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A Submarine Assault | WW2 Hell Under the Sea


2m read
·Nov 11, 2024

July 31st, 1944. With Commander Lawson Ramage fixated on another target in Japanese convoy MI-11, below deck, battle helmsman Chet Stanton has made the decision to evade an escort that threatens to ram the American submarine. The crew of USS Parche wait to see if Stanton acted quickly enough to avoid disaster. It's an incredibly stressful time for these guys; you're not actively involved in a fight, yet this fight determines whether or not you're going to live or die.

At 0:425, the submarine is halfway across the bow of the enemy ship. "Right full rudder!" Commander Ramage belatedly orders a hard turn starboard in time. Archie Stern swings clear; the American submarine narrowly escapes. Chet Stanton became something of a hero to the crew because had he not had the foresight to go ahead and order emergency all ahead, they would probably have been sliced in half.

"We're clear!" Archie's crew has outmaneuvered the Japanese escort, but a bigger challenge looms now. Deep within the convoy, an enemy transport lies straight ahead but is hemmed in by other vessels. Ramage has only one option: "You must target the bow," the narrowest part of the ship. Call it down the throat shot; it is not recommended if the enemy ship is more than 1500 yards away. Although the distance between Parche and its target is greater, Ramage decides to risk it.

The first torpedo misses, but Ramage fires two more. This time, his torpedoes strike true. Heavily damaged, the ship comes to a rumbling halt, and there's more good news: Ramage sees a gap in the convoy's vessels that crowded him. He wheels around to take aim at the wounded ship from its side—a bigger target and much easier shot to make.

A single torpedo finishes the vessel. Ramage's perseverance pays off; it turns out it is a transport ship that carries Japanese troops. More than 2,400 soldiers are lost at sea. Archie's stunning performance against convoy MI-11 will become known as Ramage's rampage. In less than an hour, Parche has fired 19 torpedoes and scored at least 14 hits. As submarine historian Clay Blair once said, this was the most dramatic 48 minutes of the entire submarine war.

As dawn breaks, Ramage gives the order to pull clear of the convoy. "Let's get out of here!" As they depart, they receive a message. All of a sudden, this Japanese ship starts signaling with the internationally recognized code for "What's your name? Who are you?" Ramage and his crew get a real kick out of that, and they're like, "Well, he's probably got paperwork to fill out too."

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