We saw an amazing picture-perfect sunny splashdown off San Diego this weekend of Artemis II, wrapping up a manned moon flyby that spanned 10 days and 694,481 miles, setting several records.
NASA’s Orion spacecraft with Artemis II crewmembers, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist, aboard, was seen as it splashed down at 5:07 p.m. PDT in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, Friday, April 10, 2026. NASA’s Artemis II mission took Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
With the splashdown process, the Navy is back in the space vehicle recovery game for the first time since the ASTP (Apollo-Soyuz) mission in July 1975, with the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) as primary recovery ship, launching a det of MH-60S Seahawks from the “Wildcards” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 (HSC-23), and a four-man dive medical team with Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group ONE (EODGRU-1) to make the first contact.
Amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) steams through the Pacific Ocean, April 8, 2026. John P. Murtha is underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations supporting NASA’s Artemis II mission, retrieving the crew and spacecraft following their return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. NASA’s Artemis II mission sent four astronauts on a flight around the moon in the Orion space capsule, marking the first time humans journeyed to deep space in over 50 years. (U.S. Navy phot
An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter, attached to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23, prepares to land aboard amphibious transport dock USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) following the extraction of NASA astronauts from the Orion crew module in the Pacific Ocean, April 10, 2026. USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) is underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations supporting NASA’s Artemis II mission, retrieving the crew and spacecraft following their return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. NASA’s Artemis II
There was a lot of nostalgia on this mission.
For instance, the crew reportedly took a small piece of the lost shuttles Challenger and Columbia, along with a one-inch square clip of canvas from the Wright Flyer sent over from the Smithsonian, making the Wright Brothers fly higher than they would have seen possible, Challenger make it to space one last time, and Columbia make it safely home.
One big callback for me is that the four Artemis II crewmembers received personalized blue-and-gold snapback Ships’ Caps to wear on deck once aboard Murtha.
The tradition goes back to Gemini 11, which was recovered by USS Guam in 1966, with Navy CDRs Richard Gordon and Charles “Pete” Conrad carrying the baseball caps aboard their spacecraft and donning them just before they stepped onto the deck of the carrier.
(15 Sept. 1966) — The Gemini-11 prime crew, astronauts Charles Conrad Jr. (right) and Richard F. Gordon Jr. pose in front of the recovery helicopter which brought them to the USS Guam. Photo credit: NASA. Date Created:1966-09-15. NASA ID S66-50752
The tradition was carried on throughout the Apollo, Skylab, and ASTP launches.
A few for reference:
The Apollo 16 Command Module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 27, 1972, after an 11-day moon exploration mission. The 3-man crew is shown here aboard the rescue ship, USS Horton. From left to right are: Mission Commander John W. Young, Lunar Module pilot Charles M. Duke, and Command Module pilot Thomas K. Mattingly II. The sixth manned lunar landing mission, Apollo 16 (SA-511), lifted off on April 16, 1972. The Apollo 16 mission continued the broad-scale geological, geochemical, and geophysical mapping of the Moon’s crust, begun by the Apollo 15, from lunar orbit. This mission marked the first use of the Moon as an astronomical observatory by using the ultraviolet camera/spectrograph, which photographed ultraviolet light emitted by Earth and other celestial objects. The Lunar Roving Vehicle, developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, was also used. NASA ID: 0401428
(8 Feb. 1974) — The crewmen of the third and final manned Skylab mission relax on the USS New Orleans, prime recovery ship for their mission, about an hour after their Command Module splashed down at 10:17 a.m. (CDT), Feb. 8, 1974. The splashdown, which occurred 176 statute miles from San Diego, ended 84 record-setting days of flight activity aboard the Skylab space station cluster in Earth orbit. Photo credit: NASA S74-17744 Date Created:1974-02-08
The Commanding Officer of the USS New Orleans, Captain Ralph E. Neiger, welcomes aboard ASTP astronauts Thomas Stafford, Donald Slayton and Vance Brand. The astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean west of Hawaii at 5:18 p.m. today, ending the nine-day ASTP mission. The mission was highlighted by the rendezvous and docking with a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in Earth orbit. Date Created:1975-07-24 KSC-75P-408 NASA ID: 75p-408
You just gotta love it.
P.S. If you have to have a repro of the old missions, check out Luna Replicas (not a sponsor, we don’t have those).
Official caption: “Pfc. V.L. Creswell, Newport, Ark., 25th Inf. Div., an ammo bearer on a quad fifty machine gun, rests while he waits to reload the blazing gun.”
Photographer: Cpl. Tom Nebia (ON), U.S. Army Signal Corps Archives SC 364044.
Creswell, shown with a 110-round belt of linked .50 cal draped over his flak vest, worked a motorized Maxson M45 Quad turret, thus:
Oh yeah
Known as “The Meat Chopper” from its use against infantry, the M45 was designed as an anti-aircraft gun. The electrically powered mount moved at about 60 degrees per second and could elevate to near-vertical and depress slightly less than the horizon for use against ground targets in enfilade. Two 6-volt batteries that were recharged by a small Briggs & Stratton gas engine, coupled to a generator, fed the electric motor on the mount.
Note wheels cranked out when stationary
That comfy gunner’s chair
Note the electronic solenoid for the M2s. Without electrical power via battery or engine, the Maxson was a lawn ornament
To this mount, the design added a central gunner’s seat of luxurious canvas, a large spiderweb-type graduated sight, and four Browning heavy machine guns arranged in a pair on each side, which provided .50 cal suppression in surround sound.
Fully equipped with 800 rounds of ammunition, an armor shield for the gunner, oil, fuel for the engine, and all accessories, the mount topped 2,400 pounds. This size fit in the rear of a large truck, half-track, or could be towed alone on a small M20-style trailer, and their firepower made them very popular with the Joes in the field.
As for Creswell, born one of 10 children in Independence, Arkansas, he was just over 20 in the top photo, his older brothers Bundt and Wimps serving in WWII. He made it out of Korea and returned home to marry Ms. Juanita M Higginbotham on 24 May 1952 before going on to work at National Standard for 26 years. Active in the VFW (Post 360), V.L. “John” Creswell passed in 1996 at the age of 65, leaving behind two daughters and five grandkids. He is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, South Bend, St. Joseph, Indiana.
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Warship Wednesday 8 April 2026: Front Runner
USN Photo 80-G-08937 via the National Archives.
Above we see the Cramp-built Balao (not Tench) class fleet boat USS Tusk (SS-426), some 80 years ago this week, in April 1946, just after she was commissioned. Note her late WWII style “gunboat” arrangement with two 5″/25s and two 40mm Bofors clustered around her fairwater.
