Bow Shots

“Did a submarine ever sink an enemy destroyer or other ship with a bow shot?”

From the third patrol of the USS Wahoo (SS-238), 26Jan43:

…We then turned our attention to the second target which was last observed heading for us. He was still coming, yawing somewhat, and quite close. Fired two bow torpedoes down his throat to stop him, and as a defensive move. The second torpedo hit, but he kept coming and forced us to turn hard left, duck and go ahead at full speed to avoid.

While not exactly successful, the Wahoo dispatched this transport within an hour, expending two additional torpedoes (with one failing to detonate).

From the fifth patrol of the USS Harder (SS-257), 10Jun1944:

With the idea that we were now scheduled for another “working over” anyhow, it was decided to have a crack at the destroyer first and the bow was swung toward him for another “down-the-throat” shot. (Maybe recent events have gotten us too much in the habit of shooting at destroyers anyhow?)…

At a range of 1500 yards, torpedo run 1200, gyros near zero, and a depth set at 6 feet; fired three bow tubes with a 1/4 degree spread, right and left of zero.

…Fifty five seconds and sixty seconds respectively after the first shot, two torpedoes struck with a detonation that was far worse than depth charging. By this time we were just passing 80 feet and were soon almost beneath the destroyer when all Hell broke loose. – It was not from his depth charges for if they had been dropped at that time this report would not have been completed, but a deafening series of progressive rumblings that seemed to almost blend with each other. Either his boilers or magazines, or both, had exploded ant it’s a lucky thing that ship explosions are vented upward and not down.

Dealey, his crew, and the Harder were lost on 24Aug44, but he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his aggressive tactics:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Harder during her 5th War Patrol in Japanese-controlled waters. Floodlighted by a bright moon and disclosed to an enemy destroyer escort which bore down with intent to attack, Comdr. Dealey quickly dived to periscope depth and waited for the pursuer to close range, then opened fire, sending the target and all aboard down in flames with his third torpedo. Plunging deep to avoid fierce depth charges, he again surfaced and, within 9 minutes after sighting another destroyer, had sent the enemy down tail first with a hit directly amidship. Evading detection, he penetrated the confined waters off Tawi Tawi with the Japanese Fleet base 6 miles away and scored death blows on 2 patrolling destroyers in quick succession. With his ship heeled over by concussion from the first exploding target and the second vessel nose-diving in a blinding detonation, he cleared the area at high speed. Sighted by a large hostile fleet force on the following day, he swung his bow toward the lead destroyer for another “down-the-throat” shot, fired 3 bow tubes and promptly crash-dived to be terrifically rocked seconds later by the exploding ship as the Harder passed beneath. This remarkable record of 5 vital Japanese destroyers sunk in 5 short-range torpedo attacks attests the valiant fighting spirit of Comdr. Dealey and his indomitable command.

From the second patrol of the USS Parche (SS-384), 31Jul44:

We now found ourselves boxed in on both sides by several small craft and the big transport dead ahead with a zero angle. This left no alternative but to fire down the throat. 
“Commenced firing bow tubes. First fish started off to the right so checked fire and spotted on, then fired two more. These were right in the groove and both hit – stopping him.

(From the summary of the attack):

From position dead ahead at 1800 yards fired three shots down the throat. Two hits were obtained stopping the target.Then closed on the starboard bow and swung to the left to bring stern tubes to bear.Fired last stern shot at 1100 yards for a bulls eye. Ship sank ten minutes later, bow first.

Ramage’s Medal of Honor citation chronicles the attack in a more vivid prose:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Parche in a predawn attack on a Japanese convoy, 31 July 1944. Boldly penetrating the screen of a heavily escorted convoy, Comdr. Ramage launched a perilous surface attack by delivering a crippling stern shot into a freighter and quickly following up with a series of bow and stern torpedoes to sink the leading tanker and damage the second one. Exposed by the light of bursting flares and bravely defiant of terrific shellfire passing close overhead, he struck again, sinking a transport by two forward reloads. In the mounting fury of fire from the damaged and sinking tanker, he calmly ordered his men below, remaining on the bridge to fight it out with an enemy now disorganized and confused. Swift to act as a fast transport closed in to ram, Comdr. Ramage daringly swung the stern of the speeding Parche as she crossed the bow of the onrushing ship, clearing by less than 50 feet but placing his submarine in a deadly crossfire from escorts on all sides and with the transport dead ahead. Undaunted, he sent 3 smashing ‘down the throat’ bow shots to stop the target, then scored a killing hit as a climax to 46 minutes of violent action with the Parche and her valiant fighting company retiring victorious and unscathed.

Now… was it an effective tactic?

Astrid went into excellent detail of the complexities of such an attack, already. For me… I would venture to say that, upon reading these and many other patrol reports, these men were just the right mix of bravery and lunacy to pull it off. While I agree with Dealey’s notion that “discretion here was definitely the better part of valor,” I am continually amazed at the deliberate, yet casual, way they went into harm’s way.

Still, it would be amazing to witness these men and events…