Joseph F. Enright
Joseph Francis Enright | |
|---|---|
 Joseph Enright in 1957 | |
| Born | September 18, 1910 Minot, North Dakota |
| Died | July 20, 2000 (aged 89) Fairfax, Virginia |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/ | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1933–1963 |
| Rank | Captain (United States O-6) |
| Commands held | USS O-10 (SS-71) USS Dace (SS-247) USS Archerfish (SS-311) |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Navy Cross Legion of Merit with "V" Device |
Joseph Francis Enright (September 18, 1910 – July 20, 2000)[1] was a submarine captain in the United States Navy. He is best known as the man who sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano–the "most significant single submarine sinking of World War II."[2]
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Enright was born in Minot, North Dakota. He graduated from United States Naval Academy in 1933, served three years on USS Maryland (BB-46)[1] and achieved submariner's qualification in 1936.[2] During World War II, Lieutenant Commander Enright commanded USS O-10 (SS-71), USS Dace (SS-247) and USS Archerfish (SS-311).[2]
Enright assumed command of the newly built USS Dace on July 23, 1943,[3] and in October sailed out on her first war patrol into busy Japanese waters. On November 15[4] an Ultra message alerted him to intercept aircraft carrier Shōkaku; Enright located the target and "made a timid approach, abandoning the effort as daylight approached".[4] He then found another target, a tanker, but was depth charged by escort ships and withdrew from active pursuit.[4] In the end the 49-day patrol brought no results.[4][5] Enright took the blame for failure: "I was responsible for an unproductive patrol and request to be relieved by an officer who can perform more satisfactorily".[5] Admiral Lockwood[4] granted the request and demoted Enright to administrative duties ashore.[5] After half a year at Midway submarine base,[6] Enright requested to be given another submarine command[5] and received "a rare second chance",[4] command of USS Archerfish (SS-311) in September 1944.[6]
Archerfish left Pearl Harbor on October 30, 1944, and reached Saipan on November 9.[4] For the next two weeks the submarine provided search and rescue support to American aviators in the areas of planned air strikes.[4] On November 28, when the submarine was patrolling south from Nagoya, radar identified a surface contact 12 miles away.[4] Visual contact became possible at 2140, and by 2300 Enright identified it as an aircraft carrier protected by three destroyers.[7]
Enright had initially assumed the target was a tanker. Once he realized it was a carrier, he ordered it tracked "from ahead" in hopes that he could get ahead and attack from below.[8]
At 0241, on November 29, the target turned away from Archerfish and then straight at her.[7] At 0305, Enright ordered Archerfish to dive.[8] At 0317 at a mere 1,400 yards from the target, Enright fired all six available torpedoes at the carrier.[7] He deliberately set the torpedoes to run shallow (10 feet); he not only wanted to ensure a hit in case they ran deeper than set, but also hoped to increase the likelihood of capsizing the carrier by holing it further up on its hull.[8] Enright stayed at periscope depth to see the first two torpedoes hit Shinano, then dived down to 500 feet in order to escape depth charge revenge from her escorts. While rigged for silent running, Enright and his crew heard loud breaking-up noises for 47 minutes, and were certain they had sent their quarry to the bottom.[7] It was only after the war that the carrier was identified as Shinano, the long-rumored third battleship of the Yamato class. Her keel had been converted into a supercarrier while still under construction. Four of his sub's torpedoes had found their mark. Due to crew inexperience and design flaws, she struggled with damage for more than seven hours and finally capsized at 10:57. The damage was magnified because Shinano's commander, Captain Toshio Abe, had inadvertently exposed his ship's entire side to Archerfish in his haste to escape, creating an ideal firing situation for a submarine. With a full-load displacement of 72,000 tons, Shinano is the largest warship in history to be sunk by a submarine. The action earned Enright his Navy Cross.[6][8]
On September 2, 1945, Enright and his crew, along with eleven other submarines, were honored with the task of protecting USS Missouri (BB-63) during the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender.[1]
After the end of the war, Enright commanded Submarine Division 31 (1949–1950), USS Fulton (AS-11) (1953–1954), Submarine Squadron 8 (1954–1955), was chief of staff for the submarine force of the United States Atlantic Fleet (1955–1957) and commander of USS Boston (CA-69) (1959–1963).[2]
Retirement years[]
After retirement in 1963 Enright worked at Northrop on the OMEGA Navigation System.[2]
He died in Fairfax, Virginia, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Awards and decorations[]
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Navy Cross |
  |
Legion of Merit with "V" Device |
  |
Navy Presidential Unit Citation with one bronze service star |
 |
American Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star |
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American Campaign Medal |
 |
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars |
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World War II Victory Medal |
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Navy Occupation Service Medal |
 |
National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star |
Notes[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Goldstein, Richard (July 26, 2000). "Joseph Enright, 89, Dies; Sank WWII Carrier". The New York Times, July 26, 2000. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Wilson, Callo p. 98
- ^ "USS Dace (SS-247), 1943–1955". Department of the Navy. Naval Historical Center. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Newpower, p. 186
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Galantin, p. 78
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Captain Joseph Francis Enright, USN". Department of the Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Newpower, p. 187
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Enright, Joseph F. & Ryan, James W. (1987). Shinano!: The Sinking of Japan's Secret Supership. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-00186-X.
References[]
- Enright, Joseph F. (2000). Shinano: The Sinking of Japan's Secret Supership. St. Martin's Paperbacks. ISBN 0312977468.
- Galantin, Ignatius J. (1997). Submarine Admiral. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252066758.
- Newpower, Anthony (2006). Iron men and tin fish: the race to build a better torpedo during World War II. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 027599032X.
- Wilson, Alastair; Callo, Joseph F (2004). Who's who in naval history. Routledge. ISBN 0415308283.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joseph F. Enright. |
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| General | |
| National libraries | |
- 1910 births
- 2000 deaths
- United States Navy personnel of World War II
- United States Naval Academy alumni
- United States submarine commanders
- Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)
- Recipients of the Legion of Merit
- People from Minot, North Dakota
- Burials at Arlington National Cemetery