[DeePsix501]

USS Triton's First War patrol, a simulated war patrol that turned real...

On 19 November, the submarine headed west to conduct a practice war patrol and arrived off Wake Island on 26 November. On 8 December, she saw columns of smoke rising over the island but assumed that it was caused by construction work being done ashore. That night, when she surfaced to charge her batteries, she was informed by radio that Wake and Pearl Harbor had been bombed and was ordered to stay out of range of Wake's guns. The next morning, Triton observed the Japanese bombing the island. On the night of 10 December, she was surfaced, charging her batteries, when flashes of light from Wake revealed a destroyer or light cruiser on a parallel course. The submarine was silhouetted against the moon, and the enemy ship turned towards her. Triton went deep and began evasive action. When the Japanese ship slowed astern, the submarine came to 120 feet (40 m) and fired four stern torpedoes — the first American torpedoes shot during World War II. Her crew heard a dull explosion 58 seconds later and believed that one of her torpedoes had hit the target. The submarine then went to 175 feet (50 m) and cleared the area.