USS ROCK is used as bait

Since 06-15-05

USS ROCK, SS-274

(as told by Charlie Gipe, who rode ROCK for 5 war patrols)

On another patrol, ROCK was wolf-packed with a couple of other boats on track of another convoy. Well escorted apparently. Well, someone came up with the idea that they needed to pare down the odds a bit and take out a few of the escorts. So this plan was implemented...

Of the 3 subs in the wolf pack, one was to act as a decoy on the surface to draw an escort away from the convoy. The idea was to run on the surface and lead the escort down the path, directly in front of the other two subs submerged and waiting to ambush it as it went charging by. I guess they did something like drawing straws and apparently ROCK got the short one and was the bait to draw the escort into the trap.

 It must have been a hair-raising run for ROCK. Recall that these IJN DD's can out run a surfaced sub by 10kts or so and I am sure ROCK was zig-zaging a lot so as not to make an easy target for the JAP gunners.

Well, apparently it worked pretty well, Charlie relates. After dispatching the first escort, they were determined to try it again. I think someone else got to be the bait this time.

Yes, it worked a second time and even a third. By now the convoy was getting a bit naked of escorts and they all split up and ran off in every direction.