JAMES FORD DUCKWORTH JR.
Torpedoman’s Mate Third Class · Plankowner, USS Silversides (SS-236) · Plankowner, USS Blackfin (SS-322)
.jpg)
James Duckworth is on the right. Image from the USS Silversides Museum.
| Born / Died | 4 Apr 1918, Fort Wood, WV / 19 Aug 1980 |
| Service no. | 258-15-19 |
| Commissioning rate | TM3c (15 Dec 1941) |
| Silversides tenure | 15 Dec 1941 – 27 Sep 1943 |
| Patrols aboard | 6 (13 ships credited, 73,387 t)² |
| Final rate | CTM(AA)(T) |
| Other vessels | Sailfish (SS-192), Blackfin (SS-322, plankowner) |
| Service | 9 Dec 1936 – 20 Dec 1946 (BIRLS) |
Prewar (1918–1941)
James Duckworth was born on 4 April 1918, and his compliance card gives Fort Wood, West Virginia. In 1930 the family rented a house for $5 a month in Black Fork, Tucker County. His father Ford (36) was a teamster in the logging yards, and his mother Maud (36) kept a household of eleven children, of whom James (12) was the fourth. He enlisted in the Navy on 9 December 1936, at eighteen. He served in Sailfish (SS-192), and on 21 August 1941 he went to the Snapper flag allowance of CSD 22, the same date and change as Donald E. Finch and Lester J. De Muth.
On Silversides (Dec 1941 – Sep 1943)
Duckworth commissioned aboard *Silversides* on 15 December 1941 as TM3c. He stayed for her first six war patrols, from 30 April 1942 to 12 September 1943, and was transferred on 27 September 1943 to ComSubDiv 82 “for duty” instead of for new construction.
| Patrol | Dates | CO | Credited sunk | Credited damaged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 Apr – 21 Jun 1942 | Burlingame | 5 (25,627 t)¹ | 1 (10,100 t) |
| 2 | 15 Jul – 8 Sep 1942 | Burlingame | 4 (15,250 t) | 2 (5,750 t) |
| 3 | 2 Oct – 25 Nov 1942 | Burlingame | 2 (12,500 t)² | 0 |
| 4 | 17 Dec 1942 – 31 Jan 1943 | Burlingame | 1 (10,010 t) | 3 (14,360 t) |
| 5 | 17 May – 1 Jul 1943 | Burlingame | 1 (10,000 t) | 0 |
| 6 | 21 Jul – 12 Sep 1943 | Coye | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 13 (73,387 t) | 6 (30,210 t) |
¹ Tonnage as credited in endorsements. Patrol 1 includes a submarine credit that was likely a log or other debris.
² Patrol 3 figures come from the ship’s history, not a patrol report. The total therefore mixes bases.
Later War (1943–1945)
His service has a gap between 27 September 1943 and 4 July 1944, when he commissioned USS Blackfin (SS-322). He made her first war patrol and was detached to CSD 182 at Fremantle on 5 December 1944. That unit advanced him to CTM(AA)(T) on 1 February 1945 and sent him to the Submarine Base, New London, on 6 February as an instructor. He reported to New London on 23 May 1945, and on 2 August he went to Naval Hospital Newport and on 17 August to Naval Hospital Sampson.
Postwar (1945–1980)
BIRLS gives his separation as 20 December 1946, and on 24 March 1947 he completed a postwar compliance card from Poquonnock Bridge, Connecticut, listing his employer as “Veteran-Disch-Navy.” The card describes a man 5 ft 9 in and 150 lb, with light complexion, brown hair and eyes, tattoos on his right leg and left arm, and a birthmark on his left arm. The 1950 census finds him in Coketon, West Virginia, “unable to work,” with his wife Melda (28) and three children, the youngest born in Connecticut. He died on 19 August 1980.
Research Notes
-
Hospital and disability: his late-war shift from instructor to hospital patient and his 1950 enumeration as unable to work lack a documented link. The OMPF should close that loop. An obituary would help.
