Tag: World War II submarine

Post Holiday Action in the Kuriles

In the early morning fog of July 5, 1944, the USS Sunfish broke free from a curtain of gray and found herself staring at a rare, eerie clarity over the northern Kuril Islands. Aradio To rose sharply in front of her like a black tooth jutting from the sea, and for the first time in days, the crew could see clearly. Paramushiru, Shimushu, even Kamchatka were all laid out under a hazy sun that had barely burned through the mist. The weather gave them a moment of visual advantage, but it also left them exposed. There was no Japanese shipping in sight, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t out there. In these waters, silence could kill.

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Independence Day in the Kuriles

Aboard the USS Sunfish SS-281, July 3-4, 1944…

Not every Fourth of July comes with flags and fireworks. Sometimes, it comes with fog, fishing boats, and a barometer that just can’t make up its mind.

On July 3, 1944, the submarine USS Sunfish slipped into her patrol zone. She was sixty miles southeast of Kurabu Zaki, off the northern edge of Paramushiru, one of the outermost of Japan’s Kurile Islands. This was not a place for parades or patriotic speeches. It was a place for shadows, silence, and submarine warfare. On this particular patrol, action was measured less in torpedoes and more in fathoms and fogbanks.

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Triumph Below – Tragedy Above: USS Sturgeon Sinks Montevideo Maru

The sun had barely set on June 30, 1942, as USS Sturgeon continued her patrol northwest of Cape Bojeador, slipping beneath the waves at dawn and surfacing at dusk as she had done for days. The ocean was quiet, routine. But just after 10 PM, the monotony broke. The watch spotted a darkened ship to the south, cutting through the sea under the cover of night.

At first, the angle of the sighting made it seem like the vessel was heading north, but careful observation quickly corrected that. She was moving west at high speed, clearly having just exited Babuyan Channel and making for Hainan. This was no dawdling freighter. She was moving fast, at least 17 knots, and zigzagging to avoid detection. A valuable target.

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