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Robert D. McWethy

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Robert Devore McWethy
Capt. Robert D. McWethy
Nickname(s)Bob, Mac
Born(1920-01-06)January 6, 1920
Washington, DC
Allegiance United States of America
Service / branch United States Navy
Years of service1942–1978
RankCaptain
Service number0-123488/1100
Battles / warsWorld War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
AwardsSilver Star
Legion of Merit
Spouse(s)Margaret Elizabeth McWethy
Other workUS Naval Sailing Association

Robert Devore McWethy (born January 6, 1920) is a retired United States Navy Captain and submarine commander who fought in the Pacific during World War II and later pioneered submarine navigation under the Polar ice cap.[1][2] Capt McWethy received the Legion of Merit for his role in the development of SOSUS underwater listening posts as Commander, Oceanographic Systems Atlantic.[3] Since the 1970s he has also been active in support of sailing at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Early years

McWethy was born on January 5, 1920, the son of Henry and Zula Miller McWethy. In 1939, McWethy enrolled in the United States Naval Academy where he was involved with sailing and golf, although the Lucky Bag yearbook noted that "his class standing is far nearer perfection than his golf swing."[4]

Career

World War II and service in submarines

McWethy served as Torpedo Officer aboard the USS Pogy (SS-266) during World War II and was awarded the Silver Star for helping to sink 20,000 tons of enemy shipping. US Navy photo.

McWethy graduated from the Naval Academy in 1941 as a part of the wartime class of 1942, and was assigned to the heavy cruiser USS San Francisco (CA-38), which supported operations in the Samoan area and then participated in the attack on Rabaul in the Solomon Islands as part of TF 11. San Francisco then headed for New Guinea with the carrier USS Lexington (CV-2) and TF 17 to support a raid against Japanese shipping and installations.[5]

McWethy was transferred in April 1942 to the Submarine School in New London and trained aboard USS R-13 (SS-90).[5] In September 1943 he was assigned as Torpedo Officer on USS Pogy (SS-266) for her third war patrol in the Palau area. On 28 September Pogy sighted a convoy of five ships and after a two-day chase and one unsuccessful attack, scored two torpedo hits on the largest freighter of the convoy, the 7,000-ton Maebashi Maru. After the patrol, McWethy received the Silver Star for his actions. "Skillful in analyzing tactical situations, Lieutenant Commander McWethy furnished his Commanding Officer vital information and contributed greatly in the sinking of two hostile freighters and a heavily loaded transport, totaling approximately 20,000 tons, and in the successful evasion of severe enemy countermeasures," according to the citation.[6] McWethy then served for a year as Captain of USS R-10 (SS-87), an old R-class coastal submarine, training new submarine crews out of Key West.

McWethy commanded the USS Piper from 1952 to 1955. US Navy photo.

After the War, McWethy had a number of additional assignments on submarines, including training cruises out of the Submarine Base at New London as Executive Officer of USS Picuda (SS-382) (which had won six battle stars during the war) and briefly on USS Skate (SS-305).[5]

In 1952, LCDR McWethy taught at the Naval War College in Newport.[7] From September 1952 to January 1955, he commanded the submarine USS Piper.[8] His successor as captain, Marmaduke G. Bayne (later a Rear Admiral), remarked in an interview with the Naval Historical Foundation that "Bob McWethy was probably the best ship handler I have known. He was one with the ship."

Capt (then Lt Cmdr) Robert McWethy studied arctic navigation aboard the US Navy icebreaker USS Burton Island in 1950. US Navy photo.

In 1949, while teaching at the Navy’s navigation school, McWethy was asked to give lectures on Arctic navigation – a subject he didn’t know much about at the time. Compasses weren’t accurate in the high latitudes because the magnetic North Pole was a long distance from the true pole. McWethy requested time off to study the problem and rode in a flight over the Arctic to investigate the Air Force’s new navigation techniques.[9] McWethy was surprised to see that there were areas of open water in the Arctic, and realized that submarines would be able to surface if the conditions were right.

