James F. Enright; His Submarine Sank Carrier

Capt. James F. Enright, 89, commander of the submarine Archerfish, which sank the Shinano, the largest aircraft carrier of World War II. The Archerfish, named for a freshwater fish found in Australia, was on surface patrol near the mouth of Tokyo Bay on Nov. 28, 1944, when its radar picked up what turned out to be a Japanese aircraft carrier and a destroyer escort several miles away. That carrier was the Shinano, which was on its maiden voyage sailing to Kure to pick up bombers and fighter planes to defend the Japanese islands. Japanese officials had ordered the Shinano to leave Tokyo suddenly to avoid the possibility of attack from American planes. Though the Shinano’s lookout spotted the Archerfish, the American submarine was able to pursue the carrier, which had been converted from a battleship after heavy Japanese carrier losses in the Battle of Midway. Early the next morning, the Archerfish fired six torpedoes from a distance of 1,400 yards. The Shinano was struck four times and sank. Enright was awarded the Navy Cross, the service’s second-highest award for valor. He retired from the Navy in 1963 and took a position helping to design navigational equipment at Northrop Corp. On Thursday in Fairfax, Va.