Strike of the Sailfish: Two Sister Submarines and the Sinking of a Japanese Aircraft Carrier

by Stephen L. Moore

A gripping true-life thriller about the first US submarine to sink a Japanese aircraft carrier—and the sub’s tragic twist of fate

In 1939 off the New England coast, the submarine USS Squalus accidentally sinks to the bottom of the sea during a training exercise, killing half her crew. Coming to the rescue is the USS Sculpin, in many ways the Squalus’s twin. As their oxygen supply dwindles, the remaining crew aboard the Squalus are saved in a time-consuming, white-knuckle operation. Eventually the sunken submarine is raised, repaired, and returned to duty, with a new the Sailfish.

Four years later, on patrol during the darkest days of the Pacific War, the Sailfish’s radarman picks up the tell-tale signs of a Japanese convoy, known by U.S. intelligence to include aircraft carriers, the most formidable of all enemy ships. Never before has an American submarine taken down a carrier—much less in the middle of a typhoon. Immediately, the crewmen swing into action, embarking on a deadly game of cat-and-mouse as this once-dead boat evades enemy cruisers to stalk closer and closer to their prized target. Little do they know that aboard the Japanese carrier are survivors of an attack on the USS Sculpin, the very boat that saved the Squalis-turned-Sailfish back in ’39.

Author Stephen L. Moore takes readers inside the nine-hour duel, narrating the action aboard both the Sailfish and the doomed carrier, where the American POWs fight against all odds to save their own lives before the ship goes down. Employing a wealth of new information, including long-lost survivors' accounts, fresh interviews with the last of the sub's crew, and official patrol reports, Strike of the Sailfish is the thrilling story of this strange chapter of naval history.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, War, World War II, Military History, American History, Adult

377 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 5, 2023

Reviews

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

STRIKE OF THE SAILFISH

Excellent nonfiction book about two submarines, Squalus and Sculpin, and their intertwining fates during their Naval war service in WWII. Squalus started her career by sinking to ocean bottom on a training mission, rescued in part by the nearby sister ship Sculpin. Refitted and renamed Sailfish, the two boats began their war patrols in the South Pacific hunting Japanese convoys.

Filled with excruciating details, we learn of Sailfish and Sculpin’s crews and missions. Stalking Japanese carriers, destroyers, and other patrol ships, the duties of the submariners and their amazing bravery are revealed through various battles at sea. Having to endure all kinds of hazardous conditions, including mishaps with communication and equipment, fires, flooding, depth charges, strafing runs, and typhoons, the men of two subs encounter each other again in horrifying twist of fate.

Much detail is given on several of the men who were captured and put into the Japanese Ofuna prisoner of war and the Ashio mining camps. Their treatment was horrific, and their ability to endure is admirable beyond my ability to comprehend.

I found this book to be straightforward in its presentation and filled with technical details that enhance understanding rather than overwhelming. It is very well researched with extensive notes and bibliography. I felt the author did a terrific job of explaining complex situations in a way that made for a thrilling and respectful tribute to many brave Naval war heroes.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Stephen L. Moore, and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the life of me, I cannot understand people who take boats out into the middle of the ocean. I especially cannot understand choosing a boat which is created to go underwater on a regular basis. However, there are people much braver than I and you can read all about them in Stephen Moore's Strike of the Sailfish.

The story is the stuff of nightmares. The Squalus was a submarine which sank (in a bad way, not the normal way) on a test run. Many men died. The navy brought it back up, made some fixes, and then sent it back out into service. Imagine going into that thing knowing full well it's history is more than just a little checkered. There is also a sister submarine called the Sculpin. It did not sink on a training run. I probably would have picked that one if forced to choose between the two.

I will avoid spoilers and they are not needed because Moore's book is straightforward in a wonderful way. This book is about submarine battles, survival, and POWs. Moore's prose makes you feel the tension of a sub crew staying quiet in the middle of the ocean hoping a bomb is not about to be dropped on their head. This narrative has no frills. It is a story about heroic men in World War II and their battles to stay alive. Moore knows these men deserve all of his attention and he gives it. It's a great read.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton.)

