Naval Battles in Old Time Radio

Anyone who has spent time in a Navy town knows that there are several forms of untruth. There are Lies. There are Damn Lies. And, there are Sea Stories.

Another important lesson we learn from Sailors is that just because something is fictional does not mean it is not the truth. Sailors, particularly Military Sailors, are a superstitious lot, with good reason. Death can reach out and snatch them easily enough in the dangerous shipboard environment, the knowledge that an enemy is out there who means them harm would drive anyone to distraction.

Another striking difference between Land Warfare and Battle at Sea is the role of the individual. Success in combat requires a team effort (which is why Americans are so good at it). In land warfare, the entire unit must be focused on winning the objectives. There are bound to be casualties on both sides, but there will also be survivors. At sea, the entire enterprise depends upon the decisions of a single individual, the Captain of the ship. In battle, the Captain does not steer the ship, set the sails, operate the engines, or aim or shoot the guns, but it is his decisions, and his alone which affect the outcome of the Battle. What's more, the lives of his entire crew, and not just those pulling the triggers but everyone from the topmast to the bilge of the engine room, depend upon his decisions and leadership.

• Battle Stations, August 1943, NBC. In the days of sail, it was the trill of the Bos'n's pipe, since the time of electricity, crews have listened for the klaxon call over the loudspeakers for "General Quarters! All hands man your Battle Stations!" Every man on the ship has a place he is supposed to be going into battle. This program's four episodes are an unabashed attempt at Navy propaganda in the midst of the Second World War, but the stories are a compelling snapshot of history.
• The Cavalcade of America, "Red Lanterns On St. Michael's", August 11, 1941, the Red Network. The United States Submarine Force was an incredibly effective element prosecuting the Second World War, but the first successful submarine combat action took place during the Civil War blockade of Charleston Bay. The CSS Hunley depended upon the muscles of its crew for propulsion who only had the air in their cabin for the mission. If the scheme sounds foolhardy, the entire crew was lost although its target, the USS Housatonic, was sunk.
• The Cavalcade of America, "Navy Doctor", December 6, 1943, NBC. Brian Donlevy stars as Dr. Flowers, the ship's surgeon aboard the USS Astoria, a heavy cruiser attacked and sunk by the Japanese off Tulagi.
• The Cavalcade of America, "The Silent Service", June 12, 1951, NBC. Dick Powell stars as LCDR Roy Benson, skipper of the USS Trigger. As the sub's second skipper, he was considered a "jinx", mostly because the torpedoes issued to the Force had faulty magnetic exploders. Benson turns the crew around even though Trigger is assigned minelaying duty, just miles off Tokyo Bay!
• The Cavalcade of America, "The Ship the Nazis Had to Get", October 16, 1951, NBC. Ray Milland stars as the skipper of the SS Seatrain Texas hauling a cargo of tanks to Africa to help the British defend against Rommel's Africa Korps. The Seatrain Texas must sail without convoy escort, around the Cape of Good Hope, while Rommel is being resupplied across the Mediterranean.
• Escape, "Up Periscope!" August 8, 1951, CBS. Just after his first War Patrol on S-51, Lt Baker is relieved of his command for being deaf in one ear. While drowning his sorrow, a mysterious Chinaman makes a unique offer, take command of a broken-down Chinese sub at the mouth of the Yangtze River and sink as many Japanese ships as he can.
• Escape, "Pressure", March 22, 1953, CBS. A Japanese Destroyer in the South China Sea has the USS Amberfish trapped four hundred feet below the surface, and the crippled sub is beginning to fill with poisonous chlorine gas from the batteries. Will the captain and crew make the right decisions and escape, or are they doomed to succumb to pressure?
• Escape, "Clear For Action", June 14, 1953. A French Sloop of War is preying on American Merchantmen in the Caribbean, but Captain Steele and the USS Panther cannot afford to fire first without starting a war with the French or the English.
• Lux Radio Theatre, "Destroyer (1943, Columbia Pictures)", April 3, 1944, CBS. Edward G. Robinson stars as a retired Chief Bosun's Mate who forces his way aboard the newly commissioned USS John Paul Jones in this story of the New Navy meets the Old Navy and the discovery that they need each other.
• Lux Radio Theatre, "Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951, Warner Bros.)", January 21, 1952. Gregory Peck stars as C.S. Forester's literary Captain whose ship is given a secret mission to the Caribbean during the Napoleonic War.
• Lux Radio Theatre, "Submarine Command (1951, Paramount)", November 17, 1952. William Holden stars as the XO of the USS Tiger Shark on its last War Patrol. The sub is on the surface when it is attacked, and they are forced to submerge before the Captain can get below. The ship winds up in mothballs and needs to be brought into service for Korea.
• Lux Radio Theatre, "The African Queen (1951, Horizon Pictures), December 15, 1952. Greer Garson plays Rose Sayer but Bogey reprises the role which won the Oscar for Best Actor.
• The Man Behind the Gun, October 1942 to March 1944, three-time winner of Billboard Magazine's "Top Documentary" award. The stories are all "based on fact", which is to say actual action during WWII, but the names and characters were "wholly fictitious". This device allowed the writers and producers to present the Allied Sailors and Marines (as well as Soldiers and Airmen) in the most heroic light. Naval actions profiled include the USS Boise in the Battle of the Coral Sea, patrols by PT Boat skippers in the South Pacific, and a profile of a depth charge attack from the point of view of the submarine's Pharmacist's Mate ("Doc" to his crew).
• "Now Hear This", June through November 1951, NBC for Navy Recruiting. The shows are narrated by "Boats", a gruff old Petty Officer whose tattooed forearms are thicker than mooring hawsers and drinks countless cups coffee so black and thick a spoon would stand in the middle of the cup. Stories include crews dealing with shipboard fires, shore bombardment missions in Korea, Patrol planes flying through storms, Marine Landings, submarine patrols, Underwater  Demolition Team (predecessors to the Navy SEALs) actions, destroyer patrols off the Aleutians, PT Boat action in the South Pacific, the Seabees building and defending what they build, and the USS Philadelphia being reported sunk 38 times.
• Suspense, October 22, 1951, "The Log of the Marne". Based on a true incident. A British Naval vessel is under attack by Communists during the Chinese Civil War.

For additional information about Naval Warfare and the inspiration of this compilation, see Tim Deforest's Article "Naval Warfare in Old Time Radio." For more boating tales in Old Time Radio, see also:  Ships, Yachts and Boats, Cruise of the Poll Parrot, Men at Sea, Racing Boats, Submarines, Battle Stations, Titanic, Naval Battles in OTR, Escape: Ocean Tales, and Spooky Tales of the Sea.