The Silent Service was a 1957–1958 syndicated anthology television series based on actual events in the submarine section of the United States Navy. The Silent Service was narrated by Rear Admiral Thomas M. Dykers, who retired from the Navy in 1949 after twenty-two years of service. He began each episode with this refrain: "Tonight, we bring you another thrilling episode of Silent Service stories, of warfare under the sea." Many of the episodes focused on the history of specific submarines, including: ⁕USS Sculpin ⁕USS Nautilus, the first atomic submarine ⁕USS Perch ⁕USS Tang ⁕USS S-38 ⁕USS Tirante ⁕USS Bergall ⁕USS Spearfish ⁕USS Triton ⁕USS Wahoo, and ⁕USS Gato, subject of the series finale. Actors appearing on The Silent Service included Russell Johnson, cast three times in the role of the character "Beach". DeForest Kelley and Leonard Nimoy appeared in two episodes each as Lieutenant Commander James Dempsey and as Sonarman, respectively. Jerry Paris and Liam Sullivan each guest starred twice. Eric Morris appeared in nineteen episodes identified only as "Soldier". Other guest stars included Joe Conley, Mike Connors, Lawrence Dobkin, Ron Hagerthy, Adam Kennedy, Robert Knapp, Paul Richards, Bing Russell, Craig Stevens, Dennis Weaver and Stuart Whitman.
With morale low, USS Tang stands by for rescue downed American pilots during the attack on the Truk islands.
Now playing Season 1, Episode 12 — The U.S.S. Tang vs. Truk
April 5, 1957
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Season 1 • 39 episodes
A submarine springs a leak while well into Japanese waters. An engineer takes on the dangerous mission of repairing it.
A docudrama about a mission during World War II by the submarine USS Trout involving transporting a large amount of gold and silver.
The USS Thresher is caught at the end of a Japanese destroyer's grappling hook and attempts to shake itself loose.
After a damaged submarine is forced to surface, all hands are ordered by the captain to abandon ship, but he stays aboard.
A submarine is ordered to slip into Japanese-occupied Filipino waters to spirit out some important passengers from Corregidor.
The USS Bergall, which has been badly damaged, is trying to get to port but three Japanese patrol boats are making it difficult.
The USS Batfish is ordered to intercept some enemy submarines that are carrying very important Japanese officials.
A submarine trying to rescue downed American pilots comes under attack from Japanese destroyers.
On the hunt for a Japanese convoy, the crew of the USS Gato discovers that an unexploded enemy depth charge has landed on its deck.
U.S. subs are about to close in on a Japanese convoy. What they don't know is that aboard one of the ships are Allied POWs.
The commander of the submarine USS Tirante may lose his target in the shallow waters of a Japanese-held harbor if he doesn't surface.
With morale low, USS Tang stands by for rescue downed American pilots during the attack on the Truk islands.
The final mission of the USS Wahoo.
Darter and Dace during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
A submarine suffers a series of disasters: a broken prop, damaged instruments and an explosion onboard.
The USS Seahorse is in big trouble: it's deep in Japanese waters, it's been badly damaged and is in danger of being destroyed by a barrage of enemy depth charges.
In October of 1944. 100 miles off Japan. Salmon is damaged in a depth charge attack and must remain surfaced.
The crew of the USS Crevalle takes aboard a Filipino woman about to give birth to a baby.
A sub being hunted by Japanese ships is forced to settle on the bottom of the ocean to escape detection, but it has been badly damaged and if it stays on the bottom for too long it may not be able to surface.
The Squailfish sinks a Japanese escort carrier, but that only seems to be what sets off a string of bad luck that begins to plague the sub.
Prior to the invasion, the USS Grouper transports Australian raiders and their native guides to a hidden cove on New Britain.
When his ship's attempts to sink Japanese shipping fail, a seaman with an interest in photography produces evidence of faulty design.
The USS Sea Dragon's oxygen tanks are exhausted. Death by suffocation or enemy gun fire seems inevitable.
A docudrama about a submarine mission during World War II, the rescue by the USS Narwhal of escaped POW survivors of Bataan from the island of Mindanao.
A docudrama about the submarine USS Perch on a mission during The Korean War to deliver British Royal Marines on a secret commando raid.
Concerns the Gato Class WWII Sub U.S.S. Barb (SS-220) and her Final WWII Patrol.
A broken propeller, an internal explosion and damaged instruments plague an outmoded American submarine assigned to attack Jap transports.
A docudrama about the submarine USS Gar on a secret mission with guerillas during World War II.
The successes and the sinking of the USS Flyer and the dozen who survived after 17 hours in the water and then had to sail to additional islands before finding food and rescue.
Enemy bombers attack the U.S.S. Starfish, and a hatch cover sticks as it attempts to submerge.
A damaged sub surfaces to attack a fleet of Japanese destroyers.
The Nautilus is assigned to observation duty at Tarawa and caught between U.S. and Japanese fire.
The Captain of the USS Harder earns the Congressional Medal of Honor by aggressive tactics which sink a record number of enemy destroyers over a few days. As a result, Japanese planning for a major operation is upset leading to American victory.
A photographer's mate is frightened by his assignment - to photograph submarines in action. The crew helps to make things unpleasant.
At the urging of Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, civilian scientists developed an electronic device that enabled submarines to detect floating and submerged mines. With this apparatus, a wolf-pack of nine subs entered the Sea of Japan in June 1945 and wreaked havoc with enemy shipping, contributing materially to the end of the war.
A U.S. sub becomes a sitting duck to save Australian soldiers from Timor Island.
The USS Tang, after sinking an entire convoy, gets in the way of her own torpedo.
The perch starts wwii two engines down and doesn't keep them repaired long. During the opening of the war it suffers a series of mishaps (a circular running torpedo detonates close, loss of the comm gear, hole at the base of the sail, cracked and bowed shafts with only one engine providing propulsion. Scopes out, depth gauge out, numerous electrical grounds take sonar out, interior communications out-can't call for help., "Can't fight, can't run, - can't even dive. "
Action centers around the historic and very successful First War Patrol for the USS Guardfish. There is a side story that the Guardfish got so close to Tokyo Bay that her crew were able to watch a horse race, through the periscope.
Thomas M. Dykers
Host / Narrator
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