Korean War Veteran Robert L. Claudy, Jr. shares his memories with Orlando Memory at Delaney Street Baptist Church in Orlando, FL, June 30th, 2010.
Robert Claudy, Jr. is an Orlando native and remembers playing ball at Hillcrest School when Mills Avenue was a clay road. If you made it to the clay it was a home run. He says there were lots of orange groves in the area, people were simple and you “learned how to squeeze the nickel”. Veteran Claudy served in the United States Navy Submarine Service during the Korean War and did operations out of Key West, FL. He recalls shooting the stars with a sextant for navigation. He was aboard the USS Cochino doing operations off the coast of Russia in 1949 when the battery exploded and the submarine later sank in the Barents Sea off Norway. Hear his firsthand account of this historic event.
LISTEN (12:12)
Picture of the USS Cochino Crew from Robert L. Claudy, Jr.’s original copy of The Saturday Evening Post, January 14, 1950 featuring the article: “Miracle Under the Arctic Sea,” on the sinking of the USS Cochino. Orlando resident Robert L. Claudy, Jr. was aboard the USS Cochino doing operations off the coast of Russia for the U.S. Navy when the battery explosion occurred on 25 August 1949. He is pictured on the right end second row from the front.
Robert L. Claudy, Jr. holding his original copy of The Saturday Evening Post, January 14, 1950 featuring the article: “Miracle Under the Arctic Sea,” on the sinking of the USS Cochino. Orlando resident Robert L. Claudy, Jr. was aboard the USS Cochino doing operations off the coast of Russia when the battery explosion occurred on 25 August 1949.
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Korean War Veteran Robert L. Claudy, Jr. Interview
Korean War Veteran Robert L. Claudy, Jr. at Delaney Street Baptist Church in Orlando, FL, June 30th, 2010. Robert Claudy, Jr. is...
USS Cochino Crew
Picture of the USS Cochino Crew from Robert L. Claudy, Jr.'s original copy of The Saturday Evening Post, January 14, 1950 featuring...
USS Cochino Saturday Evening Post
Robert L. Claudy, Jr. holding his original copy of The Saturday Evening Post, January 14, 1950 featuring the article: "Miracle Under the...
Interview with Korean War Veteran Robert L. Claudy, Jr. at Delaney Street Baptist Church in Orlando, FL, June 30th, 2010. Robert Claudy, Jr. is an Orlando native and remembers playing ball at Hillcrest School when Mills Ave. was a clay road. If you made it to the clay it was a home run. He says there were lots of orange groves in the area, people were simple and you "learned how to squeeze the nickel". Veteran Claudy served in the United States Navy Submarine Service during the Korean War and did operations out of Key West, FL. He recalls shooting the stars with a sextant for navigation. He was aboard the USS Cochino doing operations off the coast of Russia when the battery exploded and the submarine later sank in the Barents Sea off Norway. Hear his firsthand account of this historic event.
Sept. 26, 1949. USS Cochino. (SS-345) * 7 men lost
On 18 July 1949, Cochino put to sea for a cruise to Britain, and arctic operations. Her group ran through a violent polar gale off Norway, and the joltings received by Cochino played their part on 25 August in causing an electrical fire and battery explosion, followed by the generation of both hydrogen and chlorine gases. Defying the most unfavorable possible weather conditions, the commander of the Cochino, and his men fought for 14 hours to save the submarine, but a second battery explosion on 26 August made "Abandon Ship" the only possible order, and Cochino sank. The USS Tusk's rescued all of Cochino's men except for Robert Wellington Philo, a civilian engineer. six sailors from Tusk were lost during the rescue.
Cochino -- Naval Historical Center
Details on the USS Cochino from the Department of the Navy -- Naval Historical Center. Orlando resident Robert L. Claudy, Jr. was aboard the USS Cochino doing operations off the coast of Russia when the battery explosion occurred on 25 August 1949.
http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cochino.htmlUSS Cochino (SS-345)
NavSource Online Submarine Photo Archive: Cochino (SS-345) featuring images, commemorative postal covers and the Google Earth satellite photo of the site where the Cochino (SS-345) and the Tusk (SS-426) crewmen were lost, 71°35' N., 23°35' E. on 26 August 1949. Orlando native Robert Claudy, Jr. was aboard the submarine doing operations off the coast of Russia when the battery explosion occurred on August 26, 1949.
http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08345.htm