Lennox had seen in Whittaker somebody much like himself in character, and with similar command responsibilities, and with an understanding of command. Very early on, Lennox had decided that having Whittaker aboard was very much what it must be like to be captain of a cruiser flying an admiral’s flag. Where the cruiser and the accompanying task force went, and what it would do, was the admiral’s responsibility. But the operation of the cruiser was the cruiser captain’s responsibility And Whittaker had acted as Lennox believed a good admiral would behave.
Despite the authority the orders from COMSUBFORPAC had given Whittaker–which had in effect made the Drum his personal taxicab–he had leaned over backward to avoid even the suggestion of giving Lennox orders.
He had asked questions, and “wondered if it would be possible to” do what he had the clear authority to order done. He had always scrupulously referred to Lennox as “Captain” or “Skipper,” even long after Lennox had started calling him “Jim” And the night before, when they were alone with the talker on the bridge, Whittaker had asked “if it would be possible to” have a dry run of what would take place when they were off Mindanao.
“They assure me, Skipper,” Whittaker said, “that the outboards have been tuned by an expert But cynical sonofabitch that I am, and with no reflection intended, Sir, on the U S. Navy, I’d like to check that out.”
“What you would really like, Jim, right, is a dry run?”
“Yes, Sir,” Whittaker asked.
“Is that going to be possible?”
“Does the Army use the phrase “SOP’?” Lennox asked.
“Yes, Sir,” Whittaker said.
“I violate mine,” Lennox said.
“The SUBFORPAC SOP clearly states that when we are within the operating range of Japanese aircraft and proceeding
on the surface, we will always be in a ‘prepared to dive’ condition That means all hatches except the one here will be secured, and that we will be making sufficient headway so that the sub’s diving planes will have effect in case we have to make an emergency dive ” They had, during the voyage, exchanged technical lore Whittaker had been surprised to learn that the diving planes on the Drum functioned like the ailerons of an airplane, controlling up and down movement of the submerged submarine He knew that because of the dynamic forces acting upon the diving planes, the faster a submarine was moving across the surface of the ocean, the quicker it could be submerged “In other words. Skipper,” Whittaker said, “a dry run is a lousy ideal'” “In these waters, if I follow the SOP,” Lennox said, “what I get is a boat ready to make a dive, and a crew of sweat-soaked, temperature-exhausted sailors not only getting on each other’s nerves, but not able to function fast when they have to. So what I do is leave the hatches open when I can in waters like these, stationing men by the hatches to close them if they have to, and I make damned sure my lookout has the eyes of a hawk.”
“And to conduct a dry run would mean stopping the boat,” Whittaker said, “increasing the time it would take you to submerge if a Jap plane spotted you.”
Lennox nodded “Spotted us” Whittaker shrugged “Okay if that’s–” Lennox interrupted him “Another unpleasant situation that comes to mind,” he said, “is us sitting on the surface a half mile or so offshore of Mindanao, and unable to submerge because there’s a trio of Army guys in rubber boats with outboard motors they can’t start.”
Whittaker looked at him but didn’t say anything.
“And while I am being the high priest of doom and gloom,” Lennox said, “I have another scenario There we are off Mindanao, and we get the boats out of the torpedo room, blow them up, and they leak Since I can think of no other way to get those heavy little boxes ashore, that would mean we would have come all this way only to have to go all the way back for more rubber boats.”
“I’d like to add to that gloom-and-doom scenario, if I might, Sir,” Whittaker said.
“Go ahead, Jim,” Lennox said “We are on the surface off Mindanao, the boats have inflated properly, and the outboards have even started Then the Army guys–whose total experience with rubber boats is limited to Lieutenant Hammersmith’s time with an inner tube in a swimming pool–start loading those heavy boxes into the rubber boats and drop the boxes over the side, fall overboard themselves, and I’ll let you figure out the rest yourself.”