-Note- During this patrol, I actually DID run out of fuel and had to reload a save from earlier. It would've been finished earlier, but I had to do it over up to that point.
War Diary #3
June 19th 1942
We've been doing nothing but drill for the past 4 days.
I want my crew to perform well. I want to survive this war and so do all the other men on this boat. After the 2nd Watch ended today, I decided to go get some sleep. I only got around 3 hours of sleep because my Executive Officer woke me up to tell me we'd be entering enemy waters soon.
We're going to pass by the Solomon Island chain on our way North. I hope all goes well here. I'm confident in my crew by now. We've done enough drilling to convince me that these men are ready to meet the challenge of the unknown. However, that doesn't mean we should stop drilling. We need to keep getting better. Especially now that we're headed into the enemy's territory.
Tonight I'll probably be up top again if nothing goes wrong today. I'm surprised that nothing has broken on this boat. We haven't been gone long but some of these ol' S boats are stubborn, fragile little things. I just wish they provided a better quality of life. It's so hot inside this thing. All the time. The heat never lets up here in the South Pacific. I'm used to a Midwestern climate. I thought it got hot
there. I'd really appreciate a Missouri Summer right now.
June 19th 1942
Well...so much for nothing breaking. During one of our drills, a pipe burst behind me in the control room. I had the maintenance crew fix it up as best they can. It wasn't a big thing. The pipe wasn't destroyed and they were able to patch it up. At the time, I thought the hull had sprung a leak...but then I saw that it was just a pipe. I saw that some of the other newer guys were startled by it. We weren't even that deep. Maybe it was just that pipe's turn to go. Who knows when that was last fixed?
I'm standing up top watching the gun crews practice readying their weapons in the dark. I hope we won't have to use these. I figured I'd run them in the dark so they'll be able to do it flawlessly in day or nighttime in the event that we can't dive. The moon is out again...I'm fairly confident that we'd be hard to spot out here. The ocean has been calm since we left Brisbane but when we're running like this, I think we'll be alright.
I spoke to my friend I made on watch last week for the first time in a few days. Dave King is his name. I've gotten to know the crew a lot over the past few days. I've also learned that it may not be possible to know every man personally along with managing a ship. I'll try to at least know my command room crew and the senior man in each compartment by name. It didn't take long for me to figure out how hot it is inside here so I let the men dress informally. When we're out here at sea with no Admirals around, I don't care how we dress as long as we can effectively do our jobs.
I have to say that some of my uneasiness that I felt in the first few days is gone. I'm doing better and I'm able to even get some sleep.
The S-47 will not go this patrol without sinking an enemy ship. I'll see to it that we get our shots in. I'm not returning to Brisbane without any kills.
June 21st 1942
Phew...this is the first time in two days that I've been free. Yesterday, the watch crew spotted two Jap planes coming out of the clouds. This is for real now. I ordered a Crash Dive and was once again satisfied with the way my crew performed. It felt good. I'm really starting to fit into this life I think. I finally found something I can do. I wonder how those guys back home would see me now?
Japanese Aircraft dive towards S-47's last known position
But all day....ALL DAY...we ran underwater. It got so hot and stuffy in here. Unbelievable. I know that there are more....many more days like this in my future. I'm up to the challenge...but man, I really don't like the climate in this boat.
I hear that those new Fleet Boats are nice. Every man has a bunk to himself and I heard something about showers. I even heard one Officer talk about an Ice Cream machine the crew maintained.
I should try and get one. But, it's so hot in here...the ice cream would probably melt as soon as we could crank it out. Oh well. Some day....
Anyway, I'm glad that deal with the planes is over. I came up top when we surfaced and the hot, humid air up above was very much welcomed by the men on watch.
Enough for now, the radarman just reported a new contact.
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