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USS Rasher (SS-269)
Encyclopedia
USS Rasher (SS/SSR/AGSS/IXSS-269), a , was a ship of the United States Navy
named for the rasher, a vermilion
-colored rockfish
or scorpionfish
found along the California
coast.
Rasher (SS-269), an attack submarine, was laid down 4 May 1942 by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.
, Manitowoc, Wisc.
; launched 20 December 1942; sponsored by Mrs. G. C. Weaver; and commissioned 8 June 1943, Comdr. E. S. Hutchinson in command. Admiral Charles A. Lockwood
had earlier relieved Hutchinson of command of Grampus
for lacking aggressiveness.
Following builder's trials in Lake Michigan
, Rasher was decommissioned and towed down the Mississippi
on a floating drydock. After recommissioning and fitting out in New Orleans
, the new submarine trained in the Bay of Panama, departed Balboa
8 August 1943, and arrived at Brisbane, Australia, on 11 September.
–Celebes Sea
area, and sank the passenger-cargo ship Kogane Maru in a submerged attack at dawn on 9 October. Four days later, off Ambon Harbor, she spotted a convoy of four merchantmen escorted by two destroyer
s and a "Pete
" seaplane
, fired two salvoes of three torpedo
es each, and crash dived to avoid the destroyers, and bombs from the scout plane. Freighter Kenkoku Maru broke up and sank, while the escorts struck back in a vigorous but vain counterattack.
On the afternoon of 31 October, while patrolling the shipping lanes off the Borneo
coast, Rasher commenced trailing tanker
Koryo Maru, but because of a patrolling float plane, was unable to attack until night. Rasher then surfaced, attacked and sent the tanker to the bottom after a thunderous explosion of exploding torpedoes and gasoline.
The submarine's next victim was tanker Tango Maru
which lost her stern to a spread of three torpedoes on the afternoon of 8 November. Rasher escaped the escorts by diving deep and silently slipping away. A midnight attack on a second convoy
off Mangkalihat resulted in a hit on a tanker, but vigorous countermeasures by enemy destroyers prevented any assessment of damage. Rasher escaped the enemy surface craft and, her torpedoes expended, headed home and arrived at Fremantle on 24 November.
Hutchinson had cleared his record on Grampus by conducting a remarkably aggressive patrol and was promoted to command a submarine division.
in the Atlantic. Following refit, Rasher commenced her second war patrol on 19 December 1943 and stalked Japan
ese shipping in the South China Sea
off Borneo. When she attacked a three-tanker convoy on the night of 4 January 1944, her first torpedo exploded prematurely. A wild melee ensued, with tankers scattering and escorts racing about, firing in all directions. Rasher was pursuing Hakko Maru when the tanker exploded from a torpedo from . Rasher fired at a second target while submerged, and heard the explosions rip into the tanker's hull, but was unable to confirm a sinking. She pursued the third tanker, firing a spread of four fish early in the morning of 5 January. A mushroom of fire arose as the last two torpedoes struck, and Kiyo Maru sank, leaving only an oil slick and scattered debris. During the patrol, Rasher planted mine
s off the approaches to Saigon harbor. Prematurely exploding torpedoes and vigilant escorts frustrated her attacks on convoys on 11 January and 17 January. A week later she returned to Fremantle.
–Celebes Sea area. On 25 February she attacked a Japanese convoy off Bali
, and sank cargo ships Tango Maru
, killing 3,500 Javanese laborers and POW's and Ryusei Maru
, killing 5,000 Japanese soldiers. Then, after transiting Makassar Strait into the Celebes Sea, she destroyed cargo ship Nattai Maru on 3 March. En route home, she met Nichinan Maru on 27 March, and sank the 2,750-ton freighter as well.
Rasher returned to Makassar Strait-Celebes Sea area for her fourth patrol, from 30 April to 23 June. On 11 May, she torpedoed and sank the freighter Choi Maru. Next to go down were the converted gunboat Anshu Maru on 29 May and the tanker Shioya Maru in the Celebes Sea off Manado
8 June. Six days later, the cargo ship Koan Maru went to the bottom, after taking a spread of torpedoes aft and capsizing.
.
Thirty miles south of Scarborough Shoal
at 2255 5 August, Rasher launched a spread of six bow torpedoes at the largest ship in a three-ship convoy. Diving to avoid being rammed, Rashers crew counted five hits and heard the sounds of a ship breaking up as the army cargo ship Shiroganesan Maru went down.
