At 0820 it was reported to the senior officer in the nest—Lieutenant Commander W.P. Burford, commanding the Monaghan—that the Dale was ready to get underway. While backing clear, a torpedo apparently aimed at the USS Raleigh passed under the bow of the Dale and exploded on Ford Island. At 0844 the Dale stopped while the Monaghan dropped depth charges against a Japanese submarine close aboard the starboard side of the USS Curtiss. The Dale then changed speed to 25 knots and proceeded out of harbor ahead of the Monaghan. Until the Dale neared the submarine net she did not come under the direct fire of the planes; apparently the Japanese wished to sink a ship in the entrance, blocking the harbor, as the Dale came under severe dive bombing and machine gun attacks near the entrance. Machine-gun fire from the ship served to keep the attackers from approaching too closely, although there were several close misses which caused no damage.