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Operation Shoe String (Part 3)
Disaster in Manila Bay
The Japanese are not aware of the approaching American submarines, nor of the submarines off Leyte in Ormac Bay which are already offloading the 15th Signals Battalion (Philippine Army) and tons of small arms, ammunition, signals equipment and medical supplies to waiting stay behind forces in Leyte which will be spreading those valuable personnel and equipment through out the island chain. The Japanese also fail to spot the pair of American submarines operating off Lingayen Gulf which discover that the Japanese are no longer using their landing beaches as a supply route. The American submarines Sculpin and Skipjack fail to spot any enemy ships off Subic Bay other than heavy surface patrols by Japanese Navy. The 3 submarine transports easily slip by Japanese Navy patrols off Manila Bay as night falls, only surfacing a few thousand yards from their planned anchorage. A few miles away, the submarines Seawolf and Swordfish also surface, both of which have SJ radar which can be used not only to spot enemy targets, but also for communication for ships so equipped. They quickly acquire the Japanese blockade force, which at this point consists of 4 torpedo boats and 2 gunboats, which are all over 5 miles offshore during the night time hours.

It is 2130 Hours as the American submarines are approaching, and they have surfaced and are exchanging blinker messages with spotters on Fort Mills. Everything is going to plan, the 900 men, all Filipino troops, selected for evacuation are assembling in Chaney Ravine, the submarine crews are on deck getting the rubber boats and the outboard engines ready for use, and the few supplies planned for unloading (cigarettes and medical supplies) are on deck.

At 2137, the USS Barracuda plows right into an old US Navy mine purchased second hand by the Japanese after the last war and which happened to be in stock in Formosa. The mine, similar to the Japanese type 5 mine, has 176 pounds of explosive, which is plenty to crack the hull and open 2 forward compartments of the submarine to flooding. The blast also alerts the Japanese that enemy ships are in the harbor. Still evaluating what happened, the skipper of the Bonita fails to react quickly enough and she too hits a mine, and then another, opening 5 compartments to flooding and she quickly begins to sink. The skipper of the Bass does react quickly, and manages to stop his boat and then begins to back out of what is clearly a minefield.

However, at 2140, shells begin raining down on the anchorage and on Cheney Ravine as the Japanese open fire, and unlike the previous nights, this is full barrage with every gun shooting as quickly as possible, aided now by a barrage of 90 mm mortar shells from Fort Hughes. All three ships are hit and a 240 mm round near misses the Bass, starting a fire in the battery room which spreads to the aft torpedo room and starboard main electric motor that kills many of the crew before they can escape. On all three submarines the rubber boats that were to be used for an evacuation now become life boats.

By 2200 hours are 3 submarines have been abandoned, their surviving crews aboard the rubber boats heading as quickly as they can for the only direction possible...out to sea in hopes of reaching the escort submarines. A frantic radio message reaches Captain Momson aboard the Seawolf, who can only watch in horror as the disaster overwhelms the mission. The Seawolf moves up to pick up the survivors as they race toward her, while the Swordfish fires a full spread of 4 torpedoes, followed as quickly as they can be loaded by 4 more, at the Japanese blockade force in hopes of drawing them off. She succeeds admirably, with a torpedo blowing apart the Japanese gunboat Saga, and forcing the remaining Japanese ships to take evasive action.

Japanese float planes arrive now, and they begin dropping flares and more mines, as several aircraft were already in the air when the American ships met their fates. Shellfire is meanwhile inflicting severe casualties on exposed troops in Cheney Ravine, who are forced to scatter and seek shelter.

Reports that the American ships have sunk ends the bombardment by midnight but the last attempt to evacuate personnel from Corregidor has been a disaster. Only 38 officers and men of the 150 aboard the 3 submarines are picked up by the Seawolf. Luckily both the Seawolf and Swordfish manage to escape in the night without damage avoiding frantic Japanese efforts to find them. This is the only good news for the US Navy for the evening.


The boats of Lingayen remain for a week before they too head for home, while the two off Subic Bay do manage to torpedo an ammunition ship and a freighter before they are driven off by Japanese counterattacks.

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