09/23/2025
Post # 101: Featured Shipmate -- TM3/c Floyd Edward Gardner (1925-2015). Floyd was was from Glasgow Kentucky and a graduate of Frankfort High School: Floyd matriculated a year early in the fall semester of 1942, taking an accelerated schedule of classes in order to complete his graduation requirements and be able to enlist in the Navy by late November 1942. After Boot Camp and his rating's specialty training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois in the spring of 1943, he gained the necessary skills needed to maintain and launch the most formidable weapon on a World War II destroyer --- the Mark 15 torpedo. https://www.destroyers.org/tcs-ships/ordnance-photos-and-articles/the-21-in-quintuple-mk-14-and-mk-15-torpedo-tubes/
TM3c Gardner was specially trained to operate this complex weapons system's assorted components located throughout various sections of the USS Forrest: the TDC (Torpedo Data electro-mechanical computers) on either bridge wing, the Torpedo Mount itself located amidships, and the port and starboard K or Y-gun depth charge launchers at the quarterdeck aft and the roll-off depth charge racks on the stern. It is no exaggeration to state that the Torpedo Mate rating had one of the most challenging coursework requirements in the Navy - in the vernacular, studying to pass the test's were "no joke"! A recruit had to be intelligent and motivated enough to learn the necessary Mathematics, Mechanics, and Maintenance procedures, as well as complicated trigonometric firing tables (to name just one requirement) that were just some of the many course sections to learn...and if that wasn't enough to master -- there were the depth charge weapon's systems that Torpedo Mate's were often trained to handle and operate.
Naval Historian "Drachinifel" presents a video tour of the USS Kidd DD-661 and describes the ship's torpedo mount: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_gD6gpJcLY
Beginning August 1943, Floyd's first combat duty assignment at sea was aboard a Pacific Fleet Gleaves-class destroyer, the USS Edwards DD-619. Floyd participated in the frigid northern Pacific Aleutian islands campaign against enemy-held Kiska Island and then an autumn '43 tour down in the balmy tropical southern Pacific waters for operations against Rabaul and the Gilbert islands surrounding Tarawa atoll for Operation GALVANIC. Detached from service aboard the Edwards in December '43, Floyd was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet in the spring of '44 and was assigned to the USS Forrest in April '44 just before DesRon 10 (minus USS Macomb) departed for England & the northern France D-Day campaign of Operation NEPTUNE at UTAH Beach. Shortly thereafter, NEPTUNE was followed by the August '44 invasion of southern France during Operation ANVIL (aka DRAGOON). [Uniquely, the USS Forrest and many other US Navy destroyers which participated in the southern France invasion actually off-loaded their ships' torpedo's into storage at the USN naval base in Taranto, Italy. For the duration of the campaign, no significant Kriegsmarine naval threat in the Mediterranean was anticipated so the Navy determined the weight savings of nearly 10 tons and reduction in topside explosive ordnance vulnerable to enemy shore-based artillery batterys was a worthwhile tradeoff. Soon after the initial invasion of southern France was successfully conducted, the USS Forrest once again re-loaded its Torpedo's and was ready for a surface battle engagement. That said, we note that the USS Forrest never fired any of its torpedo's against an enemy ship during WWII]. Throughout August to early October 1944, the USS Forrest conducted a variety of patrol missions in the central and western Mediterranean, and coastal central-North Africa. The USS Forrest returned to the USA in November '44 and was converted into a newly created class of ship: the "destroyer-minesweeper" or "DMS". At this point in the war, very few Axis surface ships remained in service (most having been destroyed or driven to safe harbors) -- thus, there was a reduced need for torpedo weapons on most US Navy destroyers. During the conversion, the USS Forrest had its Torpedo's removed and nearly