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 Re: Need Help-Definition of Stats
Author: Webmaster 
Date:   08-28-05 01:33

Hensel was graduated from Annapolis with the Class of 1923. During the War Hensel commanded SubDiv 101 and SubRon 30. When he made his patrol in Swordfish he was already a captain (usually World War II submarine COs were lieutenant commanders or commanders), and went to Swordfish from SubDiv 101. There was evidently some reluctance to give him the command, as he was both too senior and, at 42, much older than most operational commanders at that stage of the war. One of his officers was also apprehensive, remembering Hensel as a particularly tough training officer, thinking that he might be hard to get along with because of a desire to "prove" himself.

In fact, he very nearly did lose the boat, though that was the result of a mechanical failure, resulting in complete loss of electrical power as the boat submerged. Ballast tanks were hurriedly blown, he got the boat back to the surface, and the problem was fixed and the patrol continued, and quite successfully, too.

During that patrol Swordfish was credited with sinking three Japanese ships, the Yamakuni Maru, a 6,921 ton freighter; the Delhi Maru, a 2,182 ton Q-ship (disguised anti-submarine vessel); and the Kasagi Maru, a 3,140 ton converted salvage vessel. He was also credited with damage to a fourth ship, estimated at 7,500 tons. He got his medal, a Navy Cross, for that patrol (which would have qualified him for the tombstone promotion to rear admiral on retirement).

This is from Clay Blair's Silent Victory, which has a little more on him, but not much. I also ran across a reference to him on a Navy website, citing the location of his papers from the period he was assigned to the Navy's Undersea Warfare Division.

http://www.history.navy.mil/ar/charlie/cno-undersea.htm

J.T. McDaniel
Webmaster, FleetSubmarine.com
Author of: With Honour in Battle and Bacalao
General Editor: American Submarine War Patrol Reports series
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 Topics Author  Date
 Need Help-Definition of Stats  new
Alison 08-26-05 23:19 
 Re: Need Help-Definition of Stats  new
Alison 08-27-05 04:15 
 Re: Need Help-Definition of Stats  new
Webmaster 08-27-05 04:42 
 Re: Need Help-Definition of Stats  new
Webmaster 08-27-05 04:20 
 Re: Need Help-Definition of Stats  new
Alison 08-27-05 20:03 
 Re: Need Help-Definition of Stats  new
Webmaster 08-28-05 01:33 
 Re: Need Help-Definition of Stats  new
Dan Odenweller 08-28-05 15:25 
 Re: Need Help-Definition of Stats  new
Alison 08-29-05 23:26 
 Re: Need Help-Definition of Stats  new
Alison 08-29-05 23:26 
 Re: Need Help-Definition of Stats  new
Alison 08-29-05 23:26 
 Re: Need Help-Definition of Stats  new
Alison 08-29-05 23:28 
 Re: Need Help-Definition of Stats  new
Webmaster 08-30-05 01:36 


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