USS Rasher
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USS ''Rasher'' (SS/SSR/AGSS/IXSS-269), a , was a ship of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
named for the rasher, or vermilion rockfish, a fish found along the
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
coast.


Construction and commissioning

''Rasher'', a
fleet submarine A fleet submarine is a submarine with the speed, range, and endurance to operate as part of a navy's battle fleet. Examples of fleet submarines are the British First World War era K class and the American World War II era ''Gato'' class. The ...
, was
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...
on 4 May 1942 by
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, was a major shipbuilder for the Great Lakes. It was founded in 1902, with the purchase of the "Burger & Burger Shipyard," a predecessor to The Burger Boat Company, and made mainly s ...
at Manitowoc,
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
; launched 20 December 1942, sponsored by Mrs. G. C. Weaver; and commissioned 8 June 1943,
Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
E. S. Hutchinson in command.
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Charles A. Lockwood had earlier relieved Hutchinson of command of the submarine for lacking aggressiveness.


Service history

Following builder's trials in
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, ''Rasher'' was decommissioned and towed down the
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
on a floating
drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
. After recommissioning and fitting out in
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, the new submarine trained in the Bay of Panama, departed Balboa 8 August 1943, and arrived at
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, 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 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. To the northeast, it forms the Sangkulirang Bay south of the Mangkalihat P ...
Celebes Sea The Celebes Sea ( ; ) or Sulawesi 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 Sulawes ...
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 In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s and a "
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"
seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...
. She fired two salvoes of three
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
es each, then 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 () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
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 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 and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
in the
Makassar 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. To the northeast, it forms the Sangkulirang Bay south of the Mangkalihat P ...
off Mangkalihat Peninsula 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. During her transit, an Allied
patrol bomber A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...
mistakenly attacked her in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
north-northeast of
Exmouth Gulf Exmouth Gulf is a Bay, gulf in the North West Australia, north-west of Western Australia. It lies between North West Cape and the main coastline of Western Australia. It is considered to be part of the Pilbara Coast and Northwest Shelf, and t ...
in
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at on 20 November 1943, dropping a
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...
as ''Rasher'' was submerging and passing a depth of .Hinman & Campbell, p. 174. ''Rasher'' sustained no damage, and arrived at Fremantle on 24 November 1943. Hutchinson had cleared his record on ''Grampus'' with the sinkings 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 in the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
. Following refit, ''Rasher'' commenced her second war patrol on 19 December 1943 and hunted
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese shipping in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
off Borneo. When she attacked a three-tanker convoy on the night of 4 January 1944, her first torpedo exploded prematurely. A 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 explosions, but was unable to confirm a sinking. She pursued the third tanker, firing a spread of four torpedoes early on the morning of 5 January 1944. A mushroom-shaped fire rose as the last two torpedoes struck, and ''Kiyo Maru'' sank, leaving an oil slick and scattered debris. During the patrol, ''Rasher'' planted mines off the approaches to
Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
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
Java Sea The Java Sea (, ) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its northwest links it to the South Ch ...
–Celebes Sea area. On 25 February she attacked a Japanese convoy off
Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
. First she sank the cargo ships '' Tango Maru'', killing thousands of
Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
soldiers, Javanese '' rōmusha'' forced laborers, and Allied
prisoners-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
. Later in the same attack she sank '' Ryusei Maru'', killing up to 5,000 of her complement of Japanese Army soldiers, Indian prisoners of war, and rōmusha forced labourers. Then, after transiting Makassar Strait into the Celebes Sea, she destroyed the cargo ship ''Nattai Maru'' on 3 March. On 19 March 1944, ''Rasher'' sighted the Japanese submarine as ''Ro-112'' was surfacing in the
Java Sea The Java Sea (, ) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its northwest links it to the South Ch ...
north of Bali off Cape Bungkulan at . ''Rasher''′s watch officer described ''Ro-112'' as a black submarine of the "''Ro-51'' class." At 11:49, ''Rasher'' fired four Mark 14 Mod 3 torpedoes at ''Ro-112'', but ''Ro-112'' turned to
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...
and evaded them. En route home, however, ''Rasher'' met the 2,750-ton freighter ''Nichinan Maru'' on 27 March and sank her. ''Rasher'' returned to the Makassar Strait-Celebes Sea area for her fourth patrol, from 30 April to 23 June 1944. On 11 May, she torpedoed and sank the freighter ''Choi Maru''. Next to go down were the converted
gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...
''Anshu Maru'' on 29 May and the tanker ''Shioya Maru'' in the Celebes Sea off
Manado Manado (, ) is the capital City status in Indonesia, city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 census giving a population of 451,916,Badan ...
on 8 June. On 14 June, the cargo ship ''Koan Maru'' went to the bottom, after taking a spread of torpedoes aft and
capsizing Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fr ...
.


