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USS Rock

2025-10-29T03:52:52Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:5084:D12A:6D7C:BEB9: /* Awards */

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Rock (SS-274).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Rock'' underway, ca. the 1960s.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1969}}
|Ship name=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company]], [[Manitowoc, Wisconsin]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book
| last = Friedman
| first = Norman
| authorlink =
| title = U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
| publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]]
| date = 1995
| location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
| pages = 285–304
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
|Ship laid down=23 December 1942<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=20 June 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. B. O. Wells
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=26 October 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=1 May 1946<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=12 October 1953<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=13 September 1969<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=13 September 1969<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, 17 August 1972<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Gato-class submarine]] [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register">{{cite book
| last = Bauer
| first = K. Jack
| authorlink =
|author2=Roberts, Stephen S.
| title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants
| publisher = Greenwood Press
| date = 1991
| location = [[Westport, Connecticut]]
| pages = 271–273
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1525|long ton|t|lk=on}} surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*{{convert|2424|long ton|t}} submerged<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|9|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|0|in|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-early-GM-4-GE}}
|Ship speed=*{{convert|21|kn|km/h}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref>
*{{convert|9|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|km|lk=in}} surfaced at {{convert|10|kn|km/h}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|300|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=6 officers, 54 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-3-inch}}
}}
|}

'''USS ''Rock'' (SS/SSR/AGSS-274)''', a [[Gato class submarine|''Gato''-class]] [[submarine]], was a ship of the [[United States Navy]] named for the rockfish, a [[striped bass]] found in the [[Chesapeake Bay]] region and elsewhere along the [[United States East Coast]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''Rock'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] by the [[Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company]] at [[Manitowoc, Wisconsin|Manitowoc]], [[Wisconsin]], on 23 December 1942; [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 20 June 1943, sponsored by Mrs. B. O. Wells, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 26 October 1943.

==Service history==
===World War II===
After a month of intensive training in [[Lake Michigan]], ''Rock'' passed through the [[Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal]] (at the time known as the Chicago Drainage Canal) to [[Lockport, Illinois|Lockport, Ill.]] There she entered a [[floating drydock]] for her voyage down the [[Mississippi River]]. She arrived in [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]] on 29 November 1943, and got underway 6 days later for [[Panama]], where she received further training before sailing for [[Pearl Harbor]] on 2 January 1944. Following voyage repairs ''Rock'' departed from Pearl Harbor for her first war patrol on 8 February 1944.

====First and second war patrols, February–May 1944====

On 29 February 1944, ''Rock'' contacted a large enemy convoy en route to [[Chuuk Lagoon|Truk]]. Detected by destroyer [[Japanese destroyer Asashimo|''Asashimo'']] while making a night surface approach on the convoy, she fired a spread of four [[torpedo]]es from her stern tubes at the closing enemy [[destroyer]] without scoring. Then illuminated by the destroyer's searchlight, and under fire from the surface ship's {{convert|5|in|mm|adj=on}} guns, she dived. For 4 hours she underwent [[depth charge]] attacks, but survived. That night she surfaced and found that her [[periscope]]s were excessively damaged and that her bridge had been riddled with [[Shrapnel shell|shrapnel]]. The damage necessitated a return to Pearl Harbor for repairs. Later that night, the busy ''Asashimo'' sank {{USS|Trout|SS-202|2}}.

''Rock'' began her second war patrol on 4 April 1944, destination [[Honshū]]. However, after 34 days in the [[Bungo Suido]] and [[Sagami Wan]] area without action, she returned to [[Majuro]] where she was refitted by {{USS|Sperry|AS-12|3}}.

====Third war patrol, June–August 1944====

''Rock'', in company with {{USS|Tilefish|SS-307|2}} and {{USS|Sawfish|SS-276|2}}, departed Majuro on 22 June 1944, in a [[wolf pack (submarines)|coordinated attack group]] to patrol the [[Luzon Strait]]. At dawn on 19 July ''Rock'' attacked a [[Japan]]ese convoy of seven large ships and three escorts, firing 10 torpedoes, six of which exploded. But, as she immediately dove to escape a depth-charge attack, she could not observe their effect.

Two days later ''Rock'' contacted another enemy [[convoy]] consisting of six large ships and four escorts. She launched four torpedoes, two of which seemed to hit but, again ''Rock'' was forced down by depth charges and unable to assess damage to her targets. During the remainder of her time on station, ''Rock'' weathered a severe [[typhoon]] and witnessed the sinking of Japanese submarine [[Japanese submarine I-29|''I-29'']] by ''Sawfish''. On 27 July she headed toward Pearl Harbor.

====Fourth war patrol, September–November 1944====

''Rock'' departed Pearl Harbor on 9 September 1944, en route for the [[South China Sea]] for her fourth patrol. On 26 October 1944, she scored three hits on a tanker, ''Rock'''s only sinking, ''Takasago Maru No. 7'', accompanied by three escorts. On 27 October 1944, she fired nine torpedoes at {{USS|Darter|SS-227|2}}, stranded on [[Bombay Shoal]], to prevent her salvage by the Japanese. Three of the torpedoes were hits. This patrol ended when ''Rock'' departed the area and sailed for [[Fremantle, Western Australia|Fremantle]], [[Western Australia]], for refit.

