USS Flasher (SS-249)

USS "Flasher" (SS-249) 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 record total of 100,231 tons of Japanese shipping, the only U.S. submarine to exceed the 100,000 ton mark and the USN's top scorer of the Pacific War.

'She was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the flasher. "Flasher" (was launched 20 June 1943 by Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn.; sponsored by Mrs. W. A. Saunders; and commissioned 25 September 1943, Lieutenant Commander Reuben T. Whitaker in command.

First and second war patrols, January – May 1944

"Flasher" arrived at Pearl Harbor from New London 15 December 1943 to prepare for her first war patrol, for which she sailed 6 January 1944. Bound for her patrol area off Mindoro, she sank her first target 18 January, sending a 2,900-ton former gunboat to the bottom. Adding to what would be the greatest total of enemy tonnage credited to an American submarine in World War II, she sank a freighter off Manila 5 February, and sank two cargo ships of the same convoy on 14 February. "Flasher" arrived at Fremantle, Australia 29 February to refit. The 2 vessels sunk February 14, 1944 were the "Minryo Maru" and the "Hokuan Maru". See [http://www.valoratsea.com/JANAC3.htm] . Incidentally one source credits USS|Tautog|SS-199 with sinking "Hokuan Maru" on October 27, 1942.

Action-bound once more, the submarine departed Fremantle 4 April 1944 for the coast of French Indochina on her second war patrol. On 29 April she contacted the river gunboat "Tahure" guarding a freighter off Hon Doi Islands, and sank both. After sinking a large cargo ship in the Sulu Sea 3 May, "Flasher" shaped course for Fremantle, arriving 28 May for refit until 19 June.

Third and fourth war patrols, June – October 1944

"Flasher" made her third war patrol in the South China Sea, where on 28 June 1944 she contacted a heavily escorted convoy of 13 ships. She made a cautious approach, undeterred by the escort, and shortly after midnight 29 June, broke into the convoy to sink a freighter and badly damage a large passenger cargo ship. Her next victim was a freighter, sunk 7 July. Twelve days later, "Flasher" sighted cruiser "Oi" escorted by a destroyer. Two attacks, each followed by a heavy depth charge retaliation from the destroyer, sufficed to sink the cruiser, a fact confirmed several hours later when a periscope observation revealed only the destroyer in sight. Seven days later, she sank another important target, a merchant tanker, and the same day damaged another tanker later sunk by one of her sisters. With all her torpedoes gone, "Flasher" put back for Fremantle, where she replenished and refitted between 7 August and 30 August.

During her fourth war patrol, in the Philippines, "Flasher" headed a coordinated attack group which included two other submarines, USS|Hawkbill|SS-366|2 and USS|Becuna|SS-319|2. Although she was on lifeguard station during the air attacks preliminary to the invasion of the Philippines during part of this patrol, "Flasher" sank three ships, a former light cruiser on 18 September, a transport on 27 September, and a cargo ship on 4 October. She returned to Fremantle 20 October.

Fifth and sixth war patrols, November 1944 – April 1945

Heading the same attack group, "Flasher" now commanded by Lieutenant Commander G. W. Grider, sailed on her fifth war patrol 15 November 1944, bound for Camranh Bay. On 4 December one of her companions reported a tanker convoy, and "Flasher" set a course which would bring her to the target. As she made her approach in a heavy downpour, a destroyer suddenly loomed up before her, and "Flasher" launched her first spread of torpedoes at this escort. The destroyer was stopped by two hits, and began listing and smoking heavily. "Flasher" got a spread of torpedoes away at a tanker before she was forced deep by a second destroyer, which dropped 16 depth charges. Rising to periscope depth, "Flasher" located the tanker burning and covered by yet a third destroyer. Speedily reloading, she prepared to sink the destroyer and finish off the tanker, and though almost blinded by rainsqualls, she did just this with a salvo of four torpedoes, two of which hit the destroyer, and two of which passed beneath her as planned to hit the tanker. Once more, counter-attack forced "Flasher" down, and when she surfaced she found no trace of the two damaged destroyers. The tanker, blazing away, was still guarded by three escorts until abandoned at sunset, when "Flasher" sank her with one torpedo. The two destroyers, both found after the war to have been sunk, were "Kishinami" and "Iwanami" (However, the destroyer, "Iwanami" did not exist. "Flasher"'s war patrol reported that her count of destroyers may have been inaccurate, but this seems to have been ignored, and it is likely that "Flasher" actually finished off previously crippled "Kishinami" and did not hit any other destroyer. If "Flasher" has the non-existent sclass|Kagero|destroyer|1 — on the basis of tonnage credited for "Iwanami" — subtracted from her credits, and no change is made to other ships, her sister USS|Rasher|SS-269|2 becomes the top-scoring US submarine in WWII in terms of tonnage.)Fact|date=December 2007

"Flasher" contacted another well-guarded tanker convoy on the morning of 21 December 1944, and she began a long chase, getting into position to attack from the unguarded shoreward side. In rapid succession, "Flasher" attacked and sank three of the tankers, receiving no counter-attack since the enemy apparently believed he had stumbled into a minefield. One of these tankers was the largest she sank during the war, the other two, of the same displacement, were tied for third-largest.

Refitting at Fremantle once more between 2 January and 29 January 1945, "Flasher" made her sixth war patrol on the coast of Indochina. Contacts were few, but on 21 February she sank a sea truck by surface gunfire, and 4 days later sank a cargo ship with torpedoes. She completed her patrol upon her arrival at Pearl Harbor 3 April 1945, and sailed a few days later for a west coast overhaul.

Post-war

Bound for Guam on a seventh war patrol at the close of the war, "Flasher" was ordered back to New London, where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve 16 March 1946, attached to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On 1 June 1959 the "Flasher" was struck from the Naval Vessel Register. She was sold for scrap on 1 June 1963. Her conning tower was removed and placed on display as a memorial at the entrance to Nautilus Park, a Navy housing area in Groton, Connecticut.

Awards

"Flasher" received the Presidential Unit Citation for her brilliantly successful third, fourth, and fifth war patrols. For her six war patrols, each designated "Successful", she received six battle stars. She is credited with having sunk a total of 100,231 tons of Japanese shipping, the only submarine exceeding the 100,000 ton mark.

References

*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/f2/flasher.htm

External links

* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08249.htm navsource.org: USS "Flasher"]
* [http://www.rddesigns.com/249.html Sinkings by boat: USS "Flasher"]