USS Tautog (SS-199) - Ninth Patrol

Ninth Patrol

Tautog's ninth war patrol began on 12 December 1943 and took her to Japanese home waters, southeast of Shikoku Island and along the southern coast of Honshū. On 27 December, she fired a spread of three torpedoes at a freighter and made a similar attack on a passenger ship. However, she never learned the results of these attacks since enemy escorts forced her to go deep and kept her down for four hours while they rained 99 depth charges on her. On 3 January 1944, Tautog tracked a cargo ship off the mouth of the Kumano Kawa River, approximately one-half mile from the seawall. She fired a spread of three torpedoes, turned, and headed for deep water. The submarine ran up her periscope, but an explosion filled the air with debris and obscured Saishu Maru from view as the freighter sank. The sound of approaching high-speed propellers and a closing patrol plane convinced the submarine that it was time to depart.

The next day, Tautog made radar contact with a ship and tracked the target while working toward a good firing position. A profligate spread of six torpedoes produced four hits which broke Usa Maru in half. When last seen, the cargoman's bow and stern were both in the air. On 11 January, Tautog intercepted two freighters and launched three torpedoes at the first and larger, and one at the second. Escorts forced the submarine deep, but timed explosions indicated a hit on each ship. Tautog was later credited with inflicting medium damage to Kogyo Maru. She returned to Pearl Harbor for a refit by Bushnell (AS-15) on 30 January, credited with two ships for 9,700 tons (postwar, 6,000).