all the Torpedo Mate's re-assigned to other ships...all of them except Floyd, that is: for some reason that this author has not been able to determine why, Floyd was one of the few, if only, Torpedo Mate who was retained in service aboard the USS Forrest after its conversion to a DMS. It is unknown why this occurred: since the Forrest no longer had any torpedo's, there was ostensibly no longer a need for any Torpedo Mate ratings aboard ship. This author highly suspects that Floyd likely demonstrated such superior skills, motivation, seamanship, and fine sailor attributes that his skipper and leadership was somehow able to retain his service and circumvent a possible likely directive to transfer all of the ship's TM's: despite the requirement to send all Torpedo Mate's to other ships in November/December 1944, Floyd managed to remain in service aboard the USS Forrest throughout November 1944 to early January 1945 when all other TM's had already been transferred much earlier (indeed, the USS Forrest had already began to transfer off Torpedo Mate's beginning circa September/October '44-perhaps with the foreknowledge and anticipation that their TM's were no longer going to be needed aboard the Forrest). Despite being retained, Floyd was eventually transferred to a new Torpedo training course in January 1945 back in Rhode Island where all the main Torpedo training took place. Floyd traveled to the Newport Rhode Island Torpedo Mate's school and got the latest updated procedures. Upon the course completion, the USS Forrest was far, far away in the western Pacific preparing for the invasion of Okinawa. Instead of the long transfer journey back to the USS Forrest, the Navy decided in August 1945 to assign Floyd and his Torpedo skills to the newly constructed USS Shenandoah AD-26 on the West Coast to serve once again in the Pacific Fleet: this ship type was a "destroyer-tender" and its purpose was to service & support any type of DD ship to include all of its weapon's systems -- such as Torpedo's. Floyd would have been able to employ his training to good use aboard such a ship and he remained in service aboard the Shenandoah until a transfer in January 1946 whereupon he was subsequently discharged from the Navy soon thereafter in February '46.
Floyd moved to California in the 1950s where he had very successful career's in the insurance and finance industry. He was also a prominent leader in the business community, contributed his time and efforts to charitable causes, and was elected to education boards. Many decades later, Floyd returned to his homestate and hometown roots back in Kentucky where he again contributed to educational initiatives: in this case, he provided lectures on his World War II naval experiences to include making appearances at his alma mater high school in Frankfort. Floyd believed it was important for younger generations to learn about the WWII conflict and appreciate the struggle to retain democratic freedoms and ideals. Floyd and his memorial now rest in his favorite region of the Blue Grass state near his "My Old Kentucky Home." May Floyd rest in peace.
The family of Floyd Gardner graciously provided several news articles about his WWII memories as well as an invaluable collection of his photo's from aboard the USS Forrest: most of the crew are un-named (except for his friend and fellow Torpdeo Mate: TM2/c Eugene Alois Kastner (1924-1993). If anyone can assist this author with identifying any of the crewmate's as well as the possible locations these photograph's were taken-your efforts would be greatly appreciated. That said, given their appearance, this author believes most of the photo's probably represent the July-October 1944 timeframe when the USS Forrest was operating in the Mediterranean sea.
REFERENCE links to WWII era Torpedo training and historical development. Included are references to the severe problem of malfunctioning early wartime US Navy torpedo's and the scandalous coverup and struggle to fix the many issues that plagued this important weapon. By the time Floyd was assigned to the USS Edwards and USS Forrest, problems with US Navy torpedo's had essentially been eliminated and the weapon became a reliable system.
