Japanese Couldn’t Believe One “Tiny” Destroyer Annihilated 6 Submarines in 12 Days — Shocked Navy

The Hedgehog: The Story of USS England and Its Deadly Submarine Hunt

It was 1:50 a.m. on May 19th, 1944, when Lieutenant Commander Walton Pendleton stood inside the cramped combat information center of the USS England. The dark, silent Pacific stretched out before them, the quiet broken only by the faint hum of the ship’s sonar. Pendleton’s eyes were fixed on the sonar operator, who was tracking a contact moving at 6 knots beneath the water—an enemy submarine. It was a moment of quiet tension that Pendleton knew would soon erupt into chaos. This was the moment that would determine whether the ship and its crew could survive the war’s most elusive and dangerous threat: the Japanese submarine.

Pendleton, 37 years old and leading his first war patrol as commanding officer, had zero kills against Japanese submarines. His ship, the USS England, was a Buckley-class destroyer escort, 77 feet shorter than a fleet destroyer and built specifically for one purpose: hunting submarines. The weapon that set England apart from other ships was the hedgehog—a forward-throwing spigot mortar that launched 24 projectiles in a circular pattern, designed to hit submarines before they could escape.

Unlike depth charges, which exploded only when they hit a set depth, the hedgehog projectiles exploded on contact, creating no water disturbance and allowing sonar contact to be maintained throughout the attack. Depth charges had been the weapon of choice for decades, but they were inefficient, with a brutal success rate—one kill for every 60 attacks. The hedgehog had shown early promise, but it still needed to prove its worth in combat. Pendleton was about to find out if it could live up to its potential.

The sonar operator called out the range. 1,500 yards. I-16 had begun diving, as most submarines did when they knew they were being hunted. They made radical turns, changed depths, trying to confuse the sonar operators. But Pendleton’s crew wasn’t relying on luck. They had the hedgehog, and they had a mathematical advantage that no submarine could overcome.

Pendleton gave the order for the first hedgehog attack at 1:41 a.m. The projectiles splashed into the water, each one fired at a precise depth of 23 feet. The seconds ticked by, and the crew waited. The first attack missed. I-16 had turned inside the pattern, just out of reach. The second attack scored a hit at 130 feet, but it wasn’t enough to sink the submarine. The third attack missed. But Pendleton’s crew wasn’t deterred. They knew the mathematics of submarine hunting—the next attack would be their chance.

At 1:45 a.m., the fourth attack hit. The explosion was massive. The pressure wave lifted the ship’s bow out of the water as a huge underwater detonation shook the England. The crew held their breath as oil, wood, and fabric began to surface—debris from the destroyed I-16. The Japanese submarine was gone, and 107 sailors were dead. Pendleton had gotten his first kill. The hedgehog had worked.

But there was no time to celebrate. The job wasn’t finished. The England still had seven more Japanese submarines to track and destroy. With every kill, the pressure mounted. The crew had proven that the hedgehog worked, but the true test would come when they faced more submarines, more evasion tactics, and more chances for failure.

The next day, on May 20th, Admiral Hamilton Haynes received more decrypted intelligence, revealing that seven additional Japanese submarines were stationed in a patrol line north of the Admiral T Islands. Pendleton’s ship, now a proven weapon of destruction, was tasked with finding them. They had the advantage of intelligence, and Pendleton’s crew trusted the hedgehog more than ever. Their next mission was clear: eliminate the remaining submarines in the patrol line and secure their place in history.

The next few days were spent tracking and attacking, and with each successful strike, Pendleton’s confidence grew. The crew had honed their skills with the hedgehog, and their sonar operators, having learned from previous attacks, were able to calculate the correct depths, angles, and timings with precision.

By May 23rd, England had sunk two more submarines, RO 106 and RO 108. The success rate was higher than anyone had expected. In fact, England’s record was starting to look unbeatable—five kills in just a few days. The American destroyer escorts, George and Rabby, were also part of the hunt, but they had yet to claim a kill. Pendleton’s crew was outpacing them, and they were beginning to believe they had found the key to destroying the Japanese submarines once and for all.

However, the remaining submarines were adapting. One Japanese commander, aboard the submarine RO 116, began using a different evasion tactic: he remained shallow and made sharp turns. He assumed that the Americans would use their typical deep-water attack approach and that they wouldn’t be able to adjust quickly enough. But Pendleton’s crew was ready. They had learned from previous mistakes. The sonar operators tracked the evasive movements, and the hedgehog attack was successful once again. The submarine was destroyed, its pressure hull ruptured, and the crew was lost.

By May 25th, England had sunk six Japanese submarines in just 12 days. The crew was exhausted, but they had proven something incredible. The hedgehog had worked—far beyond expectations. The success rate of hedgehog attacks had gone from a mere 5% in early trials to an astonishing 40%. Pendleton’s crew had not only survived, but they had rewritten the rules of submarine warfare.

Admiral Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations, took notice of England‘s unprecedented success. The records came in: six kills in 12 days, the highest kill count of any destroyer escort. The mathematics spoke for themselves. The hedgehog system had proven itself, and it was now an integral part of the American Navy’s arsenal.

However, Pendleton’s success came with its own challenges. His ship was ordered to be pulled from submarine hunting duties and reassigned to carrier escort duty to protect valuable assets. Pendleton fought for one more patrol, as he knew that England’s crew could finish the job. One more submarine remained—the last of the seven patrol submarines, RO 109. The remaining submarines were adapting, but Pendleton trusted the mathematics. He believed that England had the capability to complete the mission. But despite his best efforts, RO 109 escaped the final encounter.

By May 30th, England had proven that the hedgehog was a game-changer in submarine warfare. They had destroyed six submarines and had set a record that would never be matched. The story of the England and its crew became legendary, but it was ultimately the mathematics, the precision, and the trust in the hedgehog that won the day.

As the war continued, Pendleton’s ship was reassigned to escort duties, but the crew never faced another submarine. On October 31st, 1944, England was severely damaged by a kamikaze attack. The ship was eventually decommissioned, and its remains were scrapped in 1946. But the record stood. No ship ever matched England‘s remarkable achievement. Six kills in twelve days. The highest submarine kill count of any ship in World War II.

Pendleton, having proven his leadership and the effectiveness of the hedgehog, was awarded the Navy Cross. His citation mentioned his tactical brilliance, his crew’s discipline, and the effectiveness of the weapon. But what it didn’t mention was the quiet, determined efforts of the men who made it happen. They trusted mathematics when others relied on tradition. They had the courage to try something new, something dangerous, and in the process, changed the face of naval combat forever.

Pendleton survived the war and continued to serve, but he passed away in 1973, never fully recognized for the true impact of his efforts. The England became a footnote in naval history, but its legacy remains in the hedgehog’s effectiveness, now a standard piece of equipment in the Navy.

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Note: Some content was generated using AI tools (ChatGPT) and edited by the author for creativity and suitability for historical illustration purposes.