Take Her Deep: A Submarine Against Japan in World War II

On August 12, 1943, 32-year-old Pete Galantin took command of the U.S.S. Halibut at Midway Island. Armed with torpedos and a 50 caliber deck gun, Halibut roamed from Pearl Harbor to Saipan, the Phillippines and the coast of Japan, sinking 13 enemy vessels - including a 10,000 ton heavy cruiser - until, on November 14, 1944, the longest, most ferocious attack ever survived by a U.S. submarine knocked Halibut out of commision.It was a career that earned both ship and crew the Navy Unit Commendation. Now pigboat skipper Pete Galantin tells Halibut's remarkable story. Here are the men who lived and fought from cramped, close quarters, the excitement and drama of on-target hits, and the frustration and peril of all too frequent near-misses caused by malfunctioning torpedos. And here is the final, legendary battle near Luzon Strait. After sinking two enemy vessels, Halibut took depth charges that drove her under to 420 feet, wrecked her conning tower, and bent her hull inward - and survived.