The demise of Tang highlighted not just the torpedo problem, but also the inherent dangers of life as a submariner, the most obvious of which was living and working underwater in a high-pressure environment. If trapped, a submarine could quickly run out of options. The crew of USS Perch (SS-176), for instance, spent March 2, 1942, stuck at the bottom of the Java Sea as Japanese destroyers took turns dropping depth charges on her. The sub survived the teeth-jarring assault and surfaced. The next morning, Captain David Hurt ordered a test dive, which revealed nearly wrecked propulsion and electrical systems in addition to massive leaks and inoperable torpedo tubes. "So we had to resurface," Electrician's Mate Ernest Plantz said later, "and when we did, there was three Jap tin cans [destroyers] and two cruisers about three thousand, thirty-five hundred yards out ahead of us, and they started to fire.
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