On December 30, 1944, USS Batfish (SS-310) departed on her sixth war patrol under the command of Commander John K. “Jake” Fyfe. She proceeded north of the Philippines and patrolled the Babuyan Islands. At the same time, the Japanese dispatched four submarines to the port of Aparri on Luzon. Their mission was to ferry ammunition and evacuate key personnel ahead of MacArthur’s advancing forces. Three of the four would never complete their mission.
RO-55
On the night of February 9, Batfish picked up the radar signature of an enemy submarine. Fyfe closed to within 1800 yards and fired four torpedoes on radar bearings. All missed. Batfish repositioned itself ahead of the target’s projected track and waited again.
The submarine reappeared on radar, unaware he had been fired upon. Fyfe closed to 1000 yards and made visual contact with the submarine. He fired a torpedo but it malfunctioned in the tube. It was finally ejected along with two more.
At that instant Batfish’s radar operators reported the Japanese sub had located them with their own set. Suddenly the enemy pip expanded then faded from the screen. A single explosion could be heard. Batfish had sunk RO-55 a few minutes after midnight.
Batfish cruised through the wreckage in search of survivors but Lt. Cdr. Koichiro Suwa and his crew were lost without a trace.
RO-112
The following day another submarine was discovered by radar just after sunset: the RO-112 under the command of Lt. Cdr. Jun Yuji. Batfish closed to 1800 yards and was preparing to fire when the submarine dove. Fyfe swung his boat away to avoid possible attack.
Thirty minutes later Batfish’s sound operators heard the tell-tale noise of a surfacing sub. Fyfe identified the target visually then dove to radar depth to further conceal his boat. He fired four torpedoes, three of which struck home and destroyed RO-112.
Batfish attempted to search for survivors but was forced to flee by an enemy plane.
RO-113
Less than 24 hours later the same peculiar signature is recognized by the Batfish’s radar watch: a third submarine. It was Kiyoshi Harada’s RO-113. Fyfe closed at radar depth but the enemy sub dove before he could fire. Fyfe waited silently, listening for the enemy boat to surface, his radar mast still exposed. Finally, Batfish regained radar contact with the target. She had surfaced.
With only two remaining torpedoes forward, Fyfe surfaced, conned Batfish ahead of RO-113’s track and dove back to radar depth. As the unsuspecting sub approached, Batfish turned her stern tubes to bear and fired four fish. Three struck the target and destroyed it.
Once more Fyfe ordered his boat to the surface to search for survivors. They only found debris. A small wooden case was brought aboard containing RO-113’s navigator’s workbook and instruments.
Museum Ship
On February 21, 1945 Batfish returned to her base in Apra Harbor, Guam having sunk three Japanese submarines within the span of four days. Her tally made her the champion submarine killer submarine of the war.
Today Batfish is a museum ship and can be toured at the Batfish War Memorial Park & Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
References:
Beach, Edward L. Submarine, New York: Henry Holt & Co. 1946.
Kimmett, Larry and Regis, Margaret. U.S. Submarines in World War II, Seattle: Navigator Publishing, 1996.
Louder, Hughston E. with Scott, Jack. Batfish, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1980.
Paul Crozier - Paul Crozier is a lifelong student of history. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in English and minor in History. ...
