USS Sealion (SS-315)-- Part 5: The Sinking of the Japanese Battleship Kongo

Thinking that its torpedoes had only dented the Japanese battleship's armor as the ship was still moving, the Sealion withdrew to reload its torpedoes to make another attack.  The Japanese destroyers then started dropping depth charges, but in the wrong area, much to the relief of the American sub's crew.

The Kongo, meanwhile, slowed down and the destroyers broke away, so the Sealion was preparing for another attack when one of the crew on the audio was heard to say, "Wait a minute!  Something's happening over there."

The Kongo was more injured than initially thought.  At 5:24 am, the ship exploded  which drew cheers from the Sealion's crew.  Some 1,200 of the Japanese battleship's crew went down with her, including the captain and the commander of the Third Battleship Division.

With the sinking of the Kongo, the Sealion became the only Allied submarine to sink an enemy battleship in World War II.

By the end of its Third War Patrol, the Sealion had sunk at least 13 ships: six tankers, five freighters, one destroyer and one battleship.  Even though there would be three more patrols, the Sealion didn't repeat the success of the Third one.

--GreGen