Francis Hugh Beaumont, TM/2, USNR enlisted on June 15, 1942 at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Seen here on the deck of the USS Permit SS 178 sometime between March 29, 1943 to May 25, 1943. Beaumont reported aboard Permit from the COMSUBDIV 21 working as relief crew on Midway. He had previously been stationed aboard the USS Pike.

Beaumont rode Permit for her 8th war patrol in the traffic lanes leading from the Marianas to Truk Atoll, Caroline Is., and after several encounters, returned to Pearl Harbor 25 May.

The photo of Beaumont, above, was taken on the fore deck of the Permit during this time frame. The large rectangular blocks seen behind Francis Beaumont are part of the breech mechanism for the two under deck mounted torpedo tubes installed in January 1943 at Mare Island. There are deck hatches seen in front of the torpedo tube breech doors. These were perhaps used to load the tubes.

These tubes proved problematic and were not installed in boats beyond the few original conversions. The earlier fleet boats had been built with four tubes forward instead of the six wanted by the crews and skippers due to efforts to keep costs down. The later fleet boats were built with six tubes forward starting with the Tambor Class. Being a torpedo-man Beaumont would have had these tubes as part of his job aboard Permit.

On May 27, 1943 he transferred to Relief Crew in ComSubDiv-44. He eventually was transferred to the USS Salmon SS 182.

Photo taken on the deck of the USS Permit SS 178 on August 14, 1943. A Japanese fishing float has been pulled up on the deck. The rope that held the ball to the fishing net is covered in barnacles.

Comparing the date with Permits Patrol Reports show that this date was between War patrol 9 & 10. The sub must have been doing some training or shakedown work some where just off of the Hawaiian Island of Oahu.

The men on the deck have been identified as, L to R:
Ned Banks, Chief QM (the year before (1942) he was shown on the crew muster lists as a Seaman 1/class)
Lt Fredrick Taeusch, who at that time was the Executive Officer of Permit. Taeusch has his arm out pointing to Ensign Hosemer. Look at the water marks on the deck. They lead to Hosemer who, it seems, was the one to go into the water to get the ball. He's still dripping wet.
"Moon" Chapple; Holding the fishing float ball.
Ensign "Red" Hosemer, retreiver of the float.

About knee height, port and Starboard are square "blocks" on the deck. These are the deck mount torpedo tubes, the strut at the right is the part of the gun barrel bipod.

Even to this day. Glass Fishing Floats can still be found at sea and washed up on beaches.