Rank &
Name: Lt. Cmdr. Robert Farley III
Cycle: Cycle 9
(March 2004)
Squadron & Division: SubRon2/4A
USS & SS:
USS Haddo SS-255
Patrol Zone & Sector(s): Philippine Sea (P5-P9)
TDC: Auto
Realism (%): 95%
Crew experience:
Green
Number of Warships sunk: 0
Number of Merchants sunk: 4
Warship tonnage:0
Merchant tonnage:
18490
Total JANAC tonnage:
9545
Percent Damage:
6%
Days to Repair:
14
Types of Warship sunk:
|
Date |
Time |
Lat &
Long |
Class of
Vessel |
Tonnage |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Types of Merchant sunk:
|
Date |
Time |
Lat &
Long |
Class of
Vessel |
Tonnage |
|
Dec 13, 1943 |
17:49 |
13-13 N
125-09 E |
Troop Transport |
5400 |
|
Dec 14, 1943 |
13:39 |
15-19 N
125-25E |
Troop Transport |
4950 |
|
Dec 14, 1943 |
13:40 |
15-19 N
125-25E |
Supply Ship |
3300 |
|
Dec 14, 1943 |
16:42 |
15-33 N
124-15E |
Converted Factory Ship |
4840 |
Conducted Lifeguard duty: (If yes how many aviators
rescued):
|
Date |
Time |
Lat &
Long |
|
|
|
|
Conducted Photo Recon: (If Yes than where was it
performed )
|
Date |
Time |
Location |
Lat &
Long |
|
|
|
|
|
Patrol Narrative:
December 13, 1943
09:00 Entered
assigned patrol area.
09:36 Must be
our lucky day—SJ contact 32,000 yards.
09:38 SD
contact at 17,000 yards. Whatever this
convoy is, it must be important to have air cover.
10:01 PPI
shows convoy body surrounded by 3 escorts. We’ll try to submerge on the convoy’s track and slip under the
escort screen.
11:13 Lookout
spot the first destroyer. Dove to
Periscope depth.
11:23 First
merchant spotted. TDC setup entered.
11:27 This
convoy is huge. 9 ships plus
escorts. We’re going to wait until the
last minute to fire in a hope of getting more than one target in before the
escorts come down on us.
11:34 Upon
periscope observation, the convoy is scattering. We must have been spotted.
A quick look around reveals a DD coming in. Crash dive to 300 feet.
11:40 First
splashes heard of DC being dropped.
They aren’t that close, but the short scale pinging tells me that won’t
be true much longer.
11:44 Thermal layer found at 310 feet. We change course and slip away at 1/3 speed. More DC are heard, but they’re not even
close.
12:40 Pinging
is moving off.
13:18 No
sounds from above. We rise to periscope
depth. Nothing visible. Up to radar depth to check for aircraft and
try and relocate the convoy. They’re
10,000 yards off and moving away. We
surface and cut in flank speed to try and catch up. No time for a battery charge.
13:29 PPI
again shows main body with destroyer screen.
They’ve resumed their formation.
We’ll try again to get past the screen and get to the convoy.
14:17 Things
are looking good when the distant destroyers turn to come at us again. We could barely see them. I don’t know how they could have seen us
yet.
I’m guessing that at least one of these tin cans has a
radar.
We dive to periscope depth and get a final bearing on
the convoy. The closest ship is 6000
distant and moving away.
14:22 Two DD
are coming in fast. Crash dive again to
find our thermal at 310.
14:34 DC are
coming down hard. I know they must be
guessing where we are and they’re doing a great job! One DC goes off close and is able to knock us down to 425 feet
before our diving officer can regain control.
Once we get back up to 330 feet, we slip off to the east.
15:29
Destroyers have given up again and are heading back to their
convoy. We pop up to periscope depth to
check the situation.
I ordered surface and have the XO plot another end
around on this troublesome convoy.
17:31 It’s
twilight. The convoy has reformed
again. This time, I’m going in on the
surface. Maybe we’ll get lucky and be
able so slip past one of the escorts. I
need all the speed I can get to get into a firing position.
17:48 One of
the escorts mistakenly moves out of position and give us an opening. I alter course to head directly at the convoy,
flank speed. Troop Transport is at 1400
yards. Fired two fish. First hit, second missed astern.
17:49 Fired
third fish at the damaged troop transport.
TDC switched to the second ship in the convoy. Two more fish in the water just at my third torpedo hits and
sinks the troop transport.
Destroyers are coming in now. Shells start landing all around us. Crash dive ordered but not before nearby
shells damage the stern planes and pressure hull.
18:02 DD
passing over head has we continue to head deep. DC dropped.
18:23 DC’s are
relentless. Flooding now reported in
the forward engine room.
18:42 With
stern planes out, depth control is difficult.
A nearby miss sends us down to 373 feet. We’re still going down. I
ordered to blow ballast tanks. That
pops us up and the diving officer is able to catch us at 250 feet.
19:30 Flooding
is very bad now. Crew’s mess reports
water. We have to go up to periscope
depth to see if we’re clear enough to surface and make a run for it. DD are circling to the south at about 3000
yards. We have no choice. I surface the boat and ring up flank
speed. They don’t follow us. We’re clear.
Repairs commence
21:45 SJ
contact at 27,000. We still need time finish up our repairs
before we tangle with the Japs again. I
send in a contact report and steer clear of this one.
December 14, 1943
04:30 XO
reports all damage repaired. Continuing
normal patrol.
11:49 SJ
contact, convoy 24,000 yards. All ahead flank on intercept course.
12:07 PPI
shows many ships evenly spread out.
