A "clean sweep" for a naval vessel refers to having "swept the enemy from the seas," a completely successful mission. It is traditionally indicated by hanging a
broom
A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...
from a mast or lashing it to the periscope of a submarine.
History
It is said the use of brooms in this respect originated during the 1650s, when the Dutch Admiral
Maarten Tromp
Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (also written as ''Maerten Tromp''; 23 April 1598 – 31 July 1653) was a Dutch army general and admiral in the Dutch navy.
Son of a ship's captain, Tromp spent much of his childhood at sea, including being captured ...
, after a decisive victory in the
First Anglo-Dutch War
The First Anglo-Dutch War, or simply the First Dutch War, ( nl, Eerste Engelse (zee-)oorlog, "First English (Sea) War"; 1652–1654) was a conflict fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic, ...
, the
Battle of Dungeness
The naval Battle of Dungeness took place on 30 November 1652 (10 December in the Gregorian calendar) during the First Anglo-Dutch War near the cape of Dungeness in Kent.
Background
In September 1652 the government of the Commonwealth of En ...
of 1652, hung a broom from his mast to indicate he had "swept the British from the seas" - his opponent
Admiral Blake is said to have responded with the hoisting of a whip, indicating he would whip the Dutch into submission. However, both stories are legends; a broom in the seventeenth century indicated the ship was for sale.
The United States Submarine Service during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
generally considered a patrol a "clean sweep" if the sub sank every target she engaged. Individual torpedoes might miss, and convoys usually had far too many ships for all to be sunk by a single boat, but these unavoidable inefficiencies did not mar a "clean sweep."
Recent variations
Few wide-ranging war patrols have been conducted since
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, so commanding officers have taken other opportunities to fly brooms. For example, in the year 2000 the
Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...
hung a broom from the flagpole yardarm outside their headquarters to symbolize its "clean sweep" of the
Y2K bug
The year 2000 problem, also known as the Y2K problem, Y2K scare, millennium bug, Y2K bug, Y2K glitch, Y2K error, or simply Y2K refers to potential computer errors related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates in and after ...
on all the command's ships.
In 2003, under circumstances perhaps closer to the traditional context, after
USS ''Cheyenne'' and USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720) launched their
Tomahawk missile
The Tomahawk () Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the United States Navy and Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations.
Under contract fr ...
s during
Operation Iraqi Freedom
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
, her commanding officer decided that placing all missiles on target, with no duds or failures, was a modern "clean sweep."
For decades, brooms have been flown by warships that successfully pass all elements of their
sea trials
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and i ...
. Examples include
USS ''Ohio'' in 2005 and
USS ''Virginia'' (SSN-774) in 2006.
See also
*
Use of the Jolly Roger by submarines
The Jolly Roger is a symbol that has been used by submarines, primarily those of the Royal Navy Submarine Service and its predecessors. The practice came about during World War I: remembering comments by First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson, ...
References
{{reflist
Maritime culture
Military traditions