Allied Warships

Flasher (SS-249)

Submarine of the Gato class

USS Flasher off Cuba on 23 November 1943.

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Submarine
Class	Gato
Pennant	249
Built by	Electric Boat Co. (Groton, Connecticut, U.S.A.)
Ordered	9 Sep 1940
Laid down	30 Sep 1942
Launched	20 Jun 1943
Commissioned	25 Sep 1943
End service	16 Mar 1946
History	Decommissioned 16 March 1946. Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Stricken and sold to be broken up for scrap on 31 May 1963.

Commands listed for USS Flasher (249)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

	Commander	From	To
1	T/Lt.Cdr. Reuben Thornton Whitaker, USN	25 Sep 1943	31 Oct 1944
2	T/Lt.Cdr. George William Grider, USN	31 Oct 1944	Mar 1946

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Notable events involving Flasher include:

8 Oct 1943
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. R.T. Whitaker, USN) departed New London, Connecticut for Newport, Rhode Island for her torpedo trials.

11 Oct 1943
Having completed her torpedo trials, USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. R.T. Whitaker, USN), returned to New London, Connecticut from Newport, Rhode Island.

13 Nov 1943
USS Flasher arrived at Key West, Florida for duty with the Fleet Sound School.

15 Nov 1943
USS Flasher conducted exercises off Key West.

16 Nov 1943
USS Flasher conducted exercises off Key West.

17 Nov 1943
USS Flasher conducted exercises off Key West.

18 Nov 1943
USS Flasher conducted exercises off Key West.

19 Nov 1943
USS Flasher conducted exercises off Key West.

20 Nov 1943
USS Flasher conducted exercises off Key West.

21 Nov 1943
USS Flasher departed Key West for the Panama Canal Zone.

15 Dec 1943
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. Reuben Thornton Whitaker) arrived at Pearl Harbor from New London.

6 Jan 1944
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 1st war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off Mindoro, Philippines.

18 Jan 1944
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) torpedoed and sank the Japanese oiler Yoshida Maru (2920 GRT) about 140 nautical miles west-south-west of Marcus Island in position 23°50'N, 151°28'E.

5 Feb 1944
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) torpedoed and sank the Japanese army cargo ship Taishin Maru (1722 GRT) about 60 nautical miles west of Mindoro, Philippines in position 13°09'N, 120°24'E. She also sank a Japanese sampan with gunfire in position 13°12'N, 120°22'E.

14 Feb 1944
While operation off Cape Santiago, Luzon, Philippines USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) torpedoed and sank the Japanese army cargo ship Minryo Maru (2224 GRT) in position 13°43'N, 120°39'E and the Japanese tanker Hokuan Maru (3712 GRT) in position 13°44'N, 120°29'E.

29 Feb 1944
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) ended her 1st war patrol at Fremantle, Australia.

30 Mar 1944
HMAS Adelaide (A/Capt. J.C.D. Esdaile, OBE, RAN) conducted exercises off Fremantle acting as target for the submarines USS Flasher (T/Cdr. R.T. Whitaker, USN) and USS Crevalle (T/Cdr. F.D. Walker, Jr., USN). (1)

4 Apr 1944
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) departed from Fremantle for her 2nd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea along the coast of French Indochina.

29 Apr 1944
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) torpedoed and damaged the Vichy French cargo ship Song Giang Go (1065 GRT) in the South China Sea some 5 miles off Cape Varella, French Indochina in position 13°02'N, 109°28'E. The damaged freighter sank the next day.

30 Apr 1944
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) torpedoed and sank the Vichy French gunboat Tahure (644 tons) in the South China Sea off Cape Varella, French Indochina in position 13°02'N, 109°28'E.

3 May 1944
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Teisen Maru (5050 GRT) in the South China Sea about 300 nautical miles east of Cape Varella, French Indochina in position 12°54'N, 114°07'E.

28 May 1944
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) ended her 2nd war patrol at Fremantle.

16 Jun 1944
HMAS Adelaide (A/Capt. J.C.D. Esdaile, OBE, RAN), HMAS Dubbo (Lt.Cdr. W.J.C. Webb, RANR) and HMAS Horsham (T/A/Lt.Cdr. W.H. Newby, RANR(S)) conducted exercises off Fremantle with the submarines USS Angler (T/Cdr. F.G. Hess, USN), USS Flasher (T/Cdr. R.T. Whitaker, USN) and USS Crevalle (T/Cdr. F.D. Walker, Jr., USN). (2)

19 Jun 1944
USS Flasher (Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) departed from Fremantle for her 3rd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

29 Jun 1944
USS Flasher (Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Niho Maru (6079 GRT) and torpedoed and damaged the Japanese fleet oiler Notoro (14050 GRT, offsite link) about 125 nautical miles south-east of Singapore in position 00°44'N, 105°45'E.

