She sighted several large ships protected by patrol craft in the harbor at Wotje. On 12 January, one of these stood out: Yawata, with four escorts. Pompano fired four Mark 14 torpedoes for two hits, and the target apparently broke up, disappearing from view. Five days later, when one of the patrol boats steamed out of the harbor, Pompano worked her way between him and the channel. Both torpedoes exploded prematurely (a constant problem for the Mark 6 exploder), foiling her first attack. Then, with the enemy charging directly for her, the submarine waited until her target was away before firing two more torpedoes "down the throat", the first attack of its kind by a United States submarine. The torpedoes missed, and the destroyer delivered an ineffective depth charging.
