since 1814:
http://www.cdsg.org/HDCRdata/stevensx.htm