====Fifth and sixth war patrols, December 1944–May 1945====

On 14 December 1944, ''Rock'' departed Fremantle on her fifth patrol. On 12 January 1945, the U.S. Navy [[destroyer]] {{USS|English|DD-696}} mistook her for a Japanese [[sailboat]] while ''Rock'' was on the surface in the [[South China Sea]] off Japanese-occupied [[French Indochina]] and opened gunfire on her at a range of {{convert|9,200|yd|sigfig=2}}.<ref name=hinmanpp185188>Hinman & Campbell, pp. 185–188.</ref> ''Rock'' [[Crash dive|crash-dived]] to {{convert|300|ft|0}} and sustained no damage.<ref name=hinmanpp185188/> The only other event of note during the 64-day patrol was the rescue of a downed pilot from {{USS|Lexington|CV-16}}.

At the start of her sixth patrol, which lasted from 7 March to 4 May 1945, she picked up 15 merchant seamen from the {{SS|Peter Silvester}}, adrift in a life raft for 32 days, and landed them at [[Exmouth, Western Australia|Exmouth]]. Continuing northward the next day, ''Rock'' was bombed by an aircraft and that night she was struck by a dud torpedo. Neither attack caused any critical damage. In a night attack on 27 March, ''Rock'' fired on an enemy destroyer escort without success. On 18 April she joined {{USS|Tigrone|SS-419|2}} in bombarding [[Batan Island]] to leave the Japanese radio station in ruins. ''Rock'' then turned toward [[Saipan]] to complete a 54-day patrol.

From the [[Mariana Islands|Marianas]] the submarine headed for the United States, arriving at [[Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard|Hunter's Point]], [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], 14 May for overhaul. She sailed for Pearl Harbor 7 August 1945, but with the cessation of hostilities on 15 August 1945 was ordered east. She was officially credited with damaging 42,282 [[gross register ton]]s of enemy shipping during her six war patrols,

===Post-World War II===
====1945–1946====
''Rock'' participated in [[Navy Day#United States|Navy Day]] celebrations at New Orleans, then proceeded to [[Naval Submarine Base New London|New London]] where she began inactivation in November 1945. She was decommissioned 1 May 1946 and was berthed as a unit of the [[Atlantic Reserve Fleet]].

====Radar picket submarine (SSR-274), 1953–1959====

In early 1951 ''Rock'' was towed from New London to the [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]], where she was converted to a [[radar picket]] submarine by bisecting her at the forward bulkhead of the control room and inserting a {{convert|30|ft|m|0|adj=on}} section between the control room and the forward battery to house the new [[Combat Information Center|CIC]] and the majority of her new electronic equipment. Reclassified '''SSR-274''' on 18 July 1952, Rock recommissioned at [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], on 12 October 1953.

After a short period of training with [[Submarine Squadron 6]] off the [[Virginia Capes]], she proceeded to [[San Diego]] to join [[Submarine Squadron 5]]. On 23 July 1954, she departed San Diego for the western Pacific area and a six-month tour on the [[Taiwan Strait]] Patrol. She subsequently alternated deployments to the western Pacific with operations off the [[United States West Coast]]. She made six-month deployments to the western Pacific in 1956 and during the winter of 1958–1959.

====Auxiliary general submarine (AGSS-274), 1959–1969====

By 31 December 1959 there no longer existed an operational requirement for a radar picket submarine in the fleet, and on that date the Air Control Center was decommissioned and ''Rock'' was redesignated an "auxiliary general submarine," '''AGSS-274''',. Following operations off the U.S. West Coast and another overhaul, ''Rock'' again deployed to the western Pacific in November 1961. She made subsequent six-month deployments to the western Pacific in 1963, 1965, 1966–1967, and 1968.

Operating in the eastern Pacific during the first half of 1969, ''Rock'' departed San Diego 11 July and conducted operations in support of fleet training in the [[Hawaii]]an operating areas until proceeding on 16 August 1959 to the U.S. West Coast.

==Decommissioning and disposal==
On 13 September 1969, ''Rock'' decommissioned at [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]]. Struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Navy List]] on the same day, she was designated for use as a target to destruction. She was sold for scrap on 17 August 1972

==Awards==
*{{ribbon devices|number=4|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific_Campaign_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with four [[battle star]]s
*[[File:World_War_II_Victory_Medal_ribbon.svg|106px]] [[World War II Victory Medal]]
*[[File:China Service Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[China Service Medal]]
*{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon, 2nd award.svg|width=106}} [[National Defense Service Medal]] with star
* {{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Vietnam Service Medal]] with three battle stars for [[Vietnam War]] service<ref>https://goatlocker.org/resources/nav/1650.pdf "OpNavNote 1650 September 2002, Pg. 388"</ref>

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r8/rock.htm}}

===Bibliography===
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=hkupDwAAQBAJ&dq=LApon+raton&pg=PA181 Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.] {{ISBN|978-0-359-76906-3}}.