Rasher observed nine successive aircraft contacts to the north on the afternoon of 18 August and deduced these were air patrols for an important convoy. That dark, rainy night Rashers radar picked up a 13 knots (25.5 km/h) convoy of thirteen ships protected by six escorts. After a surfaced approach to 2800 yards (2,560.3 m), two stern torpedoes were launched at Teiyo Maru at 2122. Both torpedoes hit; and the tanker loaded with gasoline exploded into a column of flame 1000 feet (304.8 m) high, with parts of the ship being blown 500 yards (457.2 m) from the flaming hulk. The escorts fired wildly and laid depth charge
patterns astern of Rasher. In a second surfaced approach to 3300 yards (3,017.5 m) Rasher launched a spread of six bow torpedoes. Three torpedoes hit and sank the 17,000 ton transport Teia Maru and a fourth torpedo was heard exploding at a timed range of 3900 yards. Rasher swung hard left to launch four stern torpedoes at 2214. Three torpedoes hit and sank the 20,000 ton carrier
, and the fourth torpedo was heard exploding on a more distant ship.
Rasher pulled away to reload torpedo tubes and the convoy split into two groups. Rasher followed the group moving northwest while Bluefish intercepted the remaining ships continuing southwesterly and sank two tankers. Rasher launched four bow torpedoes at a range of 2200 yards (2,011.7 m), and three hits on the cargo-transport Eishin Maru caused an ammunition detonation with the pressure wave sweeping over the submarine's bridge. The fourth torpedo was heard exploding on a more distant ship. Rasher then swung hard right to launch two stern torpedoes. Both torpedoes hit and Noshiro Maru slowed to 5 knots (9.8 km/h) and reversed course. joined the wolfpack and scored hits on two of the surviving transports.
Rasher counted sixteen detonations from the eighteen torpedoes fired on 18 August and five detonations for the six fired on 5 August. With all torpedoes expended, Rasher set course for Midway
. Munson was called into a secret conference at Midway to compare his observations with decrypted Japanese message traffic. Postwar accounting verified Rasher had sunk the highest tonnage of any World War II U.S. submarine patrol to that date. That record would be exceeded only once, when Archerfish
sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano
three months later. Rasher proceeded to San Francisco
via Hawaii
for overhaul at Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard on 11 September. She was given a new 5-inch deck gun, ST radar, and many other upgrades.
. Rasher attacked a pair of ships on 15 February but missed, and approached a convoy the next day but was unable to get in position to attack. A later attack on another convoy also ended in misses. No other suitable targets were found, only small patrol craft, hospital ships, and ubiquitous patrol aircraft. The patrol ended on 16 March 1945 at Guam
.
Charles Derick Nace replaced Adams for the seventh and eighth patrols. Rasher's seventh patrol, 17 April to 29 May 1945, was little more rewarding than the sixth. On lifeguard station off Honshū
, she riddled two small craft with gunfire. No aircraft came down in her area, and she returned to Midway on 29 May.
Rasher departed Midway 23 June 1945 to take lifeguard station off southern Formosa
. No Allied planes were downed in her area before orders arrived to proceed to the Gulf of Siam. While she was en route the war ended, and Rasher returned to the Philippines
. She departed Subic Bay
on 31 August arriving New York on 6 October, via Pearl Harbor and the Panama Canal
. Following deactivation overhaul, she was decommissioned 22 June 1946 and was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at New London, Connecticut
.
14 December 1951, Lt. V. D. Ely in command. After being reclassified as a radar picket submarine, SSR-269 she commenced conversion which continued after she decommissioned 28 May 1952. After extensive hull and interior alterations at Philadelphia Navy Yard, she was recommissioned 22 July 1953, Lt. Comdr. R. W. Stecher in command. She departed New London on 12 November, arriving San Diego 17 December via Guantanamo Bay
and the Panama Canal.
The following 2 years were spent off the west coast in operations from Washington to Acapulco
. On 4 January 1956, she deployed to the 7th Fleet
, where she operated with U.S. and SEATO naval units. She returned to San Diego 3 July 1956. Prior to and following a second WestPac deployment from 4 March to 4 September 1958, SSR-269 served in Fleet exercises as an early warning ship, and in ASW
training operations.
On 28 December 1959, Rasher departed the continental United States for the Far East. While attached to the 7th Fleet, she participated in exercise "Blue Star", a large-scale American-Nationalist Chinese amphibious exercise. In May 1960, she took part in the Black Ship Festival at Shimoda, Japan
, commemorating Commodore Matthew C. Perry's landing. She returned to San Diego on 20 June 1960.
