How USS Tang Was Destroyed by Its Own Torpedo in World War II
USS Tang was one of the most successful American submarines of World War II, commanded by Richard H. O’Kane during the U.S. Navy’s campaign against Japanese shipping. On her fifth and final patrol in October 1944, Tang attacked enemy vessels in the Formosa Strait before a malfunctioning torpedo circled back and struck the submarine that had launched it.
This documentary follows Tang’s combat record, the aggressive tactics that made her so effective, and the disaster that ended her final patrol. It examines the technical failure behind the torpedo’s circular run, O’Kane’s leadership, the crew’s desperate struggle to escape, and the fate of the survivors who became prisoners of war. USS Tang remains one of World War II’s most respected and tragic submarine stories because it combines success, risk, mechanical failure, and survival under extreme conditions.
