out of port, on 4 September, to begin her fifth war patrol in an area between Mono Island and the Shortland Islands in the Solomon Islands group. On 11 September, she began patrolling west of Bougainville to intercept enemy shipping between Rabaul, Buka, and Faisi. The submarine fired four torpedoes at a large cargo ship, on 14 September, but missed with all. Three days later, she fired a spread at a tanker with two apparent hits. At 0536 hours on 1 October, Sturgeon sighted the 8,033-ton aircraft ferry Katsuragi Maru. A spread of four torpedoes was fired and resulted in three hits which sent the ship to the bottom. An escort depth charged the submarine for a while and then broke off to rescue survivors. Sturgeon moved south of Tetipari Island and patrolled there until she returned to Brisbane on 25 October for repairs and refit. Sixth patrol: November 1942 – January 1943 Sturgeon returned to sea and began patrolling in the Truk area on 30 November. She fired four torpedoes at a Japanese ship on 6 December and observed one hit. She missed hitting targets on 9 and 18 December. The ship withdrew from the area on 25 December 1942 and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 4 January 1943. She was in the yard from 14 January to 11 May for an overhaul. Seventh and eighth patrols: June – October 1943 Sturgeons seventh war patrol began on 12 June and ended at Midway Island on 2 August. She sighted seven worthwhile targets but was able to attack only one. That occurred on 1 July when she fired a spread at a freighter and heard two hits, causing possible damage. The next patrol, from 29 August to 23 October, was equally unrewarding, and she returned to Pearl Harbor. Ninth patrol: December 1943 – January 1944 On 13 December 1943, Sturgeon sailed for Japanese home waters. She sighted a seven-ship convoy with four escorts on 11 January 1944. Finding an overlapping target, she fired four torpedoes, and the cargo ship Erie Maru went to the bottom. The submarine was forced to go deep to avoid a depth charge attack and was unable to regain contact with the convoy. Five days later, she attacked a freighter Akagi Maru and the destroyer in Bungo Channel. Suzutsuki was hit by two torpedoes which blew off the bow and stern. Sturgeon was pinned down all