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very solid WWII sub book! The intertwined history of sister ships Sculpin and Sailfish is one of the iconic stories of the Pacific submarine war, and this was an all-around well-written telling of it.

[Dawn Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never have I been so glad to have a working knowledge of something as I have been with this book. While I have read quite a few books about WW2 and about the battle in the Pacific theater, I have not read any books about submarines and their part in the fight during said war. I HAVE however, watched a T O N of submarine movies [I acknowledge here that they are not all completely accurate in their depiction of sub life] and what I didn't get from the movies, my ex made up for with his extensive knowledge of both ships of war and submarines, and [though I despise giving him credit for anything] that is what helped me throughout this excellent book! I was able to grasp so much more of what was going on and I am grateful for that previous knowledge.

This book was just amazing from beginning to end [where many tears on my part were shed - the extreme bravery of these men will never fail to move me and be grateful for their willingness to serve and save our very way of life] and to give many details does the book disservice - this is so much better going in with as little information as possible so you can live out all that happened in "real time" along with the men in the book. The men of Sailfish, and her sister ship, the USS Sculpin, are beyond brave and deserved every accolade they received. I know I spent much of this book on the edge of my seat, wondering just how it was going to all work out and I was absolutely gobsmacked and in awe of what I was listening to.

Filled with intricate details of life on a submarine, it makes me realize I'd never be able to live that life [so many times as they were in DIVE! DIVE! DIVE! mode, I found myself holding my breath] and have an even greater appreciation for those who do. It also goes into great detail of what life was like for those who were in Japanese POW camps and those sections will just break your heart.

This was just a really excellent read and I am so glad I was able to experience it. Very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley, Stephen L. Moore, and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton/Dutton Caliber for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Andrea Cox · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m so sad I couldn’t finish this one! The presentation lost me at 11 percent because it jumped around and gave lots of extraneous information that was irrelevant to the premise.

[Sarah-Grace (Azrael865) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book is an account of some of the struggles and actions involving submarines in the Pacific during WWII.
SQUALUS undertakes one more test dive, with a full crew, before ending into the war, except the dive doesn't end well. Quickly into the dive, she springs a leak and half the crew are drowned. The other half, seal off compartments and wait for rescue. SCULPIN is SQUALUS's sister ship, who passed all testing earlier in the same week. She comes to the rescue of the trapped submariners.
After a complete repair SQUALUS is safe and ready for action with fresh crew and a the new name SAILFISH. Her troubles are not over yet.
Early on in the war, US torpedoes were notoriously unreliable. Premature detonation, inconsistant range and lack of detonation at all, were a constant problem. Especially when the result was drawing enemy fire. ,
SCULPIN had her own troubles too. Eventually leading to her surviving crew being taken to POW camps in Japan, suffering horrible treatment along with other US, British and Dutch prisoners, until the end of the war.
This is a riveting look inside aspects of the soldiers' lives during tense situations that we normally don't get a peak of.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group / Dutton for the opportunity to read this historic e-ARC.

[WM D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Upon finding this book at my local library. I thought it would be a good idea for a book. But to my surprise it was not what I thought it was going to be. The plot was was not of my liking.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1939 just prior to the start of World War II two submarines were commissioned in New England, Sculpin and Squalis. Squalis immediately got off to an inauspicious start, sinking to the bottom of the sea on a training exercise. But it was raised from the deep, later rechristened Sailfish and was ready for duty when war was declared. “Strike of the Sailfish” by Stephen L. Moore is the story of those two heroic submarines that traveled two different, yet interconnected paths during the war.