-
Interim: the 27 Sep 1943 – 4 Jul 1944 interim is open. “For duty” at ComSubDiv 82, not “for new construction,” suggests he held another billet before the Blackfin detail formed. The Blackfin commissioning muster’s “date reported” column closes it.
-
“SubDiv 181 R.C.”: at the 23 May 1945 New London receipt, the remark is probably a misread of CSD 182, but it could be another holding billet.
verify -
Hospital abbreviations: “NH Newport” and “NH Sampson” are read as naval hospitals.
verify -
Name: the 1930 census gives his father as Ford James Duckworth, while the museum caption reads “James Ford Duckworth Jr.” The Jr. is assumed from the caption.
verify -
Draft: the 1947 card is a postwar compliance card, not a prewar draft registration. The 1940 census has not been found.
-
Sailfish: the frontmatter
other_boatslists only Blackfin. Sailfish is added from the ROC entry of 21 Aug 1941. -
Source notes (carried over, verbatim):
1930 Census: Black Fork, Tucker, WV. ED 47-4 Sheet no. 11B. Father was a Teamster in the Logging Yards. Large family, 5 brothers and 5 sisters. Father Ford James Duckworth 36, mother Maud B 36. Edna L 17, William H 15, Geraldine 13, James F 12, Robert M 10, Ray 8, Billie and Nettie 6 year old twins, Ida M 4, Donna L 2, and Billie G 4 months. All living in a $5 rental.
1950 Census: Coketon, WV. Unable to work. James F Duckworth 32 and wife Melda 28. Daughters Sandra G 8, Mary F 5, and James III 4. James, Melda, Sandra and Mary were all born in WV. James III was born in Connecticut.
USS Silversides commissioning crew. Commissioned USS Blackfin (SS-322) and served through the end of her first war patrol, detached to CSD-182 at Fremantle 5DEC44. CSD-182 R/C has his advancement to CTM(AA)(T) on 1FEB45 and subsequent transfer to S/B New London for duty as instructor on 6FEB45. He shows up at New London 23MAY45 with the change being REC and the remarks “SubDiv 181 R.C.” Current hypothesis is Yeoman transcription error but it could also be another holding billet he was sent to between 182 and 181.
Sailfish to CSD22 Flag Allow for duty 21AUG41. Same date and change as Donald E. Finch.
Silversides: 15DEC41 to 27SEP43.
ComSubDiv 82 for duty
Blackfin (SS-322): 4JUL44 to 5DEC44- Silversides service bracketed: commissioning plankowner 15 Dec 1941 → transferred 27 Sep 1943 to ComSubDiv 82 for duty. ~21 months, essentially the whole early-war run.
- Gap: 27 Sep 1943 → Blackfin commissioning detail. ComSubDiv 82 “for duty” (not “for new construction”) is interesting — he may have had an interim assignment before the Blackfin detail formed. The Blackfin commissioning muster’s “date reported” column closes that end.
- Blackfin: plankowner 4 Jul 1944 → made 1st war patrol → detached Fremantle 5 Dec 1943… 5 Dec 1944, to SubDiv 182.
- 1945: CTM(AA)(T) 1 Feb 45 → ComSubLant/Enlisted Sub School New London 6 Feb 45 → SubBase New London 23 May 45 (from “SubDiv 181 R.C.”, likely a 182 misread) → NH Newport 2 Aug 45 → NH Sampson 17 Aug 45.
- Open, records-request-only: cause of the hospital stay; whether he ever taught before falling ill; the 27 Sep 43 – 4 Jul 44 interim.
Sources: 1930 and 1950 census; postwar compliance card; BIRLS (Navy, 9 Dec 1936 – 20 Dec 1946; died 19 Aug 1980); Find a Grave; Silversides ROC and muster; NARA RG 24 muster rolls via Ancestry.