Top
Secret Declassified Logs
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The
following information was extracted from Top-Secret documents
intercepted by US intelligence and from |
| Top-Secret
reports describing the attack patterns followed by Lt. Cmdr.
Jesse Taylor and Lt.(jg) William Gordon in sinking the I-52.
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At approximately 11:40 on June 23rd, Jesse Taylor spotted the I-52
on the radar of his avenger aircraft. Allowing for speed and altitude,
Jesse Taylor directed his aircraft over the target, and commenced
the attack. The first pass produced two near misses by depth bombs.
Taylor could look over his shoulder and see the explosions just
to the starboard side of the submarine.
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After an unsuccessful pass he switched over to torpedoes and came
around for another attack. This time he dropped an acoustic torpedo
that homed in on the sounds of the propeller cavitation noises.
Listening on a wireless recorder, the crew described the ensuing
noise as "cracking and crunching", similar to "the
sounds of a tin can being crushed."
As Commander Taylor's watch ended, Lt.(jg) William D. Gordon flew
to the scene of Taylor's attack to continue the vigil. Gordon was
given the orders, "to drop a Mark 24 mine if sonobuoy indications
revealed the presence of a submarine in the area." The logs
and all communications refer to a Mark 24 mine. This was a code
name for the top secret acoustic torpedo that was being used in
war for the very first time.
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Gordon had civilian underwater sound expert Mr. Price Fish on the
plane with him. Gordon arrived on the scene just after midnight,
and circled with Taylor for some time. At about 1:00 a.m., Mr. Fish
reported hearing some faint propeller noise in the area. Gordon
checked with Taylor about the exact position a sonobuoy, and then
dropped a top secret acoustic torpedo where he believed the submarine
to be. Taylor departed from the area at 1:15, but Gordon stayed
to circle the area and listen for any sign of activity. He heard
nothing, and was replaced by Lt.(jg) Brady, who continued to watch,
and listen to the activity, but no further activity was reported.
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