Came across this article tonight about an Australian Hudson bomber attacking a U.S. submarine..you learn something new every day. US SUbmarine attacked by a Hudson bomber of 14 Squadron RAAF off the Western Australian coastline
An unfortunately common situation. A similar incident likely caused the loss of USS Dorado in the Atlantic. Submarines basically look alike, especially if you only have a few seconds to make the identification from a moving aircraft (most US subs that early in the war also had large conning towers similar to Japanese boats). And of course it can submerge, so there is an urgency to attack when one is spotted.
Possibly poor visibility on a cloudy day. Sargo was presumably using a small, handheld signal lamp. If it was seen, it might have been mistaken for antiaircraft fire. And no doubt the crew were eager to strike a blow after a few months of fruitless patrolling while the war went on around them. The Japanese at that point were securing the East Indies, and Australians thought they might be next. The first American submariner killed in WWII was a crewman on the Thresher, who was injured on the morning of December 7 when the boat was struck by a heavy wave. They tried to get into Pearl Harbor but were repeatedly attacked by friendly ships and aircraft, even though they were communicating by radio with the submarine command ashore. The man died before he could be gotten to hospital.
..probably a lot more friendly fire incidents than you would think .... --March 1942--not ''long'' after the start the war..and we have 2 different nations involved..... returning? did the Aussies and US have efficient/close/etc coordination regarding signals/etc? were the signals updated/clear to all/etc? Carronade made good points.... --signals can be hard to see and confusing --human errors ..I wish I had a penny for every time a human made a mistake
I don't believe Sargo flashed "Lemon Moon", that was probably taken from Lockwood's "Sink 'Em All". The RAAF Court of Inquiry interviewed Capt. Jacobs, and he said he did not send/flash any signals to the Hudson. Inter-service Communications were poor at best. The USN had passed along reports of a Japanese sub sighted in the area. They did not pass along that Sargo was or would be also in the same area. The RAAF Hudson had tried to establish Sargo's identity, but Sargo did not respond, because she was diving. Visibilty was at least 5 miles, approx. Distance Sargo spotted the Hudson, but with a low cloud base. The Hudson was flying just under the clouds.