At 0215 on June 24th, 1944, Lieutenant Commander Richard Okain tracked four Japanese cargo ships through the periscope of USS Tang, calculating firing solutions as the convoy steamed through darkness 3,200 yd ahead. 33 years old, two war patrols completed. His mentor was dead. The convoy consisted of six large vessels guarded by 16 escort destroyers.
Okain had learned submarine warfare from Dudley Morton aboard USS Wahoo. Morton taught him tactics that defied Navy doctrine. Attack from inside convoys, not from safe flanks where Manual said submarines belonged. Drive into formations. Fire ahead, fire behind. Use chaos as cover. Morton was gone now.Wahoo sank 3 months after Ocaine left to command Tang. 79 men lost in October 1943. The Pacific Fleet’s best commander vanished beneath the Sea of Japan. Okain inherited more than tactics. He inherited a debt. Tang’s first patrol in February had shown promise. Five ships sunk, 16 torpedoes fired, 16 hits, but the Imperial Japanese Navy was adapting.

Convoys traveled with heavier escorts. Captains zigzagged constantly. Depth charges fell faster. Second patrol in April yielded nothing. Zero attacks. Tang rescued 22 downed Navy pilots near truck during carrier strikes. Important work. Zero tonnage. This third patrol needed results.

Okaane brought Tang into Yellow Sea waters between Korea and China. Japanese logistics routes ran thick here. Or from Manuria. Troops to China. Supply convoys steaming south. June 21st, Tang found a lone freighter, single torpedo at close range. Nonshin Maru went down in four minutes. Two days later, another solo target.

Okaane fired from 750 yd. Nikkin Maru broke in half, but Okaane wanted bigger prey. Heavily guarded formations that other commanders avoided. Now at 0215 on June 24th, he had one. Six cargo ships, 16 destroyers, enough tonnage to make history. Tank closed distance, 2800 yd, 2400. Okaane ordered battle stations. Fire control plotted solutions.
Torpedomen stood ready. 2,000 yd. Okaane gave the command. Surface attack. Full speed. Tang broke from darkness straight into the formation. No submarine commander attacked convoys this way. It violated every safety protocol. Okaane fired three torpedoes at the nearest cargo ship. Shifted aim, three more at the second target.

Explosions erupted before he could confirm tracking. Two cargo vessels burst into flames. Then Okaane saw something unexpected. Four ships were burning. Not two, four. The torpedo spread had been wider than calculated. His weapons punched through intended targets and struck two additional freighters positioned behind them.

Tamahoko Maru, Tynan Maru, Nasusan Maru, Kenichi Maru. 16,292 tons destroyed in 90 seconds. Tang dove as escorts converged. Depth charges hammered the hull for 20 minutes. Four ships in one attack. The most devastating single strike any American submarine had achieved. If you want to see how Okaane turned this into the highest score in submarine history, please hit that like button.

It helps us share more forgotten stories. Subscribe if you haven’t already. Back to Okaane. That night changed everything. Okaane proved Morton’s aggressive tactics worked. For the rest of June, Tang hunted without mercy. June 25th, another freighter down. June 30th, two kills in 12 hours.

By July 3rd, Tang headed home with 10 ships sunk, 39,000 tons. The most successful war patrol ever completed. Okaane’s fourth patrol in August added five more vessels. His fifth patrol in September would break every remaining record. But that final mission would end with 24 torpedoes fired, 22 perfect hits, one miss, and the last torpedo would curve left at 46 knots, and race back toward Tang in the darkness.

Tang arrived at Pearl Harbor on July 12th, 1944. 10 ships sunk, 39,000 tons. The patrol had lasted 34 days. Admiral Charles Lockwood met Ocaine at the dock. The subpack commander had reviewed every patrol report. No American submarine had ever achieved 10 confirmed kills in a single mission. Lockwood recommended Okaane for the Navy Cross.

But numbers told only part of the story. Okaane’s tactics violated standard doctrine. Submarines were supposed to attack from outside convoy formations, stay at periscope depth, fire from safe distances, dive immediately after launching torpedoes. Okaane surfaced in the middle of enemy convoys. He fired at point blank range.

He attacked multiple targets before diving. Every rule Morton had broken on Wahoo, Okaane was breaking on Tang. Some commanders called it reckless. Others called it revolutionary. Tang underwent 3 weeks of maintenance. Fresh torpedoes loaded, engine overhaul completed. New crew members replaced two men who requested transfer.