Remember, National Submarine Day is on April 11th, and Tusk, which never fired a torpedo in anger (that we know of), nonetheless has one of the most epic careers in naval history
The Balao Class
A member of the 180+-ship Balao class, she was one of the most mature U.S. Navy diesel designs of the World War Two era, constructed with knowledge gained from the earlier Gato class. Unlike those of many navies of the day, U.S. subs were “fleet” boats, capable of unsupported operations in deep water far from home.
The Balao class was designed to dive deeper (400 ft. test depth) than the Gato class (300 ft.) due to the use of high-yield-strength steel in the pressure hull.
Able to range 11,000 nautical miles on their reliable diesel engines, they could undertake 75-day patrols that could span the immensity of the Pacific. Carrying 24 (often unreliable) Mk14 Torpedoes, these subs often sank anything short of a 5,000-ton Maru or warship by surfacing and using their deck guns. They also served as the firetrucks of the fleet, rescuing downed naval aviators from right under the noses of Japanese warships.
Some 311 feet long overall, they were all-welded construction to facilitate rapid building. Best yet, they could be made for the bargain price of about $7 million in 1944 dollars (just $100 million when adjusted for today’s inflation) and completed from keel laying to commissioning in about nine months.
USS Roncador (Balao) class plans
USS Roncador (Balao) class plans
An amazing 121 Balaos were completed through five yards at the same time, with the following pennant numbers completed by each:
Cramp: SS-292, 293, 295-303, 425, 426 (12 boats)
Electric Boat: 308-313, 315, 317-331, 332-352 (42)
Manitowoc on the Great Lakes: 362-368, 370, 372-378 (15)
Mare Island on the West Coast: 304, 305, 307, 411-416 (9)
Portsmouth Navy Yard: 285-288, 291, 381-410, 417-424 (43)
Our subject is the only U.S. warship named for the cusk or tusk, a large edible saltwater fish related to the cod. The 14th and last submarine to be built by the Cramp Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia, she was laid down as the future SS-426 on 23 August 1943, and launched into the Delaware River on 8 July 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Carolyn Park Mills, wife of RADM Earle Watkins Mills (USNA 1917) who was soon to take over the Maritime Commission from the retiring VADM Emory S. Land.
Mrs. Mills christens the future Tusk, 8 July 1945. Temple University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center, George D. McDowell Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Collection, SCRC 170
Launch of Tusk, 8 July 1945. The sign on her bow says she was paid for via War Bond Purchases made by the people of Philadelphia. There were eight war loan drives from 1942 to 1945. By the end of the war, 85 million Americans had purchased 185.7 billion dollars of bonds. Temple University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center, George D. McDowell Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Collection, SCRC 170
With the end of the war, construction slowed, and Tusk was only commissioned on 11 April 1946.
Tusk had a late war “gunboat” style arraignment, including two 5″/25s and two Bofors guns, along with points for detachable 50 cals
Her first skipper was CDR Raymond A. Moore, USN, who seems to just be a placeholder as he was replaced within a fortnight by CDR Marshall Harlan Austin (USNA 1935), who had commanded the Gato-class fleet boat USS Redfin (SS-272) on her 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th War Patrols, sinking a Japanese destroyer and four merchantmen to earn a Navy Cross.
These images were taken the day before her commissioning:
(Cold) War!
Under Austin, Tusk completed her shakedown cruise in the South Atlantic, visiting ports in Brazil, Curacao, and Panama from June to July 1946. She returned to New London in August and the week before Thanksgiving 1946, President Harry S. Truman, ADM William D. Leahy, and Annapolis Commandant, VADM Aubrey W. Fitch, toured Tusk while she was tied up at the Naval Academy.
Photograph of President Truman and Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy inspecting the USS Tusk, a submarine, during the President’s visit to the U.S. Naval Academy. Note the well-turned-out MM1 watch stander’s dolphins and hash mark on the sleeves of his cracker jacks. National Archives Identifier: 198606
Photograph of President Truman aboard a submarine, the USS Tusk, during his visit to the U.S. Naval Academy: (left to right) the President; Vice Admiral Aubrey Fitch, Superintendent of the Naval Academy; Fleet Admiral William Leahy, Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief; and General Harry Vaughan, Military Aide to the President. NARA 198648
Truman waves from Tusk’s conning tower. NARA 198649
The next year saw Tusk participate in a series of exercises and a minor collision with the hospital ship USS Consolation (AH-15).
Repaired in Philadelphia, she then conducted oceanographic work along the Atlantic shelf with Columbia University and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
She ended 1947 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for a Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program (GUPPY) II conversion, one of 24 Balao and Tench-class subs that received the SCB 47 rebuild.
During the subsequent seven months, Tusk underwent significant modifications to enhance her submerged performance. Four high-capacity 126-cell batteries replaced her original batteries, which had half as many cells, bedded into larger wells. The hull was streamlined by adding a rounded bow, recessing anchors, capstans, deck rail stanchions, and cleats; and eliminating propeller guards, improving hydrodynamic efficiency.
Topside, her deck guns were removed and sail enlarged and refined to accommodate three new masts (snorkel induction, snorkel exhaust and ESM), the snork enabling diesel-powered operation at periscope depth and battery recharging while submerged. The periscope and radar mast were enclosed. A BQR-2 sonar was fitted with hydrophones under the forefoot and its electronics housed in the forward torpedo room. Likewise, her Elliot Motor Co. high-speed drive electric motors with reduction gear were swapped out for low-speed direct drive motors of 2,500 hp per shaft, up from 1,370.
Her step-side Portsmouth Sail had a thinner top than those fitted to other GUPPYs by EB, with a curved trailing edge, square windows, and a sharper lower forward edge. They also had a fitting for the sub’s SV radar screen.
These upgrades transitioned Tusk from a submersible to an actual submarine and, while her surface speed was cut by about two knots, her submerged speed rose from 10 knots to about 15 knots.
After her G.II conversion in early 1948, she emerged looking very different from her original 1946 configuration, and, amid the Berlin Crisis, conducted a simulated war patrol to the Canal Zone in June and July as part of her post-modernization shakedown.
Her skipper during the cruise was CDR Guy F. Guggliotta, USN, another wartime sub driver who had commanded USS S-28 (SS 133), Halibut (SS 232) on her 10th War Patrol, and Raton (SS 270) on her 8th War Patrol, earning a pair of Silver Stars in the process.
Tusk, post GUPPY II conversion with her step side Portsmouth sail, seen off the New London Harbor Lighthouse.
