Operation Barney was conceptualized by Vice Admiral Lockwood to avenge the loss of the USS Wahoo and her intrepid crew.

One of the biggest factors in America’s defeat of Imperial Japan in the Pacific Theatre of World War II was the “Silent Service,” i.e., the U.S. Navy’s (USN) submarine force. And one of the most successful members of that USN submarine force was the USS Wahoo (SS-238), skippered by the legendary Commander Dudley W. “Mush” Morton. Among other feats, Wahoo was the first American submarine to wipe out an entire convoy without assistance, and “Mush” Morton earned the Navy Cross with three Gold Stars for sinking twenty enemy ships, the second highest tally of the war for a sub commander.

Tragically, neither Wahoo nor Morton would live to see the end of the war. And this in turn would goad Mush’s brethren to seek vengeance.

The Motivations Behind Operation Barney

This article was inspired by a Dark Seas MSN channel video titled “Operation Barney – Submarines Sent for Pearl Harbor Revenge.” However, both the video’s title and its textual caption are somewhat misleading:

“Early in World War II, Japanese forces sank the USS Wahoo submarine with 79 men on board. Vice Admiral Charles Lockwood, the Pacific Fleet Submarine Force commander, demanded retaliation.”

Well, first of all, contrary to what the video’s title might mislead viewers into believing, Operation Barney wasn’t conceived as revenge for the December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor raid per se (though one could argue that in a more general sense, the entire war effort against Imperial Japan was vengeance for Pearl Harbor). Secondly, Wahoo’s sinking didn’t exactly occur “early” in World War II, but rather in October 1943, which was smack dab in the middle of official U.S. participation in the war effort.

Those semantics aside, Operation Barney was indeed conceptualized by Vice Admiral Lockwood to avenge the loss of Wahoo and her intrepid crew. However, there was also a strategic rationale for the mission that went above and beyond mere revenge: infiltration of the Sea of Japan, thus taking the disruption of Japanese merchant shipping to a whole new level.

The mission was named for Commander (later rear admiral, upper half) William Bernard “Barney” Sieglaff, who was tasked with training the fleet and refining the strategy. This was no simple task, as this entailed Barney’s boats traversing the Tsushima Strait, which was heavily mined. The subs’ FM sonar was effective in detecting the mines, but in the process emitted a haunting chime, which was dubbed “Hell’s Bells.” Adding to the nerve-wracking nature of the mission were the mines’ cables that scraped against the hulls of the American undersea boats.

The Mission

Those dangers notwithstanding, nine USN subs known collectively as Hydeman’s Hellcats (not to be confused with the Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter plane of that same war)—divided into three groups dubbed the Hep Cats, the Polecats, and the Bobcats—embarked on their perilous journey on May 29, 1945. Among the Bobcats was the USS Bowfin (SS-287). The Pearl-Harbor.info website picks up the story from there:

“Once in the Sea of Japan, the USS Bowfin focused on disrupting Japanese shipping. On June 11, she spotted and sank the Shinyo Maru, a solo cargo ship vital to Japan’s supply lines. Two days later, she struck again, destroying the Akiura Maru freighter. These victories highlighted the effectiveness of Operation Barney in weakening Japan’s war efforts.”

Other participating subs were the USS Sea Dog (SS-401), USS Flying Fish (SS-229), USS Tunny (SS-282), USS Spadefish (SS-411), USS Bonefish (SS-223), USS Tinosa (SS-283), USS Crevalle (SS-291), and USS Skate (SS-305). Collectively, they ended up sinking twenty-eight Japanese vessels, including an Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer and a submarine.

Aftermath

The website continues the tale:

“Traveling at high speeds, they evaded Japanese defenses, marking the successful conclusion of the mission. Sadly, the USS Bonefish was lost during this phase, a sobering reminder of the operation’s dangers … The USS Bowfin returned to Pearl Harbor on July 4, 1945, earning accolades for her pivotal role in Operation Barney. Credited with sinking 6,400 tons of enemy shipping, the Bowfin exemplified resilience and valor. Vice Admiral Lockwood himself honored the participating submarines, dubbing them the ‘Mighty Mine Dodgers.’”

USS Bowfin has since been preserved for posterity as a floating museum at Pearl Harbor. For a highly readable full-length account of Bowfin’s history, read the 1983 book Bowfin by the late military historian Edwin P. Hoyt.

About the Author: Christian D. Orr

Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.

Image: Wikipedia.

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