. Involved in maintaining fleet readiness until mid-August 1962 when she deployed to WestPac, Rasher continued to exhibit her usual high standards of performance. She returned to San Diego on 15 February 1963, and was overhauled that summer.
During the next year, AGSS-269 was engaged in strike exercises involving other American and Canadian
ships. Her next deployment, beginning on 3 August 1964, involved support of 7th Fleet operations off Vietnam
, as well as ASW exercises with SEATO allies.
After returning to San Diego on 5 February 1965, she had ASW and amphibious training. Her next WestPac deployment, from 3 January to 17 July 1966, included amphibious and ASW training support for Republic of Korea, Nationalist Chinese
, and Thai
units, as well as operations with the 7th Fleet off Vietnam.
Rasher spent the remainder of her commissioned career providing training services off the coast of California to UDT and ASW
units. She was decommissioned 27 May 1967, and later was reclassified "unclassified miscellaneous submarine" IXSS-269, was towed to Portland, Oreg.
, where she served as a training submarine for Naval reservists until struck from the Navy List
, 20 December 1971.
Rasher was credited with sinking 99,901 tons of Japanese shipping, the second highest total for US submarines in World War II. However, a Japanese destroyer credited as sunk by sister ship USS Flasher (SS-249)
is given a name that never existed and may have been a case of mistaken identity. If the tonnage credited for this ship is removed from the record of Flasher, then "Rasher" becomes the highest scoring US submarine for tonnage. ( has the highest total in credited sunk hulls.) She was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation
for outstanding performance in combat during World War II
patrols 1, 3, 4, and 5. She received seven battle stars in World War II service, and two battle stars for service off Vietnam.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
named for the rasher, a vermilion
Vermilion
Vermilion is an opaque orangish red pigment, similar to scarlet. As a naturally occurring mineral pigment, it is known as cinnabar, and was in use around the world before the Common Era began. Most naturally produced vermilion comes from cinnabar mined in China, and vermilion is nowadays commonly...
-colored rockfish
Sebastidae
Sebastidae is a family of marine fish in the order Scorpaeniformes. Their common names include rockfishes, thornyheads and rockcods. Despite the latter name, they are not closely related to the cods in the genus Gadus, nor the rock cod, Lotella rhacina.Not all authorities recognise this family as...
or scorpionfish
Scorpionfish
Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfish, are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As the name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venomous mucus. The family is a large one, with hundreds of members. They are...
found along the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
coast.
Rasher (SS-269), an attack submarine, was laid down 4 May 1942 by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, was a major shipbuilder for the Great Lakes. It was founded in 1902, and made mainly steel ferries and ore haulers. During World War II, it built submarines, tank landing craft , and self-propelled fuel barges called "YOs". Employment...
, Manitowoc, Wisc.
Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Manitowoc is a city in and the county seat of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2000 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,053, with over 50,000 residents in the surrounding communities...
; launched 20 December 1942; sponsored by Mrs. G. C. Weaver; and commissioned 8 June 1943, Comdr. E. S. Hutchinson in command. Admiral Charles A. Lockwood
Charles A. Lockwood
Charles Andrews Lockwood was an admiral of the United States Navy. He is known in submarine history as the legendary commander of Submarine Force Pacific Fleet during World War II...
had earlier relieved Hutchinson of command of Grampus
USS Grampus (SS-207)
USS Grampus , a Tambor-class submarine, was the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for a member of the dolphin family : Grampus griseus, also known as Risso's dolphin....
for lacking aggressiveness.
Following builder's trials in Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
, Rasher was decommissioned and towed down the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
on a floating drydock. After recommissioning and fitting out in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, the new submarine trained in the Bay of Panama, departed Balboa
Balboa, Panama
Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.- History :The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the construction of the Panama Canal, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador credited with discovering the Pacific Ocean...
8 August 1943, and arrived at Brisbane, Australia, on 11 September.
First war patrol, September – November 1943
On her first war patrol, 24 September through 24 November 1943, Rasher operated in the Makassar StraitMakassar Strait
Makassar Strait is a strait between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi in Indonesia. To the north it joins the Celebes Sea, while to the south it meets the Java Sea.The Mahakam River of Borneo empties into the strait....
