WW2 is full of great stories, here is one I read yesterday-US Naval Sub related

The USS Squalfish saga.

The USS Squalus was a submarine that sunk after a ballast induction line failed to seal, during a training exercise on May 24th 1939. Her sister ship the Sculpin found the boat in 240 feet of water off the New Hampshire coast (training area) and dropped a rescue bell.
They were able to save 33 men, but 23 passed away.
The Navy sent out a 400 man salvage team two days later and began the monumental task of raising the sub from the shoals. The first attempt was by using pontoons and filling the boat with compressed air. This caused the sub to rocket to the surface, breach and then quickly sink back to the bottom. On August 12th, the salvage started over again from scratch. This time they drug the boat underwater until it was in much shallower water. The sub was floated and towed, then went under an 11 month refit and was rechristened the Sailfish, but superstitious sailors, who were unnerved by the history and the name change called the boat the Squailfish.

So years go by and the boat is now in the war in the pacific on patrol. A massive typhoon hits and the Sailfish surfaces in the middle of it. Checking radar a giant blip appears on the radar. Using the sea to hide, the commander, Robert Ward, ordered the sub to pursue on surface. Blinded by the weather the sub fired multiple torpedoes just using radar bearing and listening for explosions and diving to reload. Each torpedo volley was followed by depth charges and heavy gunning. Later as the sun was out and the sky clearing the commander was able to see his target was an aircraft carrier. The captain's log noted "The carrier had enough people on it's deck to populate a village". The sub fired three more torpedoes, two hit.

The aircraft carrier broke apart, and this once sunken sub had scored the first Japanese carrier sinking of the war, by submarine or torpedo.

That isn't what makes this story interesting. The interesting part comes after the war, when Japanese records are open to US viewing. The Imperial carrier Chuyo was holding 33 Americans*. From the submarine Sculpin, the one who had rescued the Squalus in 1939.
Davy Jones got back the lives taken from him previously.











---- compiled from information from
"War Under The Pacific"
Time Life Publishing
1984. wheeler, Keith

*this number was claimed to be 20 by other sources, many contend the number 33 was given by ex-sailors telling a tall tale. The ships and incidents are verified though.