Success
Owing in part to your good advice I finally pulled this off, ambushing the carrier task force just north of Basilan Island in deep water (intentionally avoiding the numerous shallows in the area where you could easily be confounded by the destroyers). It took them a long, long time to show up. The destroyer screen was unusually compact but we went deep and slow under them. They never caught on and the poor Shokaku was toast. Figuring there'd be no second chance we fired an over-kill of six torpedoes as close together as possible and headed back down for awhile. Although with less than 20% diesel left I decided to do a proper return home - but to Darwin instead of much more distant Perth/Fremantle. At just a few knots it's amazing how long fuel lasts and we slipped into port a few days later, having even dispatched a small task force near Maluku on the way. We were on diesel fumes for sure but still had the electrics in reserve - never needed. I was taken aback at how scenic the Darwin area proved to be - nicely done land graphics.
This is a great patrol. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Cpt. Hazelwood
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