- General Collections
- 1941
- 1942
- Battles of Java Sea and Sunda Strait
- Bataan and Corregidor
- Early Naval Raids
- Doolittle Raid
- Battle of the Coral Sea
- Battle of Midway
- Submarine Combat Patrols
- Battle of the Atlantic
- Solomons Campaign: Guadalcanal
- Operation Torch: Invasion of North Africa
- Building the Infrastructure for War
- Manning the U.S. Navy
- 1943
- Establishment of Numbered Fleets
- The Aleutians Campaign
- Battle of the Atlantic—Continued
- On the Offensive Beyond Guadalcanal
- Sicilian Campaign: Operation Husky
- Tarawa: Breaking into the Gilberts
- Landings at Salerno, Italy: Operation Avalanche
- Naval Air Strikes Against German Shipping: Operation Leader
- 1944
- Operation Shingle: Landing at Anzio, Italy
- Gamble at Los Negros: The Admiralty Islands Campaign
- Evacuation by Submarine: USS Angler in the Philippines
- Securing New Guinea: Operations Reckless and Persecution
- Exercise Tiger: Disaster at Slapton Sands
- Defeating the Sharks: The Capture of U-505
- Pearl Harbor Ablaze Again: The West Loch Disaster
- Operation Overlord: Invasion of Normandy
- Operation Forager: The Battle of Saipan
- The Battle of the Philippine Sea
- Port Chicago Naval Magazine Explosion
- Operation Forager Continued: Landings on Guam and Tinian
- Operation Dragoon: The Invasion of Southern France
- Operation Stalemate II: The Battle of Peleliu
- The Battle of Leyte Gulf
- The Battle off Samar: The Sacrifice of "Taffy 3"
- United States Navy War Instructions, 1944
- The Japanese “Hell Ships” of World War II
- 1945
- Battle of Iwo Jima
- Navy Nurses Behind Enemy Lines in the Philippines
- Operation Plunder: Crossing the Rhine
- Battle of Okinawa
- Okinawa Highlights: 4-11 April 1945
- Battle of Okinawa: Historic Overview & Importance
- Okinawa Highlights: 12–19 April 1945
- Kamikaze Attack on USS Isherwood
- The Destruction of USS Pringle
- The Sinking of USS Little
- The Most Dangerous Place off Okinawa
- A Kamikaze Attack on New Mexico, Fifth Fleet Flag: A Photo Essay
- A Ceremony for the Fallen: Aftermath of a Kamikaze Attack
- Admiral Spruance Recounts Kamikaze Attack on His Flagship, New Mexico (BB-40)
- On the Verge of Breaking Down Completely: Combat Fatigue off Okinawa and the Destruction of USS Longshaw
- Investigating Okinawa: The Story Behind A Kamikaze Pilot’s Scarf
- The Loss of USS Twiggs at Okinawa
- The Most Difficult Antiaircraft Problem Yet Faced By the Fleet
- Victory in Europe (V-E) Day
- Japan's Surrender and Aftermath
- World War II Profiles in Duty
- ENS Allen W. Bain and Minneapolis (CA-36)
- LT Eugene A. Barham and Laffey (DD-459)
- LT Richard H. Best of VB-6
- LCDR Joseph W. Callahan and Ralph Talbot (DD-390)
- LT Albert P. “Scoofer” Coffin of Torpedo Ten
- MAtt1/c Leonard R. Harmon and CDR Mark H. Crouter of San Francisco (CA-38)
- CDR Frank A. Erickson—First Helicoptar SAR
- CDR Ernest E. Evans of Johnston (DD-557)
- S1/c James Fahy on Montpelier (CL-57)
- Float Plane Pilots in the Pacific
- AMM1/c Bruno P. Gaido of VS-6
- CAPT Joy Bright Hancock
- Charles Kleinsmith and Yorktown (CV-5)
- LCDR Edwin T. Layton of PACFLT N2
- LCDR Maxwell F. Leslie of VB-3
- LCDR Eugene E. Lindsey of VT-6
- ENS Donald W. Lynch and Mugford (DD-389)
- Theodore W. Marshall of VP-22
- LCDR Lance E. Massey of VT-3
- LCDR Bernard F. McMahon and Drum (SS-228)
- ARM1/c Oliver Rasmussen
- LTJG Melvin C. Roach, Guadalcanal Fighter Pilot
- CDR Joseph J. Rochefort and "Station Hypo"
- Chief Machinist William A. Smith and Enterprise (CV-6)
- LTJG Steffenhagen and Shōhō
- Submerged Appendectomy
- LCDR John C. Waldron of VT-8
- LCDR William J. “Gus” Widhelm of Scouting Eight
- Theater of Operations--Pacific
- Boats-Ships--Submarine
- People-Places-Things--Japanese
- Bibliography
- World War II 1939-1945
- Image (gif, jpg, tiff)
Lieutenant Commander Bernard F. McMahon and Drum (SS-228)
USS Drum (SS-228) was on her fourth war patrol, on a mission to lay mines off the Japanese Home Island of Honshu, when on 12 December 1942 she encountered an escorted Japanese aircraft carrier heading southbound for Truk. Acting quickly, Drum’s skipper, Lieutenant Commander Bernard F. McMahon, fired torpedoes from four of her bow tubes at the target—the converted light aircraft carrier Ryuho. Unfortunately, the submarine’s other two forward tubes were filled with mines. One of the torpedoes struck the carrier, but before McMahon could maneuver to bring the stern tubes to bear, Drum was driven deep underwater by the escorting Japanese destroyers. When she returned to the surface, she was driven down again by patrolling Japanese aircraft and was not able to reengage her target. Although Ryuho wasn’t sunk in the aggressive attack, she was forced to limp home for a lengthy stay for repairs in a Japanese navy yard.
For the boldness of his actions in this and three subsequent war patrols as Drum’s skipper, Barney McMahon, a 1931 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy from Ohio, was awarded a total of two Silver Stars, a Navy Cross, and a Letter of Commendation. He retired as a captain in 1959 and was advanced to Rear Admiral on the Retired List on the basis of his combat awards. His old command, USS Drum, which survived the war battered but intact after carrying out 13 war patrols, was donated by the Navy to Battleship Park in Mobile, Alabama, as an historic vessel in 1969.
—Jeffrey G. Barlow, Ph.D., Naval Historical Center, 2008
More "Profiles in Duty: Vignettes of Naval Service and Leadership"
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