Membership In the - Council of American Master Mariners

World War II YP boats patrolling Dutch Harbor
by Captain
Jackson Davis
#1644-R
bullets to
penetrate
the pressure hull of enemy submarines,
should they surface. A sonar was
installed down in the bow for harbor
patrol duties. Put a deck over the fish
hatch and add Navy officers’ quarters.
Mount two 20-millimeter guns on
the after deck and two racks of depth
charges on the stern. Our top speed of
eight knots caused us to set the charges
for their maximum depth. No point
in blowing all the caulking out of our
wooden seams. YPs were great training
for new ensigns and handy work boats
for odd jobs.
At Dutch Harbor, we took our turn
patrolling the outer harbor. In addition,
we landed mail and stores to radio direction
teams located on other outlying
islands. We had two dories to land stores
and mail through the surf. No radar in
those years. It was easy going in, but a
real task getting back out against head
winds and seas. The radio crew were not
happy when we got their stores wet when
coming ashore — and we got everything
wet. When the winds were in the wrong
direction, the airplanes could not land
on the hillside airfield. The Army Air
Force had a secret air field located west
of Dutch Harbor on Umnak Island, a flat
island which made a good place for air
field. When the Japanese were attacking
Take a bunch of Purse Seiner boats, add a closed
wheel house on the upper bridge, and mount a fiftycaliber
machine gun on top with armor piercing
Dutch Harbor, they were surprised to be
attacked from the West.
Our occasional mission was to sail
down there and pick up mail near a
sheep ranch. We had to hear comments
about wearing knee high rubber boots.
Another chore was to land stores and
crew replacements for the Scotch Pass
light house located at the south entrance
of Unimak Pass. One time when starting
to head back to Dutch Harbor, a SE gale
came up. I crawled out on deck with a
hand held anemometer. It registered 120
knots when one of the cups blew off.
Unimak Pass has a natural narrow ventral
tube. We put stern to the wind and
headed out into the Bering sea.
A harbor east of Dutch Harbor was
formerly used as a whaling station. The
native population was removed for their
war-time safety. Fuel oil tanks where put
there to use for the Russian supply ships
hauling lend lease stores from Seattle to
Russia and returning through there to
reload in Seattle. A Russian ship came to
anchor off Dutch Harbor and requested
medical assistance from the U.S. Navy. A
Navy core man went out. In the attempt
to take their temperature, he was met
with fierce resistance. It turned out the
Russians never heard of oral thermometers.
The natives on the Pribilof Island sent
a call for food and supplies. We were
selected to do the delivery. Thick fog
covered the Bering Sea at that time. We
had a taffrail log to record distance, but
we went the correct distance and there
was no island to be seen. Which way
would we turn? I suggested we head
Thick fog covered the Bering Sea
at that time. We had a taffrail log
to record distance, but we went
the correct distance and there was
no island to be seen.
east of the island and then head west.
Fortune was on our side; the trip was
canceled.
Idle time at the dock allowed us to go
halibut fishing in Captains Bay when the
herring runs came in. We could get lots
of bait by dragging triple gang hooks up
through the waters in a nearby creek.
The arrival of new ensigns replaced
our old ensigns who had completed
their year. I discovered the ones who
had more than a years duty thought they
were doing me a favor by sending me
stateside for an earned vacation. I had
reservations about that idea. The war
with Japan was still on. Where would I
be sent after leave was up?
The Council of American Master Mariners, Inc. December 2012 Sidelights 25