Tusk seen between 1948 and 1962 post GUPPY II conversion with her step side Portsmouth sail, NH 67826
Cochino’s Last Dive
Attached to Submarine Development Group 2 out of Newport for the first six months of 1949, she sortied to the North Atlantic that July with SubRon 8 for a series of multinational NATO exercises that saw her visit Londonderry and Portsmouth in the British Isles.
At this point, Tusk was on her fourth skipper, WWII sub captain CDR Robert Kemble Rittenhouse Worthington, USN, who had earned a Navy Cross during Balao’s 8th, 9th, and 10th Patrols after sinking over a half-dozen small vessels, adding to a Silver Star he earned as a junior officer on four patrols aboard USS Silversides.
As noted of Cochino by DANFS, “huge waves slammed the submarines’ snorkel so violently, and jolted the boat so severely, that the pounding caused an electrical fire and battery explosion, followed by the release of deadly hydrogen [chlorine] gas,” forcing the stricken sub’s crew to evacuate the surfaced boat in terrible weather, and hunker down on her deck.
The last known photograph of USS Cochino (SS 345) was taken in July 1949. She now lies in deep water north of Norway near 71.35N. 23.35E, sunk stern first on 0146 on 26 August 1949 with no personnel aboard.
Receiving the underwater sonar signal from Cochino “Casualty surfacing,” Tusk worked over the next 14 hours on the rough seas to save first Cochino herself, then, after a second battery explosion made that impossible, to rescue Cochino’s 77 embarked souls via a prow rigged between the two boats on the open sea. Tragically, Tusk wound up trading 11 of her own crew and an embarked Philco techrep (Mr. Robert Wellington) to Poseidon in the deal, with only six later recovered from the sea alive.
A depiction of the USS Cochino battery fire that led to the sinking of the submarine in 1949, and cross-decking to Tusk, by Stanley Borack.
Greater detail from Tusk’s deck log:
Tusk, packed with nearly 150 personnel, many of them injured and suffering from exposure, she made for Hammerfest Harbor, Norway, and tied up at 0845 on the 26th to immediately receive a Norwegian medical team aboard.
Besides an officer (LCDR Richard M. Wright) sent to a Norwegian hospital in Tromso and four men flown home to Westover AFB for transfer to the Navy hospital at Chelsea, Massachusetts, the remaining 72 Cochino survivors crammed aboard Tusk once again two days later tor the return trip back across the Atlantic, arriving at New London on 9 September for a home town welcome.
Truly an epic sea story.
The 1950 Silent Service installment “The Last Dive” (Season 1, Episode 22) covered Cochino and Tusk’s final 14 hours together. A young Walter Matthau, DeForest Kelley, and Leslie Nielsen portrayed Cochino crewmembers, with LCDR Wright appearing at the end of the show, having completed 14 months of medical rehab.
Continued Cold War service
Tusk was assigned to the Submarine School at New London, then Submarine Development Group 2, interspersed with regular Atlantic Fleet exercises.
One of her declassified Dev Group tests now in the public archives is one for the Naval Research Laboratory in 1957, which involved the use of a light pulse transmitter to communicate with aircraft while submerged at depths of 90 feet.
In November 1949, during maneuvers 175nm off the Labrador coast in 40-foot seas, Tusk struck her periscope on the screw of a Navy supply ship USS Aldebaran (AF-10), picking up minor damage but suffering no casualties.
In late 1952, Tusk was assigned to SubRon 10 for a six-month Med cruise with the 6th Fleet, visiting Malta, Gibraltar, Cannes, Piraeus, Izmir, and French Oran.
USS Tusk (SS 426) post GUPPY II conversion 1 August 1952 USN 477116
Tusk would make four further European cruises over the next two decades. Notably, this would include a visit to Fiumicino during the 1960 Rome Olympics, calling in Portugal to mark the 500th anniversary of Prince Henry the Navigator, and a 1967 cruise where she would visit Bremerhaven, Aarhus, and Göteborg.
USS Tusk sailing into Malta on one of her Med deployments, pre 1965
Jane’s 1960 entry for the Tench class, with both the Cramp-built GUPPY’d Tusk and Trumpetfish listed incorrectly as members. At the time, the Navy was also operating at least 80 Balaos, including NRF ships and those in mothballs.
Tusk also pulled three shorter Operation Springboard readiness deployments to the Caribbean, a region of growing importance post-Castro. As you can imagine, annual Springboard exercises involved high-profile mock ASW, amphibious landings, and fleet maneuvers around Puerto Rico. It was a common gathering for GUPPYs in the 60s and 70s.
Balao-class Springboard GUPPYs with North Atlantic sails: USS Bang (SS-385) preparing to tie up alongside USS Chivo (SS-341) at San Juan Naval Station, Puerto Rico, during Operation Springboard. Of note, the lowest point on the keel to the IFF antenna atop the lowered snorkel was 49 feet 8.25 inches, while the height to the top of the whip antenna is 78 feet from the keel. You weren’t going to submerge one of these bad boys in 10 fathoms! Bang’s skipper, CDR R.J. Carlin, is giving orders from atop her sail. The bow of a Canadian Ojibwa (Oberon) class SSK is visible in the lower left, and a U.S. Coast Guard HU-16 Albatross amphibian is flying low in the center background. Photograph by PHC CJ Wiitala, USN, released 14 March 1968 by Tenth Naval District Public Affairs Office. NH 98697
Further, Tusk was involved in at least two extensive polar ice operations, including with USS Tench (SS-417) on ICEX ’60 and SUBICEX 1-62 with Skate (SS-578) and Entemador (SS-340).
USS Tusk, USS Entemedor, and USS Skate dusted with snow, 1962, during SUBICEX
Tusk on ICEX March 1960 with Tench
Entering Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in July 1965, Tusk was given a six-month major overhaul that including removing all her engines, motors, and generators for rebuild, receiving a new periscope with a built in electronic sextant for taking star shots while still submerged, and picking up the tall streamlined fiberglass/plastic clamshell “North Atlantic” style fairweather typically seen on most American GUPPYs after the mid-60s.
The new sail allowed extra room for the growing number of masts and aerials, a higher observation platform for lookouts, and a more habitable position for watch standers while on the surface. Tusk also received the new Prairie Masker bubbler system, increased air-conditioning capacity, additional storerooms, and additional fresh water tanks as part of the modifications.
Balao class GUPPY II sister USS Catfish post refit 1960s North Atlantic sail. Tusk had the same layout.
Balao class GUPPY II sister USS Catfish post refit 1960s North Atlantic sail. Tusk had the same layout.
Rejoining the fleet in January 1966, Tusk was transferred to SubRon 8.
