View source for Engineering:USS Flasher (SS-249)

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{other ships|USS Flasher}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{coord|41.3626461|-72.0834536|display=title}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[Image:USS Flasher;0824904.jpg|300px|''Flasher'' (SS-249) underway, c. 1944.]]
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1946}}
|Ship name=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book
  | last = Friedman
  | first = Norman
  | title = U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
  | publisher = United States Naval Institute
  | year=  1995
  | location = Annapolis, Maryland
  | pages = 285–304
  | url =
  | doi =
  | isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
|Ship laid down=30 September 1942<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=20 June 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Sponsored by=Mrs. W. A. Saunders
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=25 September 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=16 March 1946<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 June 1959<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap 8 June 1963, [[Engineering:Conning tower|conning tower]] is a memorial at Groton, Connecticut<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Engineering:Gato-class submarine|''Gato''-class]] diesel-electric [[Engineering:Submarine|submarine]]<ref name="Register">{{cite book
  | last = Bauer
  | first = K. Jack
  |author2=Roberts, Stephen S.
   | title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants
  | publisher = Greenwood Press
  | year=  1991
  | location = Westport, Connecticut
  | pages = 271–273
  | url =
  | doi =
  | isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
|Ship displacement=*1,525&nbsp;[[Long ton|ton]]s (1,549&nbsp;[[Tonne|t]]) surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*2,424&nbsp;tons (2,460&nbsp;t) submerged<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|9|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|0|in|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship speed=*21 knots (39 km/h) surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref>
*{{convert|9|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range=11,000&nbsp;[[Nautical mile|nmi]] (20,000&nbsp;km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h|0}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|300|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=6 officers, 54 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Flasher'' (SS-249)''' was a [[Engineering:Gato-class submarine|''Gato''-class]] [[Engineering:Submarine|submarine]] which served in the Pacific during [[Social:World War II|World War II]]. She received the Presidential Unit Citation and six battle stars, and sank 21 ships for a total of 100,231&nbsp;tons of Japanese shipping, making her one of the most successful American submarines of the War. She was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the [[Biology:Atlantic tripletail|flasher]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''Flasher''′s [[Engineering:Keel|keel]] was laid down 30 September 1942 by Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut. She was [[Engineering:Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 20 June 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Eleanor Saunders — wife of Lieutenant Commander Willard Saunders, commanding officer of the submarine {{USS|Muskallunge}} — 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 [[Engineering:Gunboat|gunboat]] ''Yoshida Maru'' to the bottom. Adding to what would be the greatest total of enemy tonnage credited to an American submarine in [[Social:World War II|World War II]], she sank the freighter Taishin Maru(1,723 tons) off [[Place:Manila|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 14 February 1944 were the ''Minryo Maru''(1,679 tons) and the ''Hokuan Maru''(3,712 tons). See [http://www.valoratsea.com/JANAC3.htm]. (The ''Hokuan Maru'' probably rammed and sunk the {{USS|Grayling|SS-209|2}} 9 September 1943.)

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 French aviso ''Tahure'' guarding a freighter (''Song Giang Maru'', 1065 grt) off the Hon Doi Islands, and sank both. After sinking a large cargo ship (Teisen Maru) in the Sulu Sea 9 May, ''Flasher'' set 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 (Nippo Maru 6,079 tons) and badly damage a large passenger cargo ship. Her next victim was a freighter (Koto Maru 3,557 tons), sunk 7 July. Twelve days later, ''Flasher'' sighted [[Engineering:Cruiser|cruiser]] ''Ōi'' escorted by a [[Engineering:Destroyer|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 [[Physics:Periscope|periscope]] observation revealed only the destroyer in sight. Seven days later, she sank another important target, a merchant [[Engineering:Tanker (ship)|tanker]] (Otoriyama Maru 5,280 tons), and the same day damaged another tanker (Tosan Maru) 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.
[[File:IJN Oi in 1923 at Kure.jpg|thumb|left| The ''Ōi'' in 1923]]
[[Image:USS Flasher;0824909.jpg|thumb|left|''Flasher'' (SS-249) underway, c. 1944.]]
During her fourth war patrol, in the {{wipe|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 (Saigon Maru 5,350 tons) on 18 September, a transport and hospital ship(Ural Maru 6,374 tons) on 27 September, and a cargo ship (Taibin Maru 6,886 tons) on 4 October. She returned to Fremantle 20 October.

== Fifth and sixth war patrols, November 1944 – April 1945 ==

Lieutenant Commander George W. Grider took command of ''Flasher'' on 31 October 1944.<<ref>{{cite web |url=https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/2995.html |title = Flasher (SS-249) of the US Navy - American Submarine of the Gato class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net}}</ref> Heading the same attack group, ''Flasher'' departed on her fifth war patrol 15 November 1944, bound for Cam Ranh Bay. On 4 December one of her companions reported a tanker convoy, and ''Flasher'' set a converging course. 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 (Kishinami) 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 so with a salvo of four torpedoes, two of which hit the destroyer (Iwanami), and two of which passed beneath her, as planned, to hit the tanker (Hakko Maru 10,022 tons). 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''.<ref group=n>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.</ref>

''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 (Omurosan Maru 9,204 tons, Otowasan Maru 9,204 tons, and Arita Maru 10,238 tons), receiving no counter-attack since the enemy apparently believed he had stumbled into a minefield. One of these tankers was the largest ''Flasher'' sank during the war. The other two tankers had displacements similar to each other, 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,{{clarify|date=March 2016}} and 4 days later sank a cargo ship (Koho Maru 850 tons) 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 ==
[[Image:USS Flasher Conning Tower.JPG|thumb|left|''Flasher'' (SS-249) conning tower on display at the National Submarine Memorial, Groton, Connecticut.]]
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, Grider relinquishing command of her that month. She was attached to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On 1 June 1959 ''Flasher'' was struck from the Naval Vessel Register. She was sold for scrap on 1 June 1963.

==Commemoration==
''Flasher''′s [[Engineering:Conning tower|conning tower]] was removed and placed on display as a memorial at the entrance to Nautilus Park, a Navy housing area in Groton, Connecticut.  It was then moved to the intersection of Thames Street and Bridge Street in Groton, where it is the centerpiece of a World War II memorial that honors the 52 U.S. submarines and their crews lost during the war.  Its upkeep was originally the responsibility of the Submarine Veterans of World War II organization and was then transferred to U. S. Submarine Veterans, Inc.

== 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.

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist|group=n}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}
* {{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://pigboats.com/249/249sunk.htm Kill Record: USS ''Flasher'']


{{DEFAULTSORT:Flasher (SS-249)}}
[[Category:Gato-class submarines]]

{{Sourceattribution|USS Flasher (SS-249)}}