USS Raton
trials on Lake Michigan on 1 July 1943.
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History | |
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Builder | Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, Manitowoc, Wisconsin[1] |
Laid down | 29 May 1942[1] |
Launched | 24 January 1943[1] |
Sponsored by | Mrs. C. C. West |
Commissioned | 13 July 1943[1] |
Decommissioned | 11 March 1949[1] |
Recommissioned | 21 September 1953[1] |
Decommissioned | 28 June 1969[1] |
Stricken | 28 June 1969[1] |
Fate | Sold for scrap 12 October 1973[1] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | |
Displacement | |
Length | 311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)[3] |
Beam | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[3] |
Draft | 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m) maximum[3] |
Propulsion |
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Speed | |
Range | 11,000 NM (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)[2] |
Endurance |
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Test depth | 300 ft (90 m)[2] |
Complement | 6 officers, 54 enlisted[2] |
Armament |
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USS Raton (SS/SSR/AGSS-270), a
.Construction and commissioning
A
Service history
World War II
July–October 1943
Following training in
Raton departed
First war patrol, November – December 1943
From Brisbane, Raton headed for
On 28 November 1943, Raton sighted a Rabaul-bound Japanese convoy of five cargo ships accompanied by two escorts. In a submerged attack, Raton sank two of the cargo ships, Hokko Maru and Yuri Maru. After a severe pounding by the escorts, Raton escaped, but she remained in the area to renew her attack on the convoy. In a night attack, she heavily damaged a third cargo ship, then called for assistance, as her torpedoes were nearly expended. The submarine USS Gato (SS-212) arrived and joined the attack, only to be attacked by the two Japanese destroyers. Raton surfaced and raced at flank speed to draw the escorts away from Gato and succeeded, allowing Gato to sink the cargo ship Columbia Maru. Raton concluded her patrol with her return to Milne Bay, New Guinea, for rest and refit there alongside the submarine tender USS Fulton (AS-11).
Second and third war patrols, December 1943–April 1944
Raton departed Milne Bay on her second war patrol— conducted from 11 December 1943 to 25 January 1944 — bound for the
On 2 January 1944, Raton encountered two Japanese tankers escorted by a Fubuki-class destroyer northwest of Faland Island on the Palau shipping lane. She scored hits on one tanker, but then the Japanese escorts interrupted her attack. Raton departed the patrol area on 19 January 1944 and reached Fremantle, Australia, on 25 January 1944 for refit by the submarine tender USS Pelias (AS-14).
Raton conducted her third war patrol from 18 February to 14 April in the Java Sea, the Karimata Strait, and the South China Sea. The submarine Rasher sank the only two ships Raton contacted during the patrol.
Fourth war patrol, May–June 1944
Raton′s fourth patrol began on 19 May when she got underway for a patrol area in the
On 27 May 1944, Raton′s logbook reported:
"0615 (H) Ship shaken up considerably by either two underwater explosions or by striking submerged object. People in forward torpedo room thought we had struck something or had been struck by something."
This turned out to be two torpedoes fired by the submarine USS Lapon (SS-260). Lapon was looking for a Japanese submarine passing through the area and mistook Raton for that submarine. Lapon′s commanding officer checked fire on the second set of torpedoes realizing he was not shooting at an enemy submarine. Later dry-dock inspection of Raton showed dents where the torpedoes hit. This is the only known friendly fire incident in World War II between two U.S. submarines.[8]
On 28 May 1944, Raton sighted and tracked a Japanese Type L submarine, but was unable to attack due to an unfavorable firing angle.
On 6 June 1944, a bright moonlit night allowed Raton to sight a large Japanese convoy of 11 ships with four destroyer-type escorts. Three hits from a spread of torpedoes Raton fired blew apart one frigate, but Raton received a severe pounding from a prolonged depth charge attack before making her escape.
