The Silent Service

30min

Drama

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.

Episodes

Cast

The Jack at Tokyo

1. The Jack at Tokyo

30min

5th Apr 1957

A submarine springs a leak while well into Japanese waters. An engineer takes on the dangerous mission of repairing it.

The Trout at the Rainbow's End

2. The Trout at the Rainbow's End

30min

12th Apr 1957

A docudrama about a mission during World War II by the submarine USS Trout involving transporting a large amount of gold and silver.

The End of the Line

3. The End of the Line

30min

17th Apr 1957

The USS Thresher is caught at the end of a Japanese destroyer's grappling hook and attempts to shake itself loose.

The Sculpin Story

4. The Sculpin Story

30min

26th Apr 1957

After a damaged submarine is forced to surface, all hands are ordered by the captain to abandon ship, but he stays aboard.

The Spearfish Delivers

5. The Spearfish Delivers

30min

3rd May 1957

A submarine is ordered to slip into Japanese-occupied Filipino waters to spirit out some important passengers from Corregidor.

The U.S.S. Bergall's Dilemma

6. The U.S.S. Bergall's Dilemma

30min

10th May 1957

The USS Bergall, which has been badly damaged, is trying to get to port but three Japanese patrol boats are making it difficult.

The U.S.S. Batfish Scores

7. The U.S.S. Batfish Scores

30min

17th May 1957

The USS Batfish is ordered to intercept some enemy submarines that are carrying very important Japanese officials.

The U.S.S. Tigrone Sets a Record

8. The U.S.S. Tigrone Sets a Record

30min

6th Jun 1957

A submarine trying to rescue downed American pilots comes under attack from Japanese destroyers.

The Five-Ring Circus

9. The Five-Ring Circus

30min

27th Jun 1957

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.

The U.S.S. Pampanito Story

10. The U.S.S. Pampanito Story

30min

7th Jun 1957

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 U.S.S. Tirante Plays a Hunch

11. The U.S.S. Tirante Plays a Hunch

30min

14th Jun 1957

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.

The U.S.S. Tang vs. Truk

12. The U.S.S. Tang vs. Truk

30min

21st Jun 1957

With morale low, USS Tang stands by for rescue downed American pilots during the attack on the Truk islands.

The Wahoo Story

13. The Wahoo Story

30min

28th Jun 1957

The final mission of the USS Wahoo.

The Two Davids and Goliath

14. The Two Davids and Goliath

30min

5th Jul 1957

Darter and Dace during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

The Ordeal of S-38

15. The Ordeal of S-38

30min

12th Jul 1957

A submarine suffers a series of disasters: a broken prop, damaged instruments and an explosion onboard.

The Seahorse Story

16. The Seahorse Story

30min

19th Jul 1957

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.

The Salmon Swims Upstream

17. The Salmon Swims Upstream

30min

26th Jul 1957

In October of 1944. 100 miles off Japan. Salmon is damaged in a depth charge attack and must remain surfaced.

Cargo for Crevalle

18. Cargo for Crevalle

30min

2nd Aug 1957

The crew of the USS Crevalle takes aboard a Filipino woman about to give birth to a baby.

Boomerang

19. Boomerang

30min

9th Aug 1957

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

20. The Squailfish

30min

16th Aug 1957

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.

The Grouper Story

21. The Grouper Story

30min

23rd Aug 1957

Prior to the invasion, the USS Grouper transports Australian raiders and their native guides to a hidden cove on New Britain.

The Eyes of the Seawolf

22. The Eyes of the Seawolf

30min

30th Aug 1957

When his ship's attempts to sink Japanese shipping fail, a seaman with an interest in photography produces evidence of faulty design.

The Sea Dragon Story

23. The Sea Dragon Story

30min

6th Sep 1957

The USS Sea Dragon's oxygen tanks are exhausted. Death by suffocation or enemy gun fire seems inevitable.

The Narwhal's Passenger from Mindanao

24. The Narwhal's Passenger from Mindanao

30min

13th Sep 1957

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.

The Perch's New Role

25. The Perch's New Role

30min

20th Sep 1957

A docudrama about the submarine USS Perch on a mission during The Korean War to deliver British Royal Marines on a secret commando raid.

The Final War Patrol

26. The Final War Patrol

30min

27th Sep 1957

Concerns the Gato Class WWII Sub U.S.S. Barb (SS-220) and her Final WWII Patrol.

The Last Dive

27. The Last Dive

30min

4th Oct 1957

A broken propeller, an internal explosion and damaged instruments plague an outmoded American submarine assigned to attack Jap transports.

The Gar Story

28. The Gar Story

30min

11th Oct 1957

A docudrama about the submarine USS Gar on a secret mission with guerillas during World War II.

The Story of the U.S.S. Flier

29. The Story of the U.S.S. Flier

30min

18th Oct 1957

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.

The Starfish Came Home

30. The Starfish Came Home

30min

25th Oct 1957

Enemy bombers attack the U.S.S. Starfish, and a hatch cover sticks as it attempts to submerge.

The Sealion Story

31. The Sealion Story

30min

1st Nov 1957

A damaged sub surfaces to attack a fleet of Japanese destroyers.

The Nautilus Story

32. The Nautilus Story

30min

8th Nov 1957

The Nautilus is assigned to observation duty at Tarawa and caught between U.S. and Japanese fire.

Hit 'Em Again, Harder

33. Hit 'Em Again, Harder

30min

15th Nov 1957

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.

The Seashark Story

34. The Seashark Story

30min

22nd Nov 1957

A photographer's mate is frightened by his assignment - to photograph submarines in action. The crew helps to make things unpleasant.

The Tshushima Straits Story

35. The Tshushima Straits Story

30min

29th Nov 1957

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.

The Searaven

36. The Searaven

30min

6th Dec 1957

A U.S. sub becomes a sitting duck to save Australian soldiers from Timor Island.

The Tang's Last Shot

37. The Tang's Last Shot

30min

13th Dec 1957

The USS Tang, after sinking an entire convoy, gets in the way of her own torpedo.

The Loss of the Perch

38. The Loss of the Perch

30min

20th Dec 1957

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. "

The Guardfish

39. The Guardfish

30min

27th Dec 1957

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.

First air date

5th Apr 1957

Last air date

28th Nov 1958

Status

Ended

Type

Scripted

Original language

en

Networks