Red Scorpion: The War Patrols of the USS RasherThe USS Rasher was one of America's most successful Word War II submarines, and her wartime exploits earned her three Presidential Unit Citations. Accordingly, the Rasher sank eighteen enemy ships and destroyed 99,901 tons, which was the second highest tonnage of the war. The Rasher's fifth war patrol is the stuff of legends: during a single night surface attack on a Japanese convoy off the Philippines in August 1944, she sank the escort carrier Taiyo and three maru Japanese warships, and later during the same patrol sank another ship. Rich in detail and entertaining to read, the book covers all aspects of the Rasher's combat history in a way that both the general reader and veteran submariner will appreciate. The author's father served aboard the Rasher for all eight of her war patrols, and this lively chronicle of events draws from his letters and papers as well as those of other crew members. In his examination of the factors that contributed to the Rasher's success, Peter Sasgen pays tribute to the skipper's daring and aggressive tactics. |
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aboard Adams ahead aircraft anti-submarine attack ballast tanks battle stations Bluefish bridge Cape William captain Celebes Celebes Sea China Sea coast ComSubPac conning tower control room convoy course crew deck depth charges diesel dive east enemy ships engines escort exploded feet fired fish fleet Formosa Fremantle fuel headed hull Hutchinson Island JANAC Japan Japanese Kii Suido knots Laughon lifeguard Lombok Lombok Strait look lookouts Makassar Strait maneuvered Manitowoc marine Maru masts miles Morotai Strait Munson Nace Naval Navy night Number operations ordered Pacific patrol area patrol boat patrol report pedo periscope Pete Sasgen Philippines planes port position radio range rudder sailors sampans scope ship's sighted SJ radar skipper smoke speed starboard stern tubes Strait submarine submarine's submerged sunk surface tanker target Task Force tion tons topside torpedo room track USS RASHER valves vessel watch weather yards