Allied Warships

Ray (SS-271)

Submarine of the Gato class

USS Ray on trails in Lake Michigan.

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Submarine
Class	Gato
Pennant	271
Built by	Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. (Manitowoc, Wisconsin, U.S.A.)
Ordered	9 Sep 1940
Laid down	20 Jul 1942
Launched	28 Feb 1943
Commissioned	27 Jul 1943
End service	30 Sep 1958
History	Decommissioned 12 February 1947. Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Recommissioned as a Radar Picket Submarine 13 August 1952. Decommissioned 30 September 1958. Stricken 1 August 1960. Sold 18 December 1960 to be broken up for scrap.

Commands listed for USS Ray (271)

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/Cdr. Brooks Jared Harral, USN	27 Jul 1943	28 Jun 1944
2	T/Cdr. William Thomas Kinsella, USN	28 Jun 1944	9 Jan 1946

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Notable events involving Ray include:

26 Aug 1943
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral, USN) departed New Orleans, Louisiana for Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone.

31 Aug 1943
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral, USN) arrived at Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone from New Orleans, Louisiana to begin a training programme.

5 Oct 1943
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral, USN) departed from Balboa, Panama Canal Zone for Brisbane, Australia.

30 Oct 1943
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) arrived at Brisbane.

13 Nov 1943
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) departed from Milne Bay, New Guinea for her 1st war patrol. She was ordered to patrol north of the Bismarck Archipelago.

26 Nov 1943
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) torpedoed and sank the Japanese army cargo ship Nikkai Maru (2562 GRT) south-west of Truk in position 04°12'N, 148°20'E.

6 Dec 1943
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) ended her 1st war patrol.

11 Dec 1943
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) departed from base for her 2nd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Banda Sea.

26 Dec 1943
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) torpedoed and sank the Japanese fleet tanker Kyoko Maru (5800 GRT, former Dutch Semiramis) south of Celebes in position 05°00'S, 121°22'E.

1 Jan 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) torpedoed and sank the Japanese auxiliary gunboat Okuyo Maru (2904 GRT) at the mouth of Ambon Bay, Netherlands East Indies in position 03°51'S, 128°04'E.

12 Jan 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) ended her 2nd war patrol at Fremantle, Australia.

6 Feb 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) departed from Fremantle for her 3rd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Java and South China Seas.

22 Feb 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) lays mines off Saigon, French Indochina.

27 Mar 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) ended her 3rd war patrol at Fremantle.

20 Apr 1944
HMAS Adelaide (A/Capt. J.C.D. Esdaile, OBE, RAN) conducted exercises off Fremantle. She acted as target for the submarines USS Lapon (T/Cdr. L.T. Stone, USN) and USS Ray (T/Cdr. B.J. Harral, USN).

HMAS Adelaide also conducted gunnery and a range and inclination exercise. (1)

23 Apr 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) departed from Fremantle for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol south off Davao Gulf, Philippines.

22 May 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) torpedoed and sank the Japanese army cargo ship Tempei Maru (6097 GRT) off the south coast of Mindanao, Philippines in position 05°42'N, 127°37'E.

23 May 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) and USS Cero torpedoed and damaged the Japanese army tanker Kenwa Maru (6384 GRT) north-east of Morotai in position 02°42'N, 128°08'E.

14 Jun 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. B.J. Harral) ended her 4th war patrol at Fremantle.

5 Jul 1944
USS Gurnard (T/Cdr. C.H. Andrews, USN) and USS Ray (T/Cdr. W.T. Kinsella, USN) conducted exercises off Fremantle attacking a 'convoy' made up of HMAS Adelaide (A/Capt. J.C.D. Esdaile, OBE, RAN), HMAS Norman (Cdr. H.J. Buchanan DSO, RAN), HMAS Dubbo (T/Lt. F.W. Roberts, RANR(S)), HMAS Horsham (T/A/Lt.Cdr. W.H. Newby, RANR(S)) and HMAS Wollongong (T/Lt. J. Hare, RANR(S)). (2)

6 Jul 1944
USS Ray (T/Cdr. W.T. Kinsella, USN) and USS Aspro (T/Cdr. W.A. Stevenson, USN) conducted exercises off Fremantle with HMAS Norman (Cdr. H.J. Buchanan DSO, RAN) and HMAS Horsham (T/A/Lt.Cdr. W.H. Newby, RANR(S)). (2)

9 Jul 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) departed from Fremantle for her 5th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

18 Jul 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant tanker Jambi Maru (5244 GRT, former Dutch Djambi) in the Java Sea north of Bawean Island in position 05°21'S, 112°30'E.

4 Aug 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) torpedoed and sank the Japanese army cargo ship Koshu Maru (2812 GRT) in Makassar Strait in position 04°05'S, 117°40'E.

14 Aug 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Zuisho Maru (5286 GRT) off the northwest coast of Borneo in position 03°51'N, 112°58'E.

21 Aug 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant tanker Taketoyo Maru (6964 GRT) west of Mindoro, Philippines in position 13°23'N, 120°19'E.