Okaane’s aggressive style wasn’t for everyone. On August 4th, Tang departed for her fourth war patrol. Destination: Jacksonville home waters off Honshu. This patrol zone was different. Closer to Japan meant heavier air coverage, more destroyer escorts, better trainedanti-ubmarine crews. American submarines that operated near the home islands faced triple the risk of patrol zones farther south.

Okaane didn’t care about risk calculations. He cared about tonnage. August 10th, Tang spotted a tanker near Omi Zaki. Okaane fired three torpedoes. All three missed. The tanker zigzagged unpredictably. Tang dove as escorts approached. First miss of Okaane’s career. It wouldn’t be the last. August 11th, another convoy appeared. Two freigherss, two escorts.

Okane fired at the larger freighter. Three torpedoes hit. The ship exploded so violently that debris landed on Tang’s deck. Rooko Maru, 6,000 tons. 5 minutes later, Okaane targeted the second freighter. Two torpedoes, both hit. Number two, Nansatumaru went down stern first. August 22nd, a patrol yacht appeared through the periscope. Small target.

Okaane fired one torpedo. Direct hit. The yacht disintegrated. August 23rd. Tang tracked a large transport. Japanese servicemen in white uniforms lined the superructure. Okaane fired three torpedoes. Two hit under the stack. Tukushi Maru. 8,135 tons. August 25th. Final attack of the patrol. A tanker and escort.

Okaane used his last three torpedoes. The tanker, number eight, Nango Nano Maru, exploded. The escort fled. Tang returned to Pearl Harbor on September 3rd. Five ships sunk in one month. Okaane’s total now stood at 20 ships across four patrols. Most submarine commanders completed six to eight war patrols during the entire war.

Okaane had sunk 20 ships in 7 months. Admiral Lockwood offered Okane a shore assignment, teaching position at the submarine school, staff job at headquarters, any role that didn’t involve getting shot at. Okaane requested one more patrol. Lockwood approved it. Tang would depart September 24th.

Destination Formosa Strait, the most heavily defended water passage in the Western Pacific. Okaane spent 3 weeks preparing. He studied convoy routes, analyzed Japanese escort patterns, calculated torpedo angles for the narrow straight between Formosa and mainland China. 24 Mark1 18 electric torpedoes loaded aboard Tang, the newest model.

No wake, harder for Japanese lookouts to spot. But the Mark 18 had one documented problem. Less than 1% of the time, steering mechanisms failed. When they failed, torpedoes turned in circles. On September 24th, Tang slipped out of Pearl Harbor before dawn. 87 men aboard. Only nine would see home again. Tang refueled at Midway Island on September 27th.

Okaane reviewed his mission orders one final time. The target area stretched between northwest Formosa and the China coast. Japanese convoy routes funneled through this narrow passage, but reaching the operational zone meant passing through waters the enemy controlled completely. Minefields extended northeast from Formosa for 60 m.

Japanese patrol boats swept the approaches constantly. American submarines that entered this area faced detection rates triple the normal patrol zones. Okaane had two choices. Join a coordinated attack group led by Commander Koi aboard USS Silverides. Three other submarines would make the passage together. Safety in numbers. Or go alone.

Okaane chose solo transit. Tang departed midway on September 27th heading west. No contact with other American vessels. No radio communication unless absolutely necessary. Complete radio silence made Tang invisible to Japanese direction finding stations. For 12 days, Tang navigated enemy controlled waters. October passed intense silence.

Sonar operators listened for patrol boats. Radar operators scanned for aircraft. The crew rotated 4 hours on watch, 4 hours off. October 10th arrived. Tang reached the operational zone without detection. Okaane brought the submarine to periscope depth and surveyed the straight. Empty water. No targets. That night at 2200 hours, radar detected multiple contacts. A convoy.

Okaane closed the distance. Through the periscope, he counted cargo ships, two medium freighters steaming south along the China coast. Tang surfaced. Okaane ordered battle stations. At 2330, Tang fired four torpedoes. Two hits on the first freighter. Joshuo erupted in flames. The second freighter, Oamaru, took one torpedo amid ships and sank in 6 minutes.

Two ships down. First blood of the fifth patrol. Tang dove and cleared the area. Japanese escorts dropped depth charges for 40 minutes. None came close. When Tang resurfaced at 0300, the Burning Rex had vanished beneath the surface. For the next 13 days, Tang patrolled the straight.

