Escorts acting strangely!
I'm in the (unnamed) channel approximately 325 Nm NE of Singapore in Gato. Left from NAB Manus Island to patrol an area East of Malaysia and on August 13, 1944 at 1400 encountered a Small Group in said channel consisting of a DD B Class, a KyokutuMaru, a DE Kaibokan, a DE C Class, and a Torpedo Boat Otari.
The KyokutuMaru was literally pushing the DD-B Class - had its bow (how shall I put this delicately) shoved right up the stern of the escort. Both sank when the Kyokutu exploded. Surprisingly I got credit for both sinkings - usually when a target causes the nearby ships to sink I only get credit for the target I actually hit.
Anyway, the behavior of the other 3 escorts was a bit off. The DE Kaibokan was rocking and rolling side to side as it would in a heavy sea, but the seas were flat calm.
The other two were perched high in the water so much so that the props were about 80% exposed. Not the usual displacement, for sure. It's been a long time since I've seen these odd behaviors. Speaking of which, only the Otari bothered to look for us. The other two escorts stopped and eventually ran off. The Otari was still circling the supposed torpedo launch site when last seen or heard.
Not a big deal, but I know you've seen it before elsewhere. Have fun!
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