the Japanese. On 28 December, while the noise of the exploding tanks continued, S-37 investigated reports of Japanese landings in Balayan Bay, then proceeded toward Looc Bay to verify or disprove a similar rumor. Finding both bays empty, she began to make her way south. On 30 December 1941, she was off Panay. January 1942 On 1 January 1942, S-37 suffered a fire in the starboard main motor panel. Repairs were made that night. On 2 and 3 January she patrolled off the entrance to Basilan Strait. There, she sighted a Japanese submarine, but was unable to close the range. On 4 January, she took up patrol duty off Japanese-held Jolo Island. On 5 January, she developed leaks in the air supply piping to the starboard main motor panel. Makeshift repairs decreased the air leaks, and S-37 remained in the Sulu district on 6 January. On 7 January, she continued south, toward Port Darwin. On 8 January, new orders arrived, and she set a course for Soerabaja, the Dutch naval base on the northeast coast of Java. On 11 January 1942, Japanese forces moved on territory of the Netherlands East Indies, landing at Tarakan on Borneo and at Manado on Celebes. S-37, then off Stroomenkaap at the western end of Celebes's northern peninsula, was ordered to make for the Borneo coast. She arrived on 12 January and, for the next three days, remained in the Tarakan area, searching for Japanese transports and cargo ships, while at the same time eluding Imperial Japanese Navy destroyers. On 15 January 1942, she was ordered to leave the area, and on 23 January, unable to transmit identification messages, she approached Madoera Strait and surfaced for recognition by Dutch patrol vessels. At 2118, she arrived in Soerabaja Roads on the coast of Java. By the end of January 1942, Japanese forces on Borneo had moved south into Balikpapan, while those forces located in the Celebes moved into Kendari. February 1942 On 2 February 1942, S-37 departed Soerabaja and headed back to Makassar Strait. By 5 February, she was off Cape William. The next day, she shifted southward to patrol the southern approaches to Makassar City, and, on the evening of 8 February 1942, she sighted a destroyer, which was thought to be an advance guard unit for Japanese forces en route to that city. At 1800, the destroyer, which S-37 allowed to pass unmolested, disappeared