Tinosa’s Target

When people think of naval warfare in the Pacific during World War II, they picture submarine captains locking onto targets, launching their torpedoes, and sending enemy ships to the bottom in a column of smoke and steel. That image, as dramatic as it may be, wasn’t always the truth. At least not early in the war. For nearly two years, American submariners went into battle with a torpedo that refused to do its job. It wasn’t the enemy that nearly broke their spirits. It was the Mark 14.

On July 24, 1943, the submarine USS Tinosa SS-283 faced a golden opportunity and watched it slip away as torpedo after torpedo failed to explode.

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A Friendly Fire Near Miss

The morning began with overcast skies and a gray sea that rolled beneath USS Gabilan as she resumed her lifeguard station near the mouth of Tokyo Bay. It was 0542. Her role was to watch the skies and be ready to pull Allied airmen from the ocean if their luck ran out over Japan. These assignments could be long, sometimes dull, and always dangerous.

By 1135, weather conditions had started to clear. Enemy coastlines were still visible in the haze, but the skies were opening. Strike aircraft would soon follow. Word filtered through at 1430 that the carriers were sending in another wave. Gabilan surfaced at 1600 and established contact with her fighter cover. From the bridge, the sky seemed alive. Planes moved in every direction. Tokyo’s defenses were under heavy pressure, and the horizon felt full of noise.

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#2 Main Generator

Out in the western Pacific on July 14, 1945, the crew of USS Gabilan SS-252, wasn’t dodging torpedoes or depth charges. They weren’t firing off salvos or hunting enemy shipping lanes. They were quietly holding their station as part of a mission every bit as important—plane guarding. Their job was to watch the skies for B-29s, those massive bombers roaring toward Japan, and be ready to rescue any airman forced to ditch at sea. It wasn’t as dramatic as sinking a convoy, but if you were the one floating in a life raft, you’d be glad someone like Gabilan was out there.

And then, out of nowhere, fire broke out inside the sub.

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