Growlers Legendary Down-the-Throat Torpedo Attack of September 12, 1944

On September 12, 1944, the USS Growler and her crew faced one of the most extraordinary days in submarine history. Operating as part of a wolf pack in the waters between Formosa and Luzon, Growler found herself in the middle of a heavily guarded Japanese convoy. What followed was a series of bold attacks that pushed both the submarine and her men to the limit.

This was the day Commander Thomas B. Oakley Jr. ordered torpedoes fired straight down the throat of a charging destroyer. It was the day freighters were torn apart under fire, and a Fubuki-class destroyer broke up beneath the sea. The heat of burning wrecks scorched Growler’s paint, tracers chased her across the surface, and yet she survived.

In this episode we revisit the tenth war patrol, when USS Growler proved herself one of the most aggressive boats of the Pacific war.