==External links==
*{{navsource|08/08274|Rock}}
{{The Manitowoc Company|state=autocollapse}}
{{Gato class submarine}}
{{January 1945 shipwrecks}}

{{coord|11|40|N|109|16|E|source:jawiki|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rock (SS-274)}}
[[Category:Gato-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in January 1945]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]

USS Redfin

2025-10-29T03:51:57Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:5084:D12A:6D7C:BEB9: /* Awards */

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USS Redfin;0827230.jpg|300px|''Redfin_(SS-272)'', April 1943 on Lake Michigan.]]
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1967}}
|Ship name=USS ''Redfin''
|Ship namesake=[[Redfin shiner]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company]], [[Manitowoc, Wisconsin]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book
|last=Friedman
|first=Norman
|authorlink=
|title=U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
|publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]]
|year=1995
|location=[[Annapolis, Maryland]]
|pages=285–304
|url=
|doi=
|isbn=1-55750-263-3}}</ref>
|Ship laid down=3 September 1942<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=4 April 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. B. B. Wygant
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=31 August 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=1 November 1946<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=9 January 1953<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=15 May 1967<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 July 1970<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, 31 March 1971<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Gato class submarine|''Gato''-class]] [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register">{{cite book
|last=Bauer
|first=K. Jack
|authorlink=
|author2=Roberts, Stephen S.
|title=Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants
|publisher=Greenwood Press
|year=1991
|location=[[Westport, Connecticut]]
|pages=271–273
|url=
|doi=
|isbn=0-313-26202-0}}</ref>
|Ship displacement=*1,525 [[long ton|ton]]s (1,549 [[tonne|t]]) surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*2,424 tons (2,460 t) submerged<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|9|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|0|in|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-early-GM-4-GE}}
|Ship speed=*21 knots (39 km/h) surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref>
*{{convert|9|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range=11,000 [[nautical mile|NM]] (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|300|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=6 officers, 54 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-3-inch}}
}}
|}

'''USS ''Redfin'' (SS/SSR/AGSS-272)''', a [[Gato class submarine|''Gato''-class]] [[submarine]], was a ship of the [[United States Navy]] named for the [[Redfin shiner|redfin]], any of several [[North America]]n [[fish]]es with reddish fins.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Redfin'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] 16 February 1942 by [[Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.]], [[Manitowoc, Wisconsin|Manitowoc]], [[Wisconsin]]; [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 4 April 1943, sponsored by Mrs. B. B. Wygant; and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 31 August 1943.

==Service history==
===World War II===
====First war patrol, January – March 1944====
Departing [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]] 15 October 1943, ''Redfin'' proceeded to [[Fremantle, Western Australia|Fremantle]], [[Australia]]. On her first war patrol 4 January to 17 February 1944, she encountered an enemy [[convoy]] of four ships in the [[South China Sea]] 16 January and damaged the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[destroyer]] {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Amatsukaze|1939|2}}. From 8 March to 14 March, she patrolled north of Australia to defend against a possible [[Japan]]ese attack.

====Second war patrol, March – May 1944====
On her second war patrol 19 March to 1 May, ''Redfin'' sank the 1,900-ton Japanese [[destroyer]] [[Japanese destroyer Akigumo (1941)|''Akigumo'']] off [[Zamboanga City|Zamboanga]], [[Mindanao]], 11 April. During the night of 15 April – 16 April, she sank two Japanese passenger-cargo ships, ''Shinyu Maru'', 4,621 tons, and ''Yamagata Maru'', 3,807 tons. On the night of 22 April – 23 April, she landed four of her crew near [[Dent Haven]], [[Borneo]], to evacuate a [[United Kingdom|British]] reconnaissance party. Attacked by the Japanese, the landing party returned to ''Redfin'', but the British agents were later evacuated by an Australian officer, and transferred to {{USS|Harder|SS-257|3}}.

====Third war patrol, May – July 1944====
On her third war patrol, 26 May to 1 July, she landed six [[Philippine resistance against Japan|Philippine guerrillas]] on a small island near [[Balabac Strait]] 8 June. Proceeding to scout the enemy naval base at [[Tawi Tawi]], she sank the 5,142-ton Japanese tanker ''Asanagi Maru'' on 11 June. She also warned American forces in the [[Mariana Islands|Marianas]] of the departure from Tawi Tawi of the Japanese task force that was later defeated in the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]] on 19 June and 20 June. Operating off [[Leyte (island)|Leyte]] on 24 June, she sank the 3,028-ton Japanese passenger-cargo ship ''Aso Maru'', before returning to Fremantle.

====Fourth, fifth, and sixth war patrols, August 1944 – September 1945====
Departing Fremantle 6 August, she laid a [[naval mine|minefield]] off the west coast of [[Borneo]] on 19 August and rescued eight survivors of {{USS|Flier|SS-250|3}} at [[Palawan Island]] on 30 August. After lifeguard duty for airstrikes against [[Balikpapan]], Borneo, she departed Fremantle 26 October, and sank the 15,226-ton Japanese tanker ''Nichinan Maru No. 2'' west of the Philippines 8 November.

