Second patrol of USS Tambor, January 1942....
We left Pearl after refitting with orders to deploy to Honshu. I made the decision to stop in at Midway en route to make sure we had the maximum fuel possible on board (last time was too close, getting back to Pearl Harbor under 10%). We shaped a westward course to Honshu, gliding through the clear deep blue Pacific at just under 10 knots. The ship gracefully slides through the large rolling waves and the air is cool and crisp on a series of beautiful, stark, winter days. The nights are bedazzling with crystal clear skies and gods little lanterns just twinkling on and off in their myriad patterns. I allow the whole crew the opportunity to stand half hour watches on the bridge, just to give their morale a boost. It's that beautiful.
After several days, though, the pleasure cruise turns to business and the crew sharpen to their tasks. We're within 500nm of Honshu when the radar operator sings out for the first time... "Radar contact, 20nm and closing fast!"
We dive to periscope depth and now, truly, we're in the war zone. The men are working well and need little direction from the officers. It's only been a little under two months since we were last in these waters. We report in to ComSubPac when we reach the designated point near Honshu. They order us to engage shipping and keep an eye out for warships.
We begin patrolling, dodging below the waves repeatedly every day and cruising for long stretches at night. After three days of this, we've not seen much traffic off the coast of Japan...so I change our course.
I order the navigator to plot a course to the Yokosuka harbor and settle in for the two day cruise to get there. As we approach, the weather gods smile on the Tambor and the skies open in an intense rainfall. The ceiling drops to under 1000ft and the air patrols cease. It's impossible to see more than maybe 300 yards at the peak of day...at night, visibility is extremely low. We work our way along the main channel at under 8kts, feeling our way in...
As we clear the breakwater, lighting flares and one of the lookouts spots the outline of something HUGE at the dock. We slow and the sonarman can't hear any sounds of escorts anywhere nearby. We creep in on the surface when another flare of lightning reveals the outline of a huge aircraft carrier. I silence the crew and we complete a quick changing of the watch. We then submerge partially to reduce our outline and sound signature and I guide us from the periscope.
We maneuver carefully around to a firing position when lightning flares again...and again and again...suddenly it's clear that we're taking fire from somewhere...shells are whizzing past the bridge.
They cease, but it's clear that someone's caught sight of us...they must be close. We've been spotted so we better make it count!
We get turned into firing angle and another bolt illuminates the hulk at nearly 90 AOB (really hard to tell, but it's a good broadside shot!). The tension is mounting quickly as we wait for searchlights or more gunfire. I prep a spread of four torpedoes and get them out quickly. I don't wait to see the results, and begin angling for the breakwater's edge! As we're gaining speed, the torpedoes begin to impact...one after another, four huge explosions. The secondary explosions were too numerous to count and, with the backlighting of her death pyre, we watched that fleet carrier collapse and roll.
Scratch one flattop!!! 
The egress was...eventful! As you might imagine, the four destroyers who had been moseying around on the north end of the sound suddenly went to flank and headed directly for the Yokosuka naval dock. We made best speed to get around the breakwater and evaded them cleanly...almost...
One destroyer (Fubuki, I think, from the outline) was close enough to get a sniff of our sound trail heading away and gave chase...I spotted him charging up our wake with the periscope. His searchlights gave him away. Realizing that he now knew he had a submarine directly ahead in shallow water
... I knew he was flat out. So, I did the only thing I could...I put a torpedo out of tube 7 directly under him in the desperate hope it might do some damage. It went cleanly under him and detonated under his stern quarter... he fell off lamed, but not sunk. He still had a read on our location with his sonar and was sweeping searchlights and occasionally popping a few AA rounds our way in the hopes of getting a lucky hit.
As the damage took its toll, he fell off to port and suddenly I had a beautiful target, even in the fog...two searchlights, one at the front and rear of his superstructure bracketing him for me....so I put a torpedo through the uprights and blew him in half!
With him gone and no other escorts nearby, I ordered us to the surface and made 16 knots out of the harbor and then out to sea... I was quite proud of my boys when I called in our report to ComSubPac. We're off to Iwo now, where the Intel boys think we'll find some shipping activity. The crew is confident and excited...I hope it lasts!
C.O., USS Tambor...out
