blow. However, Japanese records examined after the war indicate that Balaos victim on this occasion was not a tanker, but the 5,244-ton freighter Daigo Maru. After that, Balao patrolled independently until 19 January when she pulled into Apra Harbor, Guam, for refit alongside . Eighth patrol, February – April 1945 Balao began her eighth war patrol on 27 February as part of another attack group along with (like Balao, also the lead ship of a submarine class), , and on patrol in the East China and Yellow Seas. Her first opportunity for action came on 9 March, when she sighted a small tanker with two escorts steaming along the coastline. Although not in an ideal attack position, the submarine fired four torpedoes at the tanker, all of which missed. The target's escorts struck back at Balao with depth charges, but the submarine escaped damage and resumed patrol duty later that day. She sighted many vessels during the next eight days, but did not attack them. On 18 March, Balao caught a 188-ton trawler alone, sank it with gunfire, and then rescued three survivors in the debris. Early the next morning, she attacked a convoy of four transports guarded by four escorts. Firing 10 torpedoes at three of the targets, Balao heard four hits and the explosion on one of the transports nearly blinded her lookouts. The early morning darkness made it impossible to assess the damage, but Balao received credit for sinking Hakozaki Maru, a 10,413-ton transport. {The Tatsuhara Maru was damaged}. The submarine then escaped to deep water to continue her patrol. Later that same afternoon, Balao surfaced to attack a group of small trawlers. She sank one trawler and left three others burning fiercely. Shortly before dawn on 21 March, Balao began tracking a convoy of two ships closely guarded by four escorts. The effectiveness with which the escorts countered her several approaches convinced Balao that she had been detected. As dawn broke, the submarine made one last approach, moving to where she fired four torpedoes. An escort picked up the submarine's trail, and Balao ran for deep water under a smoke screen without waiting to observe results. On 26 March, Balao encountered the 880-ton cargo ship, Shinto Maru No. 1, and sank her with gunfire. A small Japanese patrol vessel made an attempt to counterattack, but Balao slipped below the surface and headed for Guam to replenish