–Celebes Sea
Celebes Sea
The Celebes Sea of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawesi, and on the west by Kalimantan in Indonesia...
area, and sank the passenger-cargo ship Kogane Maru in a submerged attack at dawn on 9 October. Four days later, off Ambon Harbor, she spotted a convoy of four merchantmen escorted by two destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s and a "Pete
Mitsubishi F1M
-See also:-Bibliography:* Francillon, R.J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London:Putnam, 1970. ISBN 370 00033 1.* Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Six: Floatplanes. London: Macdonald & Co., Ltd., 1962....
" seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
, fired two salvoes of three torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es each, and crash dived to avoid the destroyers, and bombs from the scout plane. Freighter Kenkoku Maru broke up and sank, while the escorts struck back in a vigorous but vain counterattack.
On the afternoon of 31 October, while patrolling the shipping lanes off the Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
coast, Rasher commenced trailing tanker
Tanker (ship)
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
Koryo Maru, but because of a patrolling float plane, was unable to attack until night. Rasher then surfaced, attacked and sent the tanker to the bottom after a thunderous explosion of exploding torpedoes and gasoline.
The submarine's next victim was tanker Tango Maru
Tango Maru
On February 25, 1944, the 6,200 ton cargo vessel Tango Maru, crammed with 3,500 Javanese labourers and hundreds of Allied POWs, was traveling between Java and Ambon. The American submarine USS Rasher sank the ship with three torpedo hits...
which lost her stern to a spread of three torpedoes on the afternoon of 8 November. Rasher escaped the escorts by diving deep and silently slipping away. A midnight attack on a second convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
off Mangkalihat resulted in a hit on a tanker, but vigorous countermeasures by enemy destroyers prevented any assessment of damage. Rasher escaped the enemy surface craft and, her torpedoes expended, headed home and arrived at Fremantle on 24 November.
Hutchinson had cleared his record on Grampus by conducting a remarkably aggressive patrol and was promoted to command a submarine division.
Second war patrol, December 1943 – January 1944
Command of Rasher was given to Willard Ross Laughon, former commanding officer of R-1USS R-1 (SS-78)
USS R-1 was the lead ship of the R-class coastal and harbor defense submarines of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down on 16 October 1917 by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 24 August 1918 sponsored by Mrs. George W...
in the Atlantic. Following refit, Rasher commenced her second war patrol on 19 December 1943 and stalked Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese shipping in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
off Borneo. When she attacked a three-tanker convoy on the night of 4 January 1944, her first torpedo exploded prematurely. A wild melee ensued, with tankers scattering and escorts racing about, firing in all directions. Rasher was pursuing Hakko Maru when the tanker exploded from a torpedo from . Rasher fired at a second target while submerged, and heard the explosions rip into the tanker's hull, but was unable to confirm a sinking. She pursued the third tanker, firing a spread of four fish early in the morning of 5 January. A mushroom of fire arose as the last two torpedoes struck, and Kiyo Maru sank, leaving only an oil slick and scattered debris. During the patrol, Rasher planted mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
s off the approaches to Saigon harbor. Prematurely exploding torpedoes and vigilant escorts frustrated her attacks on convoys on 11 January and 17 January. A week later she returned to Fremantle.
Third and fourth war patrols, February – June 1944
Rashers third war patrol from 19 February to 4 April 1944, was conducted in the JavaJava Sea
The Java Sea is a large shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf. It was formed as sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age. The Java Sea lies between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south; Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east...
–Celebes Sea area. On 25 February she attacked a Japanese convoy off Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, and sank cargo ships Tango Maru
Tango Maru
On February 25, 1944, the 6,200 ton cargo vessel Tango Maru, crammed with 3,500 Javanese labourers and hundreds of Allied POWs, was traveling between Java and Ambon. The American submarine USS Rasher sank the ship with three torpedo hits...
, killing 3,500 Javanese laborers and POW's and Ryusei Maru
Ryusei Maru
The Ryusei Maru was a Japanese transport ship that was sunk by the USS Rasher on February 25, 1944. Nearly 5,000 lives were lost.On the same day USS Rasher also sank the Tango Maru, killing some 3,500 Javanese laborers and POW's....
, killing 5,000 Japanese soldiers. Then, after transiting Makassar Strait into the Celebes Sea, she destroyed cargo ship Nattai Maru on 3 March. En route home, she met Nichinan Maru on 27 March, and sank the 2,750-ton freighter as well.
Rasher returned to Makassar Strait-Celebes Sea area for her fourth patrol, from 30 April to 23 June. On 11 May, she torpedoed and sank the freighter Choi Maru. Next to go down were the converted gunboat Anshu Maru on 29 May and the tanker Shioya Maru in the Celebes Sea off Manado
Manado
Manado is the capital of the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia. Manado is located at the Bay of Manado, and is surrounded by a mountainous area. The city has about 405,715 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar...
