SUBCHASERS
By Louise Heiselman
May 7, 2004
I wonder if there is anyone who reads this who would have been assigned to a subchaser? Most people have heard about PT boats but they don’t know anything about a subchaser (submarine chaser).
When most of the fleet was destroyed at Pearl Harbor we only had one submarine left in action; but the Germans had many and the next few months the Germans destroyed many of our merchant ships with their U boats. The government knew that the subchasers were their main line of defense and they could get the wooden ships made in less than 90 days at small shipyards, while the big shipyards were busy trying to turn out big destroyers, etc. They had 489 subchasers built. The wooden boats were only 111 feet long. Their narrow beam & shallow draft caused a lot of rough riding for the sailors. Because they were so small it was hard for the German U boats to see their silhouette or shadow on the water. There were only 3 officers (most of them just out of a 90 day Officer Training School), along with 18 young sailors, most of whom had just recently joined up or been drafted. This made up the crew of the ships. Therold was only 26 years old but he was the oldest one on his subchaser.
Although these subchasers were made sturdy and seaworthy they could not go fast and the government knew that most of them would not destroy the U boats; but, when the subchasers would detect the presence of a submarine with their sonar equipment, they were very effective. They would drop their depth charges and could force the U boat to stay submerged and that would drain their batteries which kept their oxygen supply level. By keeping the submarines submerged they were not able to attack and they were rendered powerless so the ships of the convoy could proceed unharmed. Even after the destroyers were back in operation, the subchasers continued to escort and screen for submarines; but they were no longer the first line of defense.
Because of the rough riding on the subchasers they were only supposed to keep the sailors on one just so long. Therold was on the 1055 for almost two years as a Motor Machinist Mate. Perhaps this is what caused him to get MS a few years after his discharge.
Louise