"Burden R. Hastings" then began to hunt a submarine. Opening her sonar search at 0344, she latched onto the contact at 0354, picking up a slow-moving submarine, distant. Following one fruitless hedgehog attack, "Burden R. Hastings" repeated the procedure after regaining contact. A heavy underwater explosion and a phosphorescent flash beneath the waves testified to the success of her second "hedgehog" run. The destroyer escort then passed over the submarine, and four depth charges splashed into her wake, drifting downward toward the target. Five seconds after the four charges exploded, a violent explosion rumbled up from the depths. The concussion knocked out "Burden R. Hastings"' gyro compass and caused other minor damage throughout the ship. Further searching failed to disclose any other contact. At sunrise, lookouts spotted debris and a "moderate" oil slick. "Burden R. Hastings" launched her motor whaleboat and its crew picked up wreckage. Characters on top of a small spare parts box indicated that her victim had been . Postwar examination of Japanese records corroborated the sinking of "RO-44". At 1900 on 16 June, "Burden R. Hastings" resumed her voyage to Pearl Harbor where she arrived on 22 June.