Completing her fourth war patrol 7 January 1945, she proceeded to [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]], [[San Francisco Bay]], [[California]], where she received special mine detection gear. Underway from [[Pearl Harbor]] 30 May to 10 July, and later from 30 July to 5 September she made mine surveys first off [[Honshū]] and [[Hokkaidō]], and later off [[Kyūshū]], Japan.

===Radar picket submarine, 1953–1959===
[[File:USS Redfin as Radar Picket.jpg|thumb|left|''Redfin'' (SSR-272) as a [[radar picket]] submarine.]]
[[File:USS Redfin;0827201.jpg|thumb|left|''Redfin'' (SSR-272), c. 1963.]]
Decommissioned at [[Naval Submarine Base New London|New London, Conn.]], 1 November 1946, she entered the [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]] in April 1951 for conversion, and was reclassified '''SSR-272'''. Recommissioned 9 January 1953, she engaged in [[radar picket]] duty for the next 6 years in American coastal waters, off northern [[Europe]], and in the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]].

===Auxiliary research submarine, 1959–1967===
In April 1959 she entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, and received an [[inertial guidance system]]. ''Redfin'' became a laboratory and training ship for the testing of inertial guidance systems used in [[UGM-27 Polaris|Polaris]] submarines. She preceded the first [[ballistic missile]] submarine {{USS|George Washington|SSBN-598|3}} as flagship of [[Submarine Squadron 14]].

After searching for the lost submarine {{USS|Thresher|SSN-593|3}} in April 1963, she was reclassified as an auxiliary submarine, '''AGSS-272''', on 28 June 1963. Operating in the Atlantic, she continued to assist in special research and development projects, including of the [[UGM-27 Polaris|Polaris A-3]] [[submarine-launched ballistic missile]].

==Decommissioning and disposal==
''Redfin'' decommissioned on 15 May 1967 to become a [[United States Naval Reserve]] [[Training ship|Training Ship]] at [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]]. She was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Navy List]] on 1 July 1970 and sold to the North American Smelting Company of [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]], [[Delaware]], on 3 March 1971 for scrapping.

==Awards==
* {{ribbon devices|number=6|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific_Campaign_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=103}} [[Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal]] with six [[battle star]]s
* {{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=World_War_II_Victory_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=103}} [[World War II Victory Medal]]
* {{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Army_of_Occupation_ribbon.svg|width=103}} [[Navy Occupation Medal]]
* {{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon, 2nd award.svg|width=103}} [[National Defense Service Medal]] with one [[service star]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r3/redfin.htm}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Redfin (SS-272)}}
*{{navsource|08/08272|Redfin}}
{{The Manitowoc Company|state=autocollapse}}
{{Gato class submarine}}
*[http://www.ussredfin.com Official USS Redfin Website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Redfin (SS-272)}}
[[Category:Gato-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]

USS Raton

2025-10-29T03:49:43Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:5084:D12A:6D7C:BEB9: /* Honors and awards */

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[Image:USS Raton;0827014.jpg|300px|''Raton'' (SS-270) during trials in Lake Michigan, 1 July 1943.]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Raton'' (SS-270) during [[Sea trials|trials]] on [[Lake Michigan]] on 1 July 1943.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1969}}
|Ship name=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company]], {{nowrap|[[Manitowoc, Wisconsin]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book
| last = Friedman
| first = Norman
| title = U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
| publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]]
| year = 1995
| location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
| pages = 285–304
| isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>}}
|Ship laid down=29 May 1942<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=24 January 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship sponsor= Mrs. C. C. West
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=13 July 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=11 March 1949<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=21 September 1953<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=28 June 1969<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=28 June 1969<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap 12 October 1973<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Gato class submarine|''Gato''-class]] [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register">{{cite book
| last = Bauer
| first = K. Jack
|author2=Roberts, Stephen S.
| title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants
| publisher = Greenwood Press
| year = 1991
| location = [[Westport, Connecticut]]
| pages = 271–273
| isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
|Ship displacement=*1,525 [[long ton|ton]]s (1,549 [[tonne|t]]) surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*2,424 tons (2,460 t) submerged<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|9|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|0|in|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-early-FM-4-GE}}
|Ship speed=*21 knots (39 km/h) surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305–311</ref>
*{{convert|9|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range=11,000 [[nautical mile|NM]] (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h|0}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|300|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=6 officers, 54 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-3-inch}}
}}
|}

'''USS ''Raton'' (SS/SSR/AGSS-270)''', a {{sclass|Gato|submarine}}, was a ship of the [[United States Navy]] named for the [[raton (fish)|raton]], a [[Polynemid|polynemoid]] fish inhabiting [[Subtropics|semitropical]] waters off the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] coast of the [[Americas]].

==Construction and commissioning==
A [[fleet submarine]], ''Raton'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] on 29 May 1942 by the [[Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company]] at [[Manitowoc, Wisconsin|Manitowoc]], [[Wisconsin]]. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 24 January 1943, sponsored by Mrs. C. C. West, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 13 July 1943.