Submarine Squadron Eight at New London, 1968, with a wild mix of eight Cold War fleet boat conversions. Left to right: USS Sea Robin (SS-407)(GUPPY IA with Portsmouth style step sail); Tusk (SS-426)(GUPPY II w North Atlantic sail); Sea Owl (SS-405)(Fleet Snorkel w EB style step sail and large Project Kayo BQR-4A horseshoe passive sonar array); Sablefish (SS-303)(Fleet Snorkel w North Atlantic sail); Halfbeak (SS-352)(GUPPY II w North Atlantic sail); Blenny (SS-324)(GUPPY IA w North Atlantic sail) and Becuna (SS-319)(GUPPY IA w Portsmouth step-sail). The eighth unidentified submarine on the left has PUFFS passive underwater fire control arrays for the BQG-4 system. NH 88415
Tusk (SS-426) at New London, Connecticut, June 1, 1968, as part of SubRon 8. USS Becuna (SS 319) is across the pier. Sailors on deck, civilians observe from the pier. Courtesy of D.M. McPherson, NH 86627
By 1969, Tusk had been transferred to SubRon 2 but was still based out of her traditional New London home. She was known as The Front Runner, so dubbed “due to its reputation for excellence and high-performance.”
This was supported by her being awarded the Fire Control “E” for several consecutive years and the Battle Efficiency “E” for fiscal year 1973.
Tusk underway in Hampton Roads, Virginia, 11 February 1970, as part of SubRon 2. NHHC K-81809
USS Tusk 1972 Provided by Tom Robinson QM2 (SS)
While on her fifth European deployment on 12 August 1972, while off the coast of Spain, the well-traveled Tusk made her 10,000th dive and surface, a benchmark few submarines have reached. Of note, Tusk’s Balao-class sister USS Spikefish (SS-404) had set the 10,000 record first in 1960 and earned the title of “The divingest Submarine in the World,” which was later claimed by another Balao, USS Piper (SS-409), who logged 13,724 before her decommissioning.
Speaking of decommissioning…
Under the Cog
In 1960, the ROC (Taiwan) Navy embarked on the Sea Shark Project, designed to create a submarine force.
This morphed into the Wuchang Project and, in October 1964, after months of wrangling, Capt Wang Xiling, the ROC naval attaché stationed in Rome, overcame diplomatic difficulties and ordered two 58-foot SX-404 class midget-submarines with a displacement of only 40 tons from the Italian commercial shipyard Cos.Mo.S. SpA, Livorno. Two CosMoS CE2F/X100 human torpedo chariot-style frogman SDVs were acquired as well.
ROCN 58-foot SX-404 class midget submarine Haijiao (Sea Dragon) (S-1) between 1968 and 1973
To avoid complications, the components were shipped from Europe to Tamsui and then assembled in Taiwan by CoS.MoS personnel. The two SX-404 boats were commissioned on 8 October 1969 as Haijiao (Sea Dragon) (S-1) and Hailong (Sea Dragon I) (S-2), and were immediately put to work as training vessels of the Wuchang Submarine Squadron for the nascent ROCN sub force. The CNO of the fleet, ADM Feng Qicong, personally handed out the country’s first dolphin badges that day to the program’s members.
By late 1970, and with two years of midget sub operations under the ROCN’s belt, Capt Wang Xiling, then moved to the embassy in Washington, persuaded the U.S. to sell two submarines to Taiwan as training vessels, citing the need to enhance the navy’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities. In other words, “tame mice” for the ROCN’s two dozen destroyers and frigates to play with.
On 21 April 1971, the U.S. confirmed the planned handover of two surplus GUPPY IIs, initially designated “Project Poseidon” by the Navy, and renamed “Project Mercury” in December. In March, 1972, the first batch of ROCN personnel receiving the Project Mercury submarines arrived at the U.S. Naval Submarine School in New London for training.
Tusk’s sister, USS Cutlass (SS 478), was transferred to the ROCN as ROCS Hai Shih (Sea Lion) (SS 91) on 12 April 1973, her hull number later changed to S-791
By May 1973, with Tusk just returned from a three-month Caribbean training cruise that saw her call at Guantanamo Bay, Ocho Rios, Port au Prince, and Montego Bay, she welcomed aboard 81 officers and men from the Republic of China to commence training for turnover.
In anticipation of the new (to them) vessels, Taiwan laid up its SX-404s and redesignated the Wuchang Submarine Squadron as the Republic of China Navy’s 256th Squadron (Submarine) in August 1973.
On 18 October 1973, Tusk was decommissioned at New London and was simultaneously transferred, by nominal sale, to the Taiwan Navy. Her name was struck from the Navy list on the same day.
She became ROCS Hai Pao (Seal) (SS 92) in the same ceremony, with LCDR David H. Boyd, USN, turning over the boat to CDR Cheng Kuo-Yu, ROCN. Kuo-Yu had served in the Wuchang Squadron since 1969 and had spent seven months in Sub School in New London before beginning training on Tusk/Hai Pao.
Jane’s 1975 entry on the Cutlass/Hai Shih and Tusk/Hai Pao. They have since changed their hull numbers to S-791 and S-792
Amazingly, both of Taiwan’s GUPPYs, for decades the last remaining Balaos in service, are still in operation with the 256th Squadron, training ROCN submariners for the current front-line subs, the Dutch Zwaardvis-class ROCS Hai Lung (Sea Dragon) and ROCS Hai Hu (Sea Tiger), which were delivered in 1988.
Nonetheless, they are still officially combat-ready and undergo regular dry docking, inspection, overhaul, and sea periods.
ex USS Tusk, now ROCS 海豹(seal), SS792 circa 2005
ex USS Tusk, now ROCS 海豹(seal), SS792 internals
ex USS Tusk, now ROCS 海豹(seal), SS792 Zuoying Naval Base Oct 2017 Tuo Chiang-class corvette
ex USS Tusk, now ROCS 海豹(seal), SS792 circa 2014
ex USS Tusk, now ROCS 海豹(seal), SS792 circa 2014
ex USS Tusk, now ROCS 海豹(seal), SS792 sail
ex USS Tusk, now ROCS 海豹(seal), SS792 circa 2014 Keelung
ex USS Tusk, now ROCS 海豹(seal), SS792 circa 2014 Keelung
ex USS Tusk, now ROCS 海豹(seal), SS792 circa 2014 Keelung
ex USS Tusk, now ROCS 海豹(seal), SS792 control room
ROC President Tsai Ing-wen attended the “2017 Naval Goodwill Flotilla Launch Ceremony and Submarine Indigenous Construction Design Initiation and Cooperation Memorandum Signing Ceremony,” emphasizing that submarine indigenous construction is the most challenging aspect of the national defense autonomy policy and a responsibility of the Commander-in-Chief to the nation. The ROC Navy’s Tusk/Hai Pao (SS-792) is moored to Tsai Ing-wen’s left fore-south.
