If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Home Town Roswell, NM
Last Address Born in Oklahoma and raised in Roswell NM. Retired to: Solana Beach, California. Inurnment at the U.S. Naval Academy Columbarium.
Date of Passing Jan 09, 2014
Location of Interment U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery and Columbarium (VLM) - Annapolis, Maryland
Vice Admiral Patrick J. Hannifin, U.S.N. Ret. Director of the Joint Staff - Commandant 13th Naval District - Commander Submarines Mediterranean
Patrick J. Hannifin (January 26, 1923 – January 9, 2014) was an American Navy Vice Admiral.
Hannifin was born in 1923 in Oklahoma to Steven Patrick and Elizabeth (née Flanagan) Hannifin. He attended the New Mexico Military Institute prior to going to the United States Naval Academy, in which he graduated in 1944. Hannifin served in World War II on the submarine USS Balao (SS-285) and served in three war combat patrols, and after the war he served on the captured German submarine U-858 and eventually held commands of the USS Diodon (SS-349), USS George Washington (SSBN-598), USS Lafayette (SSBN-616) as well as Submarine Squadron 15, in 1968, which he was given responsibility for all the Polaris submarines in the Pacific Fleet in Guam.
From September 1969 to October 1971, following his promotion to rear admiral, Hannifin served as Commandant of the Thirteenth Naval District. Other flag posts he served included commanding Submarine Group Eight in Naples, Italy, Commander of Submarine Flotilla Eight, as well as Commander Submarines Mediterranean, which he took charge of the NATO submarine forces. He returned to Washington, D.C. in 1973 when he served in multiple positions within the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Following a promotion in 1976 to vice admiral for him to assume the position of Director of Plans and Policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in 1977, Hannifin was given the position of Director of the Joint Staff. He served in this capacity until his retirement in 1978.
Vice Admiral Hannifin was a recipient of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with two Gold Stars, and the Navy Commendation Medal with one Gold Star and a 'V' for VALOR device.
In retirement Hannifin lived in Solana Beach, California and served as president of HANESCO, Co., in the oil and gas industry. He was married to Mary (née Snyder), whom he married July 12, 1944. They had 3 children. One son, Steven Patrick II also served in the United States Navy. He has also served as a consultant on naval matters that include submarines, appearing on television and news panels to provide analysis on current matters. He also possesses a business degree, which he obtained from George Washington University in 1968.
Other Comments:
A man of surprising talents, VAdm Hannifin, also managed to fit in travel to Rome and Malta with his new-found Hollywood friends when he was hired as the Technical Advisor for the motion picture U-571. Subsequently, the television industry called upon him for technical expertise and commentary as they covered the loss of the Russian submarine Kursk. He was inducted into the New Mexico Military Institute's Hall of Fame in 1985; in 2012, the Naval Submarine League honored VADM Hannifin with their Distinguished Submariner Award.
VADM Patrick J. Hannifin, submarine movie consultant
Date
Apr 2, 2012
Last Updated: May 10, 2015
Comments
VADM Patrick J. Hannifin, submarine movie consultant
by VADM Patrick J. Hannifin, US Naval Adademy, Class of 1945 Edited by David Barth 2 April 2012
In the summer of 1997 my classmate, RADM George Ellis called to tell me that he had been asked by Martha Di Laurentiis, wife of and co-producer with Dino Di Laurentiis, if he could give some technical help to Jonathan Mostow, the writer and director of U-571. George, fortunately for me and him, was getting married in two weeks, so he told her that he had a classmate in San Diego who might help. Then Martha called me and I agreed to help.
Jonathan Mostow had a great story and had researched a lot about World War II U-boat operations and the Enigma coding machine in order to fit his story into actual history. He needed help in who did what and how the real submarine evolutions of diving, surfacing, shooting torpedoes, firing deck guns, etc., were carried out by the sailors and officers on board. So my initial job was to work with Jonathan and his writers on the script to make sure that the two submarines involved, an old U.S. S-Boat (built in 1919) and a fairly new German U-boat, did things the way submarines really did them. I had the advantage of having served in an S-boat for a short time in 1944 during World War II, made three war patrols and served in the ex-German U-858 in 1946 just after the war. Although admittedly my memory of details had faded a bit during the intervening 50 or so years; the director and I wanted to make the movie of submarines and submariners in combat as accurate as possible, though it was a fictional account, not a documentary.
