BLUF

In mid-1945, a US submarine with a rocket launcher, began a campaign of Japanese coastal terror that foretold the future of naval warfare.

Summary

KEY POINTS:
  1. The Navy took a Mark 51 rocket launcher and strapped it to the deck of a submarine.
  2. The rockets could only be fired while surfaced, and had a maximum range of three miles.
  3. The ‘Barb’ became one of the top-scoring submarines of World War II.  

References