On the 16th, at 0432, SEA DEVIL made her second
contact; submerged; and commenced closing the target. At
0538, the enemy, a cargo submarine, was sighted. At 0545,
SEA DEVIL made her first attack. Four torpedoes were fired.
Two exploded against the target. SEA DEVIL lost depth
control. A minute later, periscope depth was regained.
Brown smoke marked the enemy's previous location. Seven
underwater explosions followed. By 0553, a large oil slick
covered the site where I-364 had gone down.
SEA DEVIL reloaded and continued to move closer to
Japan. On the 17th and 18th, mountainous seas inhibited
hunting. On the 21st, the submarine commenced running along
the 100 fathom curve, but the strong Kuroshio Current there
caused her to lose ground and forced her to shift her
course.
On the morning of the 22d, she made several contacts,
but all were too small. During the early afternoon, she
sighted a small convoy and fired on a freighter. The target
turned toward the submarine. SEA DEVIL went deep. An hour
later, the surface ships had gone and the hunted submarine
again became a hunter.
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