USS Thresher (SS-200) - Fourteenth Patrol

Fourteenth Patrol

Upon completion of voyage repairs (and with John R. Middleton, Jr., Class of 1935, now at the helm), Thresher stood out of Midway on 23 August 1944, bound for the Yellow Sea and East China Sea on her fourteenth war patrol. Six days later, while cruising on the surface, Thresher was battered by heavy seas which caused the boat to roll some 53 degrees from the vertical and produced waves up to 50 feet (15 m) high.

Rounding the southern tip of Kyūshū, Thresher sighted several small craft before making contact with a minelayer and two subchasers on 10 September. Clearing the vicinity at high speed, Thresher headed for a new patrol area.

Thresher was twice frustrated on 13 September, when a large oiler passed far out of reach and a freighter, attacked with four torpedoes, refused to sink. An escorting aircraft harried the boat and prevented any further attacks.

At 15:31 on 18 September, Thresher sighted the masts, funnel and bridge of a ship on the horizon. After determining the enemy's base course and zigzag plan, Thresher surfaced and locked on the freighter with radar at 19:23. Another pip, an escort vessel, soon appeared on radar.

By 21:00, Thresher had maneuvered into position off the enemy's port bow and waited for the Japanese ships to make a zig which would place her at a desirable point for the attack. Thresher closed in for the kill and loosed four torpedoes as the group turned to the right. The Japanese, however, did not meet her prediction, and the first spread ran wide of its targets. Still undetected, Thresher quickly came about and fired four stern "fish" from 1,200 yards (1,100 m). The second spread ran true, hitting 6,854-ton freighter Gyōkū Maru. The explosions broke the cargoman's back, and she quickly slipped from sight. Thresher retired at high speed when she detected the presence of three additional ships closing rapidly.

Thresher reloaded and turned upon her pursuers, loosing a spread of torpedoes which barely missed. She evaded her hunters and shifted to waters off Manchuria. The boat sighted only fishing craft until 26 August, when a large cargo vessel hove into sight at 09:44. Thresher surfaced at 13:15 and headed for the nearest point on the enemy's zigzag course. An hour later, the submarine spotted a floatplane on patrol, and hurriedly dived. As she went deep, one depth charge exploded nearby.

Staying under until 16:00, Thresher came to the surface and reacquired her target at 18:15. Tracking until sunset, she postulated the enemy vessel was bound for Daisei Gunto and an intercept course was plotted accordingly. Attacking from the bright moon side, Thresher fired two bow tubes, aiming one torpedo at the hull near the mainmast and one at the foremast. Both struck home, and the 1,468-ton freighter broke up and sank within a minute.

The following day, 26 September, Thresher came upon a 5,000-ton oiler and cut loose with four stern tubes from a range of 4,000 yards (3,700 m). Those on the bridge saw the target disappear within a minute. Tubes dry, Thresher headed for Midway. En route, on 3 October, she sighted, tracked, and approached a small trawler. After sunset, Thresher surfaced and manned her deck guns. After firing 27 rounds of five-inch ammunition, the boat soon received close return fire which forced her to back off. Too dark to see the target, Thresher resumed her passage to Midway.

After fueling at Midway on 8 October, Thresher sailed for the Hawaiian Islands and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 12 October 1944. Following a lengthy refit, Thresher got underway on 31 January 1945 for the Marianas, in company with Tilefish (SS-307), Shad (SS-235), and Peto (SS-265). Remaining at Saipan overnight on 12–13 February, the impromptu wolf pack pushed on toward its assigned patrol areas north of Luzon. However, only two of Thresher's contacts developed into attacks. One failed due to the target's shallow draft; and the second contact evaded. Thresher did, however, conduct air-sea guard patrols; and conducted a shore bombardment of Basco Harbor, Batan Island, on 28 March. The latter part of this patrol was conducted in company with Piranha and Puffer (SS-268).