October 11th through October 22nd passed without significant contacts. Small fishing boats, single patrol craft, nothing worth a torpedo. Okaim pushed Tang deeper into dangerous waters, closer to Formosa, closer to Japanese air bases. The risk increased with every mile north. October 23rd arrived. At 1700 hours, radar detected a massive formation.

Okaane counted the contacts. Three tankers, one transport, one freighter. at least eight escort destroyers, maybe more. The largestconvoy Tang had encountered since the Yellow Sea patrol. Okaane called the crew to battle stations. This attack would happen at night. Surface engagement, the same tactics that worked in June. But this convoy was different.

Heavier escorts, tighter formation. Captains who had survived American submarine attacks before. Tang tracked the convoy for 6 hours. Okaane plotted approach angles. Fire control calculated solutions for multiple targets. Torpedomen prepared tubes. At 2300 hours, Okaane gave the order. Surface full speed.

Tang broke from darkness and charged directly into the formation. The night exploded in violence. Okaane fired at the nearest tanker. Two torpedoes struck under the stack and engine room. The vessel erupted in flames so bright they illuminated the entire convoy. Okaane shifted aim. Single torpedo into the stern of the middle tanker.

Direct hit. Two more torpedoes at the farthest tanker. Both struck under the engine space. Three tankers burning. The attack had lasted 90 seconds. Then a Japanese transport turned directly toward Tang full speed attempting to ram. There was no time to dive. Okaane ordered emergency maneuvers. Tang’s diesel engines screamed as the submarine accelerated hard to port.

The Japanese transport loomed 300 yards away, closing fast. Tang turned inside the transport’s turning radius. The enemy captain tried to compensate. Too late. The transport’s momentum carried it past Tang’s stern, missing by less than 50 yards. But the transport’s course now aimed directly at one of the burning tankers.

The two vessels collided with a sound that echoed across the water. Metal shrieking against the metal. Okaane didn’t wait to watch. He aimed Tang stern tubes at both crippled ships. Two torpedoes fired. Both hit. The transport and tanker went down together. Five ships destroyed in one attack.

A destroyer raced toward Tang’s position. Okaane ordered crash dive. Tanks emerged in 45 seconds. Depth charges began falling. 37 explosions in 20 minutes. The closest detonation cracked light fixtures in the control room. When silence returned, Okaane brought Tang back to periscope depth. Dawn approached. The convoy remnants had scattered.

Burning oil slicked the water for miles. Tang dove deep and headed east. The crew needed rest. Okaane needed to count remaining torpedoes. 18 torpedoes fired on the fifth patrol. Six remaining. October 24th arrived. Tang surfaced at 0600. Morning sun revealed empty water. Okaane ordered a course change north along the China coast.

At 1400 hours, Lookout spotted smoke on the horizon. Another convoy. Okaane tracked the formation through the periscope. This convoy was smaller but more heavily escorted. Three cargo ships, one tanker, multiple destroyers in tight defensive formation. Tang followed at periscope depth throughout the afternoon. Okaane waited for darkness.

Night attacks had worked twice. They would work again. 1,800 hours sunset. 1,900 hours full darkness. 2200 hours. Okain ordered battle stations. 2,300 hours. Tang surfaced 1500 yd from the convoy. Okaane aimed at the lead cargo ship. Two torpedoes fired. Both hit. The freighter broke in half. Tang turned toward the second target. Okaane fired two more torpedoes.

One hit the cargo ship stern. The vessel listed heavily but remained afloat. Two torpedoes left. A destroyer detected Tang’s position. The escort turned toward the submarine at flank speed. Distance closing. 800 yd. 700. Okaane aimed Tang’s final two torpedoes at the charging destroyer. Both weapons launched. Both missed.

The destroyer was too close, too fast. Torpedoes needed time and distance to arm. Tang dove. Depth charges hammered the hull. 53 explosions, the worst barrage of the patrol. Tang survived, but now only empty torpedo tubes remained. Okaane surfaced two hours later. The convoy had escaped. Two ships damaged, one sunk. Not enough.

He checked the torpedo room inventory one final time. Every tube empty, every torpedo expended. No, wait. The crew had miscounted earlier. One Mark18 torpedo remained in the aft torpedo room. Tube number eight, the last weapon aboard Tang. Okaane scanned the horizon. Dawn approached in 3 hours. If another convoy appeared, Tang would have one final chance.

