forward, reload capability slowly improved. On 29 August 1942, S-32 was off Amchitka to check for Japanese shipping in sheltered areas on Amchitka's north coast. On 31 August 1942, she headed east to cover the Allied occupation of Adak Island. On 14 September 1942, she returned to the junction of Rat Island and Amchitka, where she continued her patrol for another six days. On 20 September 1942, she headed for Dutch Harbor, which she reached on 23 September 1942. Fifth war patrol S-32 departed Dutch Harbor on 8 October 1942 to begin her fifth war patrol. During a trim dive, her crew discovered a fuel shortfall of about caused by the presence of water in the line during fueling at Dutch Harbor. As a result, she ran out of reserve fuel in the number three main ballast tank on 12 October 1942, but she nonetheless continued west to a patrol area in the Kuril Islands. On 17 October 1942, S-32 arrived off Paramushiro at the northern end of the Kurils, and that evening she took up station off the southeast coast of the island to patrol the entrances to Musashi Bay and Onekotan Strait. On the morning of 18 October 1942, she sighted two ships at anchor in Musashi Bay, and, after a periscope check disclosed no other ships in the area, she began working her way to an attack position west or southwest of the ships. Moving slowly through the calm and poorly charted bay with only short and infrequent periscope exposures, she went up for a final check at 10:23. While looking, she struck an uncharted sand bar. S-32, her torpedo tubes ready for firing, angled up 10 degrees. Her depth gauge showed . During the next few seconds she slid over the bar, apparently showing her periscope shears, bow, and possibly her whole bridge structure above water; then, over the bar, she took a down angle at high speed. At 10:25, she fired two torpedoes set to run at a depth of at each of the ships. On firing the fourth and final torpedo, she changed course and maneuvered at high speed toward the open sea. Her crew heard two explosions as she cleared the immediate area. At 10:45, S-32 came to periscope depth to observe the damage. One of the ships was afire amidships and had settled somewhat; she was anchored in shallow water and might