Word: merchantmen
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...dusk they maneuvered into the middle of a coastwise convoy of six cargo ships and three small naval vessels. Away went the sub's torpedoes and down went two Jap merchantmen. Klakring let his crew take a look through the periscope at "this very pretty sight." When the other Jap ships, panic-stricken, turned and raced for the shore, Klakring surfaced and gave chase. He dogged one ship into a cove and plumped a torpedo into her middle. It was a lucky hit at long range. But, said Klakring, a soft-spoken Marylander, "If I had missed...
...other target was one of the three remaining merchantmen, still outside the harbor. Coastal batteries lobbed shells at him, naval craft chased him as he ploughed off in pursuit of her. He submerged and let her have two torpedoes. "She sort of fell apart...
...Cheers. Life after that continued to be eventful. Klakring & crew spotted an 8,000-ton transport in a harbor entrance, navigated the dangerous waters inshore and sank their fifth victim. Next "we got in a tussle with seven ships, a convoy of armed merchantmen and naval auxiliaries, all firing at us. The battle . . . lasted an hour and a half, us in the middle of them all the time." Airplanes dropped depth bombs, which made a lot of noise but did no damage. This fight was also within sight of a staring audience on the shore, which inspired the mild Klakring...
Nearly 600 Axis subs have been damaged since the beginning of the war (how many of that number were sunk is unknown*) but the Germans appear to be making more than are destroyed. They are turning out U-boats which can catch most merchantmen...
Instead, Nasi planes came diving out of the sun, machine-gunning and bombing confused merchantmen as they came. Aided by the perpetual daylight of the season, they came again and again on a 24-hour schedule...