In one of World War Two’s most extraordinary rescue operations, US submarines responsible for sinking Japanese transports crowded with British and Australian prisoners of war turned life-savers. Steve Snelling charts an epic story of survival against the odds.
(US NAVY)
The tension was almost tangible as the surfaced submarine glided across the sun-sparkling waters of a placid South China Sea. Three times in the past six hours aircraft had either been detected by SJ radar or actually sighted, the last one near enough to force a crash-dive.