==Service history==
===World War II===
====July–October 1943====
Following training in [[Lake Michigan]], ''Raton'' moved to [[Coco Solo, Panama|Coco Solo]] in the [[Panama Canal Zone]] for additional training. She was off Coco Solo on 11 August 1943 when the [[merchant ship]] {{SS|Hiram Maxim}}′s [[United States Navy Armed Guard]] mistakenly opened fire on her, firing one {{convert|5|in|mm|0|adj=on}} and two {{convert|3|in|mm|1|adj=on}} rounds. ''Raton'' immediately [[Crash dive|crash-dived]] and sustained no damage.<ref>Hinman & Campbell, pp. 176–177.</ref>

''Raton'' departed [[Panama]] for the [[South West Pacific Area (command)|South West Pacific Area]] on 19 September 1943, and upon arriving at [[Brisbane]], [[Australia]], on 16 October 1943, joined Submarine Force, [[United States Seventh Fleet]].

==== First war patrol, November – December 1943 ====

From Brisbane, ''Raton'' headed for [[Tulagi]] in the [[Solomon Islands (archipelago)|Solomon Islands]] for her first war patrol which she conducted from 20 November to 6 December 1943 — in the [[Bismarck Archipelago]]–Solomons–[[New Guinea]] area. On 24 November 1943, while patrolling west of [[Massau]], ''Raton'' sighted a Japanese [[convoy]] of two [[cargo ship]]s escorted by two [[destroyer]]s and a [[Nakajima A6M2-N]] ([[World War II Allied names for Japanese aircraft|Allied reporting name]] "Rufe") [[floatplane]]. She trailed the convoy and that night made a [[torpedo]] attack, sinking the cargo ship ''Onoe Maru''. Displaying excellent [[antisubmarine warfare]] proficiency, the two destroyers thwarted four attempts ''Raton'' made to sink the remaining cargo ship.

On 28 November 1943, ''Raton'' sighted a [[Rabaul]]-bound Japanese convoy of five cargo ships accompanied by two escorts. In a submerged attack, ''Raton'' sank two of the cargo ships, ''Hokko Maru'' and ''Yuri Maru''. After a severe pounding by the escorts, ''Raton'' escaped, but she remained in the area to renew her attack on the convoy. In a night attack, she heavily damaged a third cargo ship, then called for assistance, as her torpedoes were nearly expended. The submarine {{USS|Gato|SS-212}} arrived and joined the attack, only to be attacked by the two Japanese destroyers. ''Raton'' surfaced and raced at [[flank speed]] to draw the escorts away from ''Gato'' and succeeded, allowing ''Gato'' to sink the cargo ship ''Columbia Maru''. ''Raton'' concluded her patrol with her return to [[Milne Bay]], New Guinea, for rest and refit there alongside the [[submarine tender]] {{USS|Fulton|AS-11}}.

==== Second and third war patrols, December 1943–April 1944 ====

''Raton'' departed Milne Bay on her second war patrol— conducted from 11 December 1943 to 25 January 1944 — bound for the [[Mindanao]]–[[Sulawesi|Celebes]]–[[Halmahera]] area. On 24 December 1943, she attacked a Japanese convoy of four [[merchant ship]]s and two destroyers in [[Morotai Strait]], sinking the merchant ship ''Heiwa Maru'' and damaging an [[auxiliary aircraft carrier]].

On 2 January 1944, ''Raton'' encountered two Japanese [[Tanker (ship)|tanker]]s escorted by a {{sclass|Fubuki|destroyer}} northwest of [[Faland Island]] on the [[Palau]] shipping lane. She scored hits on one tanker, but then the Japanese escorts interrupted her attack. ''Raton'' departed the patrol area on 19 January 1944 and reached [[Fremantle]], Australia, on 25 January 1944 for refit by the submarine tender {{USS|Pelias|AS-14}}.

''Raton'' conducted her third war patrol from 18 February to 14 April in the [[Java Sea]], the [[Karimata Strait]], and the [[South China Sea]]. The submarine {{USS|Rasher|SS-269|2}} sank the only two ships ''Raton'' contacted during the patrol.

==== Fourth war patrol, May–June 1944 ====

''Raton''′s fourth patrol began on 19 May when she got underway for a patrol area in the [[South China Sea]] and [[Java Sea]], which provided good hunting. On 23 May 1944, she intercepted two small intercoastal cargo ships north of the [[Tambelan Islands]] and sank both with her [[deck gun]]. That same evening, she contacted the Japanese fast [[Hi convoys|convoy Hi-63]], which consisted of three [[Transport (ship)|transports]] and four destroyers. She sank the destroyer {{Ship|Japanese destroyer|Iki||2}}, and damaged a transport.

