The Paragon, an S class submarine of the Asiatic fleet was struggling in a night of rough weather. The crew were impatient for the skipper to give the order to dive so the constant rocking of the boat would stop. Visibility was low although the reported convoy should be somewhere nearby. The watch officer spots a silloutte off to port and notifies the Captain. Through the binoculars the contact is soon marked. Two destroyers leading a freighter and a large modern liner. Two good targets but the subs limited torpedo load means that only one can receive a focussed attack. The captain immediately chooses the liner without hesitation. He doesn't want those troops reaching their destination. If he rids them into the sea, they won't be able to shoot his country-men on land.
A course is plotted to intercept the boats and the Paragon slips beneath the waves. As luck would have it the targets are on a course headed directly in front of the rusted boat. "Rig for silent running," "Ahead 1/3!" are the last words spoken for several minutes as the Jap ships head for the attack corridor. The freighter reaches the firing position and a single torpedo is loosed. "AHEAD 2/3 and HARD TO PORT" the orders are made and the fleet boat moves to intercept the liner. "RUDDER AMID SHIPS!!" "FIRE TUBES 2, 3 and FOUR!" More torpedoes scream into the water, lines of steam mark the course of their journey. "Ahead 1/3, Lower periscope, Hard to Starboard! Dive Dive DIVE!!" and the crew listen for the result of the attack.
"Torpedo hit sir!" as the noise of the torp dies down the captain smiles at his crew and nods. "We broke her back with one fish boys!" but celebrations are held down as the loud ping of enemy ASW sends a chill up the spines of the submariners. "Enemy sound contact, warship, closing" is whispered by the sonar man. Immediately after the sound of the three torpedoes greeting the liner brings a triumphant explosion. The troop ship can be heard breaking apart before the last fish rams her.
"Make your Depth 59 metres! Rudder Amidships! Let's slip away before they find us" but the captain words are followed by the loud sound of screws coming closer and closer until they seem directly above. "AHEAD FLANK! HARD TO PORT!" the boat surges to life, in less then 30 seconds the shaking starts. Depth charges rock the small boat, the crew hold on and the cook curses. "Ahead 1/3" whispers the captain as the noise dies down. "Rudder 30% starboard" and another set of screws can be heard closing. Depth charges explode close by but the enemy have lost the position of the fleeing sub. The minutes go by while the constant threat of death can be heard exploding all the while, eventually the sound fades into the distance. The Paragon lives again.
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