A
Fifth and sixth war patrols, July–December 1944
Raton′s fifth war patrol, conducted from 18 July to 10 September 1944 with a patrol area in the South China Sea off
Raton had better luck on her sixth war patrol, which she began on 6 October 1944, again with a patrol area in the South China Sea. On the night of 18 October 1944, Raton slipped into the center of a nine-ship Japanese convoy for a surface attack. She fired both sets of
Leaving Mios Woendi 27 October 1944, Raton encountered a Japanese
On 11 November 1944, Raton and the submarine USS Ray (SS-271) attacked a four-ship Japanese convoy guarded by three escorts. In a surface action, Raton sank Unkai Maru and Kurasaki with four torpedoes. Then, both submarines fired torpedoes at the remaining auxiliary ships with unconfirmed results. With only four torpedoes remaining, Raton headed for the United States, arriving at San Francisco, California, on 1 December 1944.
Seventh and eighth war patrols, April–July 1945
On 13 March 1945, after an overhaul at
Raton departed Guam on 22 June 1945 for her final patrol of World War II, tasked with lifeguard duty off Hong Kong. No Allied planes went down in the area, and she made no contact with Japanese forces. Arriving at Subic Bay in the Philippines on 23 July 1945 for upkeep, Raton was preparing for her next patrol when the war ended on 15 August 1945.
Post-World War II service, 1946–1948
1945–1949
On 31 August 1945. Raton departed the Philippines for the United States, arriving at San Francisco in mid-September 1945. Following overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard, Raton transited the
Radar picket submarine (SSR-270), 1953–1959
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/USS_Raton%3B0827015.jpg/300px-USS_Raton%3B0827015.jpg)
Raton remained in the
Raton spent the next year in local operations before departing San Diego on 11 May 1955 for a six-month deployment to the western Pacific as a unit of the
After overhaul at
Auxiliary research submarine (AGSS-270), 1960–1968
On 1 July 1960, Raton was reclassified as an auxiliary submarine and redesignated AGSS-270. After a major overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard from January to April 1961, she headed west for her fourth post-World War II western Pacific deployment with the Seventh Fleet on 3 July 1961, returning to San Diego on 19 December 1961. She spent 1962 in fleet training operations off the U.S. West Coast, providing services for air, surface, and submarine forces. On 9 April 1962, it was reported that a kite had snagged on Raton,[9][10] and this incident was referenced in the Peanuts comic strip of 19 May 1962, wherein it is implied that the kite had belonged to the long-suffering Charlie Brown, whose problems with flying kites was a standard running gag of the strip.[11]
Raton′s fifth post-World War II western Pacific deployment, from January to June 1963, included participation in two major
Raton engaged in local fleet and type operations in the San Diego area during 1965 and early 1966. In mid-April 1966, she got underwat for another tour of duty with the Seventh Fleet. While deployed, she exercised with SEATO naval units in Exercise Sea Imp. On 17 October 1966, she returned to San Diego.
Raton spent 1967 in the San Diego area in local operations, conducting
Decommissioning and disposal
Raton was decommissioned at Mare Island Naval Shipyard and stricken from the Navy List on 28 June 1969. Her stripped hull was designated as a target ship for United States Pacific Fleet gunnery exercise. She was sold for scrapping on 10 December 1973.
Honors and awards
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with six battle stars for World War IIservice
Medal]]
- Vietnam Service Medal with two battle stars for Vietnam War service[12]
References
Citations
- ^ ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- ^ a b c d e f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
- ^ ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
- ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261–263
- ^ a b c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
- ^ Hinman & Campbell, pp. 176–177.
- ^ "Raton logbook quoted at ratonss270.com". Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
- ^ Submarine Snags a Kite, San Mateo Times, 9 April 1962
- ^ St. Petersburg Independent, April 9, 1962, page 5-A; available at https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1962/05/19#:~:text=story%3Ahttp%3A//news.google.com/newspapers%3Fnid%3D955%26dat%3D19620409%26id%3DSWxIAAAAIBAJ%26sjid%3D8FYDAAAAIBAJ%26pg%3D4353%2C1711081.
- ^ The Peanuts, May 19, 1962; available at https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1962/05/19.
- ^ https://goatlocker.org/resources/nav/1650.pdf “OpNavNote 1650 September 2002, Pg. 376”
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
Bibliography
- Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019. ISBN 978-0-359-76906-3.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Raton (SS-270).- Photo gallery of Raton at NavSource Naval History