Some More About the USS Sealion (SS-315)-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

The USS Sealion (SS-315) was a Balao-class submarine and the second ship in the U.S. Navy with that name.  (The Balao-class of submarines was the largest class of submarines in the Navy with 120 ships.)  She was sometimes called the Sealion II, since there was an earlier one of that name sunk during the opening days of World War II for the United States in the Philippines.

As a matter of fact, the Sealion's first skipped, Lt. Commander  Eli Thomas Reich had also served on the first Sealion as executive officer.

The Sealion was the only U.S. and Allied submarine to sink an enemy battleship during World War II.

Her keel was laid down  on 25 February 1943 by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut and was launched  on 31 October 1943.  Commissioned 8 March 1944.

--GreGen

USS Sealion (SS-315)-- Part 4: Sinking the Japanese Battleship Kongo and Destroyer Urakaze

But, the Sealion's 3rd patrol was something else.

After the Japanese battleship group had been detected,  the submarine's commander, Eli Reich ordered his crew to battle stations, and one submariner set up a film recorder that a CBS war correspondent had left aboard and placed a microphone up near the ship's intercom speaker in the conning tower.

The audio of the event offers  rare insight into what a World War II submarine attack sounded like.

Believing the lead and rear ships of the column were cruisers and the second and third vessels were battleships, , the Sealion decided to attack the battleships.  Two of the three destroyers were also near the middle of the group, increasing the likelihood that if a torpedo missed the battleships, it might strike one of them.

At 2:56 a.m., the Sealion fired six torpedoes from its forward torpedo tubes at the first target.  Three minutes later, it fired three more torpedoes from its aft torpedoes at the second target.

The Sealion's crew reported three of the first torpedoes hitting the first target, which turned out to be the Japanese battleship Kongo.  One sailor can be heard to say "three hits to the Japanese 'B'  That will put them in drydock at least."

The second salvo of torpedoes missed the Battleship Nagato, but one of them struck the destroyer Urakaze, which then exploded and sank with all hands.  A Sealion crew member can be heard heard shouting "Woo" in celebration.

--GreGen

Only U.S. Sub to Sink Enemy Battleship in Combat, the USS Sealion (SS-315))-- Part 2

Twenty minutes after midnight on November 21, 1944, the U.S. submarine Sealion made radar contact with a group of Japanese  warships in the Taiwan Strait.

The ships weren't zigzagging to avoid submarines and the Sealion went for a closer look to see if an attack was possible.

By 1:48 am, the Americans thought they were trailing two battleships and two cruisers escorted by three destroyers.  They had actually stumbled upon three battleships (including the Yamato (the largest and most powerful battleship ever built).  The other two were the Kongo and Nagato, as well as the cruiser Yahagi and three destroyers.

It was too good of a opportunity to pass up so the sub's commander, Lt. Cmdr. Eli Thomas Reich so the crew went to battle stations to prepare to attack.

The Sealion was a Balao-class submarine commissioned in March 1944 and it had become quickly battle-tested.

--GreGen