America Couldn't Have Won World War II Without Britain's Submarines

[Onkel Neal]

America Couldn't Have Won World War II Without Britain's Submarines
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/bu...marines-112216

The sphere where submarines interfaced most closely with the British Pacific Fleet’s surface task forces was in the provision of air and sea rescue to retrieve downed Allied pilots. These boats normally operated near enemy-held coasts, and the proximity to Japanese territory posed grave danger to them.

A typical example of this type of sub operation was the 55-day patrol (the longest for a British submarine during World War II) of the Tantalus, part of the 8th Flotilla. From early January to late February 1945, she prowled the South China Sea looking for downed Allied pilots. Although she was never called upon to rescue any ditched airmen, her travels took her across the paths of several enemy luggers, lighters, and a tug boat, which she destroyed using gunfire.