On 27 May 1944, ''Raton''′s [[logbook]] reported:

<blockquote>"0615 ([[UTC+08:00|H]]) Ship shaken up considerably by either two underwater explosions or by striking submerged object. People in forward torpedo room thought we had struck something or had been struck by something."</blockquote>

This turned out to be two torpedoes fired by the submarine {{USS|Lapon|SS-260}}. ''Lapon'' was looking for a Japanese submarine passing through the area and mistook ''Raton'' for that submarine. ''Lapon''′s [[commanding officer]] checked fire on the second set of torpedoes realizing he was not shooting at an enemy submarine. Later [[Dry dock|dry-dock]] inspection of ''Raton'' showed dents where the torpedoes hit. This is the only known [[friendly fire]] incident in World War II between two U.S. submarines.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ratonss270.com/ss270-shipmates-stories2.html |title=''Raton'' logbook quoted at ratonss270.com |access-date=20 January 2011 |archive-date=15 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715154916/http://www.ratonss270.com/ss270-shipmates-stories2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 28 May 1944, ''Raton'' sighted and tracked a [[Japanese Type L submarine]], but was unable to attack due to an unfavorable firing angle.

On 6 June 1944, a bright moonlit night allowed ''Raton'' to sight a large Japanese convoy of 11 ships with four destroyer-type escorts. Three hits from a spread of torpedoes ''Raton'' fired blew apart one [[frigate]], but ''Raton'' received a severe pounding from a prolonged [[depth charge]] attack before making her escape.

A [[Naval boarding|boarding]] party from ''Raton'' captured a small [[sailing vessel]] on 13 June 1944, taking 11 [[Prisoner-of-war|prisoners-of-war]] and [[scuttling]] the craft. On 17 June 1944, ''Raton'' sighted a small cargo ship, sinking it with one torpedo and rescuing nine survivors. ''Raton'' returned to Fremantle on 23 June 1944 for upkeep alongside the submarine tender {{USS|Orion|AS-18|2}}.

==== Fifth and sixth war patrols, July–December 1944 ====

''Raton''′s fifth war patrol, conducted from 18 July to 10 September 1944 with a patrol area in the South China Sea off [[Luzon]], gave her only one victory, a Japanese tanker left beached off [[Dasol Bay]], in the [[Philippines]] on 4 August 1944.

''Raton'' had better luck on her sixth war patrol, which she began on 6 October 1944, again with a patrol area in the South China Sea. On the night of 18 October 1944, ''Raton'' slipped into the center of a nine-ship Japanese convoy for a surface attack. She fired both sets of [[torpedo tube]]s, her [[Bow (watercraft)|bow]] tubes at six overlapping targets and her [[stern]] tubes at a large cargo ship. Two merchant ships — ''Shiranesan Maru'' and ''Taikai Maru'' — sank, and another vessel was damaged. A final attack resulted in damage to another cargo ship. With her torpedo supply running low and a [[typhoon]] approaching, ''Raton'' pulled into [[Mios Woendi]] in the [[Schouten Islands]] for more fuel and torpedoes with which to finish the patrol.

Leaving Mios Woendi 27 October 1944, ''Raton'' encountered a Japanese [[task group]] of two [[heavy cruiser]]s and five escort vessels on 6 November 1944. In a submerged attack, she scored three hits on the [[Mogami-class cruiser|''Mogami''-class]] heavy cruiser {{Ship|Japanese cruiser|Kumano||2}}, but did not put ''Kumano'' out of action.

On 11 November 1944, ''Raton'' and the submarine {{USS|Ray|SS-271}} attacked a four-ship Japanese convoy guarded by three escorts. In a surface action, ''Raton'' sank ''Unkai Maru'' and ''Kurasaki'' with four torpedoes. Then, both submarines fired torpedoes at the remaining [[auxiliary ship]]s with unconfirmed results. With only four torpedoes remaining, ''Raton'' headed for the [[United States]], arriving at [[San Francisco]], [[California]], on 1 December 1944.

==== Seventh and eighth war patrols, April–July 1945 ====

On 13 March 1945, after an overhaul at [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard|Mare Island Navy Yard]] in [[Vallejo, California|Vallejo]], [[California]], ''Raton'' headed west for [[Pearl Harbor]], [[HAwaii]], for refresher training. She departed for the [[Yellow Sea]] on 20 April 1945 to begin her seventh war patrol. On 2 May 1945, she blew up a loaded Japanese tanker, ''Toryu Maru'', in a night torpedo attack off [[China]]′ [[Shantung Peninsula]] despite gunfire from two Japanese escorts. That same day, ''Raton'' sank a medium-sized Japanese cargo ship, ''Rezikan Maru'', in a submerged torpedo approach. On 16 May 1945, she made a submerged attack on two Japanese transports, sinking the larger one, ''Eiju Maru''. ''Raton'' concluded the patrol with her arrival at [[Guam]] on 25 May 1945 for upkeep alongside the submarine tender {{USS|Proteus|AS-19}}.

''Raton'' departed Guam on 22 June 1945 for her final patrol of [[World War II]], tasked with lifeguard duty off [[Hong Kong]]. No [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] planes went down in the area, and she made no contact with Japanese forces. Arriving at [[Subic Bay]] in the Philippines on 23 July 1945 for upkeep, ''Raton'' was preparing for her next patrol when the war ended on 15 August 1945.

