happened upon approximately 30 small fishing boats headed for Bermeo, Spain, and her log noted that the boats appeared to have sighted her. It may have very well been that sighting which prompted the events of the next day. At 17:40 on 19 February 1943, Blackfish observed two small vessels that appeared to be large fishing trawlers traveling in a column which did not display any Spanish colors. Blackfish′s commanding officer called the crew to general quarters and initiated an attack approach. The first ship’s small bow made her difficult to make out, and several suspenseful minutes passed. At last, at 17:49, Blackfish clearly observed German colors and identified both ships as converted trawler-type submarine tender vessels with guns mounted fore and aft. Blackfish fired two torpedoes from her bow torpedo tubes at the lead ship, and another two at the second. The second of the vessels, the disguised Vorpostenboot (patrol boat) V 408 Haltenbank, suffered a fatal hit by one of Blackfish′s torpedoes. Blackfish immediately was subjected to a depth-charge attack, as well as, according to her log, “something, which sounded like a bomb, but that did not produce much shock.” As she dove, five bombs and four depth charges exploded, the third of which reportedly detonated very close aboard and “jarred the ship considerably.” The blast had in fact cracked the conning tower door frame, which caused some minor flooding. Blackfish bottomed out in of water, then maintained total silence for a full hour. At 19:18, she cleared the area. Blackfish surfaced at 22:20, and her crew made some minor repairs while inspecting her for additional damage. Having taken an account of herself, Blackfish sent word of her damage and then continued her patrol. Early on the morning of 20 February 1943, Blackfish received orders to return from patrol. She sped back to port and arrived safely in Falmouth, England, on 22 February 1943. In addition to the action that took place on 19 February, the patrol resulted in Blackfish′s keen observation that, according to her patrol report, “the traffic of Spanish ships east of Bilbao appears excessive considering that Pasajes is the only Spanish port. Although the ships are covered with Spanish flags and cruise very close inshore, it is almost certain that some are enemy ships, and that all of them are not going to Pasajes but are bound for some French port.” Shortly after her