From Saipan, the Sealion returned to Pearl Harbor on 30 September 1944. After resupplying, she left on 31 October with the USS Kete (SS-369) and headed east. In November the Sealion encountered two problems. First her Number 8 tube was accidentally fired with both doors closed and then there was a hydrogen explosion in the battery space of the torpedo in the Number 5 tube.
At 00:20 November 21, she made contact with an enemy formation going through the Taiwan Strait at about 16 knots and not zig-zagging. By 00:48, they were made out to be two battleships and two cruisers. At 1:46, three additional ships, escorts, were spotted.
The Sealion had intercepted a very powerful surface fleet consisting of the battleships Yamato, Nagato, Kongo, cruiser Yahagi and destroyers Hamakaze, Isokaze, Yurakaze, Yukikaze, Kiri and Ume.
At 2:45, the Sealion, which was ahead of the fleet, turned and fired six torpedoes at the second ship on line, the Kongo. At 2:59, she fired three at the Nagato. At 3:00 the crew heard three hits from the first salvo. They had hit the Kongo and flooded two of the ship's boiler rooms and gave her a list to port.
The Nagato, alerted to the presence of an enemy submarine turned hard and the second salvo missed her but ran on to hit the destroyer Urakaze which was struck her magazines. She blew up and sank quickly, taking with her all hands.
--GreGen
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