At 0200 on October 25th, radar detected multiple contacts, five ships heading south. Okaane called battle stations for the last time. Tang had one torpedo left, one chance, one final attack that would either complete the most successful patrol in submarine warfare history or end with nothing. Okaane ordered Tang to surface and closed the distance.

The last torpedo was already being loaded into tube 8. Tang closed on the convoy at flank speed. Okaane identified five ships through the periscope. Two cargo vessels, two transports, one large tanker. Destroyer escorts flanked the formation. Distance 2200 yd. Okaane climbed to the bridge. Night surface attack.

The same approach that had worked on October 23rd. Drive into theformation. Fire at point blank range. Use confusion as cover. Tang accelerated. 1,800 yd. 1,500. The convoy maintained course. No indication they detected the submarine. 1,200 yd. Okaane ordered the first shot. Tube one fired. The torpedo ran straight toward the nearest transport.

20 seconds later, an explosion lit the night. The transport stern lifted from the water as secondary explosions tore through cargo holds. Okaane shifted aim. The second transport crossed Tang’s bow. Tube two fired. Direct hit amid ships. The transport began listing immediately 1,000 yd from the convoy center now. The tanker loomed ahead.

Largest target remaining. Okaane aimed for the engine room. Tube three fired. The torpedo struck under the stack. Flame erupted 300 ft into the air as aviation fuel ignited. Tang turned hard to port. The two cargo ships steamed parallel to the submarine’s new course. Perfect firing position. Okaane launched tubes four and five in quick succession. Both torpedoes hit.

One cargo ship exploded. The second began sinking bow first. Five ships hit. 23 torpedoes fired on the patrol. 22 had found targets. One miss against the destroyer, but Tubait still held one Mark1 18, the last torpedo aboard Tang. A destroyer escort broke formation and charged Tang’s position. Distance: 800 yd.

The escort’s deck guns opened fire. Shells splashed near Tang’s conning tower. Okaane aimed the final torpedo at the charging destroyer. Fire control calculated the solution. Speed 26 knots. Range 700 yd. Bearing 035°. At 0230 on October 25th, 1944, Okaane gave the order. Fire tube 8. The Mark1 18 torpedo launched.

Electric motor engaged. No wake trail. Silent run. For 3 seconds, the weapon tracked perfectly toward the destroyer. Then the torpedo broached the surface. Okaane watched through binoculars as the weapon’s propeller broke above the water line. The torpedo curved left, not a gentle turn, a sharp arc back toward Tang. Circular run. Okaane screamed orders.

Emergency power. Full right rudder. Tang began turning hard to starboard. The submarine screws churned water as diesel engines pushed maximum thrust. The torpedo completed its arc, now racing directly at Tang. Distance 400 yd. Speed 46 knots, 300 yd. Tang’s turn couldn’t happen fast enough.

The submarine needed 60 seconds to complete the maneuver. The torpedo would reach Tang in 15. 200 yd. Crewman on the bridge saw it coming. A white phosphorescent trail in the dark water heading straight for the aft torpedo room. 100 yd. Okaane ordered everyone to brace. Some men jumped overboard. Others grabbed stansions. Torpedoman Hayes Trucker watched from the bridge as Tang’s own weapon closed the final distance. 50 yard.

20 seconds had elapsed since launch. The same amount of time Tang’s other 23 torpedoes had needed to reach their targets. 20 yard. The Mark 18 struck Tang Stern 3 ft below the water line, directly beside the aft torpedo room where the weapon had been loaded minutes earlier. The explosion tore through three compartments instantly.

The explosion threw men against bulkheads. Control room personnel felt the impact through steel decking. Lights shattered. Circuit breakers sparked. The stern dropped immediately. Water flooded the aft torpedo room in seconds. Then the after engine room, then the maneuvering room. Three compartments gone before damage control could react.

Tang began sinking stern first. Nine officers and men occupied the bridge when the torpedo hit. Okaane was among them. The force of the explosion hurled three men overboard. Six remained on the bridge as Tang went down. 180 ft of water below. The submarine sank in 45 seconds. Tang hit bottom at 0231. 1 minute after the torpedo struck.

The impact sent shock waves through the remaining compartments. Men in the forward sections felt the collision with the seafloor. Of the nine men thrown from the bridge, only three survived in the water long enough to be rescued. Okaane was one. Lieutenant Lawrence Savodkin was another. Motor machinists mate Jesse Dilva made three.

