Allied Warships

Raton (SS-270)

Submarine of the Gato class


USS Raton in the floating drydock to be transported from Manitowoc to New Orleans.

NavyThe US Navy
TypeSubmarine
ClassGato 
Pennant270 
Built byManitowoc Shipbuilding Co. (Manitowoc, Wisconsin, U.S.A.) 
Ordered 
Laid down29 May, 1942 
Launched24 Jan, 1943 
Commissioned13 Jul, 1943 
End service28 Jun, 1969 
Loss position
 
HistoryDecommissioned 11 March 1949.
Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Recommissioned as a Radar Picket Submarine 21 September 1953.
Decommissioned and stricken 28 June 1969.
Sold 10 December 1973 to be broken up for scrap. 

Noteable events involving Raton include:

19 Sep, 1943
With her trails and initial training completed USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) departs the Panama Canal zone bound for Brisbane, Australia.

16 Oct, 1943
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) arrives at Brisbane.

20 Nov, 1943
After moving to Tulagi, Solomon Islands, USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) departs from that base for her 1st war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Bismarck Archipelago / New Guinea area.

26 Nov, 1943
While operating north of the Bismarck Archipelago USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese ammunition ship Onoe Maru (6667 GRT) in position 00º40'N, 148º20'E and torpedoes and sinks the Japanese troop transport Kamoi Maru (2811 GRT) in position 00º46'N, 148º20'E. (see map)

28 Nov, 1943
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese army cargo ships Hokko Maru (6787 GRT) and Yuri Maru (5346 GRT) north of New Guinea in position 01º40'N, 141º25'E. (see map)

6 Dec, 1943
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) ends her 1st war patrol at Milne Bay, New Guinea.

11 Dec, 1943
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) departs Milne Bay for her 2nd war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Mindanao / Celebes / Halmahera area.

24 Dec, 1943
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese troop transport Heiwa Maru (5578 GRT) in Kaoe Bay, Halmahera in position 02º57'N, 127º32'E. (see map)

2 Jan, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) torpedoes and damages the Japanese fleet tanker Akebono Maru (10182 GRT) east of Mindanao, Philippines in position 08º18'N, 129º59'E. (see map)

25 Jan, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) ends her 2nd war patrol at Fremantle, Australia.

18 Feb, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) departs Fremantle for her 3rd war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Java and the South China Seas.

14 Apr, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) ends her 3th war patrol at Fremantle.

19 May, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) departs Fremantle for her 4th war patrol. Once again she is ordered to patrol in the Java and South China Seas.

23 May, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) sinks the small merchant vessel Koshin Maru (168 GRT) with gunfire west of Borneo in position 00º25'S, 107º34'E. (see map)

24 May, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese frigate Iki (870 tons) and torpedoes and damages the Japanese frigate Matsuwa (870 tons, offsite link) about 220 nautical miles east of Singapore in position 01º17'N, 107º53'E. (see map)

6 Jun, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese corvette Kaibokan No.15 (745 tons) about 160 nautical miles off Cape St. Jacques, French Indo-China in position 08º57'N, 109º17'E. (see map)

13 Jun, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) sinks a Japanese sampam with gunfire in the Java Sea in position 04º00'S, 109º46'E. (see map)

23 Jun, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Davis) ends her 4th war patrol at Fremantle.

18 Jul, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. M.W. Shea) departs Fremantle for her 5th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

10 Sep, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. M.W. Shea) ends her 5th war patrol at Fremantle.

6 Oct, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. M.W. Shea) departs Fremantle for her 6th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

18 Oct, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. M.W. Shea) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese army cargo ships Taikai Maru (3812 GRT) and Shiranesan Maru (4739 GRT) in the South China Sea, south-west of Luzon, Philippines in position 12º37'N, 118º46'E. (see map)

27 Oct, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. M.W. Shea) departs Mios Woendi, Schouten Islands, after she took onboard additional torpedoes and fuel, to resume her 6th war patrol.

6 Nov, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. M.W. Shea) torpedoes and damages the Japanese heavy cruiser Kumano (offsite link) west of Lingayen, Philippines in position 16º11'N, 119º44'E. (see map)

14 Nov, 1944
While operating north-north-west of Cape Bolinao, Luzon, Philippines USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. M.W. Shea) torpedoes and damages the Japanese supply ship Kurasaki (2371 GRT, offsite link) in position 17º41'N, 118º00'E and torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant tanker Unkai Maru No.5 (2841 GRT) in position 17º48'N, 117º58'E.

The Kurasaki sinks the following day north-northwest of Cape Bolinao in position 17º27'N, 117º43'E as a result of the damage inflicted by USS Raton. (see map)

1 Dec, 1944
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. M.W. Shea) ends her 6th war patrol at San Francisco. She is now sent to the Mare Island Navy Yard for a major overhaul.

13 Mar, 1945
With her overhaul completed USS Raton (Cdr. M.W. Shea) departs the US west coast bound for Pearl Harbour.

20 Apr, 1945
USS Raton (Cdr. M.W. Shea) departs Pearl Harbour for her 7th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Yellow Sea.

2 May, 1945
USS Raton (Cdr. M.W. Shea) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Toryu Maru (1992 GRT) in the Yellow Sea southeast of the Shantung Peninsula in position 37º24'N, 123º50'E. (see map)

12 May, 1945
USS Raton (Cdr. M.W. Shea) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Rekizan Maru (1311 GRT) in the Yellow Sea off the Shantung Peninsula in position 37º25'N, 123º42'E. (see map)

16 May, 1945
USS Raton (Cdr. M.W. Shea) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Eiju Maru (2456 GRT) in the Yellow Sea off the west coast of Korea in position 37º34'N, 124º13'E. (see map)

25 May, 1945
USS Raton (Cdr. M.W. Shea) ends her 7th war patrol at Guam.

22 Jun, 1945
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. G.F. Gugliotta) departs Guam for her 8th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol off Hong Kong.

23 Jul, 1945
USS Raton (Lt.Cdr. G.F. Gugliotta) ends her 8th war patrol at Subic Bay, Philippines.


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