The Yamato that got away
Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 9:06 pm
Found this interesting tidbit in the patrol records of U.S.S. Halibut. Cruising on the surface during the late afternoon Jan 17 1944, and part of a group of two additional Gatos 6 miles apart, patrolling the warship traffic lanes between Japan and Truk, Halibut sighted a hull down ship with a large pagoda foretop. They began tracking with radar switched on for short periods, and as it got closer it was positively identified as a Yamato Class battleship. No escorts were as yet seen or indicated by radar.
Here was an almost ideal situation: the pride of the Japanese Navy advancing, seemingly unaware that three hungry wolves lay in wait ready to expend every one of their 68 remaining torpedoes. If any one of us could hit her and damage her enough to slow her down, we were strong enough to penetrate any screen she might have and would keep slinging torpedoes into her hull until she sank....doctrine called for Halibut to attack first and then become the trailer while the other boats went in. However we were further off her track and if she continued zigzagging on base course 270* she would pass between Haddock and Tullibee (no less than 6,000 yards from either's position).... Suddenly just after nightfall, our periodic radar sweeps showed the range opening up drastically....we watched helplessly as her radar pip weakened and faded from the screen. Calling Tullibee and Haddock by radio we learned that neither had made contact. It was clear that our opposing skipper was clever and capable. He could not have detected our small ships at night by sight or by radar at which we held our massive target. The intermittent probing of three high powered radar beams had alerted him...(Galantin pg149)