One officer escaped from the flooded conning tower. Lieutenant Junior Grade Henry Flanigan fought his way through rising water and burst to the surface. Four survivors floating in oil sllicked water. Japanese destroyer escorts closed on their position. Inside Tang, 30 men remained alive in the forward torpedo room.

The aft sections had flooded completely. 78 men died in the initial explosion or drowned in the flooded compartments. The 30 survivors faced a choice. stay inside and suffocate when air ran out or attempt escape from 180 ft down using Momson lungs. The Momsson lung was an emergency breathing device developed in 1929 after USS S4 sank with all hands.

A rubber bag connected to a mouthpiece. Sailors filled the bag with oxygen, placed the mouthpiece between their teeth, and swam to the surface. The device recycled exhaled breath through a carbon dioxide absorbent. No one had ever successfully escaped asubmarine using Momson lungs in combat conditions.

Training scenarios used shallow water, controlled environments. Tang rested at 180 ft, three times deeper than any training exercise. The survivors began preparations. They burned classified documents, destroyed code books, opened the forward escape trunk. Then they waited. A Japanese patrol vessel circled overhead, dropping depth charges.

The explosions triggered an electrical fire in the forward battery compartment. Heat intensified. Paint on bulkheads began melting. At 0400, 2 hours after Tang sank, the Japanese patrol vessel moved away. The first man entered the escape trunk. Motor machinist mate Clayton Decker went first.

He secured the Mson lung, flooded the trunk, opened the outer hatch. The pressure equalized. Decker released the buoy line and began ascending. The climb took 12 minutes, 10 ft at a time. Stop. Count to 10. Continue. Breathing became difficult at 60 ft. The pain passed. At 40 ft, Decker could see moonlight filtering through the water. He broke the surface at 04:15.

1 hour 45 minutes after Tang sank. 12 more men followed Decker through the escape trunk. 13 total attempted the ascent. Only eight reached the surface alive. Five men died during the climb. Lung ruptures, air embolisms, nitrogen narcosis. By 0600, nine men floated in the water. Okaane, Savodkin, Flanigan, Dilva, Decker, radio technician Floyd Caverly, Bow Swain’s mate William Leebold, torpedo Hayes Trucker, torpedo Pete Narowansky, nine survivors from 87 crew.

At 07:30, a Japanese destroyer escort arrived. The Japanese destroyer escort Tachik Kaz pulled the nine Americans from the water. Sailors hauled them aboard one by one. Okain climbed onto the deck last. His legs barely functioned after 8 hours in the ocean. On Tatikaz’s deck, Japanese sailors formed a gauntlet. The Americans walked between two lines.

Fists struck faces. Boots connected with ribs. Clubs hammered shoulders and backs. Then Okaane saw why. Japanese survivors from the ships Tang had sunk occupied the destroyer. Burned men, wounded men, sailors pulled from burning tankers and exploding cargo vessels. They recognized the submarine insignia on American uniforms.

The beatings intensified. Okaane later wrote that once he realized the men attacking them were survivors of Tang’s torpedoes, the violence became easier to accept. These men had every reason for rage. The beatings continued for 3 hours. Then guards locked the Americans in a storage compartment below deck. No food, no water, no medical treatment.

Tatakaz steamed to Formosa. The Americans spent 4 days in the storage hold. On October 29th, guards transferred them to a transport ship bound for Japan. The voyage lasted 2 weeks. November 13th, the transport docked at Yokohama. Guards moved the prisoners to Ofuna Interrogation Center 30 mi southwest of Tokyo. Ofuna was a secret facility.

The International Red Cross had no knowledge of its existence. Japan never reported the camp’s location or prisoner count. Men sent to Afuna officially did not exist. The nine Tang survivors joined 60 other Allied prisoners at Ofuna. Navy pilots shot down over the Pacific. B29 crewmen captured after bombing raids.

submarine sailors from other lost boats. Interrogations began immediately. Japanese intelligence officers questioned Okaine for 6 hours daily. They wanted convoy routes, radio frequencies, submarine tactics, recognition codes. Okaane provided nothing beyond name, rank, and serial number.

