"Mush" Morton

daft · Post by **daft** » Tue Jun 10, 2003 5:00 pm

Anyone seen him in the game? When Wahoo arrived in my game in september, she was commanded by someone named Marshall. IRL Kennedy and Morton were the only two skippers on Wahoo if I recall correctly.

spruance · Post by **spruance** » Thu Jun 12, 2003 11:22 am

Am I being thick: who the hell is Mush Morton?

LargeSlowTarget · Post by **LargeSlowTarget** » Thu Jun 12, 2003 2:14 pm

He's 'only' the second-highest scoring sub skipper in USN history (after Richard 'Killer' O'Kane - Morton's ex XO). Sank 19 ships and received 4 Navy Crosses, the last one posthumously.

daft · Post by **daft** » Thu Jun 12, 2003 9:43 pm

Weird. The other subs I've checked seems to have the correct skippers. No biggie, but it would be really interesting to see his stats.

madflava13 · Post by **madflava13** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 12:59 am

He's not in the game. Wahoo's arrival in theater has a different skipper assigned because Mush Morton didn't take over until later during the UV-timescale. He relieved the previous skipper (Kennedy), a pre-war type who wasn't aggressive enough. In UV, only those skippers around on May 1st 1942 are used, I believe.

It would be interesting to see his stats though - probably in the high 90s for aggressiveness. Wahoo was one of the few fleet types to have very few dud torpedos as well....

m10bob · Post by **m10bob** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 2:41 am

Best source of info I know of on USN sub service/WW2 is a 2 volume set called "SILENT VICTORY"..I believe "Mush" Morton went to Purdue,here in Indiana..
FWIW,another sub great De Tar is on one of the subs,can't remember which one and I should have looked at his stats..He also was a high "producer"..

(please don't let anybody know I even read about the Navy,I'm supposed to be in a TD in Europe right now,"shootin' n' scootin".....")

Mike_B20 · Post by **Mike_B20** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 3:25 am

I thought submarine effectiveness versus destroyers exagerated in UV but just found this citation for Congressional Medal of Honor.

Talk about a rampant sub

"*DEALEY, SAMUEL DAVID

Rank and organization: Commander, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Harder.
Place and date: Off Tawi Tawi, Sulu Archipelago, 6-7 June 1944
Born: 13 September 1906, Dallas, Tex.
Appointed from: Texas.
Other Navy awards: Navy Cross with 3 Gold Stars, Silver Star Medal.
Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Harder during her 5th War Patrol in Japanese-controlled waters. Floodlighted by a bright moon and disclosed to an enemy destroyer escort which bore down with intent to attack, Comdr. Dealey quickly dived to periscope depth and waited for the pursuer to close range, then opened fire, sending the target and all aboard down in flames with his third torpedo. Plunging deep to avoid fierce depth charges, he again surfaced and, within 9 minutes after sighting another destroyer, had sent the enemy down tail first with a hit directly amidship. Evading detection, he penetrated the confined waters off Tawi Tawi with the Japanese Fleet base 6 miles away and scored death blows on 2 patrolling destroyers in quick succession. With his ship heeled over by concussion from the first exploding target and the second vessel nose-diving in a blinding detonation, he cleared the area at high speed. Sighted by a large hostile fleet force on the following day, he swung his bow toward the lead destroyer for another "down-the-throat" shot, fired 3 bow tubes and promptly crash-dived to be terrifically rocked seconds later by the exploding ship as the Harder passed beneath. This remarkable record of 5 vital Japanese destroyers sunk in 5 short-range torpedo attacks attests the valiant fighting spirit of Comdr. Dealey and his indomitable command."

SoulBlazer · Post by **SoulBlazer** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 3:47 am

That's why he and his boat were known as the 'Destroyer Killer'.

Admiral DadMan · Post by **Admiral DadMan** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 4:11 am

Originally posted by m10bob
...
FWIW,another sub great De Tar is on one of the subs,can't remember which one and I should have looked at his stats..He also was a high "producer"..

I think he was C.O. of Tuna

m10bob · Post by **m10bob** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 7:00 am

Roger that on Tuna!.(Just checked).

daft · Post by **daft** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 12:52 pm

Originally posted by madflava13
He's not in the game. Wahoo's arrival in theater has a different skipper assigned because Mush Morton didn't take over until later during the UV-timescale. He relieved the previous skipper (Kennedy), a pre-war type who wasn't aggressive enough. In UV, only those skippers around on May 1st 1942 are used, I believe.

