Starting with a S Boat out of Cavite-Manila, I ran into the IJN invasion fleet just north of the entrance to Lingayen Gulf. To put it mildly, one of the escorts kicked my butt before I got within the 3500 yard range of the MK10 torpedos. I was cocky and thought I could take him out first, but the MK10s are so slow he easily evaded even at relatively close range (inside 800 yards) and sank my boat with the loss of the entire crew in a single pass, made easier by my staying at Periscope depth too long, I guess.
So I started another career, same S boat type and port, and tried it again (dead being dead, of course). This time I tried approaching the IJN force at 220 feet, about as deep as I dared go. Puttering along at 1 knot, crew at Battle Stations and in Silent Running mode, one escort made one pass over me, dropped a full load, and blew my boat and crew to the bottom.
Lesson learned. Don't try to sneak up on a force that is laden with escorts. Some are going to be experts and kill you easily. The Purple Heart I was awarded wasn't worth it.
Next (and current) career I gave Lingayen Gulf a wider berth to avoid contacts! Call it what you will - I call it something along the lines of discretion. Made it to the area just north of Aparri, about 10 NM off the coast. Encountered the Flying Dutchman, according to my watch crew. They claim it was 10.6 NM NE of Aparri on 12/21/1941 at about midnight. I immediately conducted an investigation to see who had been making torpedo juice or some other concoction, but found nothing. Regardless, I entered disciplinary notes in the log for the offending watchmen.
Successfully concluded this first patrol in Surabaya after sinking a 9000 ton German-flagged modern troop transport sailing towards Aparri. I'm liking this new version so far, 2 fatal careers notwithstanding.
My thanks to the team for this marvelous product. It is adding much enjoyment for me in my retirement.