31 Aug 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) ended her 5th war patrol at Fremantle.

23 Sep 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) departed from Fremantle for her 6th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

12 Oct 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) torpedoed and sank the Japanese troop transport Toko Maru (4180 GRT) near Cape Cavalite, Mindoro, Philippines in position 13°32'N, 120°21'E.

1 Nov 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) torpedoed and sank the Japanese tanker Horai Maru No.7 (834 GRT) west off Mindoro, Philippines in position 13°02'N, 120°17'E.

Ray also lands men and supplies on west coast of Mindoro.

4 Nov 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. W.T. Kinsella), USS Guitarro and USS Bream shared the sinking of the Japanese transport ship Kagu Maru (6806 GRT, offsite link) off Dasol Bay, Philippines in position 15°55'N, 119°44'E.

14 Nov 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) torpedoed and sank the Japanese corvette Kaibokan 7 (745 tons, offsite link) about 65 nautical miles north-west of Cape Bolinao, Luzon, Philippines in position 17°45'N, 117°45'E.

8 Dec 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) ended her 6th war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She is now sent to the Mare Island Navy Yard for a major overhaul.

16 Dec 1944
USS Ray (Lt.Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) arrived at the Mare Island Navy Yard.

26 Mar 1945
With her overhaul completed USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) departed from San Francisco bound for Pearl Harbor.

14 Apr 1945
USS Ray (T/Cdr. W.T. Kinsella, USN), USS Dragonet (T/Capt. J.H. Lewis, USN) and USS Spikefish (T/Lt.Cdr. R.R. Managhan, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour with USS Pruitt (Lt. D.B. Harby, USNR) and USS Harold C. Thomas (Lt. G. Cheshire, Jr., USNR).

15 Apr 1945
USS Bumper (Cdr. J.W. Williams, Jr., USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour together with USS Pruitt (Lt. D.B. Harby, USNR), USS Seagull (Lt. W.S. Hall, USN), USS PGM-21 (Lt. L. Gardiner, USNR), USS Jack (Lt.Cdr. A.S. Fuhrman, USN) and USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella, USN).

29 Apr 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) arrived at Guam.

30 Apr 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) departed from Guam for her 7th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off Kyusyu in Japanese home waters and in the Yellow Sea.

3 May 1945
Around 1500K/3, USS Shad (T/Lt.Cdr. D.L. Mehlop, USN), USS Dragonet (T/Lt.Cdr. R.K. Worthington, USN), USS Dragonet (T/Capt. J.H. Lewis, USN) and USS Spikefish (T/Lt.Cdr. R.R. Managhan, USN) departed from Guam for their 10th, 9th, 2nd and 3rd war patrols respectively. They were escorted out until 1900K/3 by USS SC-1069 (Lt.(jg). C.M. Janicki, USNR).

The first three were ordered to patrol in the East China and Yellow Seas in a coordinated attack group together with USS Ray (T/Cdr. W.T. Kinsella, USN) which had already departed for patrol on 30 April 1945. T/Capt. J.H. Lewis, USN, of the USS Dragonet was the group commander. USS Spikefish was ordered to patrol to the east of Formosa and was not a member of the group. She parted company with the other submarines around 0420I/5.

19 May 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) sank a small Japanese vessel with gunfire in the Yellow Sea in position 37°24'N, 125°05'E.

23 May 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) sank 6 small Japanese vessels with gunfire in the Yellow Sea in position 38°10'N, 124°31'E.

25 May 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) sank the Japanese schooner Tsuki Maru (57 GRT) with gunfire about 35 nautical miles east of Kaiyo Island in position 39°04'N, 123°06'E.

26 May 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) sank 3 small Japanese vessels with gunfire in the Yellow Sea at positions 38°53'N, 122°54'E, 38°55'N, 122°53'E and 38°57'N, 122°53'E.

27 May 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) sank 2 small Japanese vessels with gunfire in the Yellow Sea in position 38°16'N, 123°51'E.

28 May 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) sank 4 small Japanese vessels with gunfire in the Yellow Sea in positions 37°38'N, 124°43'E, 38°19'N, 124°01'E and 38°21'N, 123°58'E.

30 May 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) sank a small Japanese vessel with gunfire in the Yellow Sea in position 38°03'N, 124°06'E.

16 Jun 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) ended her 7th war patrol at Midway.

11 Jul 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) departed from base for 8th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Gulf of Siam.

2 Aug 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) sank a small Japanese vessel with gunfire off the Malaya coast in position 06°45'N, 101°39'E.

3 Aug 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) sank 3 small Japanese vessel with gunfire in the Gulf of Siam in position 09°51'N, 99°15'E.

4 Aug 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) sank 3 small Japanese vessels with gunfire in the Gulf of Siam in position 10°52'N, 99°28'E, and 2 more in position 11°12'N, 99°36'E.

5 Aug 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) sank 2 small Japanese vessel with gunfire in the Gulf of Siam in position 11°29'N, 99°39'E.

7 Aug 1945
USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) sank 24 !!! small Japanese vessel with gunfire in the Gulf of Siam in position 10°05'N, 99°28'E.

13 Aug 1945
With her ammunition stock depleted USS Ray (Cdr. W.T. Kinsella) arrived Subic Bay, Philippines to end her 8th war patrol.