James William Blanchard, USN
| Born | 25 Dec 1903 | Faison, Duplin County, North Carolina, USA | |
| Died | 5 Mar 1987 | (83) | Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, USA |
| Ranks
Retired: 1 Jul 1957 Decorations
|
Warship Commands listed for James William Blanchard, USN
| Ship | Rank | Type | From | To |
| USS S-47 (158) | Lt. | Submarine | 5 Oct 1936 | May 1940 |
| USS Albacore (218) | T/Cdr. | Submarine | 26 Dec 1943 | 3 Oct 1944 |
Career information
We currently have no career / biographical information on this officer.
Events related to this officer
Submarine USS Albacore (218)
26 Dec 1943
USS Albacore (Lt.Cdr. James William Blanchard) departed from Brisbane for her 8th war patrol, and was ordered to patrol north of the Bismarck Archipelago.
12 Jan 1944 (position 3.30, 147.27)
USS Albacore (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Blanchard) torpedoed and sank the Japanese auxiliary gunboat Choko Maru No.2 (2629 GRT) about 350 nautical miles south-west of Truk in position 03°30'N, 147°27'E. Albacore also damaged the motor gunboat Hayabusa-Tei No.4 (25 GRT) under tow of the Choko Maru No.12 so badly that the smaller craft has to be scuttled in position 03°37'N, 147°27'E.
14 Jan 1944 (position 5.30, 141.34)
USS Albacore (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Blanchard) torpedoed and sank the Japanese destroyer Sazanami (offsite link) about 300 nautical miles south-east of Yap in position 05°30'N, 141°34'E.
22 Feb 1944
USS Albacore (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Blanchard) ended her 8th war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She is now sent to the Mare Islands Navy Yard for a much needed overhaul.
5 May 1944
With her overhaul completed USS Albacore (Cdr. J.W. Blanchard) departed from the Mare Island Navy Yard.
13 May 1944
USS Albacore (Cdr. J.W. Blanchard) arrived at Pearl Harbor.
29 May 1944
USS Albacore (Cdr. J.W. Blanchard) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 9th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Mariana Islands area.
19 Jun 1944 (position 12.22, 137.04)
USS Albacore (Cdr. J.W. Blanchard) torpedoed and sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Taiho (29300 tons) (offsite link), about 180 nautical miles north-north-west of Yap in position 12°22'N, 137°04'E.
The carrier was flying the Flag of Adm. Ozawa, Commander of the Kido Butai, heading for the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Her sinking was catastrophic for the Japanese in that communications between the Admiral and the rest of the Fleet were delayed for hours, and the strikes to be launched against the US support forces located off Saipan were uncoordinated and lacking the planes lost with Taiho, which was a major factor in the decisive defeat of Japanese air power in what became known as "The Marianas Turkey shoot" the following day.
3 Jul 1944 (position 8.10, 136.18)
USS Albacore (Cdr. J.W. Blanchard) makes a deck gun attack in position 08°10'N, 136°18'E, sinking the small Japanese merchant Taiei Maru (130 GRT) en route from Yap to Palau. 5 survivors were picked up after the sinking but other survivors refused to be rescued.
15 Jul 1944
USS Albacore (Cdr. J.W. Blanchard) ended her 9th war patrol at Majuro.
8 Aug 1944
USS Albacore (Cdr. J.W. Blanchard) departed from Majuro for her 10th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in Japanese home waters in the Bungo Suido / Kii Suido area.
5 Sep 1944 (position 32.24, 134.15)
USS Albacore (Cdr. J.W. Blanchard) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant Shingetsu Maru (880 GRT) north of Muroto Saki in position 32°24'N, 134°15'E.
6 Sep 1944 (position 33.29, 135.32)
USS Albacore (Cdr. J.W. Blanchard) torpedoed and sank the Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Eguchi Maru No.3 (198 GRT) at entrance to Kii Suido, Japan in position 33°29'N, 135°32'E.
11 Sep 1944 (position 32.20, 131.50)
USS Albacore (Cdr. J.W. Blanchard) torpedoed and sank the Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha-165 (130 tons) off Kyushu, Japan in position 32°20'N, 131°50'E.
25 Sep 1944
USS Albacore (Cdr. J.W. Blanchard) ended her 10th war patrol at Pearl Harbor.
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