Both submarines hunted Japanese vessels in the Pacific and both found them. Problems begin though when you find one because war ships traveled in convoys. Sink one and the other ships hunt the submarine down. While the submarine hides some three hundred feet below the surface the ships above drop depth charges to blow up the submarine. The problem is the depth charge doesn’t even have to hit the submarine for it to do damage. The concussion from the explosion is enough to rattle the submarine, loosen rivets and do enough damage to the exterior and interior of the submarine to allow in sea water.

That is what happened to the Sculpin. Several concussions from depth charges rendered Sculpin dead in the water causing it to sink and for the crew to abandon ship. Most crew members died but some crew members were picked up by the crew of the Japanese ship that sank them. These sailors were sent to Japan where they spent the duration of the war being brutally beaten, starved and used as slave labor mining copper for the Emperor.

The Sailfish had a successful career making 12 hunts where it was credited with sinking a number of Japanese ships. One such ship was the one that sunk the Sculpin. Little did the Sailfish know that the ship it sank was carrying survivors of the Sculpin. Some of the Sculpin crew had survived two sinking if you call being a prisoner of war in a Japanese slave labor camp surviving.

“Strike of the Sailfish” spent a lot of time talking about the comings and goings of the crew and the reader spends the first few chapters reading numerous bios. But once the book hits its stride it becomes a real life game of Battleship. Life on a submarine while trying to hide from ships 300 feet above dropping depth charges on them is terrifying and claustrophobic with the crew fearing that any moment the submarine will crack like an egg and send them to the bottom of the ocean. And bear in mind most of these sailors were barely out of their teens. As Arthur Miller wrote, “Attention must be paid” to these young heroes who fought and gave their lives so that we can live in freedom 80 years later.

[Susan Wachtel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Strike of the Sailfish by Stephen L Moore – Fascinating World War II History


In recent years, I have been interested in reading World War II history books and wanted to read Stephen L Moore’s book The Strike of the Sailfish, Two Sister Submarines and the Sinking of a Japanese Aircraft Carrier.

The sister submarines, the Squalus and Sculpin, seemed to be ill-fated. In 1939, off the coast of New Hampshire, the Squalus sunk. Twenty-six of officers and men drowned, and thirty-two men remained alive. Thanks to the help from the men on their sistership, the Sculpin and other ships, the men were rescued. Amazingly, the Squalus was raised, decommissioned, and overhauled. In 1940, she was recommissioned as the USS Sailfish. Three of the Squalus survivors went on to serve on the Sailfish during WWII in the Pacific. Their sistership, the Sculpin was also in the battle in the Pacific fighting against Japan.

What happened to officers and men who served on those submarines and what they encountered during WWII is hard to imagine. This book was well researched and is filled with a lot of details about the men who served, operation of the submarines, problems encountered with equipment, weapons, and the challenges of fighting a war in a submarine.

The difference an effective leader can make as he leads his men in the battle was amazing to read about. What these men endured in the submarines, the battles they fought, facing storms, disasters, being taken rescued, only to be taken captive as prisoners of war is almost beyond comprehension. The drive to survive and commitment to fight and win the battle was awe inspiring.

There were times, it was hard to read what about what these men experienced. But I am glad I finished it. In many ways, these men were part of the greatest generation who fought evil and won. So very grateful for their service and sacrifice.

If you are interested in World War II history, or appreciate the military, you may wand read The Strike of the Sailfish by Stephen L Moore. It was challenging, and at times a hard read, but it was well worth it.

I would like to thank the Publisher Dutton Caliber and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of The Strike of the Sailfish by Stephen L Moore. I was under no obligation to give a favorable review.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Down periscope! Dive! Dive!" is the cry of the submarine's captain as submarine and her crew seek to sink beneath the waves before the enemy spots them. Many books and movies have this scene. In Strike of the Sailfish, this scene plays out several times as the Sculpin and the Sailfish search the Pacific Ocean for prey.

