How no battery charge got me killed

[Armistead]

I had just used my battery up during an attack and got a flash message of 5 large convoys coming through Formosa. I figured at flank speed I may get there in time to attack. I ran flank, but constant dang planes kept me under water, I kept my speed flank while submerged because of time. I got on station in time and figured I could charge up, but got contacts right away. I did have about 50% charge.

As I got within radar range, they either picked me up on radar or homed in on mine, so I kept it off mostly. DD's would come charging fast from 8 miles chasing me and often driving me down, so I wasted more battery. I finally had to use flank submerged to get in attack position, but at least 3 escorts were gone from the flank.


Here comes the convoy, I want the tankers and the escort carrier ASW.


I do my usual attack, I run the center parallel of two lines of ships. I usually shoot at four targets at the same time, two left and two right using bow and sterns. I take out the two tankers and another merchant and save my remaining bow torps for the escort carrier coming.



I down the throat the carrier.


The carrier eventually went over me and later sunk. I take out another merchant with the sterns and with last torp hit another merchant stopping it on the water. So first pass, two tankers, carrier, merchant sunk with one dead on the water, so four sunk, one I will sink later.



Then the Type A's with those many Y guns attack. I'm in 450 ft of water, but battery is gone. I can't get enough speed to outrun the large pattern they throw.



The damage was not what I needed, batteries almost gone, bulkheads. No speed and critical flooding I head for the bottom.



I basically have to sit on the bottom taking mild damage as I rub ground. Slowly repairs are made. I get some charge back, but can't come up using P depth.. I blow tanks when the escorts are far away to come up. I do this a few times to stop the damage from the bottom. This goes on several times until compressed air becomes a problem. I can't hide under the stopped merchant I torped, but it sort of blocks runs.

Finally damage gets 52%, but things are getting fixed. I blow tanks and slowly rise with aft comps. still flooded. Before I break water I have to kill speed. As I head for the bottom at 11 kts, I hit flank and try blowing tanks to stop the aft dive. I still hit bottom at 7kts which did me in.




Shoud've tracked longer and charged those batteries.