19. Triton encountered diverse shipping as it traveled toward Lombok Strait
During World War II, the Lombok Strait was a major route used by Allied submarines operating out of Australia. One such was USS Bullhead, lost on August 6, 1945, just days before the war ended. Bullhead had been commanded by E.R. Holt, known as Skillet, an Annapolis classmate and close friend of Captain Beach. Triton passed directly over the position where Japanese records reported Bullhead had been sunk, and Beach noted the fact in his narrative. Shipping throughout the area was heavy and of many types, including Naval vessels and Coastal Patrol ships and boats. Triton made its way cautiously down the strait, aware of its mandate to remain undetected.
During the afternoon of April 5, Triton passed Bali, where periscope liberty was again granted. What conversation occurred between crewmen who waited in line to view the island can be surmised from Beach’s comment in the narrative, “incidentally, despite all argument, the song Bali Hi was not written about Bali”. Later that afternoon Triton entered the Indian Ocean, bound for the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of the African continent. On Sunday, April 10, Triton began a sealed-ship experiment, which proved one of the least popular evolutions of the entire voyage. The ship was scheduled to remain sealed, meaning it would not ventilate the air, for a period of two weeks. Oxygen was bled into the atmosphere from banks, and oxygen candles were burned.