Mission to Britain

by J Eugene Porter

  Willson thought that with any luck, the team would leave Gander the next morning and arrive in Washington late that night. King was pleased to know his boy wonder would soon be back in town because he had a new assignment that matched his skills and abilities.

  22

  12 April 1942

  Captain Jameson’s House

  Bethesda, Maryland

  • General Arnold, Chief of Army Air Forces, sends General Marshall, attending Bolero Conference in London, air plan for Bolero, calling for the establishment of Eighth Air Force in England.

  • Philippines--Japanese employing guns on Bataan and Cavite, intensify artillery bombardment of Corregidor. Enemy aircraft continue to pound the island.

  • United States naval vessel sunk: PT-35 by scuttling in the Philippines.

  The team had been surprised by the direct flight to Washington, but no one, including the flight crew, complained. Getting to the nation’s capital and spending the night there as opposed to sitting in some hut in the backwoods of Maine was quite a great change for the cockpit crew. They joked with Captain Jameson about having to do extra maintenance in Washington for at least three or four days before they flew back to their starting point for the Atlantic crossing.

  Jameson knew the pilots were some of the best and most experienced in the country and having a few extra days off would be good for them, and they truly deserved the time off. The flight from Iceland to Gander had been rough. They had to fly around the Gander area for an extra hour waiting for the fog to lift enough to bring the big plane in for a safe landing. If the fog had not lifted, they would probably still be sitting in Thule, Greenland, looking very cold and hungry, wondering when they would get out of the icebox.

  Once the plane took off from Gander with a new end destination, Jameson conferred with Flannigan and James to discuss their next few work days. Jameson knew only Admiral King had the kind of pull to divert a plane, so something was up, or he was very interested in hearing about some aspect of their trip. He and the other two men could not come up with any obvious reason, but all decided to take the remaining hours of the flight to review their notes and reports they were planning to submit. Topics ranged from issues surrounding combined operations, amphibious warfare, air/sea coordination, radar systems, flight operations, building bases and support capabilities, and of course, anti-submarine warfare. Other subjects that needed attention included long-range aircraft, expanded conversion of merchant ships to escort carriers, speeding up the destroyer escort program, commando training, escort commander training, improved depth charges, forward firing spigot guns for escorts, direction finding for aircraft and surface ship camouflage. Finally and most importantly, James wanted to report on the functioning of staffs. All three men had seen the many advances their Allies had made in staff work, and at the same time, they saw room for improvement in the British system.

  Jameson was troubled by the poor quality of staff work evidenced by American commanders and their teams in London. He was trying to figure out how to discuss the good work done by the commanders at Roseneath, and the work Colonel Acker was doing all over the British Islands without being too negative of the senior American commanders in Britain. He was very apprehensive about General Chaney and somewhat uneasy about Admiral Ghormley, but he knew going outside the channels to the army was detrimental to the good of the service, and his career. He needed to consider how to get the message across without unflattering comments about individuals.

  They landed late in the evening, and their transport to the Bethesda house was waiting for them on arrival. When they got to the house, they were met by Dr. Feldman and a commander on Admiral Willison’s staff. The commander took Jameson directly into the house, gave him a briefcase full of papers, and a schedule of events for the next day. After the staff officer left, Captain Jameson called the other officers into his room for a meeting. Dr. Feldman walked in expecting to be thrown out.

  “Doc, you can join in this discussion because you have a good understanding of the sort of things we are working on, and Admiral Willson says you are now an official member of the team. Just remember, some of the things we are involved in may not be to your liking, or you may find unpleasant?”

  Feldman smiled and replied, “Captain, I am in for the war effort plus ninety days, so I guess I might as well understand the bigger picture rather than listening to the rumblings of an old admiral’s bowels.” Every-one gave out a big laugh as most of them visualized a large old man with a brown cloud hanging around him and Doc wearing a gas mask.

  “Doc, thanks. We could use your help in understanding the human dynamic with some of the things we are doing or may be doing in the future. Let me tell you what the commander told me. First, we are to meet with Admiral Willson tomorrow at 1000 hours. He wants a briefing on this list of items which we have communicated to him from London.”

  He passed around a two-page summary. Everyone breathed easier because it was precisely what they had expected as they flew south from Gander. Some of the priorities seemed a bit odd, but perhaps they would learn more during the briefing with the admiral.

  Jameson looked around the room and asked, “Any questions about the list?”

  No one commented, so he continued. “The admiral wants us to give him an assessment of what we saw from a navy perspective. What this means, I think, is what do we think of the navy’s efforts in Britain. This I take, includes facilities, people, leadership, integration with the Royal Navy and other commands. I sense there is concern about the speed of the buildup and how all of this becomes a unified plan.”

  Jameson glanced at the papers from the commander and thought, what plan was that anyway? He had not seen much of a plan while in Britain except the need to ship supplies as fast as you can, and somebody will find a place for it. Again, the leadership issue came up as well as setting priorities for the Allied strategy, as opposed to a parochial interest in the navy or the army or the British. It would take a hell of a leader to manage the conflicting interests.