“The idea of submarines operating beneath the ice soon became an obsession for McWethy,” wrote William R. Anderson in The Ice Diaries: The Untold Story of the Cold War’s Most Daring Mission. “Russia was the new threat. The Arctic region was in Russia’s backyard, What better platform from which to stealthily operate and keep an eye on them than a submersible ship?"[1]

Development of SOSUS

In 1950 the Committee on Undersea Warfare of theNational Research Council recommended study and development of underwater sensors to detect and track maritime traffic. Over the next decade, the Navy's Oceanographic Systems Atlantic command (OSL) began installing these SOSUS listening devices and monitoring them from NAVSEC facilities such as Ramey AFB, Grand Turk, Shelburne, and Nantucket. A primary task of SOSUS was to support anti-submarine warfare by detecting, classifying, and tracking submarine activity.

McWethy was assigned to OSL in 1961. "It was an exciting time," he recalled in a speech in 2004. "The Soviets had just started sending nuclear submarines into the Atlantic."[10] The new Charlie, Victor, and Yankee-class Soviet submarines were quieter and more difficult to detect.

McWethy was appointed Commander Oceanographic System Atlantic (COSL) in April 1965 and commanded SOSUS operations in the Atlantic for three years[11] His office expanded deployment of SOSUS in the Atlantic, especially in the GIUK gap, and opened NAVSEC stations in Keflavik and Argentia.

McWethy recalled that in 1966, the Secretary of the Navy (SecNav) Paul Nitze was visiting the COSL office when a Soviet November class was detected "snooping around Bermuda." With the aid of the SOSUS hydrophones, "he could see what the submarine was doing and where it was. The SecNav was impressed." SOSUS devices provided critical data in helping to locate the submarines USS Thresher and K-129, which both sank with the loss of all hands.

McWethy received the Legion of Merit for "exceptionally meritorious" work on SOSUS. He "successfully directed the widespread operations of the Atlantic Oceanographic System during a period of considerable growth and improvement," according to his citation, "and was "responsible for greatly improved classified oceanographic systems and techniques of great importance to the security of the United States."[12]

Personal life

In 1951, McWethy married Margaret Clarke, who was photographed at the launching of LST-943, which she had sponsored, on 8 August 1944 at the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc. in Hingham, Mass. US Navy photo.

In 1942, McWethy married Nanette Zirker and the couple had two sons, Daniel and David McWethy. Nanette passed away from an appendicitis in 1946.

In 1951, McWethy married Margaret "Liz" Clarke, the daughter of Capt (later Admiral) William P. O. Clarke, whom he met while canoeing on Weems Creek in Annapolis.[13] They had a son, Navy CDR William C. McWethy, and three daughters, Martha Boynton, Margaret McWethy Bodie, and Melissa McNitt.

After McWethy's retirement in 1970, he and his wife Liz lived in an 1850s farmhouse on Weems Creek and were heavily involved in efforts to preserve the environment of the Severn River in Maryland, and particularly Weems Creek. In 1993, the Annapolis Capital Gazette reported on the couple's preservation efforts, including Liz McWethy's threat to "strip naked and chain her body to a tree to save the woody banks" of the creek. Liz served as Chairman of the Weems Creek Conservancy.[14]

Sailing

Capt. McWethy has been an active sailor since his days at the Naval Academy. "In the fall he spends his week-ends sailing," noted his Lucky Bag yearbook, "and with the coming of spring he is torn between the golf course and the Bay."[4]

After retirement, McWethy became involved with sailing program at the U.S. Naval Academy. In 1980 he was the third recipient of the A.G.B. Grosvenor Award for "exemplary contributions to the mission and programs of the sailing squadron."[15] In 1985, Yachting Magazine wrote that "Bob McWethy, a retired captain who has been a continuing stablizing factor at Annapolis as offshore coach and race-committee head for midshipman sailing, is also a sparkplug in USNSA as its secretary." [16]

The Robert D. McWethy Fund sponsored by the US Naval Sailing Foundation raises funds to honor McWethy's 35 years of service to Navy Sailing.[17]

