26 Apr 1942

Philippines
  • North of the Luzon, Philippines, submarine USS Spearfish fired four torpedoes at a heavily loaded Japanese tanker but missed. ww2dbase [Spearfish | South China Sea | DS]
26 Sep 1942

Philippines
  • Submarine USS Spearfish entered her assigned patrol area west of Manila Bay, Philippines. ww2dbase [Spearfish | South China Sea | DS]
9 Oct 1942

Philippines
  • 180 miles west of Dasol Bay, Luzon, Philippines, submarine USS Spearfish detected a Japanese convoy of three merchant ships and one escort. Spearfish fired three torpedoes at the 7,000-ton cargo ship Tottori Maru, but lookouts aboard the freighter saw the torpedo tracks and the ship turned causing the torpedoes to pass behind her. This miss turned out to be a good thing because the Tottori Maru had aboard 31 American officer prisoners-of-war and 1,930 enlisted prisoners from POW camps at Cabanatuan on Luzon and Malabalay on Mindanao. Some of these prisoners were survivors of the “Bataan Death March” and some were captured on Corregidor. ww2dbase [Spearfish | South China Sea | DS]

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Share this article with your friends:

 Reddit
 Bluesky
 Mastodon

Stay updated with WW2DB:

 RSS Feeds

Search WW2DB
News

Random Photograph

Four F4U Corsair fighters practicing aerial maneuvers, Mar-May 1943; probably stateside training. Photo 1 of 2.

Current Site Statistics

Famous WW2 Quote
"You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terrors. Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival."

Winston Churchill


Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!