  “Next thing the admiral wants is for James to work on a special project. I don’t know what this is, but tomorrow we’ll find out. I believe while James is working on this project, Flannigan and I will be working out implementation plans for some of the items we’re presenting. Again, I don’t know which ones will be in the forefront or which ones will be left on the sideline, but tomorrow we’ll know for sure.”

  Jameson turned to Flannigan and said, “Have the gunny split up the men into three groups with Hamlin and Schmidt allocated to the house for now. Each of the three groups will then be delegated to work with one of us on whatever assignment we’re given. The gunny will stay with James along with two men. Have Sergeant McBride work with me, and you take Laird. Any questions?”

  Flannigan replied, “No sir. I’ll ask Gunny to appoint the others to each of the sergeants and tell them to standby. Do you want everybody to go to the office tomorrow?”

  Jameson thumbed through the papers piled in front of him. “No, one sergeant and one corporal driving should be fine. The rest of the men can stand down until we know what we’re doing, and even more importantly, where we’re going. I have a feeling at least one of us will be traveling soon.”

  The doctor jumped into the conversation and made a request. “Captain, if any of these ideas and projects require analysis of that human dynamic thing you mentioned earlier, I would love to be involved.”

  Jameson smiled and looked over at the doctor. “Doctor did anyone ever tell you that you should never volunteer in this man’s navy?”

  Dr. Feldman had missed the officers while they were bouncing around across the ocean. “No, Captain, the Hippocratic Oath demands all physicians become involved in the healing of the sick and taking care of the poor souls he encounters in his career, and if I do say, this group needs some extra care and healing.”

  Everyone laughed as the doctor reached into his medical bag and pulled out a small flask. “As your physician, it’s apparent so
me medicine is required, and I will now provide the proper dosage of this prescription.”

  No one refused the prescription, including young James who received only a quarter of the dose provided to the senior officers, but he was very grateful for the small gift.

  Jameson held the glass and thought about how these three men were not only skilled in their professions but also extremely likable. He thought of them as his younger brothers, except for James who he looked upon as a son.

  Captain Jameson sipped the last drop out of the glass and told the men around the table, “Let’s call it a night. We’ll start a review at 0600. Since I’m unsure of what to expect, let’s prepare for anything the admiral throws at us.”

  If only Jameson knew what Admiral King was planning for their next mission, he would have been very concerned.

  23

  13 April 1942

  Office of the Chief of Naval Operations

  Washington, D.C.

  • Vice Adm. Robert L. Ghormley is designated Commander, South Pacific Area (COMSOPAC) and South Pacific Forces

  The team assembled in a conference room down the hall from Admiral Willson’s office. At exactly 1000 hours Willson walked in with two aides, neither of them familiar to the team officers. As the admiral introduced his newest staff members, Commander John Allen and Lt. Comdr. Robert Beck, the gunny rose from his seat at the door. The admiral said in a strong voice, “Gunny, where do you think you’re going?”

  “Sir, I don’t think I should be in this meeting, sir.” He went back to attention.

  Willson smiled and said, “Gunny, you are a very important part of this team, and your input is important to the chief.”

  He then turned to the two aides. “Gentlemen, Gunnery Sergeant Jones knows more about what goes on in the navy and the Marine Corps than most admirals. If you listen long enough to the senior non-commissioned officers of the navy and the Marine Corps, you might learn something.”

  Both aides nodded and smiled at the gunny. “Sit down, Gunny. I want to hear from you about your experiences in Britain. Not the pubs or the girls, but what you thought about our Allies.”

  Everyone laughed. The gunny sat down, none too happy to be in a meeting with the chief of staff.

  Willson opened the meeting by saying, “Your reports from the field were well received by the staff and Admiral King. We have many questions. I know you prepared an additional analysis that may help us, but for right now, I want to go over our questions concerning your observations and recommendations. I want Commander Beck to begin.”

  The next two hours were punctuated with questions and concerns about the bias of the writer of the report or the amount of data used to analyze the problems covered in the report. Sometimes, the staff did not grasp the mathematics or the science of the conclusion. Both aides were Annapolis men, and Commander Allen had served on the Atlantic escort patrols since late 1940. Both men were recently reassigned to the staff to gain exposure to high-level staff work and to “get their ticket punched.” To progress up the navy’s promotion list, an individual had to have different postings to demonstrate their suitability for higher command.

  Allen had been captain of the USS Shaw, DD-373, a Mahan-class destroyer designed in the mid-’30s. These were some of the first destroyers built since the early 1920s but were smaller than the ones currently under construction at U.S. yards. The ship was very good at escort duty and would prove to be a fine submarine killer during the war.

  Lieutenant Commander Beck was a newly promoted officer whose last duty station was onboard the USS West Virginia, damaged at Pearl Harbor. He wasn’t on the ship when it was attacked but was a patient at the naval hospital recovering from a severe case of influenza. This bothered him to no end, leaving a large chip on his shoulder for not being onboard or seeing action. He had spent the next two months doing administrative duty, primarily obtaining supplies for the navy and civilian divers working to raise sunken or severely damaged battleships like West Virginia.

