Editing USS PC-815 (section)

=== Claims of submarine contact off Cape Lookout ===
In the early hours of 19 May 1943, the crew of ''PC-815'' detected what Hubbard thought was first one, then later two [[Imperial Japanese Navy submarines]] approximately {{convert|10|nmi|km}} off the shore of [[Cape Lookout (Oregon)|Cape Lookout, Oregon]]. Both the [[sonar]] operator and Lt. Hubbard thought that the echo of an [[Active sonar#Active sonar|active sonar ping]], combined with apparent engine noises heard through the ship's [[hydrophone]], indicated contact with a submarine.<ref>"Proceeding southward just inside the steamer track an echo ranging contact was made by soundman then on duty, <NAME REDACTED>, Soundman third class. The Commanding Officer had the conn and immediately slowed all engines to ahead one third to better echo ranging conditions, and placed the contact dead ahead, 500 yards away." and "Screw noises, fluttering and without pulsation, were distinct on the bearing and quite different from the pulsations of our screws." [[:Image:Batrep01.gif|Page 1 of Hubbard's report]] Image: Page one of Lt. Hubbard's report.</ref>

Over the next 68 hours, the ship expended 37 depth charges in a "battle" that also involved the U.S. Navy [[K-class blimp|blimp]]s ''K-39'' and ''K-33'', the [[United States Coast Guard]] patrol boats ''Bonham'' and 78302, and the subchasers USS ''SC-536'' and USS ''SC-537'', all summoned to act as reinforcements. ''PC-815'' was finally ordered back to base on 21 May.<ref>Hubbard, ''Anti-Submarine Action by Surface Ship, Report of'', 24 May 1943.</ref>

In his eighteen-page after-action report, Hubbard claimed to have "definitely sunk, beyond doubt" one submarine and critically damaged another. However, the subsequent investigation by the Commander NW Sea Frontier, Vice Admiral [[Frank Jack Fletcher]], cast a skeptical light on Hubbard's claims. His summary memorandum to Fleet Admiral [[Chester W. Nimitz]], stated:

:It is noted that the report of ''PC 815'' is not in accordance with "Anti-Submarine Action by Surface Ship" (ASW-1) which should be submitted to Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet. An analysis of all reports convinces me that there was no submarine in the area. Lieutenant Commander Sullivan states that he was unable to obtain any evidence of a submarine except one bubble of air which is unexplained except by turbulence of water due to a depth charge explosion. The Commanding Officers of all ships except the ''PC-815'' state they had no evidence of a submarine and do not think a submarine was in the area.<ref>"Battle Report – Submission of.", A16-3(3)/PC815, Vice Adm. Frank Jack Fletcher, Commander NW Sea Frontier, 8 June 1943; [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Batconcl.gif Image of document] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117000000/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Batconcl.gif |date=17 January 2008 }}</ref>

Fletcher added that "there is a known magnetic deposit in the area in which depth charges were dropped", absolving the responding blimps from any fault, because their method of detecting submarines relied on a [[Magnetic Anomaly Detector]]. This also implied that Lt. Hubbard and his crew were operating the ship's [[sonar]] equipment incorrectly.<ref>"At 0906 (see radio log) two U.S.N. anti-submarine blimps appeared, K-39 and K-33. While we held contact they investigated and announced to us that they had a magnetic contact where we were holding a sound contact." [[:Image:Batrep04.gif|Page 4 of Hubbard's report]]</ref> After the war, British and American analysis of captured Japanese Navy records confirmed that no Japanese submarines had been lost off the Oregon coast.<ref>HM Admiralty, ''German, Italian and Japanese U-Boat Casualties during the War: Particulars of Destruction'', Cmd. 6843 (June 1946); US Department of the Navy, ''Japanese Naval and Merchant Shipping Losses during World War II by All Causes'' (February 1947)</ref> Hubbard, however, never accepted that he had been mistaken about the "battle." Both he and Tom Moulton, one of his officers, claimed that the official denials of any Japanese submarine presence off the Pacific coast had been motivated by a desire to avoid panic among the U.S. population.<ref name=Streeter208>{{cite book |last=Streeter |first=Michael |date=2008 |title=Behind Closed Doors: The Power and Influence of Secret Societies |location=London, UK |publisher=New Holland Publishers |page=208 |isbn=978-1-84537-937-7}}</ref> Years later, Hubbard told Scientologists:

:I dropped the [[Japanese submarine I-176|''I-76'']] or the Imperial Japanese Navy Trans-Pacific Submarine down into the mouth of the Columbia River, dead duck. And it went down with a resounding furor. And that was that. I never thought about it again particularly except to get mad at all the admirals I had to make reports to because of this thing, see? This was one out of seventy-nine separate actions that I had to do with. And it had no significance, see? But the other day I was kind of tired, and my dad suddenly sprung on me the fact that my submarine had been causing a tremendous amount of difficulty in the mouth of the Columbia River. Hadn't thought about this thing for years. Of course, it's all shot to ribbons, this thing. It's got jagged steel sticking out at all ends and angles, and it's a big submarine! It's a&nbsp;— I don't know, about the size of the first [[USS Narwhal (SS-167)|''Narwhal'']] that we built. And the fishermen coming in there and fishing are dragging their nets around in that area, and it's just tearing their nets to ribbons&nbsp;— they've even hired a civilian contractor to try to blow the thing up and get it the devil out of there&nbsp;— and has evidently been raising bob with postwar fishing here for more years than I'd care to count.<ref>Hubbard, "Auditing Techniques&nbsp;— Games Conditions", lecture of 1 February 1957</ref>

However, the mouth of the Columbia River is some 75 miles north of Cape Lookout, the area in which Hubbard's naval reports claimed his anti-submarine action took place.

Moreover, the Japanese submarine [[Japanese submarine I-176|''I-76'']] (renamed ''I-176'' by that time) was based in [[Chuuk Lagoon|Truk]] and operated only in the south Pacific during the time when Hubbard was in command of ''PC-815''. The I-176 was sunk in the [[Coral Sea]] in May 1944 and removed from the Japanese Navy List on 10 July 1944 – a year after Hubbard was relieved of command of the ''PC-815''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/I-176.htm |first1=Bob |last1=Hackett |first2=Sander |last2=Kingsepp |name-list-style=amp |title=IJN Submarine I-176: Tabular Record of Movement |website=CombinedFleet.com |access-date=23 November 2015 |archive-date=20 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020003020/http://www.combinedfleet.com/I-176.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>