// IMMEDIATE //
From: LCDR Greg Turner - USS Muskellunge (SS-262)
To: ComSubRon 4
Cc: ComSubPac
Date: Jan 23, 1944
Re: 9th War Patrol Report (Aug00 - Cycle2)
RMKS/ 1. Arrived on station Jan 12, 1944 in the Caroline Islands. Took up station south of Truk.
RMKS/ 2. At 03:47 radar made contact bearing 126° at 33,380 yds. By 06:41 contact had closed to 11,970 yds. Went to radar depth at 06:42. Made visual at 06:58 but due to heavy seas it took awhile to identify. Identified 2 - Myoko class Heavy Cruisers, 2 - Shiratsuyu class DDs, and 3 - Fubuki class DDs. Check at 07:02 showed the HC turning east. I ordered best possible intercept course. Check at 07:17 showed HC turning back north. Check at 07:33 HC zigging east again. Range 4,200 yds. I turned northeast at flank to close. At 07:36 active sonar hit the boat and a spot check showed 7 DDs heading my way. Went deep to pass under the DDs on course to the east. Depth charges began at 07:40. Changed course at 07:42 Received damage to the Forward Torpedo Room Hull and the Steering Gear at 08:18. At 08:27 active sonar found me again. Had hull repaired by 08:41. At 08:44 a depth charge pattern forced the boat down to a critical depth. Checked decent by blowing ballast. The japs must have thought they damaged me from the big air bubble rising to the surface. Jettisoned debris at 09:23. By 09:56 the battery was down to 200 volts. At 10:12 received damage to engine 1 and the Crew Mess hull. I ordered 1 torpedo fired into the gaggle of DDs astern hoping they would see the fish and evade giving me time to make our escape. By 12:38 I had lost contact on the DDs and none to soon. The battery was down to 60 volts. Dangerously low.
RMKS/ 3. Arrived periscope depth at 12:49. Radar depth at 12:50. Radar showed DD 11,500 yds astern. I secured engines to let the DD open out and save the battery. Had Engine 1 repaired by 13:28. Surfaced at 13:49 and started battery charge. I had no help from the isotherm during this attack at 16:06 I made radar contact bearing 136° at 33,020 yds. Changed course to the south to avoid contact and finish charge. Turned north at 18:35 toward Truk as battery charge completed. Made SJ contact bearing 079° at 16,880 yds in extremely heavy seas. Minutes later I changed course southeast at flank to intercept. By 20:07 I gave up the chase. Top speed was only 10 kts in the heavy seas. Closest range was 15,970 yds. Due to the way the contact pulled away I would say it was a Task Force of some kind.
RMKS/ 4. Turned back toward Truk. At 23:14 I took up a position about 50 miles south of Truk. At 05:45 on Jan 13 I continued onto the harbor entrance. At 08:13 I stopped 5 miles off the entrance and made a trim dive. Dove to 325 feet with a great thermal at 300 feet. Arrived back at RD at 09:15. Made radar contact at 12:31 bearing 219° at 31,090 yds in moderate seas. Surfaced to replenish the air for the coming battle. Back at RD by 12:43. At 12:50 sonar picked up low speed screws bearing 230°. At 13:32 periscope watch spotted the funnel and mast of a LF. Repositioned the boat for optimal shot. At 13:39 Identified 2 - Fubuki Class DD, 2 - AMC, 1- Supply, 1 - LF, and 1 - OT. At 13:50 I fired 2 torpedoes at 1,590 yds at OT and 2 torpedoes at AMC at 1,635 yds and 1 torpedo at Supply at 1,700 yds. Dove deep after firing and sound picked up 4 explosions over the next few minutes but no sinking. The miss was attributed to a faulty gyro. Lost sonar contact at14: 49. Arrived RD at 15:02 and spotted burning ship bearing 310° at 5,695 yds. Surfaced and gave chase at flank speed. Opened fire with the deck gun at 15:12. Fired 5 rounds for 2 hits and 3 misses to finish off the supply ship.
