August 17 1943.
USS Balao,
South China Sea.
0230: Made sonar contact with a Japanese convoy at bearing 47 degrees Hdg 210 degrees at approx 30 nm. Plotted intercept course but had to run on the surface in order to get into position in time.
At about 0400 I reached my submerge point and did so. If my calculations were correct, the enemy convoy should appear at a bearing of about 45 degrees in a half hour.
At 0405 made sonar contact with convoy but instead of it being off to 45 degrees and two thousand yards it was at 90 degrees and four thousand yards. Im not sure how the deck watch didn't spot the convoy or how the Japanese didn't spot me. But it was too late to move out of the way so I ordered all stop and rigged for silent running as there were four or five escorting destroyers.
A few minutes later I spotted two large tankers, one off the starboard bow and one off the starboard stern. I was in decent position to attack both but I had to be quick. I managed to get three torpedoes off at each ship but now I was being pinged by the lead destroyer. I ordered the sub to dive but going at two knts wasn'g going to get us out of danger quickly. Luckily the destroyer didn't have a very good fix on us.
Moments later torpedo impacts on the rear, and then the front tanker
were reported by the WO and sonar reported the rear tanker breaking apart as she sank. Must have broke her back.
By now, the escort destroyers were converging on me and we took some minor damage from depth charges. The deeper we went the more difficulty the Japanese destroyers had in getting a good fix on us but that didn't stop them from trying. At one moment they would lose all contact with the Balao only to regain it later. For two hours we dodged the enemy destroyers until they finally gave up to rejoin the convoy.
When I felt it was safe, we ascended to periscope depth and off in the distance, the first tanker was sitting dead in the water. And curiously there was a lone Japanese destroyer about 2000 yard directly aft of us. As I caught site of her she was sitting still obviously listening for any indication of us. Moments later the destroyer starting sailing in a tight oval perhaps 500 yards long at about 25 knts and kept looping around over and over again. Hmm what to do. A fish launched at the tanker might get the attention of the destroyer even if I missed such an easy shot. The alternatives were obvious, either break off or sink the destroyer first. Well I went with the destroyer.
It was an impossible shot. I could not track the destroyer long enough to get a decent solution. She was going so fast and changing course too quickly. But I sat and watched for about 1/2 an hour. I concluded that, if I put on enough gyro angle and aim for where the destroyer first turns, the torpedo should hit at the point where the destroyer makes the second turn. Id only get one chance because I had only one after torpedo left.
"Set tube 7 for a depth of seven feet, set the gyro for 12 degrees to the right,..Open tube 7 and launch at my command".
"Aye aye sir". "Aft torpedo room reports tube seven set for 7 feet and gyro of 12 degrees right, tube seven is open...waiting your command sir".
"Very well,....fire tube seven".
"Firing tube seven, . . . torpedo in the water".
"Very well, down scope, all ahead 1/3d, dive the boat, make your depth 350, if it misses she'll be coming after us".
"Aye Aye sir, all ahead 1/3. Dive Dive, set dive planes at 20 degrees and make your depth 350"
AAAOOOOGA AAAAOOOGA.
"Sir sonar reports torpedo running hot straight and normal".
"Very well, what is the destroyer doing?"
"Sir Sonar reports enemy destroyer is still sailing on its previous course". "Very well. Time to impact".
"Sir time to impact is 1 minute ten seconds sir"
tic tic tic tic tic
"Torpedo impact sir!...Sonar report shes sinking like a rock"
That was during my sixth partol and while not the most exciting or hair raising patrol it was certainly interesting in that I have never seen an ecorting destroyer simply sail in circles like that, and it was the hardest shot I've ever made in any sub sim. Near the moment of impact I cheated and went to the camera just to see what the shot looked like. I didn't see it real clear but it appeared that the torpedo swam directly up the stern of the enemy ship as it was beginning its second turn and was descending on the back side of a wave. Near amid ships the torpedo must have impacted the hull or was magnetically detonated and the japanese destroyer went up like a roman candle. Probably just blind luck that I did hit it, but it was fun to try. And to top that, the crew was exhausted by having been at general quarters for about 3 and a half hours. I had to cancel GQ just to get the normal watch crew to wake up.
What fun! And I hope you enjoyed my story.
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