USS Cero (SS-225) - Fifth and Sixth War Patrols

Fifth and Sixth War Patrols

Cero was refitted at Seeadler Harbor, Manus, from 2 June to 26 June 1944, then put to sea for the dangerous waters off Mindanao, where on 5 August, she sent another tanker to the bottom; fifteen days later she finished her fifth patrol at Brisbane.

On 19 September 1944, Cero cleared Darwin, Australia, for the Mindanao and Sulu Seas for her sixth patrol. She called en route at Mios Woendi, where she took on board 17 short tons (15 t) of supplies for Philippine guerrillas, along with 16 soldiers headed for behind-the-lines operations in Luzon. Although not permitted by her orders to attack escorted merchantmen while on this mission, Cero encountered two small craft on 27 October, and in a resulting gun action, damaged both and forced them ashore. On 3 November, north of Manila, she made contact with the guerrillas, landed the soldiers and supplies, and took aboard four evacuees. Later attacked by a Japanese submarine, an alert bridge crew enabled Cero to evade a torpedo aimed at her. Mission completed, she returned to Pearl Harbor 24 November, then sailed to the West Coast for overhaul.