A group of three boats—comprising USS Bergall SS-320 6 , USS Blower SS-325 2 and USS Guitarro SS-363 2 —was deployed along its route, and Bergall sighted the Japanese ships at 12:30 p.m. The submarine was submerged at the time and attempted to maneuver into a firing position, but could not get any closer to the ships than 4800 yards .