Black wind

mid-1944, and then installed only on selected vessels. Most Japanese submarines instead relied upon sound-detection equipment to reveal a distant enemy. Although more limited in range than radar, sound detection could be utilized underwater, and aided many a sub in avoiding a fatal rendezvous with depth charges.
    Absent a radar unit, it was the I-403^ sound operator who first became aware of the destroyer bearing down on them.
    “Vessel approaching ahead … sound intensity one,” he reported at the first registering on his equipment.
    On deck, both of the aircraft had been moved out of their hangars, where the wings and pontoons were affixed, while repairs continued. It was the situation Ogawa feared most. With both planes assembled but neither ready for flight, they would have to be sacrificed should the submarine have to make an emergency dive.
    “Deck gun at the ready,” he ordered, hoping the unwelcome intruder was yet another fishing boat.
    “Sound intensity two and increasing,” the sound operator relayed calmly. “It’s a ship,” he added, to no one’s surprise.
    “Secure all aircraft and clear the aviation deck,” Ogawa ordered an ensign, who sprinted down the large deck shouting at the mechanics and pilots as he ran. Tying down the two airplanes, the aviation crew quickly grabbed their work tools and scurried to the hangar. The watertight doors of the hangar were closed and sealed; then the men dropped down another hatch into the secure body of the submarine.
    “Sound intensity three, off our bow. May be a destroyer,” the operator reported, correctly identifying the churning sound of the tin can’s twin propellers.
    As if on cue, the gray ship materialized out of the fog a half mile away, the apparition of a steel wraith charging across the moor. White foam burst off the bow in angry torrents while wisps of dark smoke billowed from the funnel. The lean ship drove straight at the sub, an attacking lancer not to be denied.
    In an instant, the I-403’s deck gun boomed as the submarine’s experienced gun crew attempted to halt the oncoming dervish. The slim, head-on profile of the destroyer made for a difficult target, however, and the shell passed harmlessly to one side. Hurriedly, the gun crew took aim and fired again.
    Once identifying the ship as a destroyer, Ogawa recognized the futility of a surface duel with a superior vessel and immediately ordered a crash dive. The mission would have to be sacrificed for the safety of the ship and crew, he reasoned, if it wasn’t already too late.
    As the dive alarm sounded, the gun crew fired off a last desperate shot before scrambling belowdecks to safety. The gunner’s accuracy was nearly dead-on, but he overcompensated the approaching speed of the destroyer. The shell splashed into the water fifty feet directly ahead of the American ship’s bow, blasting a spray of water onto its deck but causing no damage.
    The two forward batteries of the Theodore Knight ax last came to life, lobbing five-inch shells in succession toward the Japanese sub. The inexperienced and adrenaline-fortified gun crew fired high, however, placing the destroyer’s shells harmlessly beyond the now-accelerating submarine.
    On the exterior bridge of the I-403, Ogawa hesitated momentarily before dropping down the hatch, taking a final glance at his approaching stalker. Movement caught his eye on the forward deck, where he was surprised to see a crewman striding toward one of the
    airplanes. It was a pilot, ignoring the dive command and climbing into his plane. In the spirit of the kamikaze, the pilot could not bear the thought of losing his aircraft and was willing to die with it instead. Ogawa cursed his foolish bravery, then ducked down into the bridge below.
    The ballast tanks were opened and a rush of seawater began flooding in to weigh the submarine down. The huge hull of the I-403 was a liability in this situation, requiring a notoriously long time to submerge. As Ogawa waited for the sub to make its agonizingly slow descent, he played one more card.
    “Prepare to fire torpedoes!” he commanded.
    It was a gamble, but a calculated one at that. With the destroyer directly ahead, Ogawa could let go a shot in the face of the ship and make the hunter fall prey to the victim.
    “Tubes loaded,” the torpedo officer reported.
    “Stand by tubes number one and number two,” Ogawa ordered.
    The destroyer was barely two hundred yards away and still belching fire from its