As the title states, Strike of the Sailfish is the intertwined tale of two submarines - the Squalus and the Sculpin. The tale starts when the Squalus sank during a test dive in 1939 killing half the crew. The Sculpin happened to be in the area and helped in rescuing the crew and recovering the boat. The Squalus was refitted and renamed the Sailfish in May 1940 before getting a new crew and reentering the fleet.

After United States entered the war, both submarines were sent to the Pacific to attack Japanese shipping. Each submarine suffered through the teething issues of dud torpedoes, bad warheads, and plan bad luck. But by 1943, better weapons had arrived and the submarines started coming into their own. But when the Sculpin attacked a convoy near Truk on November 19, 1943, her luck ran out and she was sunk. Part of the her crew were captured and taken to Truk and then transferred via aircraft carriers to Japan. But on December 3-4, 1943, the Sailfish as part of a wolfpack attacked this convoy in the midst of a typhoon and sank the aircraft carrier Chuyo. I took three separate attacks to sink it. George Rocek was the only Sculpin sailor onboard the Chuyo to survive.

Strike of the Sailfish provides a very gritty look at World War II submarine warfare through the lenses of two U.S. submarines and the stories of their crews. Stephen Moore provides plenty of details of a submariner's life and the plight of submariner POWs alongside the various attacks and other duties the submarines performed. If you enjoy reading about WW II naval action, pick up this title. It will not disappoint!

Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this title

[Mandy Lehti · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Strike of the Sailfish, Stephen L. Moore delivers a masterful work of narrative nonfiction that captures both the high stakes tension of submarine warfare and the haunting coincidences that defined one of the most remarkable episodes of World War II. Seamlessly blending technical precision with human drama, Moore recounts the intertwined fates of two sister submarines, the USS Squalus and the USS Sculpin, and their shared connection to the Japanese carrier Chuyo.

The story begins in tragedy off the New England coast, as the Squalus sinks during a routine dive in 1939, claiming half its crew. What unfolds from there is a saga of resilience and redemption: the miraculous rescue by the Sculpin, the Squalus’s rebirth as the Sailfish, and, years later, a fateful confrontation in the Pacific that binds the two submarines together once more in ways neither crew could have imagined.

Moore’s storytelling is taut, immersive, and vividly cinematic. He reconstructs not only the nine hour duel between the Sailfish and its prey, but also the quiet heroism, moral weight, and sheer endurance of the men inside the steel hulls. His use of survivors’ accounts, declassified reports, and fresh interviews lends authenticity and emotional depth, ensuring that this is more than a military chronicle it is a testament to brotherhood, fate, and the paradox of war.

Strike of the Sailfish is both a gripping naval thriller and a poignant reflection on sacrifice. Moore captures the claustrophobia, courage, and chance that defined submarine warfare, reminding readers that history’s most astonishing stories are often those that seem almost impossible to believe.

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not the ideal reviewer for Strike of the Sailfish. I have what I think can charitably be called a decent working knowledge of the Pacific theater in World War 2, but I didn’t study it at the collegiate level, and I tend to read more speculative fiction than historical fiction. This book assumes you’ve read at least three and maybe five to ten books about World War 2, and at least one other in depth look at the Pacific theater.

It’s got a laserlike focus on two subs during the back half of the war, and it leaves it up to you to contextualize the stories. It was still an enjoyable read for me, but I felt like I would have been able to get a lot more out of it if I wasn’t doing quite so much googling or just rolling with the punches.

It’s a well documented story, and the author has the advantage of excellent source material. And while he does a good job, it’s merely a good job, and not a great one. He tells the story of two sister submarines, both commissioned at around the same time. One of them had a tragic accident while out on an early training run, and the sister sub came to her rescue. On the battlefield they met again, with roles somewhat reversed. It’s a good story, and not one I knew about. I enjoyed getting a sense of what life was like on a submarine. However,I think a casual reader would get more out of a broader scoped look at the history, but if you’re a buff, this might be a story you hadn’t heard yet.

I received an advance review copy from the publisher in exchange for this honest review.

