(Edited from U.S. SUBMARINE OPERATIONS, WW-II, U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE)
Here is another submarine story of the caliber that will keep the
cigars glowing and the anecdotes going so long as the smoking lamp is
lit.
On August 10, 1944, BOWFIN (LCDR John H. Corbus) went in for a
close-up look at Minami Daito, an island centrally located in the Nansei
Shoto chain. There was a narrow channel and a bay beyond, and the
periscope found several ships of a convoy heading in to moor alonside a
new concrete wharf. Corbus decided to go in and get them the following
morning. So BOWFIN did.
The approach was a ticklish one, but the submarine tiptoed in, and
the Jap AK's were lined up there like so many tramp steamers at Hoboken.
BOWFIN was ready, and Corbus, squinting at the periscope, drew a careful
bead on a target alongside the quay. Then he paused. A bus had rumbled
out on the Wharf, and a group of Japs was piling down the steamer's
gangplank - obviously a shore party. There was a lot of bustle and
chatter as these passengers boarded the bus. Corbus felt he could
enliven the proceedings.
He fired three torpedoes at a freighter which was anchored off the
quay, and three more at the ship alongside. A hit smashed the anchored
freighter, throwing up a great cloud of smoke and debris. Another
torpedo struck the vessel at the quay. And apparently a torpedo struck
the quay itself for there was a mighty blast that filled the air with
powdered cement. When the smoke cleared away, that section of the quay
where the bus had been loading was obliterated. So was the bus.
Corbus turned BOWFIN on her tail and sent her seaward. Some A/S
vessels chased, and the submarine was treated to more than the usual
"going over." But afterwards the submariners were sure it was
worth it. To date, at least, BOWFIN remains the only submarine able to
claim, "TWO SHIPS, ONE QUAY, ONE BUS." Unfortunately the
vessels torpedoed could not be identified. And nowhere on the submarine
inventory list was there a column labeled "Buses."BOWFIN Doesn't Miss the Bus