=== Post-World War II service, 1946–1948 ===

====1945–1949====
On 31 August 1945. ''Raton'' departed the Philippines for the United States, arriving at San Francisco in mid-September 1945. Following overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard, ''Raton'' transited the [[Panama Canal]], and arrived [[Naval Submarine Base New London]] in [[New London, Connecticut|New London]], [[Connecticut]], on 12 March 1946, where she was assigned to the [[United States Second Fleet]]. As the [[Cold War]] began, she spent the next 2½ years in training exercises in the North [[Atlantic Ocean]] and the [[Caribbean Sea]]. After being placed in [[Reserve fleet|reserve]] in the fall of 1948, ''Raton'' was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] at [[Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London]] on 11 March 1949.

==== Radar picket submarine (SSR-270), 1953–1959 ====

[[Image:USS Raton;0827015.jpg|thumb|300px|right|''Raton'' (SSR-270) as a [[radar picket]] submarine, c. 1953–60.]]
''Raton'' remained in the [[Atlantic Reserve Fleet]] at New London until July 1952, when she was [[Towing|towed]] to the [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]] in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], for conversion to a [[radar picket]] submarine. Accordingly redesignated '''SSR-270''' on 18 July 1952, she was recommissioned on 21 September 1953, [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] J. K. Wills in command. Departing Philadelphia on 8 December 1953, ''Raton'' underwent training for several months in the [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], [[Virginia]], area, operating from [[Naval Station Norfolk]]. Ordered to the Pacific, she arrived at [[San Diego]], California, on 7 March 1954 via the Panama Canal.

''Raton'' spent the next year in local operations before departing San Diego on 11 May 1955 for a six-month deployment to the western Pacific as a unit of the [[United States Seventh Fleet]], her first post-World War II deployment to the Western Pacific. She returned to San Diego on 6 November 1955, and subsequently trained off the [[United States West Coast]]. She deployed to the western Pacific for her second post-World War II Seventh Fleet deployment on 13 May 1957. She returned to San Diego on 8 November 1957 and resumed training activities.

After overhaul at [[Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard]] in San Francisco from 7 July to 24 November 1958 and subsequent underway training, ''Raton'' made a third post-World War II deployment in the Seventh Fleet in the western Pacific from early March to mid-November 1959, participating in operations with forces of the [[Southeast Asia Treaty Organization]] (SEATO) and the [[Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force]]. In early 1960, ''Raton'' was engaged in local operations in the San Diego area, including evaluation of new [[sonar]] concepts and the training of [[Underwater Demolition Team]] personnel in covert [[reconnaissance]].

====Auxiliary research submarine (AGSS-270), 1960–1968 ====

On 1 July 1960, ''Raton'' was reclassified as an auxiliary submarine and redesignated '''AGSS-270'''. After a major overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard from January to April 1961, she headed west for her fourth post-World War II western Pacific deployment with the Seventh Fleet on 3 July 1961, returning to San Diego on 19 December 1961. She spent 1962 in fleet training operations off the U.S. West Coast, providing services for air, surface, and submarine forces. On 9 April 1962, it was reported that a [[kite]] had snagged on ''Raton'',<ref>''Submarine Snags a Kite'', San Mateo Times, 9 April 1962</ref><ref>St. Petersburg Independent, April 9, 1962, page 5-A; available at https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1962/05/19#:~:text=story%3Ahttp%3A//news.google.com/newspapers%3Fnid%3D955%26dat%3D19620409%26id%3DSWxIAAAAIBAJ%26sjid%3D8FYDAAAAIBAJ%26pg%3D4353%2C1711081.</ref> and this incident was referenced in the ''[[Peanuts]]'' comic strip of [http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1962/05/19 19 May 1962], wherein it is implied that the kite had belonged to the long-suffering [[Charlie Brown]], whose problems with flying kites was a standard running gag of the strip.<ref>''The Peanuts'', May 19, 1962; available at https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1962/05/19.</ref>

''Raton''′s fifth post-World War II western Pacific deployment, from January to June 1963, included participation in two major [[anti-submarine warfare]] exercises with U.S. and SEATO forces. Following an overhaul period from November 1963 to early March 1964, ''Raton'' deployed again to the western Pacific from 6 July to 23 December 1964, where she operated with naval forces of [[Thailand]], the Philippines, and the [[Republic of China]], under the [[Military Assistance Program]].

''Raton'' engaged in local fleet and type operations in the San Diego area during 1965 and early 1966. In mid-April 1966, she got underwat for another tour of duty with the Seventh Fleet. While deployed, she exercised with SEATO naval units in Exercise Sea Imp. On 17 October 1966, she returned to San Diego.

''Raton'' spent 1967 in the San Diego area in local operations, conducting [[United States Naval Reserve]] training and undergoing a semiannual overhaul. On 20 and 21 May 1968, she served as a test ship to determine whether a small [[fleet tug]] could rescue men from a sunken submarine resting on the [[Seabed|ocean floor]]. ''Raton'' commenced her final western Pacific deployment 15 July 1968, arriving at [[Yokohama]], [[Japan]], on 7 August 1968. During her deployment, she provided training services to Seventh Fleet and SEATO units. She returned to San Diego on 20 December 1968.

