USS Montgomery (DD-121)-- Part 2: WW I and Interwar Years

After her shakedown cruise, the Montgomery left Hampton Roads August 25, 1918, for her first anti-submarine cruise in World War I and then alternated these and escort duty to the end o the year,  Then she took part in training and fleet maneuvers from Maine to Cuba, when she departed for duty on the West Coast.

She arrived in San Diego and  joined Destroyer Squadron 4, Pacific Fleet.  For the next three and a half years the Montgomery took part in fleet operations from Alaska to Panama.  Then she went to San Diego, was deactivated and decommissioned on 6 June 1922.

Re-designated DM-17 on 5 January 1931, the Montgomery was converted to a light minelayer and recommissioned  20 August 1931.  She then sailed to Pearl Harbor where she was based until 14 June 1937, when he went to San Diego and was decommissioned again 7 December 1937 and put in reserve.

--GreGen

Surrender of Four U-boats in May 1945-- Part 2: Arrival of the U-805

"The only thing that really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril,"  wrote British  Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Eventually the U-boat menace off the coast of the United States subsided as the submarines were called back to patrol the waters off England and the sea routes to the Soviet Union.  Also, greatly improved anti-submarine tactics were developed.

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The 245-foot U-805 was the first to arrive.  She had surrendered in the North Atlantic and was towed to Portsmouth Harbor.  Green dye marked the spot for the rendezvous  with a tugboat carrying Navy officials and  news reporters.

Three "surly, expressionless" German officers appeared on board.  They officially surrendered at 4:25 p.m. at the mouth of the harbor.  One caption to a newspaper article read:  "Its fangs yanked out, this prize U-boat  will prey no more upon Allied  shipping in the Atlantic."

A bus took the Germans to Portsmouth Naval Prison, commonly known as "The Castle," where they were interrogated by Office of Naval intelligence officers.  They wanted technical details about jet aircraft, ballistic missiles, guided bombs and nuclear weapon technology.

Those Germans Had Sime Mighty Advanced Technology.  --GreGen

Chicago's U-505-- Part 2: 75th Anniversary of Its Capture This Year

It was captured off the coast of what was French Morocco  in 1944 by Task Force 22.3, a U.S. Navy anti-submarine group commanded by Chicago native Daniel Gallery on June 4, 1944, two days before D-Day.  This past June marked the 75th anniversary of its capture.

This capture was kept top secret during the war.

The U.S. government donated the U-505 to the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) in 1954 and it was displayed outside the museum for 5 years.  Chicago weather and the elements caused much deterioration to the ship and in 2005 it was moved to a specially designed indoor facility.  It is one of only four German U-boats still existing worldwide.  All of them are museum ships and not operational any more.

June 4th was the 75th anniversary of its capture and a commemoration ceremony was held at the ship that included a proclamation by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

--GreGen

Palmyra Atoll/Island-- Part 2: Handy Spot to Refuel

From Abandoned and Little-Known Airfields Western Pacific Islands: Palmyra Atoll/Island.

**  Two Army B-17s briefly flew in from Hawaii shortly after Pearl Harbor was attacked and landed for anti-submarine patrol.

**  The 5000-foot runway on Cooper Island was completed on January 1, 1942.   Another 3,700-foot runway was built on adjoining Menge Island.

**  The earliest-known aircraft accident there was June 16, 1942.  An Army Douglas C-53 was damaged beyond repair.

**  Eighteen P-39s arrived 10/24/42 and departed  11/2.

**Long range AAF B-24s  also made frequent stops.

**  Contract civilian pilots from Pan American Airways, Consolidated Aircraft and United Airlines flying cargo and personnel to South Pacific areas,  also refueled at Palmyra.

--GreGen

Battled Subs From a Blimp-- Part 2: Low and Slow

Richard Wrigley spent three months learning about blimps.  He was assigned to Fleet Airship Wing 2, ZP-21 based out of Richmond Lighter Than Air Station, 20 miles south of Miami, Florida, where he spent most of his time patrolling off the coast of Florida and in the Caribbean Sea.

German U-boats had to surface for eight hours to recharge their batteries which they did mostly at night while on patrol.

German submarines were well-armed with anti-aircraft guns by 1943 and would even fight B-24s.

Only one blimp was shot down by the Germans during the war.

Blimps had a crew of eight and flew, as they said, low and slow, usually just 750 feet above the water.

--GreGen

Battled Subs From a Blimp-- Part 1: Joined Navy Because Friends Did

From the July 27, 2013, My Desert "World War II veteran battled subs from his blimp."

Richard "Dick" Wrigley was flight engineer aboard a Navy blimp on anti-submarine patrol.  He enlisted in 1942 because all of his buddies also joined the Navy.

The training camp in San Diego was full, so he was sent to Farragut, Idaho, where he had to battle temperatures of 40 degrees below zero.

In January 1943, he was sent to Memphis Naval Air Station in Tennessee where he became an aviation machinists' mate and went into the Blimp Service.

There were ten main blimp bases, five along the Atlantic coast, three along the Pacific coast and two in the Gulf of Mexico.

Wrigley was sent to Naval Air Station Lakehurst in New Jersey, site of the famous 1937 Hundenburg disaster.  Six years later, the spot where the Hindenburg had caught fire and crashed was still visible and the ground charred black.

--GreGen

Destroyer Squadron Nine

From the USS DeHaven Sailors Association.

In keeping with the USS Somers and the Neutrality Patrol operations in the mid-Atlantic.

The squadron was formed in 1920 and homeported in Charleston, SC, and consisted of 18 World War I "Four Pipers" (four funnels). In July 1921, the unit moved to Newport, Rhode Island, until May 1930 when it was broken up.

It was regrouped in 1937 as war approached, only this time based in the Pacific Ocean until November 1942 when it was homeported in Recife, Brazil. It's mission was submarine hunting, patrol and escort duty with occasional flurries of action against U-boats.

They continued operations until August of 1944 when it was dissolved. Shortly after World War II ended, it was reestablished, this time based out of San Diego.

---GreGen