The Torpedo That Came Home: When the USS Tullibee Became Its Own Worst Enemy
The Weapon That Wouldn't Take Orders
Submarine warfare in World War II was already terrifying enough without having to worry about your own torpedoes turning against you. Yet on March 26, 1944, the crew of the USS Tullibee discovered that sometimes the most dangerous enemy isn't the one you're hunting—it's the weapon in your own torpedo room.
The Tullibee was stalking a Japanese convoy in the Pacific when it fired a spread of torpedoes at an enemy transport ship. What happened next defied every principle of naval warfare and created one of the most bizarre friendly-fire incidents in military history. One of the submarine's own torpedoes malfunctioned, ran in a complete circle, and struck the Tullibee with devastating effect.
Out of 80 crew members aboard, only one man survived to tell this incredible story.
The Technology That Turned Deadly
To understand how this maritime nightmare unfolded, you need to know about the Mark 14 torpedo—a weapon that was both revolutionary and deeply flawed. These torpedoes were designed to run straight and true toward their targets, guided by gyroscopes and powered by steam engines that could propel them at speeds up to 46 knots.
But the Mark 14 had a notorious problem: circular runs. When the torpedo's steering mechanism malfunctioned, the weapon would curve back toward its point of origin, essentially becoming a boomerang of destruction. The Navy was aware of this potentially catastrophic flaw, but the exigencies of war meant submarines continued using these unpredictable weapons.
Submarine crews had developed procedures to deal with circular runs, including emergency dives and evasive maneuvers. But these countermeasures only worked if the crew realized their torpedo had gone rogue—and if they had enough time to react.
The Night Everything Went Wrong
On that fateful March evening, the Tullibee was operating in waters north of Palau, part of the ongoing American offensive in the Pacific. Commander Charles Brindupke had positioned his submarine for an attack on a Japanese convoy, a routine operation that the crew had performed dozens of times before.
The attack began normally. The Tullibee fired a spread of torpedoes at what appeared to be a cargo vessel. The crew waited for the satisfying sound of explosions that would signal a successful hit. Instead, they got something far more terrifying: the sound of a torpedo engine growing louder instead of fainter.
Petty Officer Clifford Kuykendall, who was on watch topside, later described hearing the unmistakable whine of an approaching torpedo. In those final seconds, the crew realized their worst nightmare was coming true—one of their own weapons was bearing down on them.
The Sole Survivor's Story
Kuykendall was thrown clear when the torpedo struck the Tullibee amidships, breaking the submarine's back and causing it to sink rapidly. The explosion was so violent that the submarine's hull cracked like an eggshell, giving the crew no chance to escape through standard emergency procedures.
Floating alone in the dark Pacific, Kuykendall watched his ship and 79 shipmates disappear beneath the waves. He spent the next five hours in the water before being rescued by Japanese forces, beginning a harrowing period as a prisoner of war that would last until the end of the conflict.
Kuykendall's survival was nothing short of miraculous. Submarine sinkings typically left no survivors, especially when caused by torpedo explosions that could split a vessel in half within seconds. His position on deck when the torpedo struck was the only thing that saved his life.
The Investigation That Revealed the Truth
For months, the Navy couldn't determine what had happened to the Tullibee. The submarine had simply vanished during what should have been a routine patrol. It wasn't until Kuykendall was repatriated after the war that investigators learned the shocking truth about the submarine's fate.
Kuykendall's detailed account provided the missing pieces of the puzzle. He described the circular run, the impact, and the rapid sinking that gave the crew no time to send distress signals or activate emergency procedures. His testimony confirmed what Navy engineers had long feared: the Mark 14 torpedo's design flaws could turn a submarine into its own executioner.
A Flaw That Plagued the Fleet
The Tullibee's fate wasn't entirely unique. Several other submarines reported near-misses from their own circular-running torpedoes, and at least one other vessel, the USS Tang, was also sunk by its own weapon later in 1944. These incidents forced the Navy to accelerate improvements to torpedo design and implement stricter firing procedures.
The tragedy highlighted the dangerous reality of wartime weapons development. The pressure to deploy new technologies quickly sometimes meant accepting known risks rather than delaying deployment for additional testing. For submariners, this meant going to war with weapons that could be as dangerous to their own crews as to the enemy.
Remembering an Impossible Loss
The USS Tullibee's story serves as a sobering reminder that in warfare, danger can come from the most unexpected sources. The submarine's crew didn't die fighting the enemy—they became victims of their own technology's limitations.
Today, the Tullibee rests on the Pacific floor, a testament to the cruel irony of a weapon that turned against its users. Kuykendall's survival allowed this incredible story to be preserved, ensuring that the sacrifice of his shipmates wouldn't be forgotten and that future naval engineers would understand the full consequences of design flaws in weapons of war.
In the annals of military history, few stories are as paradoxically tragic and bizarre as that of the USS Tullibee—the submarine that discovered the hard way that sometimes your greatest enemy is yourself.