October 23, 1944 - Balabac Strait, Philippines
Aboard USS Darter
Ship's time: 0510 hours. It was very close to daylight now. Darter battened down the hatches, went below the surface again, and rigged for silent running. The chase had begun.
Darter would strike first. Her shots would spread out into a fan pattern that would decimate the unsuspecting left side, and then as the right side altered course to evade, they would swing right into the crosshairs of Dace. It was a perfect trap, and there was no escape for their prey. They called these submarine teams wolf packs for a reason. The excitement in the control room was approaching a fever pitch. Captain McClintock was visibly excited. “We've got them now!” His emphatic statement only echoed the thoughts of the vigilant and superbly trained crew around him, his brothers and shipmates.
The hunted had just become the hunters. Darter and Dace were going to war by themselves...to save the Allied Philippines invasion effort. It was a harebrained idea, but that was the genius of it. Who would suspect such a suicidal attack by two tiny subs? Alone, unsupported and hopelessly outgunned by the largest, most heavily armed Navy ships in the history of the world? It was David McClintock against Goliath.
According to the navigator, the weather was clear. The wind was blowing at 55 degrees bearing at three miles an hour, the ocean was very calm, 40 kilometers visibility. 3 Sunrise was set for 0559, and it was getting brighter already. The Skipper described the view of the fleet spread out in front of them through the 'scope as "like a grey city on the horizon.”
They were spread so far, he had to swivel the periscope to look at them all. They were getting close enough he could make out battleships, cruisers and destroyers, they appeared to be zigzagging a bit judging by their wakes. The enemy must know they are being followed. Still no depth charges yet. Everyone aboard could only imagine the fear and anxiety of the sailors on those ships. Every piece of floating debris probably looked like a periscope to the deck watchmen. As it was, the hairs on the backs of the men aboard the Darter were sticking up, everyone had a prickly sensation down their spine. The air was electrified by tension.
McClintock kept the intercom from the conning tower open, so everyone below could hear how it was going. “Angle on the bow increasing...55....60. 65. Range, under one thousand yards. Shooting bearing...Mark! FIRE ONE!”
The torpedo gunner pushed the first fire button, which lit up red to indicate it was away, but everyone on board knew it. The ship lurched back and forth, and a loud buzzing was heard that decreased in pitch and faded away as the deadly 'fish' sped away toward its target. They waited a few seconds and then launched another five torpedoes, in quick succession. Six sleek and deadly missiles were whirring away into the murky sea.
He shouted that the first cruiser appeared to be turning away, so they targeted the second one. Range, fifteen hundred yards, the command came echoing back. The dials on the mechanical computer spun and the numbers matched up, they had their fix. They fired another two fish. Now they had caught up, they were traveling perfectly parallel to the fleet's direction of travel, and were right in the middle of the cluster of ships.
McClintock ordered “Rudder hard to Starboard! Fire stern tube number one!” The ship lurched again, tossing everyone about as loud explosions reverberated through the tiny sub. “Depth charges!” shouted a panicked voice from somewhere. Dave shouted over the roar. “Depth charges, hell! Torpedoes!” They were so loud and close to the ship, it indeed sounded like depth charges were raining down on them.
The gunnery torpedo officer must have been punching one torpedo button after another and jumping up and down excitedly as he heard each hit. They heard the sound of his boots stamping on the conning tower floor above their heads. The sounds over the radio from Dace were excited as well, he thought he heard cheers and applause. He marked the time: 0532 hours.
Darter had fired the first shots. The Battle of Leyte Gulf had begun.
--Miracle In The Pacific, by J.D. Batt, 2012
references:
-Battle Stations Submerged by R.C. Benitez
-Cruisers for Breakfast: War Patrols of the USS Darter and USS Dace by John G. Mansfield. 1981
-4th War Patrol Logbook of Darter SS-227 transcribed by Hugh Siegel
-Silent Service: Two Davids and Goliath. California National Present#dartermonth2022
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