Gallant Lady: A Biography of the USS Archerfish

by Ken Henry, Don Keith

She looked like just about like the other diesel powered, Balao-class submarines crafted in the '40s. But there the similarity ends. Because the Archerfish--named for a fish that kills its victims with a lethal blast of water from below--won a unique, heroic place in military history and the memories of her crew members.

Here is her from her assembly in New England, her dedication at the hand of Eleanor Roosevelt, her service in World War II, where she broke the back of the Japanese Navy and sank the largest ship ever sunk by a submarine, to the details of her critical role in the Cold War, crisscrossing the oceans for six years to foil Soviet naval intelligence.

Here too, is the story of her officers and enlsited men, who waited years to serve on the Archerfish. In their own words, these men tell how, against all odds, they sent a Japanese aircraft carrier to the ocean floor . . . served in peacetime in the Navy's only all bachelor crew . . . steered their ship into exotic ports all over the world . . . welcomed B-girls, Japanese war veterans, royalty, Playboy bunnies and a goat aboard ship, with equal hospitality. As they helped their sub outlast fires and even an earthquake, they worked hard, played hard and lived even harder.

An extraordinary real-life odyssey, Archerfish is a vivid, unforgettable portrait of submariners' life.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, Nonfiction, World War II

352 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[Peter Corrigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty entertaining read co-written by an ex-crew member of the USS 'Archerfish', a Balao class diesel submarine built at the Portsmouth, NH U.S. Navy yard. It covers the history of the boat from her commissioning in 1943 to her ultimate demise in 1968 (a far longer 'life' than most WW2 diesel subs). I was sort of expecting more of a history of the US submarine campaign against the Imperial Japanese Navy, something about which I know little. Will have to look elsewhere for that although there were many interesting tidbits about how U.S. subs did operate and what their capabilities were. The fact that U.S. subs had both radar on every sub and a 'computer', called the Torpedo Data Computer (TDC) on board was somewhat of a surprise to me. The Archerfish's activities in the war are covered however, most notably her claim to fame of having single-handedly sunk the 'Shinano', a Japanese 'super' carrier on her maiden sortie to join the main Japanese fleet on November 30, 1944. But the book is only 1/3 over at that point! The remainder covers her various activities and adventures as the boat was employed in a variety of tasks but no actual fighting (the U.S. Navy has not fought another Navy since WW2). The most interesting mission was the multi-year survey mission (to measure gravitational fields) called Operation Sea Scan in which the boat traveled to the Arctic and all the way to the south Pacific encountering every sort of weather and various challenges. The all bachelor crew became sort of infamous within the U.S. Navy and mostly it becomes a recounting of their drunken escapades and other 'adventures' at nearly every port of call around the world, some of which were laugh out aloud funny.

[Christa Turk · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is important to learn about the brave, scrappy military personnel who helped to keep our country safe and contributed to scientific exploration. I was continually impressed by their creativity, ingenuity, and resourcefulness. I was astounded by the fact that the Navy would send their sailors on a mission and then refuse to provide the money and resources necessary to embark on said mission. Throughout the entire course of the book; however, I could not stop thinking about the constant abuse of alcohol, and about the women who provided “entertainment” to the sailors on liberty. Doubtless, many of those stories did not end well.

[Bryan Robert McCullagh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read thjis book whilst reading other books, consequently it took about a month to complete. It was very pleasing to come back to Gallant Lady without the need to recap. I put this down to the author's ability to consistently describe events in simple plain English that is always highly descriptive, interesting and to my mind quite novel. The basic plot is constant I.e life and events on and off the boat but it is never repetitive due to the changing crew members, locations and circumstances. To sum up it is the literary equivalent of comfort food in that I always looked forward to the simple pleasures on offer and was always satisfied.

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book - lots of anecdotes.

[Jamie Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book appeals to far more than just old submariners. If you've never been on a sub after reading this book you might feel that you have sailed on the Archerfish. I got this book to read about the famous sub that took out the Japanese super ship the Shinano. This follows the history of the Archerfish long after WWII.

[Tim Painter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting book, especially the first half talking about the service in world war II.

[Debbie Cranberryfries · Rating 3 out of 5]

Snippet on my blog http://cranberryfries.blogspot.com/20...

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this book several years ago. Was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.