THE SILENT SERVICE "The Tigershark" 1958
This is the 55th episode of the U.S. war series, "The Silent Service". The series was about the exploits of the U.S. Navy's submarine fleet. Each episode is a stand-alone tale of the actions of a particular submarine. Most of the stories are about actions against the Japanese Navy and merchant fleet in the Pacific. There is also the odd tale from the Korean conflict. The series ran for 78 episodes during 1957 and 1958. The stories were all based on actual events. Some pretty good attention to detail here with the U.S Navy allowing filming on several WW 2 era Gato class subs.
Each episode started and ended with retired Real Admiral Thomas M. Dykers giving a breakdown of the action. Dykers became a writer, producer and technical adviser after leaving the service. He worked on films such as, TORPEDO ALLEY, FLAT TOP, THE FROGMEN, HELL AND HIGH WATER and SUBMARINE COMMAND.
This episode is about the U.S.S. "Tigershark". The deal here is that while the story is real, there was no actual submarine named "Tigershark". The names of the real submarine and the men involved have been changed. (Not sure why, could be security issues of the day) It is June 1944 and the "Tigershark" is patrolling off the Philippine Islands.
The submarine comes up on a vast array of Japanese heavy units sailing at full steam. This is one of the Japanese task forces heading to join in the Battle of the Philippines Sea. The deal here is that the Japanese have pulled a fast one and there is a danger they could bushwhack the US carrier group.
The Captain of the "Tigershark" decides to surface and send off a warning to Fleet Headquarters. There is of course a problem with this idea. The area is crawling with Japanese destroyers and air patrols. Every time the submarine surfaces to radio, the Japanese attack, forcing the "Tigershark" under again.
They finally manage to send off a signal but are soon chased under again. A solid round of depth charges heavily damages the submarine. The submarine loses power due to a fire in the electrical compartment. The compartment fills with deadly gas but one of the men stays and repairs the damage.
The man gets one of the motors running again and the "Tigershark" limps off to safety. The man, Terry Becker, gets awarded the Navy Cross for his actions.
The rest of the cast includes, Dick Van Patten, Sam Buffington, Robert Brown and Ron Foster.
This is the 55th episode of the U.S. war series, "The Silent Service". The series was about the exploits of the U.S. Navy's submarine fleet. Each episode is a stand-alone tale of the actions of a particular submarine. Most of the stories are about actions against the Japanese Navy and merchant fleet in the Pacific. There is also the odd tale from the Korean conflict. The series ran for 78 episodes during 1957 and 1958. The stories were all based on actual events. Some pretty good attention to detail here with the U.S Navy allowing filming on several WW 2 era Gato class subs.
Each episode started and ended with retired Real Admiral Thomas M. Dykers giving a breakdown of the action. Dykers became a writer, producer and technical adviser after leaving the service. He worked on films such as, TORPEDO ALLEY, FLAT TOP, THE FROGMEN, HELL AND HIGH WATER and SUBMARINE COMMAND.
This episode is about the U.S.S. "Tigershark". The deal here is that while the story is real, there was no actual submarine named "Tigershark". The names of the real submarine and the men involved have been changed. (Not sure why, could be security issues of the day) It is June 1944 and the "Tigershark" is patrolling off the Philippine Islands.
The submarine comes up on a vast array of Japanese heavy units sailing at full steam. This is one of the Japanese task forces heading to join in the Battle of the Philippines Sea. The deal here is that the Japanese have pulled a fast one and there is a danger they could bushwhack the US carrier group.
The Captain of the "Tigershark" decides to surface and send off a warning to Fleet Headquarters. There is of course a problem with this idea. The area is crawling with Japanese destroyers and air patrols. Every time the submarine surfaces to radio, the Japanese attack, forcing the "Tigershark" under again.
They finally manage to send off a signal but are soon chased under again. A solid round of depth charges heavily damages the submarine. The submarine loses power due to a fire in the electrical compartment. The compartment fills with deadly gas but one of the men stays and repairs the damage.
The man gets one of the motors running again and the "Tigershark" limps off to safety. The man, Terry Becker, gets awarded the Navy Cross for his actions.
The rest of the cast includes, Dick Van Patten, Sam Buffington, Robert Brown and Ron Foster.