Typhoon, the Other Enemy: The Third Fleet and the Pacific Storm of December 1944

Our family album has a story in it written in the local paper of Mason City, Iowa. It told of my Dad receiving a commendation for help saving his ship, the Cape Esperance(CVE-88)during this typhoon. It was a very brief story and really had no details of the storm. This book really gives a great in-depth telling of all that happened up to, during and after the storm.Although my Dad was on another ship and of a different type , it was still very indicative of what he and his fellow shipmates went through in this storm on their ship. I immediately sent it to him after I had read it as I thought Dad would enjoy a different perspective of the storm from someone who had also experienced it. And, I was correct! As my wife didn't get to read it we ordered another copy for ourselves. It will be worth reading again.As an side note;I am a recently retired pipefitter from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, the very place the authors ship was refitted. So,it has even more significance.

the author lived through the storm and his first person account kept me on the edge of my seat. I feel that I was on board the pitching ship with him. Excellent from the first page til the last.

This book is facinating for many reasons: a great read for people involved in making rapid responses to changing situations; It's also a study in the workings of structured staff organizations; and then, it's a wonderful piece of first person reporting of incredible circumstances. The author describes his discomfort with his ship's handling after the new anti-aircraft guns were put on. He took the time to report it up the chain of command. In this part, he discusses many issues of ship stability and engineering, as well as the response he got from BUSHIPS. The time leading up to the storm disccses the observations of many of the "small boy" captains, and how they used time honored methods, to determine the location of the typhoon, but thought Halsey's "professional weather guessers" certainly knew something they didn't. This part is a study in the workings of large staffs and how those within them react/don't react. The personal story of hanging on a stanchion, facing the Commodore, while his ship rolled almost 90 degrees, and the discussion of what water gets into, that you thought was designed to be safe from intrusion, is riveting. The aftermath of the sinkings and the thorough discussion of the court of inquiry, with excerpts from the suvivors of the sunken ships, is another entire section well written. Highly recommended for the professional sailor, marine architects, staff officers, and those who wonder what it is like to be at sea, at night in a large storm.

This is a personal narrative of a destroyer commander who was caught in the Dec.1944 typhoon in the pacific. This typhoon swamped three destroyers: The Hull, The Spence and the Monahan. His destroyer almost turned turtle also.About 700men were lost from the three ships that sunk.