Down to the Sea: An Epic Story of Naval Disaster and Heroism in World War II

by Bruce Henderson

Book Overview

This epic story opens at the hour the Greatest Generation went to war on December 7, 1941, and follows four U.S. Navy ships and their crews in the Pacific until their day of reckoning three years later with a far different enemy: a deadly typhoon. In December 1944, while supporting General MacArthur's invasion of the Philippines, Admiral William "Bull" Halsey neglected the Law of Storms--the unofficial bible of all seamen since the days of sail--placing...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061173169
• ISBN13: 9780061173165
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books (DC)
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Disaster Which Could Have Been Avoided

In December, 1944, the mighty U.S. Third Fleet, commanded by Admiral William F. Halsey, sailed into the path of one of the strongest typhoons ever to form in the Pacific. Halsey's fleet was on station to assist General Douglas MacArthur's troops in the Philippines. After launching many aircraft strikes and shelling shore installations, Halsey ordered his fleet away from the beaches to refuel in preparation for another strike at the enemy. However, Halsey sailed his ships directly into the path of an approaching typhoon, and the consequences proved to be disasterous in terms of loss of life and equipment. Author Bruce Henderson focuses on the plight of three ships and their crews: the USS Spence, commanded by James Andrea; the USS Hull, commanded by James A. Marks; and the USS Monaghan, commanded by Bruce Garrett. These three destroyers bore the brunt of the storm and eventually all three were lost, along with almost 800 crewmen. The main problem these ships faced was that they were so low on fuel that they rode very high out of the water, making it easy for them to capsize in the face of the typhoon's winds. Due to the strength of the storm, they were unable to refuel. Thus, they succumbed to the force of the storm. Only 92 men were rescued from the three ships; many of these men survived for over 80 hours in seas infested with sharks. However, this story is not without heroes. The destroyer escort USS Tabberer, commanded by Henry L. Plage, disobeyed orders to abandon the search and remained in the area to rescue men from the sunken destroyers. In all, the Tabberer and her crew pulled 55 men from the sea. This is an excellent work of naval history. I especially enjoyed reading about the history and previous engagements the destroyers participated in. The author does a good job of introducing the reader to some of the crew members, and he refers to these brave men throughout the book. The section dealing with the naval inquiry into Halsey's actions was informative and interesting as well. I recommend this book very highly. Not much has been written previously about this terrible typhoon, and Bruce Henderson tells the story in a vivid and compelling style. Highly recommended for naval history fans.

WWII tragedy on the high seas

"Down to the Sea" is an intensely dramatic World War II story of heroism and hubris on the high seas. Against the backdrop of the war in the Pacific, Bruce Henderson relates the tragic saga of three doomed destroyers of the Third Fleet. The enemy was not the Japanese navy but a monstrous typhoon. What makes the tragic fate of the destroyers Hull, Monaghan, and Spence so real is Henderson`s masterful telling of the personal tale of the officers and men whose lives and deaths were tied to the fate of their ships. Like the families of these men, one comes to care about their personal welfare. Henderson also carefully sets the stage for what could probably have been an avoidable tragedy by analyzing the decisions and compromises that were the result of command egos and the exigencies of war. When the catastrophe finally struck, Henderson's vivid portrayal made me feel as though I was alongside the brave sailors as they were fighting for their lives against the wind and the seas. I highly recommend Bruce Henderson's "Down to the Sea." The book is breathtaking and haunting and will stay with the reader long after the final page is read.

A Typhoon Survivor

Down to the Sea: An Epic Story of Naval Disaster and Heroism in World War IIMy name is Pat Douhan and I am one of the few survivors from the USS Hull DD350. After reading this book I can truthfully say that Bruce Henderson did an outstanding job of compilling the true facts leading up to, during and after our loss in Typhoon Cobra. Being the reunion coordinator for the USS Hull reunions I am very close to most of my surviving shipmates as well as others that transferred prior to our sinking and this author has put together the true facts he obtained through research, interview, Naval records and ships deck logs, something than none of the previous authors accomplished. When reading this book you can see that our problems really begin when we had a change of command in October during our yard overhaul in Seattle. We destroyer sailors are close nit group and not too much was known about the loss of the three "tin cans" in the typhoon and we did not say much, but over the past few years this Naval tragedy has come to light and is getting some attention and as you can see by this authors writings you are not going to win when you are fighting mother nature. I will say again, after having been there,that this book "Down to the Sea" truthfully tells it like it was.

Halsey's Folley

In this book we gain an insight into the epic story of the history of the 1944 Typhoon, later known as Typhoon Cobra, that the Third Fleet Sailed into. The first half of the book introduces us to the destroyers and their crew that will suffer the tragedy that could have easily been avoided. In `Down to the Sea' the author does a wonderful job of detailing the strengths and failings of each ship as we follow its career from construction to its ultimate end. Using a vast number of references Henderson is able to recreate life aboard these destroyers and share with a look at what it was like to be there. We learned just enough to know the skill level of the officers and crew by the time of the storm, and all that these brave ships had accomplished while under competent command. As far as the actual details of the battles they were in, there are many books written on that subject. As you read this account of what transpired it becomes apparent that Admiral Halsey, a Naval Combat Hero, was not competent at commanding a large fleet. It was his bad judgment, tied in with his concern of appearing to not support MacArthur, that lead the fleet to sail directly into the typhoon. Though the navy made other mistakes, such as ignoring the very accurate weather reports from the Army, not recalculating the stability of the modified destroyers and the fear instilled in their crews to question their Captains so called "final decisions" lead to all these deaths and the loss of the three destroyers. It also had me questioning the motives of the board of inquiry, was it all just for show? According to this account there is no question that the surviving destroyer Captain should have been court-martialed and Admiral Halsey retired. This book is a very compelling read that was well written and researched. It flowed as if it was a novel and I wanted to continue turning each page to see what was going to transpire next. The accounts of the survivors on the last moments onboard and their many hours in the sea are harrowing. This book does not hide anything; it shows the good and the bad. I would highly recommend this book. It must be read by anyone interested in naval history.

Definitive history of Typoon Cobra

In the past year, three histories have been published of the monumental 1944 typhoon that badly damaged Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet, resulting in the loss of three destroyers and the death of nearly 800 men, one of whom was my father. From my knowledge of this incident, I give Bruce Henderson, author of "Down to the Sea", the highest marks for the depth and accuracy of his research, fine writing style, and insightful conclusions about the causes of the disaster. Mr. Henderson is a gifted writer of history, but he is also a veteran U.S. Navy weatherman with the experience necessary to thoroughly plumb the saga of Typhoon Cobra.