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USS Salute - The American Wreck
The following information on Northern Borneo wrecks was taken with kind permission from the Panaga Divers of Brunei, web site http://www.panagadivers.com Many thanks to Mark Tuttle, John Elder and also Maurice Davidsons book Brunei Laut.
Approximate position: 5 Deg. 08.664’ N 115 Deg. 04.726’ E This wreck lies less than 100 metres from the Brunei border and sank on the 8th June 1945. The author would like to express his thanks to the American ex-servicemen who sailed on the Admirable Class of Minesweeper during World War II. These gentlemen, most well into their 80's, have provided recollections and details that appear below. Wayne Schaeffer, whose brother died on the wreck was particularly helpful in locating so many of these veterans.
On the 12th August 2007 on the USS Salute a Memorial Plaque laid by BSADC
Meanwhile, the wreck continues to provide a haven for myriads of fish. The schooling yellow-tail barracuda, sweetlips (Diagramma pictum) and the massive sting-ray that lives around the wreck demonstrate that the wreck has now returned to nature, and despite avaricious attempts to disturb this place, it remains a sanctuary for fish and provides a historical dive site for interested and respectful divers.
History The USS Salute was a US Navy Minesweeper of the Admirable Class, designated AM 294 and displacing 850 tons. Its dimensions were: Length 56 m, Breadth 10 m, Draft 3 m. She was built in 1943 by the Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Co., of Seattle Washington state, USA. Some of her sister ships are still working in Mexico, Vietnam and the Philippines. This minesweeper hit a mine on 8th June 1945 during the allies' pre-invasion sweep of Brunei Bay, called 'Operation Oboe Six'. The Salute and her sister vessels of Mine division 34 were sweeping the approach routes, clearing a path for the troops who were to land on Labuan and Brunei (40,000 troops, 100 naval vessels, six assault landings). She hit a contact mine at 3.15 pm midships with catastrophic results. Four men died in the blast, 37 were wounded and the ship buckled amidships, settling at bow and stern. A landing craft attempted but failed to control the flooding and she sank at midnight in some 30 meters of water.
In this picture, the ship has no funnel although type-sections show a funnel. The rubbing strake has been inked in by myself. It's a handy reference when trying to piece together the remains of the vessel. AM-294 USS Salute
Initially the bow of the wreck was tilting upwards over the stern, but in the winter of 1994/1995, the weight of the bows that already were displaying a large crack caused them to fall and twist onto the stern deck so that they pointed back at the stern!
*Although sources on the internet claim that the engines were diesel electric, this has been challenged by survivors who claim that the engines drove the propellers through a fluid coupling and a reduction gearbox. The engines were placed in two separate rooms, the forward room housing the starboard main engine and the aft room the port main engine. The aft engine room is accessible at the break in the hull and the engine can be seen in place. An engine lies on the seabed near the mast and may be the starboard engine or one of the generators. It would be worth comparing the two engines during a dive. The main engines measured 5 * 1¼ * 2½ metres.
Understanding the Wreck It's not the narcosis that will confuse you on this wreck and it takes several dives to build up a rough picture of this vessel, but here goes. Apologies if I've got this wrong. Maurice Davidson's excellent diagram (below) is now out of date due to the deterioration of the fore hull that seems not only to have rolled upright but shed the forepeak in the process.
The wreck is collapsing all the time. The radar platform, easily accessed along the mast (below - drawing left 31.10.04), shows that the radio-guide from the radar platform has collapsed over two years (30.07.06). An engine block near-by is impressive and the stern is much the same as ever. In detail, we see that the bows have disintegrated badly since Maurice drew his sketch. The hawse pipes stand alone, and only a short section of the bows, heavily canted to port, sits proud of the stern deck. The larger picture shows the view forward from the stern with the bows facing aft (!) and over to the right, the remains of the front of the vessel lying at right-angles to the rest! Indeed, this is a shambles!
From left to right - Mast, Engine block, Stern cranes (sadly removed), Hawse-pipes and Stern helm
In the montages below, I've tried to show how the parts of the vessel fit together. Click on the picture for an explanation.
View #1: The stern winches lie in the foreground. We are looking forward. On the right are the remains of the fore half of the vessel, with the bow itself on the left and, incongruously, pointing towards the camera on the stern! The keel of the fore half of the vessel is visible just right of centre.
Left image - Looking into the broken off part of the fore hull. The keel is clearly seen. The keel went no further towards the bows (right) and constituted a weak point in the ship. Right image - Looks right into the bows. When the explanation is super-imposed, one can see how they fit together. Once again, the rubbing strake on the stren helps one to orientate.
Looking towards the starboard midships side of the wreck, with the fore hull to our left riding up onto the wreck.
Looking towards the starboard stern of the wreck. The fore hull is now to our right and the prop-shaft and stern cranes can be glimpsed in the 10 metre vis. Wildlife
Extraordinary 24th September 2006: Spot the Difference!
Looking at the two images above, the left one was taken on 17.09.2006 and the right on 24.09.2006
Strange things happen to our wrecks over the course of time. Most are in a rapid state of deterioration, however, look at these two pictures of the USS Salute (the only Labuan wreck in Brunei waters) taken one week apart. No major difference; it's still the sheared off bow of a warship, but the heavy-duty, copper cables (top left) have been moved. It's amazing what you see when you have the time and the visibility to look rather than to take the 'tourist route' and simply gawp at the barracuda swarms. In the photograph to the right you can see the ladder that leads down into the forepeak, a large compressed air cylinder and the keel of the ship. The USS Salute page shows interpretations of these pictures. Recently, all the Brunei and Labuan wrecks have shown this odd 'before and after' appearance. I wonder who is systematically going through these wrecks?
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