USS Harder (SS-257)
History | |
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United States | |
Builder | Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut[1] |
Laid down | 1 December 1941[1] |
Launched | 19 August 1942[1] |
Sponsored by | Miss Helen M. Shaforth |
Commissioned | 2 December 1942[1] |
Fate | Sunk by enemy vessels off Dasol Bay, Luzon, 24 August 1944[2] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | |
Displacement | |
Length | 311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)[2] |
Beam | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[2] |
Draft | 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m) maximum[2] |
Propulsion |
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Speed | |
Range | 11,000 nmi (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 kn (19 km/h)[3] |
Endurance |
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Test depth | 300 ft (90 m)[3] |
Complement | 6 officers, 54 enlisted[3] |
Armament |
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Construction and commissioning
Harder′s
Operational history
Harder performed
First War Patrol
After a short stay at Pearl Harbor, Harder departed on her first war patrol on 7 June 1943. Cruising off the coast of Japan, the submarine worked her way inside a picket line and sighted her first target 22 June. She made a radar approach on the surface and fired four torpedoes at the two-ship convoy, hitting the seaplane transport Sagara Maru (7189 BRT) (which was beached to prevent sinking, but later destroyed). She returned to Midway 7 July.
Second War Patrol
Harder began her second war patrol 24 August 1943 from
Third War Patrol
For her third war patrol Harder teamed with
Fourth War Patrol
Returning to action in the Pacific, Harder reached Pearl Harbor on 27 February 1944 and departed on her fourth war patrol 16 March in company with Seahorse (SS-304).
She headed for the western Caroline Islands where she was assigned duty as lifeguard ship for downed aviators. During American air strikes against Woleai on 1 April, Harder received word of an injured pilot awaiting rescue from the beach of a small enemy-held island west of Woleai. Protected by air cover, she nosed against a reef, maintained her position with both propellers, and sent a boat ashore through breaking surf. Despite Japanese snipers, boiling shoals, and the precarious position of the submarine, the daring rescue succeeded, and the intrepid submarine returned to the open sea.
On 13 April an enemy plane sighted Harder north of the western Carolines and reported her position to the patrolling Japanese destroyer Ikazuchi. As the enemy ship closed to within 900 yards (820 m) Harder fired a spread of torpedoes that sank the attacker within five minutes. Dealey's terse report became famous—"Expended four torpedoes and one Jap destroyer." Four days later Harder spotted a merchant ship escorted by destroyers. Firing four torpedoes, she sank the 7,000 ton Matsue Maru and damaged one of the escorts. Then, adding to the enemy's misery, she returned to Woleai where she surfaced on the morning of 20 April to deliver a shore bombardment under cover of a rain squall. She terminated this highly varied and successful patrol at Fremantle submarine base, Western Australia 3 May.
Fifth War Patrol: Philippine Mission
Even greater successes lay ahead. Having sunk one destroyer, Harder joined the all-out hunt against Japanese destroyers, once considered the most dangerous of foes. Assigned the area around the Japanese fleet anchorage at Tawi-Tawi, Harder departed Fremantle on 26 May 1944 with Redfin (SS-272) and headed for the Celebes Sea.
On 6 June Harder entered the heavily patrolled Sibutu Passage between Tawi-Tawi and North Borneo and encountered a convoy of three tankers and two destroyers. She gave chase on the surface but was illuminated by the moon. As one of the destroyers turned to attack, Harder submerged, turned her stern to the charging destroyer, and fired three torpedoes at range of 1,100 yards (1,000 m). Two struck Minazuki and exploded; the destroyer sank within five minutes. After attacking the second escort without success, Harder was held down by a depth charge attack while the convoy escaped.
Early next morning an enemy plane spotted Harder. The submarine soon sighted another destroyer searching the area for her. As before, Harder took the initiative as the enemy closed the range. The sub fired three torpedoes at short range, and two of them struck amidships, one detonating the ship's magazine with a tremendous explosion.
That evening Harder sighted two enemy destroyers patrolling the narrowest part of the passage, just a few miles from Tawi-Tawi. After submerging, she made an undetected approach and at 1,000 yards (900 m) fired four torpedoes at the overlapping targets. The second and third torpedoes blasted Tanikaze; she sank almost immediately, her boilers erupting with a terrific explosion. The fourth shot hit the second ship, which exploded with a blinding flash. Within minutes Harder surfaced to survey the results, but both ships had disappeared. Soon afterward, she underwent the inevitable depth charge attack by enemy planes, then she set course for a point south of Tawi-Tawi to reconnoiter.
On the afternoon of 10 June Harder sighted a large Japanese task force, including three battleships and four cruisers with screening destroyers. An overhead plane spotted the submarine at periscope depth and a screening escort promptly steamed at 35 knots (65 km/h) toward her position. Once again, Harder became the aggressive adversary. As the range closed to 1,500 yards (1,400 m), she fired three torpedoes on a "down the throat" shot, then went deep to escape the onrushing destroyer and certain depth charge attack. Within a minute two torpedoes blasted the ship with violent force just as Harder passed her some 80 feet (24 m) below. The deafening explosions shook the submarine far worse than the depth charges and aerial bombs which the infuriated enemy dropped during the next two hours. When she surfaced, Harder saw only a lighted buoy marking the spot where the unidentified destroyer either sank or was heavily damaged.
