Women in the Navy - 14325

Possibly the most versatile of the many new types of ships built during World War II were the destroyer escorts, now called frigates. Other types built during that time included attack cargo ships, transports, barracks ships, net tenders, repair ships, radar pickets, minelayers, and mine sweepers. Those ships, as well as many other types of ships too numerous to mention, changed the shape of the U.S. Navy almost overnight. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, 111 American submarines were in commission, 60 in the Atlantic Fleet and 51 in the Pacific. After the invasion of North Africa, U.S. efforts were concentrated in the Pacific, leaving submarine operations in the Atlantic to U.S. Allies. The Pacific became the hunting grounds for American submarine forces. The number of American submarines during the war peaked at 247. During the war, the United States lost 52 of these boats along with 3,505 submariners. The number of vessels sunk by U.S. submarines played a major part in the American victory in World War II. American submarines sank 1,750 Japanese merchant ships and more than 200 combatants. Those vessels represented 55 percent of the total Japanese tonnage sunk in the war. For an island nation such as Japan, those figures represented a fatal impact. Radar and sonar came into full use during World War II. The English used them initially to combat German U-boats, but they were also incorporated into the submarine as an attack aid. Sonar has become the most important of the submarine’s senses. Hydrophones listen for sounds from other ships and the echoes of sound waves transmitted from the submarine itself. Women in the Navy Twenty-one years after the Yeomanette era, women were needed to fill an acute shortage of personnel caused by rapid expansion of the Navy for World War II. On July 30, 1942, Congress authorized establishment of the Women’s Reserve, with an estimated goal of 10,000 enlisted women and 1,000 officers. This new organization had certain congressional limitations. Women could not serve at sea or outside the continental United States and could not exercise military command over men. They could not go beyond lieutenant commander on the pro- motion ladder. On August 4, 1942, Mildred Helen McAfee was sworn in as Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Naval Reserve, to become Commander of the Women’s Reserve. A boot camp for women volunteers was established at Hunter College in New York City. It was promptly dubbed USS Hunter. Since basic training lasted from 6 to 8 weeks, every other week some 1,680 women seamen had to be housed, fed, and uniformed. (The housing was provided in 17 apartment buildings near the college taken over by the Navy.) At about the same time, three other schools were commissioned in the Middle West to train enlisted women as Yeomen, Storekeepers, and Radiomen. In July 1943, the Navy Japanese Language School in Boulder, Colorado, opened to women. Navy women came to work the same hours as Navy men, standing both day and night watches. They stayed in uniform at all times except in the barracks or when engaged in active sports. They were called on to meet the same standards of neatness and good behavior as those required of men in uniform. In short, women were fitted into the Navy as an integral part of the service. They slipped into the same spot in the chain of command as the men they replaced and performed the same duties. This system gave Navy women the same status, responsibilities, and restrictions as men. The first Reserve classification for women officers was W-V(S), meaning Woman-Volunteer (Specialist). 5-18 Student Notes: Figure 5-12.—V-J Day aboard USS Missouri. Fleet Admiral Nimitz signs the Japanese surrender document on 2 September 1945.