From: LCDR Greg Turner - USS Tarpon
To: ComSubRon 5
Cc: ComSubPac
Date: Sept 23, 1942
Re: Patrol Report (Apr00 - Cycle 2)
RMKS/ 1. Arrived on station in the East China Sea on Thursday Sept 8, 1942. At 22:58 SJ radar made contact on a ship at 12,000 yds. I headed toward contact at flank speed. Made visual at 23:12 on 1 Asashio class DD. Went to radar depth and secured engines. Five minutes later I made visual on 1 Kaga class Carrier, 1 Chitose class Carrier, 1 Mogami class Heavy Cruiser plus 2 Yugumo class DDs and 1 additional Asashio DD. Ships were passing 3,200 yds to stern at 20 kts. Closest contact was on The Heavy Cruiser at 2,800 yds. At 23:22 the TF changed course to 194` closing the gap between us. I changed course 20 degrees to get a better stern setup. At 23:30 I fired 2 torpedoes at the Mogami HC at a range of 2,000 yds. Seconds after firing the TF commenced a turn to port and 1 Asashio class DD forced me to go deep. Sound reported that one torpedo was a dud and that the other missed. At 23:33 the sub hit the bottom at 197 feet. With 72 fathoms showing on the chart. Sustained no damage. I sat on the bottom while the DD made its search. DD finally gave up and left the area at 01:14. I surfaced after making a radar sweep and proceeded out of the area to charge the batteries.
RMKS/ 2. Friday October 9, 1942 at 08:00 Sighted 4 Sampans and changed course to intercept. At 08:21 I sank the Sampans with the deck gun. Fired 12 rounds for 8 hits and 4 misses. Continued patrol.
RMKS/ 3. Saturday October 10, 1942. At 11:00 SD radar made air contact at 17,000 yds. I went to radar depth. At 11:20 made surface contact bearing 028` at 14,800 yds. Headed for contact at full speed. Went to radar depth at 11:35 to avoid the air cover. Spotted ship bearing 028` at 11,000 yds doing 6.e kts. Identified as a Converted Factory Ship. At 12:28 I fired 2 torpedoes at 930 yds. One hit and one was a dud. At 12:30 I fired 1 more fish at target at 890 yds. It was a dud. At 12:31 I fired 1 more torpedo at target at 870 yds and sank it. I dove to 69 feet and headed out of the area to the southeast to avoid the aircraft. Heard one distant depth charge. At 12:50 I came to RD and checked on AC. It was still patrolling so I went down to 100 feet. At 13:15 Radar check showed AC at 10,000 yds and opening out. I surfaced at 13:27 and headed south at flank to clear the area. At 13:30 SD radar reported an air contact at 3,000 yds and then the lookouts spotted it coming in to bomb. The AA gun opened up to try and throw off the aircrafts attack. After its first run I crashed dived to 120 feet. I proceeded to change course every few minutes to lose the AC. Water shallow here. Only about 135 feet. Radar check at 17:10 showed no contacts. After a good periscope sweep I surfaced at 17:40 and commenced charging the battery.
RMKS/ 4. Monday October 12, 1942 made radar contact bearing 280` at 12,400 yds. Set intercept course. At 03:37 lookouts spotted 1 Fubuki class DD and 1 Supply ship. Dove to radar depth and continued tracking. At 04:00 I secured from tracking and surfaced. Ships were out of range. I continued the patrol.
RMKS/ 5. Tuesday October 13, 1942 made radar contact bearing 345` at 10,000 yds. Proceeded at flank speed on the surface to intercept. At 03:20 sighted 1 Standard Merchant at 4,000 yds and 1 Supply at 4,100 yds. At 03:30 fired 2 torpedoes at SM at 2,200 yds because target was opening gap. Two minutes later had 1 explosion and 1 Dud. Supply turned north and SM slowed. I gave chase on SM for 20 minutes to reach firing position. At 03:52 fired 1 torpedo and sank SM. Due to approaching daylight I chose not to pursue the Supply ship into shallow water. Turned southwest and continued patrol. At 07:01 lookouts spotted 3 sampans so I ordered a course change to intercept. Sank Sampans by 07:28 with deck gun. Fired 6 round for 6 hits.
RMKS/ 6. Thursday October 15, 1942 made radar contact at 15,540 yds, Headed for contact at flank speed. At 03:22 I sighted 1 Shiratsuyu DD at 3,100 yds. Went to radar depth and stopped engines. At 03:39 I sighted 1 SM, 1 OT, 1 Supply, 1 Mutsuki DD, and 1 Asashio DD. At 04:03 I fired 2 torpedoes at SM at range of 900 yds. Both were duds. Escorts forced me down on firing but never made contact on me. At 04:15 I surfaced and headed east at flank speed. At 04:18 a Mutsuki DD appeared out of the dark and gave pursuit. I dove to radar depth and changed course to the southeast. Destroyer fired on my periscope and headed toward me. Due to only 30 fathoms of water showing on the chart and faulty charts I decided to take out the DD. At 04:19 fired 2 fish at DD at 1,855 yds. Sank DD. At 04:20 radar picked up a contact at 1,200 yds dead ahead and closing. I setup for a bowshot. Two minutes later I fired 1 torpedo at 560 yds and sank target. Surfaced at 04:25 and set course for Pearl Harbor due to low fuel state.
Patrol Summary
TDC: Auto
Conditions: Seas: Moderate, Weather: Partly Cloudy
Enemy Sunk:
| 1 x Standard Merchant | 15,010 tons | |
| 1 x Converted Factory Ship | 3,470 tons | |
| 1 x Mutsuki class DD | 1,772 tons | |
| 1 x Shiratsuyu class DD | 1,980 tons | |
| 7 x Sampans | 490 tons | |
| Total tonnage sunk: | 22,722 tons | |
Enemy Escaped:
| 1 x Kaga class Carrier |
| 1 x Chitose class Carrier |
| 1 x Mogami Class Heavy Cruiser |
| 1 x Fubuki class DD |
| 2 x Yagumo class DD |
| 3 x Asashio class DD |
| 3 x Supply Ships |
Damage Sustained: None
Ordnance Remaining: Torpedo: 2, Deck gun: 74
Comments: Return to base due to low fuel state for refit. Depth charts for the East China Sea are not reliable. Use extreme caution in depth control.
LCDR Greg Turner
USS Tarpon
// SENDS //