Leader of the Pack

<i>Leader of the Pack</i> recounts the incredible history of USS <i>Batfish</i> a record-setting American World War II fleet submarine. <i>Batfish</i> entered the pantheon of military lore during its famous sixth patrol in February 1945 where it sank a record three Japanese submarines in seventy-six hours.In addition to offering a rousing and meticulously researched account of the famous sixth patrol author and military historian Mark W. Allen unravels a nautical mystery that had gone unresolved for over sixty years: the identity of the first Japanese submarine sunk by <i>Batfish</i> skipper John K. Fyfe. Controversy has surrounded the identity of the first submarine almost since the day of the sinking but <i>Leader of the Pack</i> through a diligent recreation of the events that unfolded in the days leading up to the sixth patrol solves the mystery once and for all. Lastly Allen shares a personal story never told before in such detail of <i>Batfish's</i> rescue of three downed aviators who were forced to ditch their B-25 Mitchell bomber after it was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire during a bombing mission on the Japanese homeland.