Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-02-28
Patrol Vessel
Whips Jap Sub
In Night Battle
Bombs, Shells, Rams
Craft, Then Rides II
Piqey-Baek Near Reef
BY ROBERT c. MILLER
tinted Press stan Correspondent

Inited Press stan Correspondent
TULAGI. Solomon Islands, Feb
% Delayed).-A 150-foot New
zealand patrol vessel deptf
charged shelled and rammed tC
the bottom a japanese submarine
twice her size last night in one oi
the fierceSt naval duels OF tho
Pacific war.
The patrol ship left the Sunker
submarines bow protrudlng from
the surf off Cape ESperance as
proof of her victory. in which she
suffered only a damaged bow. one
man killed and three wounded.
The New Zealand skipper sale
first contact with the sub was
made about $50 p. m, while tho
ship was patrolhnC off the north.
west tip of Guadalcanal.
TRAILS SUBS COURSE
''The night was pitch-black
and we were able To follow the
course of the sub underwater by
the phosphOrescent wake she
churned up" he said. we ran
over her in the first attack and
laid q pattern of depth charges
squareIy on her"
A second depth bomb attack
forced the damaged submarine 70
the surface less than 500 yards
from the patrol ship. II was toe
dark 10 see the enemy craft and
the first evidence that she was on
the surface came when she fired
two shots from her deck gun
which went through the New
Zealander's rigging.
I'VE fired back but missed"
the skipper said. "She was dead
ahead of us and we gave the
engines the full ahead, turned
the spotlight on her and tried
to ram her.
COMMANDER KILLED
I'VE could easily see the sub
commander standing on the
bridge and waving his arms as
he directed the fight. He had
plenty of CUTS standing there,
but IL was damn foolishness,
as we killed him with a burst
of machine gun fire.
81 saw the bullets hit him i'm
the chest and topple him from
the bridge. The Japs meanwhile
were trying To shoot out our
light and they hit and mortally
wounded a seaman. But he kept
the light trained on the enemy
bridge until he was relieved de-
spite the fact ne had eight ma
chIne-gun bullets in his body"
The submarine tried 10 cross
the surface ships bow 10 avoid
being rammed, but the New Yea
lander caught her behind the con-
ming tower with a crash which
Jared both vessels from stem "a
stern. Members of the Jap crew
were sent flying in all directions
SHELLS TEAR INTO SUB
"We backed off, firing contin-
uously, and were still so close 10
the sub that our gun pointed
down toward the water" the
captain continued. I'VE could
see the shells going into her and
exploding with a sheet of flame
inside. Troops with full packs
kept climbing out of the coming
tower and trying To unIash the
Rats so they could go ashore"
The patrol ship charged ahead
az full speed and ploughed into the
side of the already gravely dam
aged sub.
This time we climbed clear
over her top and rode her piggy
back just behind the coming
tower" the captain said.
I've were beached about three
minutes, hut got off by giving
the engines full astern. As We
slid off. oil spurted all over our
bow and the sub seemed TO be
sinking by the stern.
THE Japs managed 10 get the
engines going and tried 10 run
her ashore, hut the sub hit
reef and sank before our eyes.
She settled quietly, stern first.
and the bow rose out of the
water at a 45-degree angle.
There she rested on "A reef,
and she's still there with 30 or
40 feet OF her bow still In the
air, pointed toward Toxic"