8 June. Six days later, the cargo ship Koan Maru went to the bottom, after taking a spread of torpedoes aft and capsizing.
Fifth war patrol, 22 July – 3 September 1944
Commander Henry G. Munson relieved Commander Laughon as commanding officer of Rasher. Rashers fifth patrol was spent largely with in the South China Sea west of LuzonLuzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
.
Thirty miles south of Scarborough Shoal
Scarborough Shoal
Scarborough Shoal or Scarborough Reef , more correctly described as a group of islands and reefs in an atoll shape than a shoal, is located between the Macclesfield Bank and Luzon, Philippines in the South China Sea. As with most of the landforms in this sea, the sovereignty of the area is disputed...
at 2255 5 August, Rasher launched a spread of six bow torpedoes at the largest ship in a three-ship convoy. Diving to avoid being rammed, Rashers crew counted five hits and heard the sounds of a ship breaking up as the army cargo ship Shiroganesan Maru went down.
Rasher observed nine successive aircraft contacts to the north on the afternoon of 18 August and deduced these were air patrols for an important convoy. That dark, rainy night Rashers radar picked up a 13 knots (25.5 km/h) convoy of thirteen ships protected by six escorts. After a surfaced approach to 2800 yards (2,560.3 m), two stern torpedoes were launched at Teiyo Maru at 2122. Both torpedoes hit; and the tanker loaded with gasoline exploded into a column of flame 1000 feet (304.8 m) high, with parts of the ship being blown 500 yards (457.2 m) from the flaming hulk. The escorts fired wildly and laid depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
patterns astern of Rasher. In a second surfaced approach to 3300 yards (3,017.5 m) Rasher launched a spread of six bow torpedoes. Three torpedoes hit and sank the 17,000 ton transport Teia Maru and a fourth torpedo was heard exploding at a timed range of 3900 yards. Rasher swung hard left to launch four stern torpedoes at 2214. Three torpedoes hit and sank the 20,000 ton carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
, and the fourth torpedo was heard exploding on a more distant ship.
Rasher pulled away to reload torpedo tubes and the convoy split into two groups. Rasher followed the group moving northwest while Bluefish intercepted the remaining ships continuing southwesterly and sank two tankers. Rasher launched four bow torpedoes at a range of 2200 yards (2,011.7 m), and three hits on the cargo-transport Eishin Maru caused an ammunition detonation with the pressure wave sweeping over the submarine's bridge. The fourth torpedo was heard exploding on a more distant ship. Rasher then swung hard right to launch two stern torpedoes. Both torpedoes hit and Noshiro Maru slowed to 5 knots (9.8 km/h) and reversed course. joined the wolfpack and scored hits on two of the surviving transports.
Rasher counted sixteen detonations from the eighteen torpedoes fired on 18 August and five detonations for the six fired on 5 August. With all torpedoes expended, Rasher set course for Midway
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
. Munson was called into a secret conference at Midway to compare his observations with decrypted Japanese message traffic. Postwar accounting verified Rasher had sunk the highest tonnage of any World War II U.S. submarine patrol to that date. That record would be exceeded only once, when Archerfish
USS Archerfish (SS-311)
USS Archer-Fish was a Balao-class submarine. She was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the archerfish, a family of fish notable for its ability to project a powerful spout of water at its insect prey...
sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano
Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano
named after the ancient Shinano Province, was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Initially laid down as the third of the battleships, Shinano′s partially complete hull was converted to an aircraft carrier in 1942, midway through construction. Over the next two...
three months later. Rasher proceeded to San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
via Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
for overhaul at Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard on 11 September. She was given a new 5-inch deck gun, ST radar, and many other upgrades.
Sixth, seventh, and eighth war patrols, January – August 1945
Benjamin Ernest Adams Jr. replaced Munson for the sixth war patrol. Rasher departed San Francisco on 20 December 1944, arriving at Midway via Pearl Harbor in early January 1945. Her sixth patrol, as a unit of a wolfpack with and , commenced on 29 January, and was conducted in the southern sector of the East China SeaEast China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
. Rasher attacked a pair of ships on 15 February but missed, and approached a convoy the next day but was unable to get in position to attack. A later attack on another convoy also ended in misses. No other suitable targets were found, only small patrol craft, hospital ships, and ubiquitous patrol aircraft. The patrol ended on 16 March 1945 at Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
.