[Jeff Rosendahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended by a friend. Started reading it and saw the list of other items this author has written and said, "haven't I read him before?" Well, I did, didn't think much of it and can't say I thought this was very good either. Much of the problem lies in the fact that Moore is trying to tell several stories at once, and wants to share bios of all the crewmen of several boats with us as well. In brief: a submarine has an accident and sinks in 1939. That boat will be raised and sent out on Pacific patrols later in the war. There's another sub that comes to help rescue some of the crew of the sinking in 1939. That sub will be on patrol later in the war, get sunk by the Japanese, have some of that crew become POW's on a carrier that will get sunk by the sub that sunk and was raised in 1939. Ok, so lots of coincidences here, and many storylines that have to be discussed. Unfortunately, it's easy to get confused about which storyline is going on at that moment, and unless you really discuss incidents in detail, it becomes a shallow portrayal. Also, Moore introduces us to many crewmembers all at once, but then never talks about most of them ever again. The descriptions of the subs in action are the best part of the book. I wish there would have been more of it.

[Debra Gaynor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four years later, on patrol during the darkest days of the Pacific War, the Sailfish’s radarman picks up the tell-tale signs of a Japanese aircraft carrier, the greatest of all enemy ships. Never before has an American submarine taken down a carrier. Immediately, the crewmen swing into action, embarking on a deadly game of cat-and-mouse as this once-dead boat evades enemy cruisers to stalk closer and closer to their prized target. Little do they know that aboard the Japanese carrier are the sole survivors of an attack on the USS Sculpin, the very boat that saved the Squalis-turned-Sailfish back in ’39.

Author Stephen L. Moore takes listeners inside the nine-hour duel, narrating the action aboard both the Sailfish and the doomed carrier, as the American POWs fight against all odds to save their own lives before the ship goes down. Strike of the Sailfish is the nail-biting story of this strange chapter of naval history, tapping into a wealth of new information, including long-lost survivors’ accounts.

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

This recently-published book caught my eye because its narrative follows upon the naval disaster which was the subject of The Terrible Hours by Peter Maas, which I had happened to read recently. That book detailed the sinking of USS Squalus submarine in a routine training mission off Rhode Island in 1939. The Squalus was raised with the help of its sister sub USS Sculpin, and later recommissioned as USS Sailfish. The new book details the later exploits of these two vessels in the Pacific War in 1943-45. The book is extraordinarily detailed; in descriptions of the actions, this is interesting, but too much time throughout is spent naming and describing many of the individual crewmen and their postings. Granted, the book is intended as a tribute to the brave men who manned the subs, so this is intentional and reasonable in that context. For the casual reader, though, it's a bit tedious. The book will appeal to WW II buffs, particularly those interested interest in submarine warfare.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story that is truly unbelievable unless you read this very good book. It opens with a training exercise that has the Submarine Squalius sinking. Half of the crew died and the others were rescued by her sister sub the Sculpin. Squalius is brought back up and refitted and then renamed the Sailfish. The author then takes you through her time at sea and the different captains along with personnel changes and some of the men who had been with her for many years. He also explains how she became the first sub to sink a Japanese carrier only to find out later that American Prisoners of war were on it also. Some were from the sub-Sculpin, and none were from the original crew but I am sure it did not make them feel any less disappointed even though they did not know. I found this to be a very good book with a lot of information.

[David Wurster · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a way, there is nothing here that I have not read before; however, every time I read about WWII in the Pacific it reenforces these impressions for me:
1) The tremendous sacrifices made by our service members.
2) The variety of dangers faced by submariners, spanning environmental, enemy actions, medical, equipment failures, accidents, incompetence of self or others, design flaws. etc.
3) The importance that every member of the crew must perform his duties well in order for all the rest to survive.
4) The importance of cross training in order to respond immediately to any type of crisis.
5) The responsibility on the shoulders of leadership and the difficulty of knowing ahead of time which individuals will have what it takes.

