USS Sterlet (SS-392) - Fourth War Patrol

Fourth War Patrol

Sterlet’s fourth war patrol lasted from 29 April to 10 June and took her north of Japan to the Sea of Okhotsk and the vicinity of the Kuril Islands. On this cruise, her proximity to Soviet territory and the port of Vladivostok complicated her mission. Though Soviet ships were advised to remain out of the war zone around Japan, Sterlet had to be extremely vigilant in her identification of potential targets lest she send some of the United States's allies in the European war to a wet, chilly grave. Lack of certainty in identification forced the submarine to pass up several inviting targets. To further cloud the issue, Japanese ships probably attempted to disguise themselves as Soviets on several occasions to escape American submarines.

Sterlet, however, managed to emerge victorious over two enemy ships. In the late afternoon of 29 May, she encountered a large and a small freighter, escorted by three patrol frigates. At 16:41, the submarine tried for a good setup, but failed due to the convoy's rapid change in course. She lost sound contact around 1720 and, 40 minutes later surfaced for a daylight end-around. At 1822, the lookouts sighted smoke; and, by 21:53, the submarine was in position to launch a night surface radar attack. She launched six torpedoes, three at each freighter. Two minutes later, one of the escorts peeled off and made for Sterlet. She immediately went right full rudder, all ahead at flank speed. In another two minutes, two torpedoes plowed into each of the two targets—four explosions within 20 seconds. At 22:05, the enemy frigate began random depth charge attacks. Three minutes later, the smaller of the two targets sank by the stern.

At 22:11, Sterlet unleashed four "fish" at the pursuing escort. The setup was hasty at best. All four missed, and she prudently opened range to reload and prepare for another attack on the damaged freighter still afloat. As she approached, her quarry was dead in the water, down by the stern, and partially enveloped by smoke. Two of the escorts were thrashing about the surrounding waters, indiscriminately shooting and dropping depth charges. At 22:35, one of them passed between Sterlet and her victim. The submarine shifted her sights on him and, four minutes later, sent three torpedoes streaking at him. The frigate sighted the wakes, immediately turned into them, and rapidly closed on Sterlet. This pursuit forced Sterlet to retire; and, after more than an hour of running from the frigate and undergoing his bombardment, she managed to open range by firing four torpedoes "down the throat" at him. This tactic did not allow her to escape, and the chase continued until the frigate turned broadside to fire both his forward and after guns in salvo. That curious maneuver allowed Sterlet to open range to 8,000 yards (7,300 m) at which point, the enemy's radar wavered. Sterlet shut her radar down, came hard to starboard and opened out. A minute before midnight, Sterlet turned her radar back on. The screen was clear; she had escaped.

The submarine had one more anxious moment during the patrol, when she encountered a Q-ship screened by a small escort. She launched six torpedoes at the "freighter," which disconcertingly turned and closed Sterlet. She succeeded in evading that aquatic chameleon and returned to Midway on 10 June.