Interrogators increased pressure. Food rations decreased to one bowl of rice per day. Guards prohibited all prisoner communication. Solitary confinement lasted weeks. December arrived. American B29 bombers appeared over Tokyo almost daily. Ofuna had no air raid shelters. Prisoners remained locked in cells during attacks. Bombs fell within 2 miles of the camp.

January 1945 brought transfer orders. Guards moved the Tang survivors from Ofuna to Omorei prisoner camp on Tokyo Bay. Omorei held 800 allied prisoners. Conditions were marginally better than Ouna. Two rice bowls per day instead of one. Prisoners could speak to each other, but disease spread through overcrowded barracks.

Dysentery berry berry pneumonia. Medical supplies did not exist. Men died weekly from malnutrition and untreated infections. Okaane watched his crew deteriorate. Dilva developed Berry Berry. Cavly contracted pneumonia. All nine men lost between 30 and 50 lb. Spring arrived. American bombing raids increased. B29s hit Tokyo every night.

Fires consumed entire city blocks. Guards became more erratic. Food rations decreased further. Summer brought rumors. Germany had surrendered in May. American forces captured Okinawa in June. Japan faced invasion. August 6th. Guards reported an unusual bombing. One aircraft, one bomb. Hiroshima destroyed. August 9th, another single bomb.

Nagasaki destroyed. August 15th, Emperor Hirohito announced surrender over radio. The war ended. August 29th, American forces arrived atOmorei. Medics examined prisoners. Most required immediate hospitalization. September 2nd, Japan signed surrender documents aboard USS Missouri. September 5th, the nine Tang survivors boarded a hospital ship bound for Pearl Harbor.

They had spent 10 months in Japanese captivity. All nine survived to see home, but Tang remained on the bottom of the Formosa Strait with 78 crew members who never escaped. Okaane returned to the United States in October 1945. Doctors treated him for malnutrition and injury sustained during captivity. He spent six weeks at Naval Hospital San Diego.

On March 27th, 1946, President Harry Truman presented Okaane with the Medal of Honor in a ceremony on the White House lawn. The citation recognized Okain’s actions during Tang’s final two engagements on October 23rd and 24th. The Navy revised Tang’s war record using postwar analysis of Japanese shipping logs. Original credit 31 ships sunk 227,000 tons.

Revised total 33 ships sunk 116,454 tons. Tang became the most successful American submarine of World War II, both by number of ships and total tonnage sunk. USS Taoto ranked second with 26 ships. USS Flasher ranked second for tonnage with 100,000 tons. Okaane ranked number one among all American submarine commanders.

No other captain matched his record. Tang also received two presidential unit citations and four battle stars for wartime service. Okaane continued naval service after the war. He commanded submarine tinder USS Pelus, testified at Japanese war crimes trials, served as executive officer of USS Nerius, commanded submarine division 32, attended armed forces staff college, taught at the submarine school in New London, commanded submarine tender USS Sperry.

He retired as rear admiral in 1957. The tactics Okaane learned from Morton became standard submarine doctrine. surface attacks, aggressive positioning, firing from inside convoy formations. Every submarine commander after 1944 studied Tang’s patrol reports. Okaane wrote two books about his service. Clear the bridge detailed Tang’s war patrols.

Wahoo documented his time as Morton’s executive officer. Both books became required reading at the Naval Academy. The Navy named destroyer USS Oka DDG77 in his honor. The ship commissioned in 1999 and remains in active service. Okaane died February 16th, 1994 at age 83. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Tang’s wreck remains undiscovered.

The submarine rests in 180 ft of water off the China coast. Salvage attempts never occurred due to political tensions in the Formosa Strait. The National World War II Museum in New Orleans created an interactive exhibit called Final Mission USS Tang submarine experience. Visitors enter a recreation of Tang’s interior.

They receive cards corresponding to one of the 87 crew members. The exhibit depicts the events of October 24th and 25th, including the circular run of the final torpedo. Tang’s casualty list includes 78 names. Men who died when the torpedo struck. Men who drowned in flooded compartments. Men who died attempting escape from 180 ft down.

The nine survivors carried those names for the rest of their lives. If this story moved you the way it moved us, do me a favor, hit that like button. Every single like tells YouTube to show this story to more people. Hit subscribe and turn on notifications. We’re rescuing forgotten stories from dusty archives every single day.

stories about submariners who broke records with aggression and courage. Real people, real heroism. Drop a comment right now and tell us where you’re watching from. Are you watching from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia? Our community stretches across the entire world. You’re not just a viewer.

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