When the first two domestically built Haikun (Seagull)-class SSKs arrive in service in 2026 and 2027 (?), Cutlass/Hai Shih and Tusk/Hai Pao are expected to be retired with the 40-year-old Dutch boats rotating to fill the roles of the old GUPPYs.
The President of Taiwan presides over the naming and launching ceremony of the prototype submarine built domestically, the future ROCS Haikun (SS-711), on September 28, 2023.
Epilogue
Tusk’slogs and plans are in the National Archives.
There is at least one blog and one crewmember reunion group (who last met in 2017) to cherish Tusk’s memory and those who served on her.
Her U.S. service is remembered in Cold War classic maritime art.
“Cat and Mouse” by Wayne Scarpaci shows the GUPPY II USS Tusk (SS-426) with a Lockheed (P2V) Neptune flying overhead in ASW training.
Her skipper during the Cochino rescue, CDR Worthington (USNA ’38), had been on subs that earned a dozen battle stars and sunk 100,000 tons of shipping during WWII, earning him a Navy Cross, Silver Star, and three Bronze Stars. He didn’t need more medals. He retired from the fleet as a Captain on the staff of the Twelfth Naval District in San Diego in 1962, capping a very busy 24 years of active service. Worthington received an M.S. in Physics and Electronics from UCLA and worked for Lockheed Corporation on the design and construction of the pioneering submersible Deep Quest,which achieved a depth of 8,000 feet during a test dive. Leaving Lockheed in 1975, Worthington returned to the sea, sailing as master on several ocean vessels in Caribbean and Alaskan waters. He passed away in 1996, in San Diego, leaving a wife and two children behind. His papers are in the U.S. Naval War College Archives, of which he was an alumnus.
Thanks for reading!
Meminisse est ad Vivificandum – To Remember is to Keep Alive
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The U.S. Embassy in Panama recognized the importance of the recent visit of the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) to Panama City on the country’s West (Pacific) coast as the supercarrier sails to her new homeport in Norfolk from Bremerton. She also hosted representatives from Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador for flight ops in the process as part of the 4th Fleet’s Southern Seas 2026.
Panamanian distinguished visitors and U.S. Embassy Panama personnel pose for a photo during flight operations on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in the Pacific Ocean, March 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jaron Wills)
Note, there are over 25,000 American citizens living in Panama, and something like 300,000 former Canal Zone expats and their descendants.
Armed Forces of El Salvadoran and civilian distinguished visitors observe flight operations on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in the Pacific Ocean, March 27, 2026. Nimitz is deployed as part of Southern Seas 2026, which seeks to enhance capability, improve interoperability, and strengthen maritime partnerships with countries throughout the region through joint, multinational, and interagency exchanges and cooperation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd
Mexican military and civilian distinguished visitors observe flight operations on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in the Pacific Ocean, March 23, 2026. Nimitz is deployed as part of Southern Seas 2026, which seeks to enhance capability, improve interoperability, and strengthen maritime partnerships with countries throughout the region through joint, multinational, and interagency exchanges and cooperation. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jaron W
An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to the “Kestrels” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 137, launches from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during flight operations in the Pacific Ocean, March 19, 2026. Nimitz is underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations as part of a scheduled homeport shift to Norfolk, Virginia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Meyer)
Nimitz is accompanied by her escort, USS Gridley (DDG-101).
Of course, Nimitz can’t pass through the Canal as she is both too tall (252 feet to the top of the mast) to sail under the Bridge of the Americas which has a 200 foot clearance at high tide, and is too wide (252-foot beam across deck) to fit into even the new 1,400-foot-long Neopanamax locks, opened in 2016, which are only 180 feet wide.
The Embassy said it was the first visit by a U.S. carrier to Panama in “over 50 years.”
The Canal, which opened in 1914, was first transited by an American carrier in January 1924, when USS Langley transitioned from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Langley in Gaillard Cut, Panama Canal, Nov 16, 1924 185-G-0947 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) photo. NARA Identifier: 100996474; Local Identifier: 185-G-947; Agency-Assigned Identifier: 80-C139; Container ID: Box 5, Volume 10. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/100996474
Throughout the rest of the 1920s and 30s, it was common to see Lexington and Saratoga pass through the Canal, swapping from Atlantic to Pacific war games and exercises.
Palm trees form a picturesque setting for USS Saratoga (CV 3) in Pedro Miquel Locks, Panama Canal, Canal Zone, 21 January 1935.
Then came Ranger, Yorktown, Enterprise, and the gang. Of note, Ranger made the passage at least four times in her career.
USS Ranger, in the Panama Canal, late 1930s.
Some 15 of the 24 completed Essex-class carriers were completed on the East Coast and, when rushed west to the Pacific, did so via the “Ditch” to save time and fuel, with many later making their way back through the Canal post VJ Day for mothballs or continued service.
USS Yorktown (CV-10) transiting the Panama Canal, bound for the Pacific combat zone, circa 11 July 1943. Note Grumman TBF-1 and Douglas SBD-5 aircraft on deck. SBDs carry markings of VB-4. Also note camouflage screens alongside the canal lock. Photographed by Lieutenant Charles Kerlee, USNR. 80-G-K-15334
While CVEs and CVLs were soon disposed of in all but auxiliary service and the new Midway class CVBs (and every American flattop class after) were too big to transit the man-made wonder, the Canal remained on the menu when redeploying the dwindling Essexes for Korea and Vietnam. Valley Forge did so at least five times, with the last being in 1962.
USS Philippine Sea (CV-47) transits Gatun Locks during her transit of the Panama Canal on 31 May 1950. Note crew on deck, and ship utility unit North American SNJ-type aircraft. 80-G-439853
USS Valley Forge (CVA-45) approaches the Pedro Miguel Lock while transiting the Panama Canal, circa 18 August 1953. Her deckload includes several TBM, F4U, and F2H aircraft and many automobiles. The photograph was released for publication on 16 September 1953. NH 96943
USS Valley Forge (CV-45/LPH-8) passing through the Panama Canal, north to south, en route to San Diego, CA., January 1962
However, it should be noted that some East Coast-based CV9s were sent to Vietnam via the Suez (such as Intrepid in 1967) to both boost American presence in the Med and Middle East, even briefly, and because it was a slightly shorter trip (10,350 from Norfolk to Singapore via Suez, versus 10,900 Norfolk to Singapore via Panama and Pearl). Another outlier, USS Shangri-La, made an epic circumnavigation the long way via Cape Town, going East and Cape Horn going West on her 1970-71 Vietnam deployment.
