At 2:30am on Oct. 24, 1944, the
U.S.
Tang SS-306, a Balao-class submarine, fired the last torpedo of what was supposed to be her captain's last patrol. USS Tang is considered the highest-scoring U.S. submarine in history with a final score, rectified after the JANAC mess, at 33 ships totaling 116,454 tons, first for both ships and tonnage and her captain, Richard O'Kane, is credited as the Silent Service's most successful captain.
However, on Oct. 24, at the height of her victory, her last torpedo inexplicably took off on a circular run and came back to hit her between the aft torpedo room and the maneuvering room. Tang sank immediately in 180 feet of water taking 69 of her crew with her.
Most of the nine survivors were blown from her bridge but two did escape from her forward torpedo room using Momsen Lungs. The nine, including O'Kane, were picked up by a Japanese Navy frigate. Classified as "hostages" rather than POWs, they were sent to the interrogation camp at Ofuna where they were extremely abused and starved. O'Kane was especially singled out for special treatment because of his knowledge as a captain and lost of most of his front teeth to beatings.
After the surrender, when hospital ships came to evacuate the inmates of the camp they had planned to anchor in the afternoon and begin evacuation the next day. However, seeing that several of the inmates, including O'Kane, were within hours of death, they called "all boats away" and swung right into action saving most of the lives, including that of Richard O'Kane. After months of recovery and upon eventual repatriation, Richard O'Kane take to the White House and presented the Medal of Honor for Tang's last two actions:
MOH Citation:For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Tang operating against 2 enemy Japanese convoys on 23 October and 24 October 1944, during her fifth and last war patrol. Boldly maneuvering on the surface into the midst of a heavily escorted convoy, CMDR O'Kane stood in the fusillade of bullets and shells from all directions to launch smashing hits on 3 tankers, coolly swung his ship to fire at a freighter and, in a split-second decision, shot out of the path of an onrushing transport, missing it by inches. Boxed in by blazing tankers, a freighter, transport, and several destroyers, he blasted 2 of the targets with his remaining torpedoes and, with pyrotechnics bursting on all sides, cleared the area. Twenty-four hours later, he again made contact with a heavily escorted convoy steaming to support the Leyte campaign with reinforcements and supplies and with crated planes piled high on each unit. In defiance of the enemy's relentless fire, he closed the concentration of ship and in quick succession sent 2 torpedoes each into the first and second transports and an adjacent tanker, finding his mark with each torpedo in a series of violent explosions at less than 1,000-yard range. With ships bearing down from all sides, he charged the enemy at high speed, exploding the tanker in a burst of flame, smashing the transport dead in the water, and blasting the destroyer with a mighty roar which rocked the Tang from stem to stern. Expending his last 2 torpedoes into the remnants of a once powerful convoy before his own ship went down, Comdr. O'Kane, aided by his gallant command, achieved an illustrious record of heroism in combat, enhancing the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
O'kane's favorite game, Cribbage, has become a staple in submarine wardrooms. Upon his retirement from the Navy, O'Kane was given a commemorative cribbage board. Upon his death, the board was given back to the Navy by his widow. The board is now carried by the oldest submarine in commission. Upon decommissioning, the board is formally transferred to the next oldest ship.
USS Tang (SS-306). Sixty-nine sailors on eternal patrol. Seventy-two years ago today.
USS Tang Memorial, Palatka, Florida
Bob
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