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I was off Tokyo on patrol, was a heavy rain but only moderate seas, shortly before dusk. Radar picks up small convoy, fast speed heading my way. Five targets in all, two of which are large. Transports! So off I go after them. Rain hides me from them allowing a closer in run than usual, I go to scope depth and head towards their course at 3 knots. Anything over 1000 yards is tough to see with the rain. The lead escort comes into view followed by a Modern Pass. Liner, speed estimated to be 16 knots, bow angle 80, 850 yards out. I had to switch to low mag to get range after having it on high to study the destroyer. Fired tubes one and two while on lock, slight spread. Both hit, one at engine room and the other in foward hold. I can tell at once ship is not going to need a third shot, so I save my others for the next transport Very shortly she appears and by now has made a turn towards me. This one is a Large Old Type Pass., bow angle 40/45 degrees--whatever--she is close! Enter data, set speed to 15 knots, get range, 450 yards and closing, fire tubes three and four. Both hit, she goes off limping into the rain as angle by now is rather sharp for another shot. Dive to 250 heading 180, their course roughly, to evade escorts. Sonar shows target has slowed and is going through a wide zig zag. When escorts have lost me I come back up and look through the scope, ship should be coming across my stern by sonar fix. By now it is dark, can't see crap out there. Flood tube seven, set speed at 6 knots estimated, as I was at 3 knots, about 15 or 20 degrees until target crosses my stern, still can't see squat. Set range to 800 something--don't really recall now--by playing with stadimeter somehow. Anyway I fire tube seven. Torp goes off into the dark. Wasted shot I thought but who knows? Such a big target, worth the risk of a wasted torpedo and probably my last shot at her. After a bit--not long--torpedo explodes. Sonar confirms the hit on the transport which is more than she can take. She is finished.

Not sure how I got a range out of the stad with no visible target, maybe in fact I didn't. The torpedo could have gone straight out the tube on a 180 course. Sonar showed final range to be 1400 yards or so, way too far for me to have had a chance to have ever seen her. Kind of nice to get a boom out of a target you don't see. In the end though, I was lucky.