While I cannot pinpoint the final Canal transit by an American carrier, it can be a safe bet that Lexington, which operated from Pensacola, may have called at Panama sometime between the Cuban Missile Crisis and her decommissioning in 1991.
The “more than 50 years” quote would dial it back to circa 1976 and before. I just wish I could say which flattop that was…
The Bundeswehr has been showcasing modernized Kampfpanzer Leopard 1 A5s, revisiting the home team’s military training grounds.
Ausbildung ukrainischer Soldaten durch deutsche Streitkräfte am Kampfpanzer Leopard 1A5, auf dem Truppenübungsplatz Klietz, am 24.03.2026.
Ausbildung ukrainischer Soldaten durch deutsche Streitkräfte am Kampfpanzer Leopard 1A5, auf dem Truppenübungsplatz Klietz, am 24.03.2026.
Although the Cold War-era type ended production in 1984 and was decommissioned by the Germans in 2003, Ukrainian volunteers and conscripts are being trained on the vintage hull by soldiers of the Europäischen Ausbildungsmission (European Training Mission), or EUMAM UA.
Ausbildung ukrainischer Soldaten durch deutsche Streitkräfte am Kampfpanzer Leopard 1A5, auf dem Truppenübungsplatz Klietz, am 24.03.2026.
Ausbildung ukrainischer Soldaten durch deutsche Streitkräfte am Kampfpanzer Leopard 1A5, auf dem Truppenübungsplatz Klietz, am 24.03.2026.
Ausbildung ukrainischer Soldaten durch deutsche Streitkräfte am Kampfpanzer Leopard 1A5, auf dem Truppenübungsplatz Klietz, am 24.03.2026.
If the tanks look great, keep in mind that they had been well-maintained by their previous owners as investments, and when retired, were transferred to Rheinmetall and FFG to keep in controlled storage for potential future resale.
Instead of heading to Third World users, upwards of 200 such vehicles have been pledged to the Ukrainians from Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Ukraine has received around 100 upgraded Leopard 1 A5 DK tanks from Denmark alone, which have been retrofitted with composite armor, laser rangefinders, thermal imaging optics, better commo, and modern night vision devices.
That, combined with the Leo’s stabilized 105mm L7A3 L/52 gun and well-trained crews, can make the old cat a bruiser against just about any Russian tank or armored vehicle encountered.
Despite the heavy drone-vs-drone nature of the fight in Ukraine, there is still plenty of room for armored forces.
With that being said, I would be remiss if I didn’t also note that work is simultaneously being done by John Cockerill Defence in Belgium to make remotely operated Leo 1s for Ukraine as well…
German Cold War-era Leopard 1 tank equipped with a modern Belgian remote-control turret, shown with a Ukrainian flag. This image is of a test vehicle modified by the Belgian turret specialist company John Cockerill Defence. (Image published by the Telegram channel BPMD, the official channel of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, on March 16)
The late, great, Japanese martial artist/actor/director Shin’ichi “Sonny” Chiba is best known to younger audiences as Hattori Hanzō from Kill Bill, but to an older generation, he was remembered for his 1970s Street Fighter films.
One forgotten gem, 1979’s G.I. Samurai (aka Time Slip and Sengoku Self Defense Force) has just gotten a re-release via 4K Blu-ray restoration.
If you are a fan of 1980’s The Final Countdown, which sees USS Nimitz go back to Pearl Harbor on December 6, 1941, you will “get” the premise of G.I. Samurai, which sees a group of Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers time-warped back to 16th century Sengoku period Japan– with their weapons to include lots of M-3 Grease guns, Howa Type 64 battle rifles, a mocked up “Type 61” tank, and a Sea King that isn’t.
I say “mocked up” because the Japanese military disavowed the film and provided no support, leaving Toho to make their own tank– which doesn’t look half bad– turn to its armory of small arms left over from assorted Godzilla films, including some actual M-3s and Type 64s, and lease a helicopter that was sort of military.
The company’s first amphibious helicopter, the S-62, entered service in 1958, beating the larger, more prolific, and much more familiar S-61 (which became the Sea King) by three years.
Sikorsky S-62 prototype CN 62-001, dom 1958, civil registration N880
Sikorsky S-62A prototype getting its water landing on…
Some 99 were delivered to the USCG, which flew the type as the HH-52A Seaguard (as 1352-1379, 1382-1413, 1415-1429, 1439-1450, and 1455-1466) until replaced by the decidedly non-amphibious HH-65 Dolphin (SA-365).
HH-52A 1357 Lake Ponchartrain September 23, 1964 NNAM No. 1993.501.073.231
All told, just 175 S-62s were constructed on both sides of the pond.
Some 25 Mitsubishi-built Sikorsky-licensed S-62Js were made for Japanese service, where they were nicknamed Raicho (Ptarmigan).
This included nine that served with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), another nine that served with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s 51 Kokutai out of Atsugi Kaigun-hikōjō, and assorted SAR dets around the country from 1965 into the mid-1980s when replaced by UH-60s.
S-62J 8922
S-62J 8928
The Japanese Maritime Safety Agency (MSA), a coast guard unit, flew another eight U.S.-built S-62As, while at least eight other S-62A 10-seater commercial models flew with Japanese domestic airlines in the 1960s and 70s.
The GI Samurai S-62 looks like a commercial model mocked up in olive camo with “Ground Defense Force” written on the side, although the Japanese army never used the type. It also carries a five-digit civil number. Seen in one of the above images, her 005 tail number could be that of JA9005, an aircraft that flew with the Nakanihon Air Service, a general aviation company that is still around.
Note what looks like curtains visible in the window.
Other international users of the S-62 included the Philippine Air Force, the Royal Thai Police, the Indian Air Force, and the Icelandic Coast Guard.
The U.S. Navy’s Air-to-Surface Guided Missile Petrel is shown suspended from the wings of a P2V Neptune aircraft. Petrel was designed primarily for use against enemy ships at sea and can be launched by patrol aircraft well outside the range of the target’s air defense. The missile attacks at high speed and with devastating effect. Petrel is one of the more complex missiles, electronically and dynamically, since it has an intricate “electronic brain,” which enables it to “think” its evasive way to the target.
Photo 330-PS-7783 (USN 687384)
The Fairchild AUM-N-2 Petrel, also known as Kingfisher C and AUM-2, entered service in 1956 and was only in arsenal for three years before being withdrawn and repurposed, sans warhead, as a target drone.