RMKS/ 5. Set course for the northern approach to Truk harbor. At 15:29 radar reported multiple contacts on both beams from 18,000 to 34,000 yds. Two minutes later I turned 90 degrees to port to check out the contact. Made visual at 16:18 on ship going away. Had to close to 2,780 yds to ID as Small Freighter. At 17:11 opened fire at 1,964 yds. Fired 13 rounds for 11 hits and 2 misses while ship took evasive action. Finally at 17:15 I fired 1 torpedo at 780 yds to destroy SF. Continued north at flank. Arrived at destination at 19:37. Made radar contact at 01:53 0n the 14th bearing 139° at 33,310 yds. Contact moved out of range at 03:22. I headed back south at 08:12. At 08:37 made contact bearing 036° at 33,670 yds. Made visual forty minutes later on hull down SF, 1 - Supply, 1 - AMC, and 1 - CFS. Went to PD at 09:14. At 09:47 fired 2 torpedoes at CFS at 1,091 yds. Both torpedoes hit the AMC so I fired a third to finish it off at 09:49. Both torpedoes also hit the CFS and set it on fire so I fired a third fish at it to finish it off. Destroyed CFS. Third hit on AMC set it on fire. Got a quick stern setup and fired a fourth fish at AMC at 1,509 yds. Also fired 1 torpedo at Supply ship at 503 yds. Fourth hit sank AMC. Hit set Supply on fire so I fired a second fish at it at 500 yds to finish it off. Surfaced and set course for radar contact. At 09:50 identified another Supply ship. At 10:10 ship fired at me and the deck gun returned fire. Fired 14 rounds for 9 hits and 5 misses. At 10:14 fired 1 torpedo at 975 yds after arriving at PD. Destroyed ship.
RMKS/ 6. Arrived RD at 11:35 and made surface contact at 12:18 bearing 049° at 31,820 yds. At 13:52 made visual on mast of DD. Ten minutes later identified 4 - Shiratsuyu class DD, 2 - Fubuki class DD, 1 - Standard Merchant, 1 - troop Transport, and 2 - Large Freighters. Repositioned for shot. Check at 14:51 showed closest merchant at 3,191 yds and DD at 2,132 yds. Slowed to 1/3 and went to 300 feet to evade escorts. Went to RD at 115:26 and had contact at 9,760 yds bearing 176°. Spotted ships astern as they headed to port. Only get one shot in this position. Surfaced at 16:05 and headed west to charge battery then headed northwest. At 16:22 made SJ contact bearing 275° at 32,770 yds. Went to RD at 07:09. At 07:41 made visual on 1 - LF, 1 - CFS, 1 - TT, 1 - Asashio and 1 - Mutsuki DD. Plot had overestimated the convoys course due to the extreme zigzag pattern they were using and we were left way out in right field racing to get into a firing position. By 08:06 convoy passed ahead pulling away. Only shot was on trailing DD at 2,192 yds. Secured engines and waited for ships to go hull down. Surfaced at 09:00 and headed north to charge battery. Turned southwest at 09:34. RMKS/ 7. Sat, 15th, 14:41 SJ contact bearing 070° at 31,720 yds. Made visual at 15:24 after giving chase. I spotted 2 DD heading my way. At 15:25 I made a startling discovery. While chasing one convoy I met a Cruiser Task Force head on. Went RD at 15:28 after setting intercept course. Spotted 1 - Kuma class Light Cruiser, 1 - Unidentified Cruiser, 1 - Asashio and 1 - Fubuki class DD. At 15:40 TF turned south. Surfaced two minutes later to reposition as TF turned southeast. At 15:52 lookouts spotted the TF headed northeast right at us. Dove to radar depth and secured engines at 16:05. TF on course to pass ahead of sub. Had 2 DDs out front and 2 on each flank. Went to 78 feet to let DD pass overhead. At 16:10 fired 2 torpedoes at Kuma class LC at 2,000 yds then dove heading for 325 feet. At hitting time sound reported 4 explosions and breaking up sounds. At 16:12 active sonar hit the boat as it was passing 150 feet. I hit the thermal at 294 feet. Depth charges made the paint chips fly. At 16:335 sound reported 9 sets of high-speed screws. Lost contact at 17:30. Thank god for thermal layers. Reacquired contact from 17:35 to 18:24. Went to RD at 18:54. Radar reported that the TF had reversed course to the west. Tracked it until it passed out of range. Surfaced at 19:02.