7 Jul 1944
USS Flasher (Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) torpedoed and sank the Japanese troop transport Koto Maru No.2 (3557 GRT) off Cape Varella, French Indochina in position 13°08'N, 109°28'E.

19 Jul 1944
USS Flasher (Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) torpedoed and sank the Japanese light cruiser Oi (5100 tons) (offsite link) in the South China Sea about 280 nautical miles east of Cape Varella, French Indochina in position 13°12'N, 114°52'E.

26 Jul 1944
While attacking a Japanese convoy in the South China Sea, USS Flasher (Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant tanker Otorisan Maru (5280 GRT) in position 17°56'N, 118°07'E, and teams with USS Crevalle to sink the Japanese army cargo ship Tosan Maru (8666 GRT) in position 18°24'N, 118°02'E, the submarine shared this 'kill'.

The US submarines USS Angler (Lt.Cdr. F.G. Hess), USS Flasher (Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) and USS Crevalle (Lt.Cdr. F.D. Walker), attack a convoy in the South China Sea, east of Luzon. Based on the firing sequences of the 3 subs, it is believed Angler scored a torpedo hit on the seaplane carrier Kiyokawa Maru (6863 GRT, offsite link) in position 18°30'N, 117°57'E. The ship made port with moderate damage. The matter is conjectural, since there is no possible way of determining actual hits obtained. A mere 10 seconds error in the logbook recordkeeping would necessitate a complete reassessment of the credits.

7 Aug 1944
USS Flasher (Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) ended her 3rd war patrol at Fremantle.

30 Aug 1944
USS Flasher (Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) departed from Fremantle for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Philippines.

18 Sep 1944
USS Flasher (Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) torpedoed and sank the Japanese auxiliary gunboat Saigon Maru (5350 GRT, offsite link) off Manila Bay, Philippines in position 14°20'N, 120°05'E.

27 Sep 1944
USS Flasher (Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) torpedoed and sank the Japanese army transport Ural Maru (6374 GRT) and torpedoed and damaged the Japanese merchant tanker Tachibana Maru (6521 GRT) in the South China Sea west of Luzon, Philippines in position 15°45'N, 117°20'E.

4 Oct 1944
USS Flasher (Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) torpedoed and sank the Japanese army cargo ship Taibin Maru (6886 GRT) in the South China Sea North of Luzon, Philippines in position 15°22'N, 119°51'E.

20 Oct 1944
USS Flasher (Cdr. R.T. Whitaker) ended her 4th war patrol at Fremantle.

15 Nov 1944
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. G.W. Grider) departed from Fremantle for her 5th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea off Camranh Bay, French Indo-China.

4 Dec 1944
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. G.W. Grider) torpedoed and sank the Japanese destroyer Kishinami (offsite link) and damaged the Japanese merchant tanker Hakko Maru (10022 GRT) in the South China Sea about 275 nautical miles south-west of Manila in position 12°54'N, 116°27'E. Hakko Maru is later scuttled in position 13°12'N, 116°35'E.

22 Dec 1944
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. G.W. Grider) torpedoed and sank the Japanese fleet tanker Omurosan Maru (9204 GRT) and the Japanese merchant tankers Otowasan Maru (9204 GRT) and Arita Maru (10238 GRT) in the South China Sea about 250 nautical miles north of Camranh Bay, French Indochina in position 15°07'N, 109°05'E.

2 Jan 1945
USS Flasher (Lt.Cdr. G.W. Grider) ended her 5th war patrol at Fremantle.

29 Jan 1945
USS Flasher (Cdr. G.W. Grider) departed from Fremantle for her 6th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

25 Feb 1945
USS Flasher (Cdr. G.W. Grider) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant cargo vessel Koho Maru (850 GRT) near Hainan in position 20°01'N, 111°19'E.

3 Apr 1945
USS Flasher (Cdr. G.W. Grider) ended her 6th war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She was now sent to the US west coast for a major overhaul.

3 Aug 1945
During 3/4 August 1945, USS Bowfin (Cdr. A.K. Tyree, USN), conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour together with USS Chew (Lt.Cdr. J.J. Mannion, USNR), USS Pruitt (Lt. D.B. Harby, USNR), USS Darby (Lt.Cdr. M.W. Martin, USNR) and USS Flasher (Cdr. G.W. Grider, USN).