Free Operation Storm: Japan's Top Secret Submarines and Its Plan to Change the Course of World War II by John Geoghegan

the
I-174
was probably too far away to accurately identify the type of ship.
    † Though Nambu believed he’d hit the ship, there is no Allied record confirming a ship was attacked on this date at this location.
    ‡ Allied naval records show that Nambu fired upon the American Liberty ship SS
John Bartram
. All four torpedoes missed.
    § The LST-469, though damaged, remained afloat and was eventually towed back to Sydney. It belonged to MacArthur’s newly formed Seventh Amphibious Force, which was short of ships. Loss of the vessel forced the last-minute elimination of troops and cargo from the assault convoy destined for MacArthur’s first amphibious operation, the occupation of Kiriwina and Woodlark islands. See David Stevens, “The Naval Campaigns for New Guinea,” Journal of the Australian War Memorial, n.d., http://www.awm.gov.au/journal/j34/stevens.asp .

C HAPTER 15
THE SEGUNDO (SS 398)
    T HE P ORTSMOUTH N AVY Y ARD WAS BITTERLY COLD WHEN THE USS
Segundo
launched stern first into the icy waters of the Piscataqua River. Richard “Fox” Binkley, seaman first class, stood on deck that winter’s day along with 20-plus crew members assigned to the
Segundo
’s fitting out. 1 It was so freezing outside, it must have seemed like the wife of the assistant secretary of the treasury was taking her sweet time breaking a champagne bottle across the bunting-draped bow. But finally the air horns screeched their jubilant message, and the half-finished sub began moving down the building ways.
    Somewhere a naval band played “Anchors Aweigh” as Binkley, locked in salute, stood firm on the
Segundo
’s deck. The sub moved amazingly fast for an object weighing 2,500 tons. Nevertheless, Binkley rode her all the way down into the slack tide, ending in a roiling ocean of foam. It was February 5, 1944, and the
Segundo
was nearing completion.
    The USS
Segundo
(SS 398) was a Balao-class submarine. Named for a fish in the cavalla family that includes yellow jack and pompano, she was one of 44 Balao-class subs built by the Portsmouth Navy Yard during the war. After Congress approved a massive fleet expansion in 1940, Portsmouth had found itself at the center of the greatest sub construction program in history. U.S. submarine forces had come a long way since the start of war, and the navy was now producing boats at a record pace.
    Portsmouth built more subs during World War II than any shipyard in America. New London’s Electric Boat Company came next, followed by Mare Island Navy Yard in San Francisco, the ManitowocShipbuilding Company in Wisconsin, the Cramp Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia, and the Boston Navy Yard. Still, none compared to Portsmouth.
    Portsmouth built a total of 80 subs during the war, more than half Balao-class. 2 Electric Boat may have produced better-finished subs, but Portsmouth subs had the latest equipment that captains hungered for. 3 Portsmouth subs also had a more angular silhouette than those of Electric Boat. Edward Beach, author of
Run Silent, Run Deep
and a sub commander himself, described Portsmouth boats as looking like “sleek, streamlined monsters.” 4
    Since Portsmouth was a government yard, it didn’t have to worry about profit margins. Designers could concentrate on construction techniques that reduced time on the building ways. Some sub sections were prefabricated before a keel was even laid. This modular approach shortened the time from keel to commission. The fastest Electric Boat ever built a sub was 317 days. By the time the
Segundo
was commissioned in May 1944, Portsmouth had reduced that time to a record 173 days. 5
    Interestingly, Portsmouth’s construction methods stood in stark contrast to Japanese methods. Though Japan would eventually lead the world in automotive assembly techniques, she had not yet learned the fine art of mass production. One reason Japan’s sub construction faltered was that the Imperial Japanese Navy never consolidated behind a standardized fleet boat