For example
S-38
Quote:
Enemy destroyers again closed the submarine, and she went "deep", to 80 ft (24 m), and lay doggo as depth charges rained, none close.[15] From 0804 to 0930, the S-boat ran silent, using evasive tactics. At 0930, she grounded on the muddy bottom; she remained there most of the day,[16] destroyers, joined by small boats, continuing to search, without success. At 2130, the hunted submarine began efforts to clear by backing. During the maneuvering, her port propeller was damaged; but, by 2201, she was free and underway for the Hundred Islands area on the western side of the gulf. S-38 surfaced to change the air and charge batteries, then dove at dawn, remaining on the bottom all the next day, giving her crew a rest.
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She went deeper. Between 1206 and 1208, eight more exploded around her. At 1209, she stopped all motors and sank to the bottom in 180 feet of water. The depth charging continued, but the explosions were more distant. At 1230, the submarine began to move again. At 1245, the enemy hunters again located her and resumed depth charging. S-38 again settled to the bottom. The depth charging continued until after 1300. The search continued until after 1800.
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On the morning of 2 March, S-38 fired four torpedoes at a Japanese light cruiser and two at a destroyer, believing he damaged the cruiser, perhaps sank it,[22] then waited on the bottom as destroyers searched for her. In mid-afternoon, she moved out of the immediate area
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I see S-34 also used the tactic so at least 2 s-boats did it in a quick search. I'm pretty sure I remember reading about non s-boats doing it too.
...perhaps these 2 were the excpetion to the rule, don't know. Looking at Tambors and p-class boats, I saw a few reports mentioning being forced to the bottom due to damage and lying there with repairs underway, but no more that specifically said they did it on purpose. I'll quickly look through some of the gato/balao reports.
...looking quickly through the gatos, I saw Dace, Scorpion and Guavina all mention being on the bottom with Guavina being the only that seemed to do it deliberately during "one of the severest depth charging of the war." The others seemed to have been forced into laying on the bottom by depth charges and damge. Seems to me it should be a viable tactic and while you definitely should take some damage(possibly enough to end your career), it shouldn't always be game over