RMKS/ 7. At 19:03 radio picked up a report from a recon plane of a Light Cruiser TF heading this direction. I doubled the lookouts to try and spot the TF. At 19:32 radar made contact bearing 332° at 32, 590 yds closing in. Black as tar out. At 20:27 lookouts spotted 1 - Shiratsuyu at 3,200 yds. Radar reported that the main body passed ahead at 4,000 yds. At 20:40 I secured the tracking party and continued the battery charge. At 20:46 lookouts spotted 1- Agano LC heading north and 1 - DD. Gave chase till 21:14 then gave up and headed toward Truk. At 22:23 made radar contact bearing 056° at 32,640 yds. One hour later lookouts spotted 2 - Fuso class BBs, 1 - Aoba class HC, and numerous DDs around 7,000 yds. Dove to PD ahead of battleship TF. Three minutes later TF turned to starboard and picked up active sonar. I dove to 325 feet and turned southwest to clear for a new setup. At 23:44 the escorts dropped 10 depth charges and the Task Force sped up. By 00:56 Sunday 16th, I had lost contact. Arrived RD at 01:15 and radar had the TF at 12,440 yds opening out. Surfaced at 01:16 and headed northwest of Truk.
RMKS/ 8. At 10:52 made radar contact bearing 352° at 18,070 yds. Went to RD two minutes later as SD radar Picked up an Aircraft at 15,940 yds. AC circled a few minutes then pulled out. Periscope watch made visual at 11:26 on 1 - Asashio DD. At 11:36 active sonar found me and the DDs moved in. Out of the blue the AC dropped charges a distance from us. The nearest DD had me cold so at 11:43 I fired 1 torpedo at 820 yds and set it on fire. At 11:47 I fired a second torpedo and sank the DD. The second DD dropped charges as I dove under the sinking DD. I eluded the DD and had lost contact by 12:30. Surfaced at 13:44 and continued patrol. At 16:57 made radar contact bearing 067° at 17,970 yds. Stayed surfaced due to darkness and made visual on DD at 17:48. Went to PD and was in position by 17:55. Moments later I spotted 2 - AMC, 2 - SF, 1 - SM, and 2 - Unidentified merchants. At 18:10 I fired my 1 and only remaining torpedo at SF at 980 yds. I observed the hit. It set the ship on fire. Escorts dropped charges as they herded the convoy on its way. They never came close to the sub. Lost radar contact at 19:44 and surfaced at 20:02 and set a course for Pearl Harbor.
Patrol Summary:
TDC: Auto
Conditions: Seas - Heavy, Weather - Mostly Cloudy.
Enemy Sunk:
1 x Armed Merchant Cruiser 9,580 tons 07-03N x 146-52E 1 x Kuma Light Cruiser 5,832 tons 06-45N x 145-50E 1 x Converted Factory Ship 6,180 tons 07-03N x 146-52E 1 x Supply 1,930 tons 07-03N x 146-49E 1 x Supply 1,930 tons 07-02N x 147-02E 1 x Small Freighter 2,160 tons 06-47N x 145-49E 1 x Small Freighter 2,160 tons 07-03N x 146-52E 1 x Yugumo DD 2,520 tons 07-02N x 147-11E TOTALS 32,292 tons
Enemy Damaged:
1 x Armed Merchant Cruiser 1 x Oil Tanker 1 x Small Freighter
Enemy Escaped:
10 x Unidentified DDs 8 x Fubuki DDs 7 x Shiratsuyu DDs 5 x Armed Merchant Cruisers 4 x Large Freighters 2 x Myoko Heavy Cruisers 2 x Small Freighters 2 x Converted Factory ships 2 x Standard Merchants 2 x troop Transports 2 x Asashio DDs 1 x Supply 1 x Mutsuki DD
Damage Sustained:
Forward Battery Engine 1 Aft Torpedo Room Hull Crew Mess Hull
Ordnance Remaining: Torpedoes - 0, Deck gun - 63
Comments: The two shot rule went out the window with these new electric fish. The warhead just doesnt have the punch needed. The trade off is worth it. Request refits and reload.
LCDR Greg Turner
USS Muskellunge (SS-262)
// SENDS //