Hello XXXXXXXXXX,
My name is Dani and I would like to work with you on this question for many reasons, first I am interested in the question and second, I come from a military family as well as my son now serves.
I am familiar with this torpedo run. Several ships in different areas were hit. This was also the time frame of the Arizona sinking and the largest known shark attack in the history of shark attacks. The men of that ship were in the water for almost a week, had swallowed water and oil as well. Of the 900 + that went into the water, only a little over 300 came out.
However, the diagnosis of TB escapes me. Unless they are calling it that because of the inflamation of the lining of the lungs. Which is what TB is. However, TB as a rule, is contagious and is something that requires that the patient be monitored and sometimes quarintined from others (depending on the strain).
TB will cause violent coughing, fever (at times), chills (at times) and general feeling of maliase (tiredness). The coughing will be from mucus that forms in the lungs and blocks off the breathing tubes and sacks. The person will cough so much, so hard and for so long, they will literally begin to bleed from their lungs, coughing it up.
While some sailors suffocated from the oil in their lungs, others lived for many years following the sinkings. It depended on the damage (internally) and their mental ability to deal.
I would like to know how many of the sailors in the area died of TB and were they all from the same ship? If this is the case, then the infection was not from the sinking, but someone on the ship, brought it with them, infected the others (as it is airborne in transmission as well as body fluid) and in the confines of a ship or U-boat, the transferance rate must have been very high.