The Submarine So Deadly Its Final Torpedo Went in Reverse
USS Tang was the most successful American submarine of World War II—and one of the deadliest predators ever sent beneath the Pacific. Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Richard O’Kane, Tang carved a path of destruction through Japanese shipping lanes, sinking convoy after convoy with an aggression that often brought her within a few hundred yards of her targets. By 1944, her patrols had become legendary, with entire formations of transports, tankers, and freighters disappearing in a single night.
Then came the Formosa Strait. Operating alone in some of the most heavily defended waters in the Pacific, Tang launched a series of devastating attacks that left burning ships scattered across the sea and Japanese escorts firing blindly into the darkness. But on October 24, 1944, after what may have been the greatest submarine attack of the war, disaster struck.
A defective Mark 18 torpedo suddenly turned back toward the submarine that had fired it. With almost no room to maneuver, O’Kane and his crew watched in horror as their own weapon raced toward them. This is the story of USS Tang, Richard O’Kane, the most successful U.S. submarine patrols of World War II, and the tragic twist of fate that destroyed one of the greatest submarines ever built.
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