Fifth war patrol, 22 July – 3 September 1944

Commander Henry G. Munson relieved Commander Laughon as commanding officer of ''Rasher''. ''Rasher's'' fifth patrol was spent largely with in the South China Sea west of
Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
. Thirty miles south of
Scarborough Shoal Scarborough Shoal, also known as ''Panacot,'' (" Masinloc Shoal" in Spanish), Huangyan Island (Mandarin zh, c=黄岩岛, p=Huáng Yán Dǎo, l=yellow rock island), Minzhu Jiao ( Guoyu zh, c=民主礁, l=Democracy Reef), and Panatag 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, ''Rasher's'' 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 convoy of thirteen ships protected by six escorts. After a surfaced approach to , 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 high, with parts of the ship being blown from the flaming hulk. The escorts fired wildly and laid depth charge patterns astern of ''Rasher''. In a second surfaced approach to ''Rasher'' launched a spread of six bow torpedoes. Three torpedoes hit and sank the 17,000 ton transport ''
Teia Maru MS ''Aramis'' was a Messageries Maritimes ocean liner that was launched in French Third Republic, France in 1931. She was a sister ship of ''Félix Roussel'' and . The three sisters were highly unusual in having square Funnel (ship), funnels. '' ...
'', killing 2,665 Japanese soldiers, and a fourth torpedo was heard exploding at a timed range of 3900 yards. ''Rasher'' swung hard to port to launch four stern torpedoes at 2214. Three torpedoes hit and sank the 20,000 ton carrier , which was escorting the convoy, and the fourth torpedo was heard exploding on a more distant ship. ''Rasher'' pulled away to reload
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s 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 , 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 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 sank the Japanese
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...
''Shinano'' three months later. ''Rasher'' proceeded to
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via
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for overhaul at
Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard The Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was a United States Navy shipyard in San Francisco, California, located on of waterfront at Hunters Point in the southeast corner of the city. Originally, Hunters Point was a commercial shipyard established i ...
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 Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...
. ''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
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. 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 , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...
, 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, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...
. No Allied planes were downed in her area before orders arrived to proceed to the
Gulf of Siam The Gulf of Thailand (), historically known as the Gulf of Siam (), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. ...
. While she was en route the war ended, and ''Rasher'' returned to the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. She departed
Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...
on 31 August arriving
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on 6 October, via Pearl Harbor and the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...
. Following deactivation overhaul, she was decommissioned 22 June 1946 and was placed in the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...
at
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. ''Rasher'' was credited with sinking 99,901 tons of Japanese shipping, the third highest total for US submarines in World War II. However, a Japanese destroyer credited as sunk by sister ship 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 second highest-scoring US submarine for tonnage.


Service as radar picket submarine, 1953–1960

She was placed in commission in reserve at
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...
14 December 1951, Lt. V. D. Ely in command. After being reclassified as a
radar picket A radar picket is a radar-equipped station, ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a nation or military (including naval) force to protect it from surprise attack, typically air attack, or from c ...
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
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17 December via Guantanamo Bay and the Panama Canal. The following two years were spent off the west coast in operations from
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to
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. On 4 January 1956, she deployed to the
7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...
, where she operated with U.S. and
SEATO The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty signed in September 1954 in Manila, Philippines. The formal insti ...
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 Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a United States Navy officer who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. He led the Perry Expedition that Bakumatsu, ended Japan' ...
'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 Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY or MINS) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean and was in service 142 years from 1854 to 1996. It is located on Mare Island, northeast of San Francisco, in Vallejo, Califor ...
. 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
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ships. Her next deployment, beginning on 3 August 1964, involved support of 7th Fleet operations off
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, 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 South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, 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.


Decommissioning and disposal

''Rasher'' was decommissioned 27 May 1967, and later was reclassified "unclassified miscellaneous submarine" IXSS-269, was towed to
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...
,
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
, where she served as a training submarine for Naval reservists until struck from the
Navy List A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...
, 20 December 1971.


Honors and awards

* Presidential Unit Citation for outstanding performance in combat during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
patrols 1, 3, 4, and 5. * Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with seven
battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...
s for World War II service *
Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. ...
with two
service star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...
s for
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
service


See also

* List of most successful American submarines in World War II


References


Citations


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.
.


Further reading

* Sasgen, Peter. 1995. ''Red Scorpion: The War Patrols of the USS Rasher.'' Pocket Star Books. (The author's father served on all eight of the Rasher's patrols during World War II)


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rasher (Ss-269) Gato-class submarines World War II submarines of the United States Cold War submarines of the United States Vietnam War submarines of the United States Ships built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin 1942 ships Maritime incidents in November 1943 Friendly fire incidents of World War II