Awards

Capt. McWethy received the Silver Star Award for his actions as Torpedo Officer during a War Patrol in enemy-controlled waters of the Pacific Ocean which resulted in the sinking of two Japanese freighters and a 20,000-ton transport and in the successful evasion of severe enemy countermeasures.[6]

He received the Legion of Merit for his role as Commander Oceanographic Systems Atlantic.[6]

McWethy received the Alexander G.B. Grosvenor Award in 1980 for 35 years of service to Navy Sailing.[15]

Further reading

  • Calvert, CDR James F., “Up Through the Ice of the North Pole,” National Geographic, July 1959
  • Lalor, Jr., LT William G., “First Crossing of the Ends of the Earth: ‘Submarine Through the North Pole,’ National Geographic Magazine, January, 1959
  • Leary, William M., Under Ice: Waldo Lyon and the Development of the Arctic Submarine, (Texas A & M University Military History.
  • Life Magazine, “Epic Voyage of ‘Nautilus’: The Crew’s Own Story,” September 1, 1958, plus 12 color pages

Writings

  • "Arms Control and the Navy: When does a ship become an armament for negotiating purposes?", Naval Review Annual, 1966. United States Naval Institute.[18]
  • “The Arctic Submarine,” Naval Institute Proceedings, Sept 1952, p. 955 (4 p)
  • “Significance of the Nautilus Polar Cruise,” Naval Institute Proceedings, May 1958, p. 32 (4 p)

References

  1. ^ a b Keith, William R. Anderson with Don (2008). The ice diaries: the untold story of the Cold War's most daring mission. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. p. 64. ISBN 0785227598.
  2. ^ Galantin, I.J. (1997). Submarine admiral: from battlewagons to ballistic missiles. Urbana: Univ Of Illinois Press. p. 187. ISBN 0252066758.
  3. ^ "Robert Devore McWethy: Legion of Merit citation".
  4. ^ a b Lucky Bag Yearbook. US Naval Academy. 1945. p. 141.
  5. ^ a b c SUBMARINE COMMANDERS by USNA Class. p. 5.
  6. ^ a b c "Valor Awards for Robert Devore McWethy". Military Times.
  7. ^ The United States Naval War College Register of Officers, 1884-1979. Newport, R.I.: Naval War College. July 11, 1975. p. 102.
  8. ^ Evans, Jimmie (June 2006). USS Piper (SS-409 ) History (PDF). p. 98.
  9. ^ Anderson, William R. (2008). The Ice Diaries: The Untold Story of the Cold War's Most Daring Mission. Thomas Nelson Inc. p. 360. ISBN 0785227598.
  10. ^ McWethy, USN (Ret.), Capt. Bob. "Politics in Promotion (or how I became COSL), a speech IUSS/SOSUS Dinner Speech, 50th Anniversary" (PDF). 18 SEPTEMBER 2004.
  11. ^ Commander, Undersea Surveillance (CUS). "IUSS/SOSUS HISTORY (1950 – PRESENT)" (PDF). Document Certified to be unclassified by CNO-872A & IUSS Authorities.
  12. ^ "Awards for Robert Devore McWethy". MilitaryTimes.com. Military Times.
  13. ^ Williamson, Laura (Wednesday, March 3, 1993). "Weems Creek is her passion". Annapolis Capital Gazette. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Williamson, Laura (March 3, 1993). "Weems Creek is her passion". Annapolis Capital Gazette.
  15. ^ a b "NASS Trophies-Alexander G.B. Grosvenor Trophy". U.S. Naval Academy Sailing Center.
  16. ^ Robinson, Bill. "Alive and Well". Yachting Magazine (May 1985): 93.
  17. ^ Howe, USN (Ret.), Executive Director, LCOL Robert L. "US Naval Sailing Foundation" (PDF). US Naval Sailing Association Newsletter (Summer 2005): 2.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ McWethy, Robert (1965). "Arms Control and the Navy". Naval Review Annual 1966.
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