A hefty boy, at some 3,800 pounds, Petrel ran 24 feet long and had a 13-foot wingspan when deployed. Powered by a Fairchild J44-R-24 turbojet, the warhead was a Mk 41 homing torpedo for use against surface targets, and the missile had a 20~nm range.
Literally a torpedo with a rocket and wings…
Seen with a Naval Aviation Ordnance Test Station (NAOTS) Chincoteague Neptune in the above images, Petrel was only operational with VP-834, a USNR unit out of Floyd Bennett Field.
At least one engine was floating around on Facebook Marketplace in Wisconsin a while ago for $3,500.
Living in the area code 228 green/dark space triangle between a series of Army (Fort Rucker), Navy (Pensacola, Meridian and Whiting Field NAS, plus Belle Chase NAS JRB), USAF (Keesler, Columbus and Eglin AFB), ANG (Gulfport), and AANG (Camp Shelby) training bases, it gets loud around here fairly often and there are school birds (T-38s, T-45s, TH-73s, T-6As, etc.) in the air up and down the beach and overhead almost every (mostly) sunny day.
I grew up with T-28s, T-34s, TH-57s, T-37s, and the lumbering old T-2 Buckeye, all common sights.
Take these Cold War classic warbirds into account, posed in front of ANG Gulfport’s circa-1942 USAAF “meatball” hangar during Sentry South 26 just a few weeks ago.
Six U.S. Air Force T-38 Talon aircraft assigned to the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus Air Force Base are parked on the flightline during exercise Sentry South 26-2, Gulfport, Mississippi, Feb. 25, 2026. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Dylan McCrink,102d Public Affairs Detachment )
Of interest, the aircraft closest to the camera, with Columbus’s CB tail flash and camo scheme, is SN 66-4358, an airframe that is 60 years young this year! Constructed as a Northrop T-38A-65-NO, #358 was converted to T-38C standard at Boeing, Williams Gateway AP, Arizona in 2003, and is still trucking.
Speaking of which, despite the slow (but somewhat steady) rollout of the T-7 Redtail, which is supposed to replace the USAF’s 437 enduring T-38Cs, this is in yesterday’s DOD/DOW Contracts:
The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded a ceiling $900,000,000 program indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for T-38 Avionics sustainment and support. This contract provides for total life cycle support for the T-38C Avionics System, ensuring the system remains current, airworthy, and capable of meeting mission requirements. Work will be performed at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi; Laughlin AFB, Texas; Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Air Force Base, Texas; Sheppard AFB, Texas; Vance AFB, Oklahoma; Holloman AFB, New Mexico; Edwards AFB, California; Patuxent River, Maryland; and St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2036. This contract was a competitive acquisition and one offer was received. Fiscal 2026 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $56,199,728 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Legacy Training Aircraft Division, Hill AFB, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8220-26-D-B002). (Awarded March 31, 2026).
Some 75 years ago this week, IC-92646, an M8 Greyhound armored car of “Groupement Sizaire”, fords a river near Mao Khe in French Indochina, sometime between 31 March and 5 April 1951. Note on the front of the hull the anchor insignia of the French army’s colonial troops, a badge that earned such men the nickname “Marsouins” or porpoises.
ECPAD Réf. : TONK 51-37D R7
Colonel Robert Sizaire’s scratch Mobile Group (groupe de mobile, or GM) was formed in late January 1951 and was a two-battalion experimental blend of light infantry and light armor, with the former carried via halftracks and the latter built around 18-ton M-24 Chaffee (the French used 1,250 of the little “Cadillac tanks” in the 1950s-60s) and Greyhounds.
Crossing a bamboo bridge by the first elements of the “Sizaire” group armed with M24/29 FM LMG and MAS 36 rifles. Note the “Chapeau de Brousse” bush hats.
The M-24 Chaffee “Angouleme” of Group Sizaire, with riders from the 6th BPC (paras) and local Thai partisans (beret) differentiated from the bush-hatted tankers and grenadiers.
This could almost pass for Italy in 1944. However, it is the square at Sept Pagodes (now Phả Lại part of Hải Dương Province, in Vietnam’s Red River Delta) where the members of the “Sizaire” group are gathered, circa March 1951. Note six M-24 Chaffees, at least 13 M3 Half-Tracks, two Jeeps, and a GMC CCKW “Deuce-and-a-Half” 2.5-ton 6×6 truck
The Sizaire Group, combined with the 6th BPC (6th Colonial Parachute Battalion), platoon of the RICM (Colonial Infantry Regiment of Morocco), a company of African riflemen (from 30e Bataillon de marche de tirailleurs sénégalais), and Lt Nghiem Xuan Toan’s Tho partisan company, successfully defended the isolated Mao Khe and Ben Tam outposts on Provincial Route 18 (PR 18), between Bac Ninh and Hong Hai against a determined attack by the Viet Minh TD (Trung Doan) 36 and 209 regiments in between 29 March and 5 April– later reinforced by elements of three divisions– with the tanks being crucial in the counter-attack that broke the back of Giap’s guys.
Advance of M24 Chaffee tanks from the “Sizaire Group” towards Mao Khe across the Tonkin landscape. In the foreground, the M24 Chaffee “Metz” tank, bearing the number 5 on its turret.
Mao Khe with a knocked-out Sizaire Group Greyhound after the fighting.
The fighters of Dong Trieu (these are the first elements of the “Sizaire” group), the day after a night of fighting. In the background, a damaged watchtower. Note the bush hats, MAT-49s, and M1 Carbines.
While successful, the poor road network made even light armor problematic in Indochina– a boogeyman of later suffered by American/ARVN M-48s and M-113s– and Sizaire’s unit was soon broken apart and sent its separate way.
The M24 Chaffee “Angoulême” tank (registration number IC-93003) fell into the water when the scrap metal bridge collapsed.
The column of M24 Chaffee tanks, under the command of Colonel Sizaire, is stopped in April 1951. In the foreground, an M24 Chaffee tank is stuck in the mud, seen from above; it bears the number 6 on the turret; in the background, the M24 Chaffee tank registered IC-93016 and bearing the number 12 on the turret.
Who was Sizaire?
Colonel Sizaire at the wheel of a jeep, March 1951. His passenger is General de Lattre de Tassigny, at the time the French commander in Indochina. Note that Sizaire’s cap has the colonial troops’ anchor.
Born in 1904 in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Sizaire’s father, Emile Vital Pascal Sizaire, was a literature professor in his 40s who left his position at the university to meet his death as a field officer at Verdun in 1916. Does it get any more old republic?
