In a significant escalation to the ongoingWest Asia war, a United States Navy submarine intercepted and sank anIranian warshipin the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, March 3. The engagement resulted in at least 100 casualties and marks a pivotal moment in modern naval warfare.
US Defense SecretaryPete Hegsethconfirmed the strike, saying that the ship was sunk by a torpedo and died a “quiet death". This engagement represents the first time since World War II that an American submarine has successfully neutralised an enemy vessel using torpedoes.
Prior to Tuesday incident, theUS Navyhad not recorded a submarine-launched torpedo kill in nearly 80 years. The last instances of such combat occurred during the final hours of World War II in August 1945. According to historical records and reports fromThe War Zone, the closing day of the war saw two notable engagements.
1.USS Spikefish (SS-404):At approximately 4:24 am on August 14, 1945, the Spikefish targetted the Japanese transport submarine I-373 in the East China Sea. From a distance of roughly 1 kilometre, the Spikefish deployed six Mk-14 torpedoes. Two direct hits caused the vessel to founder within minutes, resulting in 84 fatalities.
2.USS Torsk (SS-423):Later that same day, the USS Torsk engaged two Japanese escort ships near Maizuru. Utilizing a Mk-28 torpedo, the Torsk sank the CD-47. Shortly after, it deployed an acoustic-homing Mk-27 “CUTIE" torpedo to destroy the CD-13.
The sinking of the CD-13 by the USS Torsk is widely recognised by military historians as the final Japanese warship lost in World War II.
The transition from the 1945 Pacific theater to Tuesday’s strike highlights a massive gap in active undersea kinetic engagements. While the US submarine fleet has remained a cornerstone of global power projection and intelligence gathering, its primary role for decades has been strategic deterrence rather than direct ship-to-ship combat.
The destruction of the Iranian vessel under the current administration signals a hardening of US military posture in the region and a rare operational deployment of heavyweight torpedo technology in a live combat scenario.
Source: World News in news18.com, World Latest News, World News
