William E. Hovey  RM2(SS)  1944-45   Plankowner    

The picture above is an acrylic painting by Bill Hovey.   Bill was a SENNET Plankowner and has many vivid memories of service on board the boat.   He recently painted this picture to document one of his memorable experiences.   Bill, sent the picture to me to copy and a letter to explain the scene.   While the painting is great, Bill's letter gives the image even more realism and life.   Here's his letter:

The Sennet left the Panama Canal Zone November 29, 1944, arriving at Pearl Harbor December 16. 1944.   At Pearl the topside armament was increased to two 5" deck guns, two 40mm antiaircraft guns and three 5Ocal. machine guns.

The first patrol was north of the Bonin Islands from Jan. 5 to Jan. 28, 1945.   We fired torpedoes at a large tanker but missed.   Three destroyer escorts came after us, driving us to the bottom.   We lay there for several hours, and broke out the CO-2 (carbon-dioxide) absorbent.

The following week we sank a "picket boat" and damaged another.   Picket boats were primarily Japanese radar stations meant to spot American B-29s early enough to warn the Japanese of their approach.

We went to Saipan for a refit Jan. 31.   On Feb. 7, we began the second patrol off southern Honshu, Japan.   We joined the SS Haddock and the SS Lagarto to form a "wolf pack" to go after the picket boats.   On February 13, 1945 (60 years ago!) some time before sunrise, we surfaced to go after two 300 ton picket boats with our topside armament.

Being part of the forward 5" gun crew, I was one of the few on deck for this engagement, and it was unforgettable.   The only hint of light was the red glow to the east, a streak that established the horizon and silhouetted against it was the picket boat that would be our target.

The 5" shells had been stored in a bin constructed on the deck of the forward torpedo room, about two feet deep and the full length of the room.   They had to be brought up one by one, "bucket brigade" style, through the officers' quarters, up the ladder in the control room and out on to the port side deck.   There they would be slipped out of canisters and "armed" with a twist of a screwdriver.   The shells weighed 8O pounds, and seemed pretty heavy in practice.

The 5" guns had a "pointer" to aim the weapon horizontally, and a "trainer" to aim the weapon vertically.   C/SM Epler and C/Phm Dawson had those responsibilities.   The "first loader" was TM3c Wally Fulmer.   He would shove each shell into the breech and close it.   Wally was unusually mature physically for an 18-year-old.   Big red bushy beard.   Good sized fellow.   The "second loader" handed the "first loader" the shell.   That was my job.

The Haddock was trailing us but fired off the first shot, which got a prompt response from the picket boat.   They began to fire tracer ammunition at us, and the sky lit up like a fireworks celebration.   Our adrenaline began pumping and the shells didn't seem nearly so heavy as they had in practice.   I felt exhilarated   (That's the word for it).   The anti-aircraft guns were in action too.   Soon it seemed not so dark any more.   Maybe that was we had fired 75 five-inchers and the sun was coming up before we nailed the picket boat.   The boat was inclined to roll in the waves, so it was hard to keep the gun on target.

One of the crew, George Foisett, in the after gun crew, suffered a wound and he was awarded a purple heart.   This was the Sennet's only "battle surface."

Bill Hovey