When the producers got the backing of Universal Studios and the casting had been set, we went to Rome in January 1999 to begin filming in the largest sound stage in Europe. Rome because of Dino Di Laurentiis' years of making movies there and it could be done at less expense. Two submarines were built on the set-15% larger than life-a complete U-boat and most of the compartments of the S-boat. The set designer for the U-boat had done the same for the German film Das Boot and had a Type VII U-boat from World War II in Kiel and some very good blueprints. The S-boat was not as easy. There were few interior photos and no reliable blueprints that showed details of the equipment. I relied on the memories of many retired chiefs and officers who had served in the S-boats to give our set designer as much help as possible. It was a real challenge - but turned out pretty well. I warned my old friends not to expect it to look like their S-boat. On the same sound stage in Rome, a hydraulically powered gimbal system was built in a water-filled tank on which they could place any two compartments of the U-boat or the S-boat. Angles and rolls and shakes for the diving, surfacing and depth charge scenes were shot using this simulator. It was an engineering masterpiece, and it worked.
After filming the interior shots in Rome for three months we went to Malta where the crew had built a full scale U-boat that we took to sea for the surface action scenes (it did not submerge, but would make about 12 knots on the surface). My job in Rome was to take a dozen or so young American actors with no military experience (except for Harvey Kietel who played the part of the chief of the boat) how to first be sailors then how to be submariners. This meant starting at the beginning explaining how a submarine is built, how it dives, surfaces, charges batteries, shoots torpedoes, fires the deck gun-in short, everything that a diesel boat can do. I held what submariners call "school of the boat" in classrooms and in the mockups of both the U-boat and the S-boat to explain air, hydraulic, water, fuel, electrical, ventilation and every other system in the boats-what each one did and why. We walked through every scene to make sure that each actor was comfortable in his part: that he knew why he was turning that valve, throwing that switch, pulling that lever and what happened when he did and what happened if he made the wrong choice. They were all eager, attentive and dedicated to doing it right-if they did it wrong when we shot the scene it was my fault for not catching the mistake.
Most importantly, I told them why submariners were different-in addition to the fact that they always smelled of diesel fuel. I explained the unique Qualification System and what each sailor or officer was required to do to earn their silver or gold dolphins. That you had to know your own job and much more. That then, as now, submariners live and work in a different world under an unforgiving ocean that is constantly trying to get into the same compartment with you! You develop confidence in yourself and in your shipmates. You know that in case of an emergency, your life and the life of your boat could depend on a well-qualified submariner being in the right place, at the right time, to take the right action.
Although I helped in the training of the German actors, the principal part was done by Captain Hans Krug who had been XO of a U-boat in World War II and commanding officer of a German destroyer in their post war Navy. He had also been the technical director for "Das Boot." Captain Krug was of great help to me by holding a refresher course in the U-boat mockup so that I could teach the American crew when they had to operate the U-571. The big action part of the movie is the capture of the disabled U-571 by the S-33, which has been altered to look like a German re-supply submarine, and the seizing of the Enigma machine and code books. Underlying that is the story of Matthew McConaughey's character, Lieutenant Andy Tyler, the executive officer of the S-33, who although technically qualified has not been recommended for submarine command by his commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Mike Dahlgren, played by Bill Paxton. The captainbelieves that Lieutenant Tyler does not yet understand the difference between being a good officer and being the captain.
In order for both actors to understand this point more thoroughly, we talked about World War II submarine war patrols, successful and unsuccessful ones, and the difference a good skipper makes. I gave them several things to read -one of these is the great piece by Josef Conrad called Command at Sea, which nearly all of us know. To remind, here is an excerpt from it:
"A ship at sea is a different world in herself and in consideration of the protracted and distant operations of the fleet units, the Navy must place great power, responsibility and trust in the hands of those leaders chosen for command. In each ship there is one man who, in the hour of emergency or peril at sea, can turn to no other man. There is one who alone is ultimately responsible for the safe navigation, engineering performance and accurate gunfire and morale of his ship. He is the commanding officer. . ."
As you see in the movie U-571, when the American crew's S-33 is suddenly and unexpectedly sunk by the arriving re-supply U-boat, Lieutenant Tyler is just as suddenly thrown into the position of commanding officer of the U-boat, and has to make those very difficult decisions in order to save the ship and complete their mission. Lieutenant Tyler's transformation from a good officer to a captain was a crucial part of U-571 and was the backbone of a fine and very loud action movie! During the entire time I was impressed by the expertise, professionalism, cooperation and hard work of the director, production crews and the actors-with none of the egos that one hears about in the movie industry. It was a great experience for me, although I was even too old to play the part of the admiral!