Our younger Sizaire went on to make the military his career. Enlisting as a volunteer in 1922, he fought against the Rif in Morocco, within a unit of Senegalese riflemen (23e RIC). Passing through Saint-Maixent in 1926, he served in a variety of positions in the colonial forces, taking his bride, Lucienne, while stationed in Bamako (French Sudan) in 1931, before assignments in Algeria (1932) and Indochina (1935).
A junior officer during the Battle for France, leading a company of the 12th RTS (12e Regiment de Tirailleurs Senegalais), he was redeployed to Dakar and finally to Morocco under Vichy orders. Post Torch in November 1942, he cast his lot with De Gaulle and, as a battalion commander (Chef de Battalion) with colonials of the 4th RTS participated in the liberation of Corsica (Operation Vesuvius) in September 1943, the capture of the Italian island Elba in June 1944 (Operation Brassard)– his battalion capturing Monte Tambonne and the German batteries at Aquabonna– and the August 1944 Dragoon Landings which led to the liberation of Toulon and Southern France that August, picking up an American DSC in the process. After the Battle of Colmar in 1945, he finished WWII as the second in command of the 21e RIC (the old 4th RTS), standing on German soil.
It was as a colonel commanding the 21e RIC that he arrived in Indochina in April 1946, joining the fight against the Viet Minh. Once the 21e RIC was sent back “home” to Africa, Sizaire remained in-country as colonel of the newly arrived 3e RIC. Sent back to France in 1949, he flew back to Indochina to join his “Marsouins” in late January 1951, setting up his Groupement Sizaire as detailed above.
He went on to become the French commander in Laos (commandant les Forces du Laos) until January 1953.
Then came a brigadier’s star and command in Brazzaville for the next four years, where he helped stand up the army of the newly independent Congo. After serving as the commandant of the NATO Defense College in 1959, Lt. Gen. (Général de corps d’armée des troupes coloniales) Sizaire was moved to the retired list in 1964 after helping create and equip the Cameroonian Army. He held numerous decorations, including two Croix de Guerre, and was a Grand Officier of the Légion d’Honneur
He then spent a decade as mayor of Cayeux-sur-Mer. He passed in Picardy on a Saturday in the summer of 1975, aged 71, leaving behind three children and a host of grandchildren.
After the outbreak of the Korean War on 25 June 1950, 22 countries responded by sending contingents to preserve South Korea. This included the 16 that sent combat elements (including such diverse nations as Ethiopia, New Zealand, and Thailand) while six 6 other nations provided medical or non-combat support.
This included the Danes, who sent a 356-bed hospital ship, the converted East Asiatic Company’s cargo liner MS Jutlandia, which made a difference in the lives of thousands of wounded GIs, Marines, and allied troops and non-combatants.
Jutlandia as hospital ship, Pusan, March 1951, UN7668195
Completed by Nakskov as a 69-passenger 461-foot, 13,164-ton vessel in 1934, Jutlandia was a WWII survivor that arrived in Pusan some 75 years ago this month just as an American-led offensive (Operation Ripper) was underway to retake Seoul, with the South Korean capital changing hands for the fourth and final time during the war.
Commanded by the 56-year-old Danish Red Cross president, Kai Hammerich— who was a reserve Danish Naval captain that served on a TB in the Great War and as head of the country’s exiled Naval Transport services and chairman of the Ships Selection board during WWII– she had a EAC-provided (government-paid) crew of 105 volunteers and carried a medical staff of 93 people (15 doctors, 40 nurses, 20 orderlies plus administrative staff) the latter drawn from across Denmark from more than 2,000 applicants.
Jutlandia’s greatcoat-clad medical staff, March 1951 UN7668192
Jutlandia UN7668097
Professor E. A. V. Busch, center, eminent Danish neurosurgeon; his assistant, Dr. Kjeld Vaernet, left, and ship’s chief mechanical engineer, Mr. Ole Jacobsen, inspecting one of the operating tables. UN7668098
Reserve Capt. Hammerich was a career officer who joined the Royal Danish Navy as a 17-year-old cadet in 1911 and, after WWI service, was severely wounded in 1923 when a smoke screen generator exploded on board the cruiser Gejser. He was under medical treatment in both Denmark and England for several years thereafter, transferred to the country’s lighthouse service in 1933, and helped lead the Naval Transport Service during WWII. One of his sons, Kai Ole Hammerich, was killed during the war at age 19, shot by the Germans as part of the Danish Resistance.
William de Roose, alternate Netherlands delegate on UNCURK, welcomes Commodore Hammerich in a dockside greeting. March 1951 UN7668228
Commodore Kai Hammerich, commander of the Danish ship (right), discusses his work with ROKN CNO Rear Adm. Sohn Won-yil
Due to her extensive surgical facilities and highly experienced specialists, many of the worst head and spine injuries were routed to Jutlandia during her three tours in Korea.
In the general surgery operating room, Doctor Rasmus Movin operates while chief physician Hans Tønnesen looks on. On the right, operating room nurse Augusta Ubbe is ready with instruments (from Anders Georg: Under tre Flag )
Jutlandia returned to Copenhagen after her second Korean tour on 8 June 1952, after an absence of 503 days, during which 2,918 patients of 20 nationalities were treated by her medical personnel, and 406 wounded were transported back to Europe. Refit to include a tiny (45x45ft vs the 60×60 seen on U.S. ships) helicopter deck for American Bell 47/H-13 Sioux “MASH” choppers, she arrived back in Pusan on 20 November 1952, even treating captured wounded POWs.
1 September 1952, with an H-13 inbound in tests of her new helipad UN7659261
Serving for 999 days during the Korean War, Jutlandia arrived home for good on 16 October 1953, having cared for 4,981 wounded soldiers from 24 different nations, as well as over 6,000 Korean civilians. A crowd of 20,000 rightfully proud Danes welcomed her back to Langelinie.
Post-Korea, the good Capt. Hammerich became the chairman of the board for Landforeningen for Ordblindesagen i Danmark (The National Association for Dyslexic Cause in Denmark), as well as taking on other humanitarian efforts, while going on to pen several books. He died in 1963, in Copenhagen, at the age of 68, survived by his five remaining children.
UN7667766
As for Jutlandia, she returned to transatlantic service as a combined passenger ship and freighter, served briefly as a royal yacht, and was sold in 1964 to a Spanish ship breaker, wrapping a 30-year career.
When it comes to Danish troops in Korea, Denmark has sent officers to work in the UNC Military Armistice Commission-Secretariat since April 2009 and in the UNC HQ since February 2019, and continues to contribute personnel in support of the UNC mission there.