[Jim D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A standout in books about US Submarines in WW II! This book intertwines the actions of two World War II combat submarines joined together early through improbable circumstances. The Sculpin was involved in the rescue of the other as it sank during trials. It was named the Squalus, and after it was raised up and repaired, it was renamed the Sailfish. The Sailfish and the Sculpin embarked on a series of harrowing combat patrols against the Japanese. While one was sunk in combat, the story of its crew continued through torture and imprisonment by the Japanese. This is an edge of your seat book about the heroism of submariners in WW II, and the fear they evoked in the Japanese. Super Read.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

During WWII, submarine warfare was a dangerous duty. More often than not, submariners did not come back. Submarines were dangerous, and as the warfare between subs heated up, they became more so.

The Sculpin and Squalus are going to become involved in a very intense operation. The Squalus is going to sink, and be renamed the Sailfish. And their fates will be entwined again over the next few years.

The research into this book was impeccable. I felt as though I was entrenched in the battle itself. It was such a compelling story, and an important piece of American history. This story should be widely read, and understood. As our greatest generation fades, their stories live on through the courageous stands they held during the war.

[DeWayne Neel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Submarine warfare was for a few and the brave. The book has accounted for all those who served on the two featured subs and one has to take note of the survivors. So many things go wrong with war equipment and when you are underwater, it takes a special character to calmly deal with the possible disaster. As will most war histories, some special heroes accomplish the impossible.
Surviving sunken subs, damaged subs, alone in the sea, and then prison camps these sailors "gave all" with a few who came home to continue without their stories being told. Stephen Moore reminds us of the "unknown" in a fine manner.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Strike of the Sailfish: Two Sister Submarines and the Sinking of a Japanese Aircraft Carrier" by Stephen L. Moore is one of many nonfiction books about U.S. submarine warfare during the WW II Pacific campaign. While the story of the submarines 'Sailfish' and 'Sculpin' are very interesting, the writing is average at best. The author spends way too much time on trivia. The action chapters could have been expanded to the readers' benefit. I'd recommend interested readers check out other authors.

[Camarie Weeks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fascinating read on submarine warfare during World War II. I have a greater appreciation for the men who served our country so bravely in this way. I was a bit bogged down in the beginning by all of the technical language and in trying to keep all of the people straight. I would’ve been helped by knowing more about submarines going into reading this book. Nonetheless a great read if you want to know more about the journeys of the Sculpin/Squalus/Sailfish.

[Terri Wangard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a novelized account of two WWII submarines and the relationship between them. You get to know the crewmembers and the odysseys they experienced. One had a horrific start and ended strong. The other had a horrific end.

This offers a very good picture of life on a submarine. At times, the detail bogged me down, but I kept reading to find out what happened to the men.

[John Delaurentis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strike of the Sailfish is a gripping WW II war story. It occasionally bogs down with official nomenclature for certain personnel positions aboard ship, but the at-sea drama is exciting and moves quickly along. Nice that the epilog includes life details of crew members after their sub service ended. I really liked this book, didn't want it to end.

[The_J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite the detailed story of the life of the submarine Sailfish in WWII, but certainly not inviting to me to have been an actual participant (especially during the depth charges) hold no attraction top me.

[Elmwoodblues · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the subject, and some details were 'firsts' for me about sub life in the 1930s/1940s. However, I lost interest in the biography details of the crew, and the POW experiences. Sometimes surprisingly atmospheric, this was a good book that just didn't resonate with me.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story about this specific submarine's twelve (12) missions into the Pacific war zone during WWII. As the story unfolds, it underscores the dangerous conditions in which the brave men of the submarine corps handled under sea combat conditions - both offensive and defensive.

[Glen House · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who's been an avid reader of World War II history, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a fascinating tale of two submarines and the men who served on them during WWII. If you enjoy WWII era history, you will enjoy this read.

[Yong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history but, reading the book, I thought it was rushed as though the author was trying to meet a deadline.

[Bikerider99 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended.