Action of 24 July 1945 The Action of 24 July 1945 was one of the final naval battles during the Pacific Theater of World War II . In an attempt to destroy as many allied ships as possible , the Imperial Japan ese Navy began arming their submarine fleet with manned torpedo s called kaiten s . The Action of 24 July 1945 concerns the battle between a convoy of U . S . Navy warships off Luzon and the Japanese submarine and her kaitens . Action . In July 1945 , the destroyer escort — under Lieutenant Commander Robern N . Newcomb — was assigned flagship of a convoy carrying United States Army soldiers of the 96th Infantry Division from Okinawa to the Philippines . The convoy included eight other escorts : the submarine chaser s , , , , and ; and the patrol boat . These vessels were tasked with delivering six LST s and the troopship . " Underhill " found the convoy off Buckner Bay , Okinawa on or about 21 July and , three days later the American ships were steaming around northeast of Cape Engano and nearing their destination . That day , on 24 July , a Japanese bomber — scouting for " I - 53 " — appeared . Lt . Cdr . Newcomb ordered his ships to battle stations but the bomber remained outside of the ships ' range . Forty - five minutes later , the convoy was sailing southwest when Commander Saichi Oba released his six " kaiten " and sent them forward . Other accounts say that there were at least eight " kaiten " involved in the attack though only a single Japanese submarine participated , and it was designed to carry four " kaiten " . The " kaiten " were presumably manned by Sub - Lieutenant Jun Katsuyama , Ensign Toyooki Seki and Flight Petty Officers 1st Class Tsutoma Kawajiri and Masahiro Arakawa . They were armed with a explosive , equivalent to two torpedoes , and once released could not be retrieved . To divert the American convoy into the path of the " kaiten " , Cdr . Oba released a dummy mine which was observed and engaged by the guns of " Underhill " . After several direct hits , the mine was determined to be a dud by the Americans and they continued on with their patrol . At this time , one of the submarine chasers lost power and had to be towed by " PCE - 872 " . Shortly thereafter , a sonar contact was made , so " Underhill " and " PC - 804 " began depth charging the area . The destroyer escort is credited with sinking one of the " kaiten " at this point while another attacked " PC - 804 " . It missed the chaser and the " kaiten " turned around for a surface attack on " Underhill " . But as soon as the mini submarine was out of water , Lt . Cdr . Newcomb ordered a ramming maneuver because the " kaiten " was too close for his guns to bear . " Underhill " then sailed right over the kaiten and it exploded at 15 : 15 along with the escort ' s boilers and readied ammunition . " Underhill " was torn in two , the bow section of the ship quickly sank with all hands , the aft section remained afloat until being sunk by American gunfire the following day . All 122 survivors were wounded in action and each sailor received a Purple Heart . Lt . Cdr . Newcomb was killed and he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star . Two of the remaining American warships depth charged the area for an hour after " Underhill " was destroyed , but " I - 53 " escaped and arrived back in Japan a month later , just before the end of the war . The last of the American survivors were picked up after at least an hour of being in the water though rescue operations continued until 18 : 30 that night . Most of the survivors were in need of urgent medical assistance which they received on " PC - 803 " and . The engagement was one of the last in the Pacific War and was one of the few victories of the Japanese " kaiten " program .