Swordfish (SS-193) After Pearl Harbor, planes from Japan's advanced air bases were hitting us hard. USS Swordfish, under the command of Chester C. Smith, was ordered to locate and destroy the hidden anchorage where the enemy received supplies for these bases. This mission had been attempted by two other submarines without success. Playing a long shot, Smith combined imagination and skill with a large helping of courage and nosed the USS Swordfish into the narrow Lembeh Strait in the northern Celebes. The only available charts for the area, dated 1908, indicated "Possible coral reefs" throughout these waters. In this respect, the charts were dead right. The daring of the sub's captain paid off. The Swordfish sank two big supply ships found in the hidden harbor.