  He was ordered back stateside in mid-February and spent a fourteen day leave with his family in New York. His father was an influential banker and pulled some strings to get his “hero” son a promotion and prime appointment to Admiral King’s staff. All of this was fine with Beck because he had originally planned to exit the navy in late 1940 and join the family firm after he had served his four years. The navy background would help in government contracts. Besides, he looked good in his uniform which attracted young women. He was smart, but not brilliant, as evidenced by his graduation at the bottom quarter of his class but no one on Wall Street cared about your class rank. They were much more concerned about your connections. And Robert Beck was very well connected.

  Beck asked his last question to Captain Jameson just before they broke for lunch. “Captain, can you clear something up for me? It appears calculations you made for the attack profile of either an escort vessel or an aircraft do not have any correlation to what we are teaching in all our ASW manuals and procedures. Why is that, sir?” Beck thought this was a good way to show Admiral Willson he had studied for the meeting and could show these eggheads the navy way was the right way of doing things.

  The lieutenant commander was way out of his league, but Jameson sensed the young man was well connected and trying to score points, so he answered as coolly as possible. “Commander, we have supplied data which correlates to the current situation. The procedures described in the manuals you reference go all the way back to the last war, and things have changed. Would you agree to that, Commander Allen, based upon what you witnessed on your escort duties in the Atlantic?”

  Commander Allen detested the younger officer who he knew was biding his time to get out of the navy and make more money in a week on Wall Street than he would make in his lifetime serving his country. He hesitated, knowing Admiral Willson didn’t like a lot of controversy on his staff. He wanted to stay in this billet for only six months before going back to a ship command.

  “Captain Jameson, I agree with your comment in general terms, but we are still working on assumptions from the last war. Your analysis shows the Germans are doing things differently than last time and are more professional in their attacks.”

  Jameson thought about the lack of specificity in the answer received from the commander. This told him the commander was a real career man who knew the way to a permanent desk job was to piss off someone by being bold and truthful. He got the idea the young lieutenant commander had influence and was going to be a problem. Just as he was about to say something he noticed James pulling papers from his folder and with a pencil, he began to make a few notations.

  Brand said. “Captain, if I could reply to Commander Beck’s question, perhaps I could put some clarity on the report.”

  Willson looked at the young scientist and spoke, “Go ahead, Lieutenant. What do you have to say about the way we are conducting our anti-submarine efforts?”

  “Admiral let me give you a few facts, then you can tell us which direction we should be heading. Since our war began with Germany on December 11, only one percent of the attacks on sighted German submarines by air or by sea have resulted in a kill. The British results have been ten percent in January, thirteen percent in February and in March the number was up to fifteen percent. This tells me we should change the way we’re doing things and perhaps look at the results instead of the manual.”

  Willson looked seriously at James, and Captain Jameson then turned his focus to Commander Beck. “Anything else to offer, Commander?” He received no reply from the commander who Willson was figuring for a gold brick who only wanted the power but not the work.

  The admiral turned back to the team members and asked, “Lieutenant Brand does that one percent include the submarine you sank?”

  Beck and Allen looked over at the young lieutenant with a new sense of appreciation and in Beck’s case anger at being upstaged. Neither he nor Commander Allen had known about James or his background, so this was big news to them both.
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br />   “Admiral Willson, it includes the U-boat sank in our operation as well as the one sunk off Labrador in early March. These are the only two confirmed U-boats sunk to date as opposed to the one hundred sixty-seven Allied ships sunk off our coasts since early January.”

  Willson looked at the two aides and spoke calmly. “Gentlemen, the information you just heard is top secret, and the work of this team is also top secret. You will continue to challenge the team’s reports. That is one of your primary jobs. There is no one right way to win this war, and Captain Jameson’s team is designed to ferret out information, both scientific and strategic, that can help us defeat the enemy. You are to help them by finding fault in everything they do and say. This way we can be sure we are on the right course. Captain, do you agree with this approach?”

  “Yes, Admiral, I agree wholeheartedly. In the academic field, we call this peer review. No holds barred. If an assumption is faulty, we can fix it or change it to meet the existing situation. None of us take this personally, and I know James has a very thick skin. He loves to be proved wrong.”

  James smiled back in a shy way and spoke up. “Admiral, this is the best way to get the results that Admiral King wants. Feelings are not important when good men are dying. We should always challenge present assumptions. By doing so, we can improve our effectiveness.” James returned to his papers and calculations. Admiral Willson knew James showed no disrespect and continued with the meeting.

  Another thirty minutes went by and Willson decided to call the meeting because of scheduling conflicts. His last comment came suddenly, and everyone listened carefully to his words.

  “Gentlemen, a couple of assignments for you. First, Beck and Allen, scrub these reports and find any anomalies or discrepancies that could bite us in the ass. If you need additional information, get back with Captain Jameson.”

  The admiral looked directly at Captain Jameson stating, “Second, Admiral King requests that your team stay available later this afternoon to meet with him. I don’t know when this will occur so stay close. Get some lunch and report back to my office. Third, I want to express my appreciation to you, Jameson, and your team for a job well done. You exceeded my expectations on your mission to Britain and came back with a treasure-trove of information.”