Harder reconnoitered Tawi-Tawi anchorage 11 June and sighted additional enemy cruisers and destroyers. At 16:00 she headed for the open sea and that night transmitted her observations which were of vital importance to Admiral
The important results of Harder's fifth war patrol have caused some to call it the most brilliant of the war. Not only did Harder further deplete the critical supply of destroyers by sinking four of them and heavily damaging or destroying another one in four days, but her frequent attacks and a rash of enemy contact reports on this fleeting marauder so frightened Admiral
Harder's radioman, Calvin Bull, was awarded a Bronze Star medal for his role in sinking the five destroyers.[9]
Sixth War Patrol
Harder, accompanied by Hake (SS-256) and Haddo (SS-255), departed Fremantle on 5 August 1944 for her sixth and final war patrol. Assigned to the South China Sea off Luzon, the wolf pack headed northward. On 21 August Harder and Haddo joined Ray (SS-271), Guitarro (SS-363), and Raton (SS-270) in a coordinated attack against a convoy off Palawan Bay, Mindoro. The Japanese lost four passenger-cargo marus, possibly one by Harder.
Battle of Dasol Bay
Early the next day, Harder and Haddo attacked and destroyed three coastal defense vessels off Bataan, Harder sinking frigates
Harder and Hake remained off Dasol Bay, searching for new targets. Before dawn 24 August two ships were spotted which they initially identified as a Japanese minesweeper and the three-stack
As Hake closed to attack, the destroyer turned away toward Dasol Bay. Hake broke off her approach, turned northward, and then sighted Harder's periscope about 600–700 yards (550–640 m) dead ahead. Swinging southward to avoid collision, Hake then sighted CD-22 about 2,000 yards (1,800 m) off her port quarter swinging toward them. To escape the charging escort, Hake started deep and rigged for silent running. At 07:28 she heard 15 rapid depth charges explode in the distance astern. She continued evasive action that morning, then returned to the general area of the attack shortly after noon. She swept the area at periscope depth but found only a ring of marker buoys covering a radius of one-half mile.
The vigorous depth charge attack had sunk the Harder with all hands. The Japanese report of the attack concluded that "much oil, wood chips, and cork floated in the vicinity." The United States Navy declared her lost January 2, 1945.[6]
Dubbed "Hit 'Em Harder," she had wreaked havoc among Japanese shipping. Her record of aggressive daring exploits became almost legendary. All six of her patrols were designated successful.
Harder received six
Despite the losses of 9 more submarines in the fall of 1944, towards the end of the war U.S. fleet boats were actively penetrating through the Inland Sea, and the Japanese shipping losses continued, albeit at a slower rate.
Harder's skipper left behind a wife and three children.[7][10]
Excerpt from USS Harder's log
SUBJECT : U.S.S. HARDER (SS257) - report of Fifth War Patrol.
...
June 9 (cont.)
- 2102
- Sighted another destroyer. - They were in line of bearing and patrolling the narrows on north-south, zig zag courses. Sounded "battle stations", submerged to radar depth and commenced the attack. The nearest destroyer, now at a range of 8000 yards, was chosen as the first target and his angle on the bowwas about 20 degrees port. At 4000 yards, he headed directly for us but his actions were interpreted as a routine zig. Increased submergence to periscope depth. At 3000 yards, both destroyers zigged 30 degrees to their right (with the first presenting a 30 degree port track) and the picture became "just what the doctor ordered" for the HARDER. At a range of 1000 yards on the nearest target, both destroyers were overlapping, with a 100 degree port track showing. Gyros were near zero and torpedoes set for running at 6 feet.
- Sighted another destroyer. - They were in line of bearing and patrolling the narrows on north-south, zig zag courses. Sounded "battle stations", submerged to radar depth and commenced the attack. The nearest destroyer, now at a range of 8000 yards, was chosen as the first target and his
- 2124
- Commenced firing the bow tubes. No. 1 appeared to pass just ahead of the first destroyer, No. 2 struck it near the bow, No. 3 hit just under the destroyer's bridge, and No. 4 passed astern of the near target. The sub was now swung hard right to avoid hitting the first destroyer and fire was withheld on remaining tubes until a new setup could be put into the T.D.C. for an attack on the second destroyer. About thirty seconds after turning, the second destroyer came into view just astern of what was left of the first one, then burning furiously. Just then No. 4 torpedo which had passed astern of the first target was heard and observed to hit the second target. - (No more torpedoes were needed for either.)
- Meanwhile, a heavy explosion, believed to be caused by an exploding boiler on the first destroyer, went off and the sub (then about 400 yards away) was heeled over by the concussion. At almost the same time a blinding explosion took place on the second destroyer (probably his ammunition going off) and it took a quick nose dive. When last observed, by the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer, the tail of the second destroyer was straight in the air and the first destroyer had disappeared. "Sound" now reported, "No more screws."
- The above listed pandemonium may not be in exact chronological order but is as accurate as the happenings over that eventful few minutes can be remembered.
References
- ^ ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- ^ ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
- ^ a b c d e f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
- ^ ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
- ^ a b c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
- ^ a b c d "Sub Is Given Up for Lost". The Wilkes-Barre Record. 1945. p. 3. Retrieved 2017-11-22 – via .
- ^ a b "Navy Man's Family Will Receive Medal". Eau Claire Leader. 1945-08-28. p. 2. Retrieved 2017-11-22 – via .
- ^ a b c Hinman & Campbell, p. 102.
- ^ "Nebraskan Awarded Bronze Star Medal". Beatrice Daily Sun. 1945-03-26. p. 8. Retrieved 2017-11-22 – via .
- ^ "(Picture caption) Family of Missing Commander". The Monitor. 1945. p. 6. Retrieved 2017-11-22 – via .
Bibliography
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019. ISBN 978-0-359-76906-3.
- Wright, C. C. (2005). "Question 17/03: Replacement of US Submarine Diesel Engines". Warship International. XLII (4): 431–434. ISSN 0043-0374.
- PB-102 Tabular Record of Movement at combinedfleet.com
Further reading
- Silent Running: My Years on a World War II Attack Submarine by Vice Admiral James F. Calvert for a fellow submariner's view of USS Harder and her crew.