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
, she riddled two small craft with gunfire. No aircraft came down in her area, and she returned to Midway on 29 May.
Rasher departed Midway 23 June 1945 to take lifeguard station off southern Formosa
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. No Allied planes were downed in her area before orders arrived to proceed to the Gulf of Siam. While she was en route the war ended, and Rasher returned to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. She departed Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
on 31 August arriving New York on 6 October, via Pearl Harbor and the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. Following deactivation overhaul, she was decommissioned 22 June 1946 and was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at New London, Connecticut
Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, the "Home of the Submarine Force", and "the Submarine Capital of the World".-History:...
.
Service as radar picket submarine, 1953 – 1960
She was placed in commission in reserve at Philadelphia Naval ShipyardPhiladelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
14 December 1951, Lt. V. D. Ely in command. After being reclassified as a radar picket submarine, SSR-269 she commenced conversion which continued after she decommissioned 28 May 1952. After extensive hull and interior alterations at Philadelphia Navy Yard, she was recommissioned 22 July 1953, Lt. Comdr. R. W. Stecher in command. She departed New London on 12 November, arriving San Diego 17 December via Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
and the Panama Canal.
The following 2 years were spent off the west coast in operations from Washington to Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
. On 4 January 1956, she deployed to the 7th Fleet
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where she operated with U.S. and SEATO naval units. She returned to San Diego 3 July 1956. Prior to and following a second WestPac deployment from 4 March to 4 September 1958, SSR-269 served in Fleet exercises as an early warning ship, and in ASW
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
training operations.
On 28 December 1959, Rasher departed the continental United States for the Far East. While attached to the 7th Fleet, she participated in exercise "Blue Star", a large-scale American-Nationalist Chinese amphibious exercise. In May 1960, she took part in the Black Ship Festival at Shimoda, Japan
Shimoda, Shizuoka
is a city and port in Shizuoka, Japan.As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 25,054 and a population density of 242 persons per square kilometer...
, commemorating Commodore Matthew C. Perry's landing. She returned to San Diego on 20 June 1960.
Vietnam War service
Rasher was reclassified as an auxiliary submarine, AGSS-269, on 1 July 1960, with conversion being accomplished at Mare Island Naval ShipyardMare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
. Involved in maintaining fleet readiness until mid-August 1962 when she deployed to WestPac, Rasher continued to exhibit her usual high standards of performance. She returned to San Diego on 15 February 1963, and was overhauled that summer.
During the next year, AGSS-269 was engaged in strike exercises involving other American and Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
ships. Her next deployment, beginning on 3 August 1964, involved support of 7th Fleet operations off Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, as well as ASW exercises with SEATO allies.
After returning to San Diego on 5 February 1965, she had ASW and amphibious training. Her next WestPac deployment, from 3 January to 17 July 1966, included amphibious and ASW training support for Republic of Korea, Nationalist Chinese
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
units, as well as operations with the 7th Fleet off Vietnam.
Rasher spent the remainder of her commissioned career providing training services off the coast of California to UDT and ASW
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
units. She was decommissioned 27 May 1967, and later was reclassified "unclassified miscellaneous submarine" IXSS-269, was towed to Portland, Oreg.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, where she served as a training submarine for Naval reservists until struck from the Navy List
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
, 20 December 1971.
Rasher was credited with sinking 99,901 tons of Japanese shipping, the second highest total for US submarines in World War II. However, a Japanese destroyer credited as sunk by sister ship USS Flasher (SS-249)
USS Flasher (SS-249)
USS Flasher was a Gato-class submarine which served in the Pacific during World War II. She received three Presidential Unit Citations and six battle stars, and sank 21 ships for a total of 100,231 tons of Japanese shipping....
is given a name that never existed and may have been a case of mistaken identity. If the tonnage credited for this ship is removed from the record of Flasher, then "Rasher" becomes the highest scoring US submarine for tonnage. ( has the highest total in credited sunk hulls.) She was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation
Presidential Unit Citation (US)
The Presidential Unit Citation, originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and allies for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy on or after 7 December 1941...
for outstanding performance in combat during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
patrols 1, 3, 4, and 5. She received seven battle stars in World War II service, and two battle stars for service off Vietnam.
Additional reading
- Sasgen, Peter. 1995. Red Scorpion: The War Patrols of the USS Rasher. Pocket Star Books. ISBN 0-7434-8910-1 (The author's father served on all eight of the Rasher's patrols during World War II)