12:18 As the
convoy closes, we’re able focus the PPI.
One ship out in front must be an escort. We give her a wide berth and steer for the main body.
12:28 Lookouts
report lead destroyer visible off of the port bow. We increase our angle away from this escort.
12:52 First
merchant visible 7200 yards. The destroyer is still off of the port bow
circling back and forth. He hasn’t
spotted us, but it’s only a matter of time unless he changes his course.
13:39 After
playing hide and seek with the escort, we’re finally able to slip behind
him. Bearing down on the convoy. Normally I wouldn’t perform a daylight
surface attack, but I need all of the speed I can get to get within firing
range before they scatter or the DD drives us off.
2 fish are fired at 990 yards. The convoy starts to scatter but it too late
for our target. Both fish hit and the
Troop Transport is headed for the bottom.
13:40
Switching targets get off a snap shot at a nearby supply ship. The Mark 14 hits its mark and the bow of the
ship peels off. This one is going down
too.
The escorts are now coming in and the shells start
falling around us. I order a crash dive
to 300 feet. I plot set a course to
take us under the nearby merchants in the hope of losing the fast approaching
escorts.
Luck must be with us.
We find a temp gradient at 100 feet.
We’re able to slip away without any DC’s.
15:15 DD
pinging is very far off. Up to
periscope depth to have a look around.
Escorts are very far away circling the area where we dove.
Up to radar depth.
Convoy is in the process of reforming near the circling escorts. With alert escorts, another attack before
dark would be risky. The PPI also
locates a single contact heading away from the main convoy body. This could be either a fleeing merchant or a
lone destroyer. Either way, we’re going
for it.
We surface the boat.
Escorts are 7000 yard distant. I
order all ahead flank for the lone contact.
16:23 Look
outs spot a fleeing convert factory ship making 12 knots.. She has guns, but we can’t afford to dive
until after we get a fish into her. If
we submerge, she’ll be able to outrun us.
16:42 We’re
almost have a firing solution when the CFS opens up with her aft gun. Lucky shot damages our fuel tank and
pressure hull. We fire one Mark 14 at
1000 yards right up her skirt before bearing off.
The torpedo hits and the CFS slows and bears hard to
port. We’ve knocked out her steering
and propellers.
We swing around and fire two more fish at 700 yards
from the stern tubes. Both hit and the
CFS goes down.
We’re losing a lot of oil. Fearing that our prey might have called for help before going
down, we exit the area at top speed to start our repairs.
20:20 Radar
reports two pips closing. They must be
destroyers. With a full moon, they’re
having no problem following our oil trail.
We dive and take her deep. We’re able to catch a thermal and alter our base course. Sonar listens as the destroyers pass over
and follow our original heading.
We got away.
December 15, 1943
03:00 We
surface the boat and continue repairs.
07:45
Everything is back to normal.
We’ve lost a lot of fuel, but still have several days of cruising left
in us.
22:02 SJ
contact at 31,000 yards. Intercept
course and flank speed ordered.
22:49
Destroyer is spotted coming right for us. This guy must have had a radar to spot us so quickly. We crash dive. This convoy is going to get past us.
23:04 Sonar
reports eight distinct sets of high speed screws. With that many escorts, I’m glad this convoy is going to get
away. We continue to run silent.
December 16, 1943
01:09 Distant
pinging reported by sonar. We pop up
to periscope depth to have a look.
Nothing visible. Up to radar
depth. Ships at 13,000 yards. I order an intercept course.
03:10 PPI
reports two of the pips have broken away from the convoy and are coming to
investigate. Damn Japanese radar. We dive again.
03:17 First
DC’s are dropped. No damage
reported. We begin our evasion.
05:17 Sonar reports no contacts. This is confirmed with a quick periscope
search. We surface and begin a battery
charge.
23:04 Convoy
reported on SJ radar. As usual, escorts
are out in front. This time we’ll try
to dive on the convoy’s base track and let the destroyers move over us instead
of around us.
23:17
Periscope observation shows a destroyer coming right at us. We must still be trailing some oil that they
can see it he moon light. We head for
the safety of the deep.
DC’s come raining down. This guy is good. The
periscope is destroyed in the first pass.
Both battery compartments report flooding. Motor room reports a leak.
Number 3 engine has been destroyed.
Bow planes damages. Like I said,
this guy is good.
December 17, 1943
00:18 We seemed
to have lost them. I order surface to
help clear the air and evade with the diesels.
00:20 Lookouts
report a destroyer is coming up our wake. He hasn’t spotted us. I order a hard turn to starboard to get off
of his track. If he’s following us, he’ll
turn and then we’ll dive. If not, we’ll
just slip away on the surface.
00:23 A second
escort appears. This one is also
following up our old base course.
Neither has turned.
We’re in the clear.
00:45 A third
escort appears off of starboard. There
is no guessing with this one. He sees
us and opens up with is deck guns.
Crash dive.
Within seconds, sonar reports two other escorts are
coming in fast. This guy has called his
friends.
DC’s come down and damage motors 1 and 2. Then just to prove that things can get
worse, chlorine gas is reported from the previous damage to the batteries.
We find a thermal at 300 feet again and begin our
evasion. We can hear the DD’s passing
overhead several times, but no DC’s are dropped.
02:37 We’re
clear. The leaking in the battery
compartments is halted. The boat still
reeks of chlorine, but at least it won’t kill us.
04:00 With no sounds reported, we surface the
boat. After surveying the damage to the
ship and checking our fuel status, I decide to head for the barn with only 4
enemy on the bottom.
Lt. Cmdr. Robert Farley III