Torpedo's:
https://maritime.org/doc/jolie/part2.php
https://eugeneleeslover.com/USNAVY/CHAPTER-12-J.html
https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA274999
https://dair.nps.edu/handle/123456789/2486
https://ww2db.com/weapon.php?q=385
https://www.historynet.com/damn-the-torpedoes-wwii-winter2024/
https://eugeneleeslover.com/
https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/about-us/leadership/director/directors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-008/h-008-3.html
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2024/march/torpedoes-get-smaller-think-bigger
http://pwencycl.kgbudge.com/T/o/Torpedoes.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA4gU6ReNzA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJxswaEBq4A
http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WTUS_PreWWII.php
https://archive.navalsubleague.org/1998/u-s-navy-torpedoes-part-seven-dr-milford
https://archive.navalsubleague.org/1996/the-great-torpedo-scaodal-1941-43
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/the-u-s-navy-in-world-war-ii-problems-with-torpedoes/
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/mark-14-torpedo-scandal.html
https://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2018/2/8/fire-one-fire-ten-implications-of-the-torpedo-scandal-of-world-war-ii
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-defective-mark-14-torpedo/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po5gkF6TaQg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ5Ru7Zu_1I
Example of TM school class photo at Newport (not Floyd's):
https://rootsofkinship.com/2014/03/09/torpedomans-mate-school-us-navy-wwii-dec-1942-apr-1943/
Floyd's beloved home state song:
https://songofamerica.net/song/my-old-kentucky-home/
Virtual online tours of the USS Kidd DD-661 and USS Slater DE-766: view the various components on a WWII era DD and DE including their Torpedo and Depth Charge weapon systems:
https://www.usskidd.com/explore-the-kidd/virtual-ship-tour/
https://www.usskidd.com/explore-the-kidd/3d-ship-tour/
https://ussslater.org/online-tour
https://ussslater.org/guided-virtual-tour
USS Edwards DD-619:
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/e/edwards-ii.html
https://destroyerhistory.org/benson-gleavesclass/desron14/
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/e/edwards-ii.html
https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nara-series/80-g-k/80-G-K-15000/80-G-K-15590.html
USS Forrest:
https://destroyerhistory.org/benson-gleavesclass/desron10/
Note: there has been a mythological association with WWII era Torpedo's and sailors drinking the alcohol necessary to power its propulsion systems. In 1914, then serving Secretary of the Navy banned alcohol aboard ships: but ever since then to include WWII, enterprising sailors have gone through great lengths to obtain a recreational drink.
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/a/alcohol-in-the-navy.html
Did crew aboard the USS Forrest ever concoct and consume "Torpedo Juice"?...maybe not...maybe so!
https://www.beachesofnormandy.com/didyouknow/Did_you_know_American_submarine_crews_used_to_drink_torpedo_fuel/?id=bbbc9be423
https://www.alaskaveterans.org/torpedo-juice-real-or-fiction/
https://fieldethos.com/torpedo-juice/
https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/torpedo-juice-the-madness-the-myth.13820/
https://drunkpynchon.com/2018/01/04/torpedo-juice/
https://www.torpedo-juice.com/home.html
https://www.neatorama.com/2024/12/19/Torpedo-Juice-Was-More-Than-Just-a-Clever-Name-for-Booze/
https://vinepair.com/articles/torpedo-juice-us-navy-history/
https://www.adn.com/alaska-life/2024/12/15/torpedo-juice-the-legendary-illegal-world-war-ii-liquor-drunk-in-alaska-and-across-the-world/
Torpedo Data Computer Links: (note-several of these references relate to TDC's found on preserved US Navy submarine museums: their components and operation were similar to US Navy destroyer TDC's although each type is not identical)
https://www.lonesentry.com/blog/torpedo-data-computer.html
https://archive.navalsubleague.org/1995/restoration-of-the-tdc-mark-m-aboard-pampanito
https://www.maritime.org/doc/tdc/index.php
https://stephanrewind.itch.io/atlantic-41/devlog/706982/building-the-torpedo-data-computer-and-what-i-learned-from-the-battle-of-helms-deep
https://www.usscod.org/tdc.html
https://www.maritime.org/tech/tdc.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JjXiWJ2IrI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY5C45NJavQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNUVXlHCs7E
https://archive.navalsubleague.org/1998/u-s-navy-torpedoes-part-seven-dr-milford
https://www.military.com/history/how-navy-destroyer-almost-killed-fdr-torpedo.html
A special thank you to the family of TM3/c Gardner for graciously providing photograph's and recollections of Floyd's--as they have mentioned, Floyd was very proud of Navy service...and rightfully so! Our WWII generation helped safeguard the freedoms we all enjoy today as Americans. Sharing Floyd's memories will continue to honor his life and legacy of service for future generations of Americans and hopefully inspire others to serve our local community and nation. In addition, Floyd's service memoirs can help all of us learn to appreciate our freedom, just as Floyd would have desired.
[Last updated: 01 Oct 2025]