It would be interesting to see his stats though - probably in the high 90s for aggressiveness. Wahoo was one of the few fleet types to have very few dud torpedos as well....

Yes you are quite right. So then I suppose it is Kennedy that is missing. The low number of duds experienced by Wahoo is very interesting considering the failiures other boats had.

daft · Post by **daft** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 12:55 pm

Originally posted by m10bob
Best source of info I know of on USN sub service/WW2 is a 2 volume set called "SILENT VICTORY"..I believe "Mush" Morton went to Purdue,here in Indiana..
FWIW,another sub great De Tar is on one of the subs,can't remember which one and I should have looked at his stats..He also was a high "producer"..
(please don't let anybody know I even read about the Navy,I'm supposed to be in a TD in Europe right now,"shootin' n' scootin".....")

Silent Victory is indeed a very thorough account of the submarine war in the Pacific. Keith M. Milton's Subs Against the Rising Sun is also invaluable to everyone with an interest in submarines. It lists all American submarines that ever made a war patrol during WW2, with skipper name, tonnage claimed and tonnage awarded by JANAC. I highly recommend it.

Speedysteve · Post by **Speedysteve** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 3:41 pm

Can wholeheartedly recommend Blair's 'Silent Victory'. A very detailed account of Pacific US Subwar.

N.B - for those that are interested. He's also written 2 books on the Atlantic U-Boat war which are also very very detailed and well researched.

Steven

daft · Post by **daft** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 5:47 pm

Originally posted by Speedy
Can wholeheartedly recommend Blair's 'Silent Victory'. A very detailed account of Pacific US Subwar.

N.B - for those that are interested. He's also written 2 books on the Atlantic U-Boat war which are also very very detailed and well researched.

Steven

The only bad thing I can say about Silent Victory and the two volume Hitler's U-boat War is that they at times get somewhat repetitive. This is however a very small concern indeed considering the scope and magnitude of the books.

donaldo · Post by **donaldo** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 8:44 pm

If I remember correctly on Morton's next to last patrol Wahoo fired 10 dud torpedoes in a row and was ordered back to Pearl. Once there Morton convinced Adm. Lockwood to send him out immediately with a load of the new electric torpedoes.

Some sub skippers have criticised that decision, saying after the intense frustrations of that patrol Morton should have been forced to take a break; and that strain and fatigue may have played a role in Wahoo's loss.

mogami · Post by **mogami** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 9:17 pm

Hi, I don't think it right or proper to criticize the man. Clearly he was brave. I think however he was the US Navy's Gunter Prien and a quest for glory was a motivating factor. I've always thought him a little mad. (any one who thinks gun battles in the morning are fun makes me nervous)

m10bob · Post by **m10bob** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 2:44 am

Those gentlemen had CLASS..Lockwood "leased" the entire Royal Hawaiian Hotel for his men,for the duration..CLASS!!!!!!!

donaldo · Post by **donaldo** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 6:52 pm

Hi Mogami; I don't think I was criticising Morton, the second guessing I read was directed more at Lockwood. Morton did push "aggresive" to the ragged edge in normal circumstances. I believe he was also the first US sub skipper to use a "down the throat" attack on a Japanese can, although it was forced on him by circumstances during an atoll recon rather than pre-planned.

Luskan · Post by **Luskan** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 4:59 am

Van der Vat credits Morton with sinking a transport and then machine gunning japanese soldiers in the water on his first patrol as skipper, or maybe the second (whichever one he got both the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Cross on).

Then you throw in the fact that the Wahoo was lsited as missing in Action - in all probability she was the sub that was depth charged and sunk by an IJN plane near the La Perouse strait on October 11 (off Honshu), but no one can be sure. All they know is that Morton and the Wahoo left on their fifth patrol with the new Mark XVIII torpedo and he sank 4 ships before contact was lost and they never heard from him again.

I think that possibly the reason that he does not feature as largely as he should in US post war commentaries is for one or both of these reasons.

"Mush" Morton

"Mush" Morton

Silent Victory

Re: Silent Victory

Morton