Clear the Bridge

O'Kane's the real deal, sailor, warrior, leader, survivor and writer. This is his story and that of the USS Tang, one of the most successful submarines operating in the Pacific. O'Kane was one of a new breed of submarine skippers who traded caution for results with great success but at huge risks. One of the most effective tactics was to take the surfaced submarine into the middle of Japanese convoys at night, attacking multiple ships and then escaping to the depths. The action is heartstopping and explains why the Navy pulled some of the more conservative older skippers out of their boats and replaced them with men like this. But the story is much more than simply tactics and bravery above all expectations, it is a story about true leadership. Young MBA's would do better asking themselves what characteristics of leadership did O'Kane and his officers utilize to achieve so much with so very little in tangible rewards to offer their crews. There were few rewards for the truly outstanding sub crews, congratuations, a sense of team and the dubious honor of being sent back out on patrol as soon as possible. The description of various engagements may seem a little dry and technical to someone who has not been out on the sea on a dark night trying to make sense of faint shadows and movement. For fans of surface warfare who think subs are like hunting with poison gas the descriptions of night surface attacks in the middle of escorted convoys will fully dispell that image. The book is a great reminder of the incredible courage of those who have gone to sea to defend our country for more than 220 and those who continue to do so today.

O'Kane's the real deal, sailor, warrior, leader, survivor and writer. This is his story and that of the USS Tang, one of the most successful submarines operating in the Pacific. O'Kane was one of a new breed of submarine skippers who traded caution for results with great success, but at huge risks. One of the most effective tactics was to take the surfaced submarine into the middle of Japanese convoys at night, attacking multiple ships and then escaping to the depths. The action is heart stopping and explains why the Navy pulled some of the more conservative older skippers out of their boats and replaced them with men like this. But the story is much more than simply tactics and bravery above all expectations, it is a story about true leadership. Young MBA's would do better asking themselves what characteristics of leadership did O'Kane and his officers utilize to achieve so much with so very little in tangible rewards to offer their crews? There were few rewards for the truly outstanding sub crews, congratulations, awards, a sense of team and the dubious honor of being sent back out on patrol as soon as possible. One of the secrets was that O'Kane and other sub commanders under the leadership of senior officers at Pearl Harbor were given huge patrol areas and largely left to their own devices to take advantage of what they found. To prevent detection the subs seldom transmitted messages on the high power needed to reach thousands of miles across the ocean, the subs received intelligence information from headquarters, but no tactical instructions. On occasion they had schedules to keep, often lifeguard duty just offshore of enemy facilities which were being attacked from the air. Many young pilots, including George Bush Sr were plucked from waters off the Japanese held islands. The book is also a reminder of a can-do nation at work. Battered and worn out subs returning from patrol were overhauled, updated and ready to depart on the next patrol in only a few weeks. The description of various engagements may seem a little dry and technical to someone who has not been out on the sea on a dark night trying to make sense of faint shadows and movement. For fans of surface warfare who think subs are like hunting with poison gas, the descriptions of night surface attacks in the middle of escorted convoys will fully dispel that image. The book is a great reminder of the incredible courage of those who have gone to sea to defend our country for more than 220 years and those who continue to do so today.

I've read "Clear the Bridge" an estimated seventeen times. I first began reading it soon after its initial paperback printing about 1980. This is the book by which I judge all other books on WWII American submarine warfare. It is difficult to put down. One thing it contains, which I find lacking in many other fine submarine books, is the detail. Each attack is described thoroughly, so the reader can understand the circumstances and tactics being used. There is no hyperbole, yet this is one of the most exciting accounts you will ever read on the topic. Tang experienced firsthand to the nth degree the torpedo failures that plagued the silent service during the entire war, and you will read about it here. I generally consider O'Kane to be the top submarine commander of the war, but there were many fine ones, and it's a little bit like comparing apples with rocks. He seemed to have a sixth sense in rooting out enemy shipping. He trained his crew well and respected them. Yet despite the Tang's success, O'Kane does not come across as being overly risky. Each attack was carried out with the overall safety of his "ship" in the back of his mind. (He never calls the Tang a "boat".) The dedication of O'Kane and his crew to their war effort is awe inspiring. One in six submariners died in the war, yet submariners like Tang's continued to put their lives on the line patrol after patrol. I highly recommend this book not only to readers of WWII submarine warfare, but to anybody who likes to read period.

"Clear the Bridge" is an outstanding look at WWII submarine warfare conducted by one of the greatest of combat crews. RADM Dick O'Kane constructs a scintillating look at combat thru the eyes of a veteran Navy skipper. The obvious love for Tang and her many fine sailors shines through, as well as the respect of and devotion to his former skipper on Wahoo, "Mush" Morton, and that fine boat. This book is a great read, and is a worthwhile addition to any library.

By the time of Tang's launch in 1944 most of the early war torpedo problems had been solved and better radar and tactics were in place. Submarine technology was state of the art. Bright, agressive officers like Dick O'Kane were the ramaining element to gain ultimate seccess. "Clear The Bridge" privides a well written and consise chronology of the operations of Tang. O'Kane personalizes Tang's history by including some of the stories of the men who served on her. We first met O'Kane in the pages of "Wahoo" commanded by "Mush Morton". O'Kane credits much of his success to the training he received serving under Morton as Executive Officer. The book is a microcosm of the great conflict that was WW II. The Allies won the conflict through the courage and agressiveness of men like O'Kane and her crew.