In writing Bird in the Deep, my blog was incredibly helpful in getting information from family members and surviving crew from the Partridge. Now the that book is finished, I wanted to transition to telling the story rather than solely asking for questions. I also wanted to retain the archive of the comments section. If you want to read the archive blog, feel free to visit usspartridge.wordpress.com. More news is coming here shortly.
Action Report from TF 128
I've attached a JPG scan of one page from the action report for Task force 128. This was the TF that towed the Mulberry and Whale unite to create an artificial harbor to feed the invasion of Normandy. I've posted the action report from the Partridge but this report...
Correction on Uniwaleco
I had previously recorded the British Oil Tanker that the Partridge rescued survivors from as Uniwalico as it appears in the ship's log. However, this is incorrect. The correct spelling is Uniwaleco. Bud Froelich, who was a SM2c at the time of the rescue on March 7,...
Crewman Added: Ike Eide
I received a wonderful note from Betty Eide whose husband Ike was aboard the Partridge. Ike wasn't on the crew list because he was not aboard when the ship sank. But he is, of course, a part of the ship's history. Actually, Betty's note pointed out what I've left out...
The Northern Barrage
I did some research into the early days of the Partridge. As a Lapwing minesweeper or "Bird Boat", the Partridge was built as a special class of minesweeper to clear mines laid in the North Sea by the U.S. Navy. This was a massive mine field of over 80,000 mines. Most...
Lieutenant Commander Janeway
On April 23, 1944 Lieut. Commander Janeway USNR reported aboard the Partrige as a board of investigation convened by order of Commander, Landing Craft and Bases, 11th Amphibious Forces. Janeway is listed in the log as both E. G. Janeway and E. J. Janeway. If there is...
HMCS Prescott
The HMCS Prescott was a Canadian ship that rescued many of the survivors from the Partridge after it was sunk on June 11, 1944. The ship doesn't look that much larger than the Partridge in this photo: From uboat.net: The German submarine U-163 was sunk in the North...
Photo of Joe Cooney from WWI and WWII
Pat Cooney who is the son of Joe Cooney sent in this photo of his father in Navy uniform during WWI. Joe was the Boatswain aboard the Partridge. He worked in New York harbor between the wars on tugs and ferries. His age and experience earned him the respect of the...
Photos from Leave
Going through some of my grandmother's scrapbooks, I came across these photos that I thought should be up here. It's amazing how different these photos look after going through the ship's logs and reading about the people in the photos. Most of these were taken...
Adnah Caldin
Adnah Caldin was the commander of the Partridge from approximately December of 1943 to April of 1944. There are many stories from members of the crew about his command of the ship. However, I do not have any information on his military career before or after the...
Task Force 128 – A History
The Partridge participated in TF 128 which was a vital part of the Mulberry operation. When the ship was sunk it was towing a whale unit as part of this Task Force as indicated in action report. I found an good article outlining the mission and preparations of this...