Thomas Michael Dykers, Sr. (December 3, 1905 – June 13, 1975) was a submarine commander during World War II who reached the rank of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. He was also a writer and

Television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television net ...

. He produced and narrated the 1957–58 TV series ''The Silent Service''.

Early life

Dykers was born in 1905 to Reginald and Phoebe Alberta Dykers (née Hall) in New Orleans, Louisiana. He began his education at Tulane University, where he became a member of

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...

. The following year he transferred to The

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in Annapolis, Maryland , and graduated in 1927.

Junior Officer

After graduating from Annapolis, Dykers served onboard the USS Memphis. In 1930 Dykers had completed a course in chemical warfare, and was assigned to the

USS Bulmer USS ''Bulmer'' (DD-222/AG-86) was a Clemson class destroyer, ''Clemson''-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. It was the last warship of the Asiatic Fleet in USN commission. Namesake Roscoe Carlyle Bulmer was born on 4 ...

. In 1931 Dykers completed a submarine course in New London, Connecticut, and was subsequently assigned to the

USS S-15 (SS-120) USS ''S-15'' (SS-120) was a second-group (''S-3'' or "Government") ''S''-class submarine of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down on 13 December 1917 by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She was launched on 8 ...

. In 1934 Dykers completed a submarine commanders course while still being assigned to the USS S-15. In 1935 and 1936 Dykers was assigned to the Georgia School of Technology (now the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

) R.O.T.C. and completed the Naval War College Correspondence Course. In 1937 Dykers was assigned to the

USS S-25 (SS-130) USS ''S-25'' (SS-130) was a first-group (''S-1'' or "Holland") S-class submarine of the United States Navy. Construction and commissioning ''S-25'' was laid down on 26 October 1918 by the Fore River Shipbuilding Corporation in Quincy, Massach ...

. In 1938 Dykers took command of the USS S-35 (SS-140).

World War II

Dykers took command of the USS Jack in 1942, as her first commanding officer, and subsequently sank eight Japanese ships and was highly decorated for his service.

Later career

In 1949 Rear Admiral Dykers retired from the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and moved to California. There he became a technical advisor for the film industry, aiding in films such as ''

The Flying Missile ''The Flying Missile'' is a 1950 black-and-white Cold War era Columbia Pictures film starring Glenn Ford and Viveca Lindfors. Made with the cooperation of the US Navy,Ford 2011, p. 111. it tells a fictionalized story of the then recently revealed ...

'', ''

Submarine Command ''Submarine Command'' is a 1951 American war film directed by John Farrow and starring William Holden, Don Taylor, Nancy Olson, William Bendix, and Darryl Hickman. It is notable for being one of the first films to touch on post traumatic stres ...

'', and ''Torpedo Alley''. He later produced and narrated the 1957–58 TV series ''The Silent Service''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dykers, Thomas M. United States Navy rear admirals (lower half) 1905 births 1975 deaths Military personnel from New Orleans United States Navy personnel of World War II Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Silver Star