“Bearing — mark!”
“Zero one three!” calls out the quartermaster.
“Set!” from the TDC operator.
“FIRE!” The word lashes out from Dick O’Kane’s lips. Tang’s first war shot is on the way.
The TDC operator takes over the remainder of the salvo. He waits ten seconds, sings out, “FIRE!” Then ten seconds, “FIRE!” and again, “FIRE!”
Now comes the wait. One minute. Can something have gone wrong? Can we have made some mistake? O’Kane watches anxiously through the ’scope. A lot depends on this, Tang’s first target!
“WHANG!” The first torpedo explodes exactly at the point of aim, the target’s screws. A flash of light momentarily blocks the vision and swiftly subsides to show a large column of dirty water flung high above the poop deck of the hapless vessel, falling heavily all about his afterparts.
“WHANG!” The second fish strikes home, about one third of the way forward. Another flash of light, and another column of water. The speed of the stricken ship already becomes perceptibly slower, as the sudden braking effect of two jagged holes in his once-smooth skin, as well as the loss of his propeller, destroy his forward motion. He has sunk lower in the water already, in the ten seconds between explosions, and has begun to list.
“WHANG!” A third hit from the pitiless torpedoes. This one is fairly far forward, in the bow of the ship, and it decisively completes the job. His forward motion now completely disrupted, he slithers agonizingly to a stop, and the fourth torpedo, which Tang had aimed at his bow, misses ahead.
A quick turn about with the periscope shows the submarine skipper that he is clear of escorting vessels and can spare a moment or so to verify the sinking. The stern single eye of the Tang swings back to the doomed Japanese freighter. There is not the slightest doubt that this ship is a goner, but it has been a long time since Dick O’Kane stood at Wahoo’s periscope and saw one of her victims go down; besides, this is his — and Tang’s—first, the start of his plans for a long vendetta.
To only a few men is the opportunity given to watch a big ship sink, and there is a certain sadness, combined with a sort of fierce, unholy joy and glee, in watching one which you yourself are responsible for.
Another quick look around with Tang’s periscope shows that one of the escorts is headed in her general direction, and the sound man reports that he can hear pinging from that direction. Obviously, the Nip is trying the natural and logical tactic of running down the torpedo wakes in hopes of picking up their source. No sense in the source hanging around any longer. Besides, there is no chance of getting the other freighter, for he never had been close enough for a shot, and he is now headed directly away from the area as quickly as he can. So the periscope is pulled down all the way, and the boat is secured for deep depth and depth charging. This promises to be an all-around day for Tang: Her first depth charges have already been received, her first attack has been carried out successfully, her first ship has been seen to sink, and now she is due for another working over.
But this Nip destroyer doesn’t have his heart in his work, either, and he merely unloads a few charges and goes on his way. Tang chalks up practically a free ride, and is back on the surface an hour and a half later, as dawn breaks.
By the time O’Kane was ready to return to port he had added four more scalps to Tang’s belt — one a huge naval tanker carrying a crew estimated at more than three hundred men. When she arrived at Midway after that first run, the Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet, knew that spiritually as well as actually it had received the replacement for Wahoo. Not only was Dick O’Kane the logical man to inherit Morton’s crown as the most successful submariner — he had also earned it. At least he was well on the way to earning it, if he could only keep up his record.
In passing, it is a curious. commentary on O’Kane to note that not once in any of his patrol reports did he capitalize the word “Jap” or “Nip.” To him they were “japs,” “nips,” and “other debris,” if he bothered to mention them at all.
On her second run, no enemy vessels were sunk, for the simple reason that none were sighted, despite Tang’s utmost efforts. About the only thing worthy of note in that line was her meeting with Trigger off Palau, during the latter’s ninth patrol, and supplying her with necessary spare parts after a terrific beating absorbed a few days before. This fortunate encounter was instrumental in Trigger’s being able to remain on station and finally discover a large convoy which she all but wiped out. Though gratifying, however, this was not doing any ship sinking herself, and O’Kane might have been excused for being a bit peeved. However, a chance for action of another kind came, with orders to the Truk area to perform lifeguard duties for an air attack scheduled for that enemy base.
It was a characteristic of O’Kane — as well as of Morton before him — that the most thorough and meticulous preparation was always made for any mission, and this one was no exception. Employing daring tactics, using to the fullest extent all available assistance such as search planes, special radio circuits, and the like, and bombarding the shore batteries whenever he found (or made) the opportunity — usually during the height of an air raid, thus confounding the enemy all the more—Tang proceeded to the rescue of twenty-two aviators who had been forced to land in the water. For this most remarkable feat, performed in seven different pickups close to the reef at Truk, usually under enemy gunfire, Tang and her skipper won the plaudits of the whole Submarine Force, and the heartfelt gratitude of the carrier task force. This was one of the rare instances in which a sub returning from patrol with no scalps to add to her belt needed no excuses, and actually added to her reputation.
And on her third run Tang sank ten ships, for a total of fifteen. O’Kane still seemed to be possessed of a fierce driving urge to sink more Japanese ships, his mission of vengeance not yet accomplished, his search for perfection not yet satisfied. By the time Tang’s third patrol was completed, however, the lure of the chase seemed uppermost in O’Kane’s mind, and the desire for revenge, and the dedication of all victims to the old Wahoo, was no longer the primary motivation. In other words, Tang was now working for herself.
While she sank only two ships on her fourth patrol, this was the toughest one to date, for Tang was bothered with excellent anti-submarine forces and poor torpedo performance. Shades of poor old Mush Morton! But the trouble was not so serious as Wahoo had experienced, and effective results were achieved in spite of it.
On August 11, O’Kane had selected a spot off the coast of Honshu known as Miki Saki for a submerged patrol. It soon became evident that he had correctly gauged a hot spot, for a modern gunboat, which he described as “loaded with depth charges,” cruised in the area, while a nondescript motorboat wandered about with six lookouts keeping a sharp watch. All day was spent in avoiding these two characters, but at about 1500 the motorboat, by great good luck, sighted the periscope of the questing submarine, and tailed her from then on.