==Decommissioning and disposal==
''Raton'' was decommissioned at Mare Island Naval Shipyard and stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Navy List]] on 28 June 1969. Her stripped hull was designated as a [[target ship]] for [[United States Pacific Fleet]] gunnery exercise. She was sold for scrapping on 10 December 1973.

==Honors and awards==
* {{ribbon devices|number=6|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with six battle stars for [[World War II]] service
Medal]]
* {{ribbon devices|number=|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam Service Ribbon (With Two Bronze Stars).jpg|width=106}} [[Vietnam Service Medal]] with two battle stars for [[Vietnam War]] service<ref>https://goatlocker.org/resources/nav/1650.pdf “OpNavNote 1650 September 2002, Pg. 376”</ref>

== References ==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r3/raton.htm}}

===Bibliography===
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=hkupDwAAQBAJ&dq=LApon+raton&pg=PA181 Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.] {{ISBN|978-0-359-76906-3}}.

== External links ==
{{Commons category|USS Raton (SS-270)}}
*{{navsource|08/08270|Raton}}

{{The Manitowoc Company|state=autocollapse}}
{{Gato class submarine}}
{{August 1943 shipwrecks}}
{{May 1944 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raton (SS-270)}}
[[Category:Gato-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1943]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in May 1944]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]

USS Entemedor

2025-10-29T03:34:40Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:5084:D12A:6D7C:BEB9: /* Awards */

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[Image:USS Entemedor;0834006.jpg|300px|Entemedor (SS-340), underway in 1956.]]
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1972}}
|Ship name=''Entemedor''
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat Company]], [[Groton, Connecticut]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History|publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]]|year=1995|location=[[Annapolis, Maryland]]|pages=285–304|isbn=1-55750-263-3}}</ref>
|Ship laid down=3 February 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=17 December 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=6 April 1945<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=10 December 1948<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=24 October 1950<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=31 July 1972<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 August 1973<ref name="Register">{{cite book|last=Bauer|first=K. Jack|author2=Roberts, Stephen S. |title=Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=1991|location=[[Westport, Connecticut]]|pages=275–280|isbn=0-313-26202-0}}</ref>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship identification= [[Hull classification symbol|Hull number]]: SS-340
|Ship fate=*Transferred to [[Turkey]] on 31 July or 24 August 1972
*Sold to Turkey on 1 August 1973<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=Turkey
|Ship flag=[[Image:Flag of Turkey.svg|60px|Turkish Navy Ensign]]
|Ship name=TCG ''Preveze''
|Ship acquired=31 July or 24 August 1972
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=1987
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1987
|Ship identification=Hull number: S 345
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Balao|submarine|4}} [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship displacement=1,526 [[long ton|ton]]s (1,550 [[tonne|t]]) surfaced,<ref name="Register"/> 2,424 tons (2,463 t) submerged<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|9|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|16|ft|10|in|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-late-GM-4-GE}}
|Ship speed={{convert|20.25|kn|km/h|abbr=on|lk=in}} surfaced,<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305–311</ref> {{convert|8.75|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|km|abbr=on}} surfaced @ {{convert|10|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=48 hours @ {{convert|2|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} submerged,<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/> 75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|400|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=10 officers, 70–71 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-5-inch}}
}}
|}

'''USS ''Entemedor'' (SS-340)''', a {{sclass|Balao|submarine}}, was a ship of the [[United States Navy]] named for the [[Narcine entemedor|entemedor]], a fish of the [[electric ray]] family found in shallow waters from [[Baja California]] to [[Panama]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''SS-340'', originally named '''''Chickwick''''', was renamed '''''Entemedor''''' on 24 September 1942 and [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 17 December 1944 by the [[Electric Boat]] Company, [[Groton, Connecticut]], sponsored by Mrs. E. V. Izac; and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 6 April 1945.

==Service history==

===United States Navy===

====World War II====
''Entemedor'' reached [[Pearl Harbor]] on 29 June 1945 from [[Naval Submarine Base New London|New London]], en route to [[Midway Atoll]] for advanced training and to prepare for war patrols. She put to sea on her first war patrol on 24 July, and served as lifeguard for air strikes on [[Marcus Island]] before sailing on to patrol off [[Japan]]. When hostilities ceased, she was ordered to [[Saipan]], where she arrived 17 August.

====Post-war====
The submarine returned to [[Seattle]] on 22 September 1945, and began a program of training operations along the west coast from [[San Diego]]. In 1946–1947, she made extended cruises in the Far East, basing at [[Subic Bay]]. She was decommissioned and placed in reserve at [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] on 10 December 1948.

Recommissioned on 24 October 1950, ''Entemedor'' trained off the coast of [[California]], and on 2 January 1951 sailed for New London and through the remainder of the year operated in the Atlantic. On 31 January 1952, she entered the Electric Boat Co.'s yard for an extensive [[Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program#GUPPY IIA program|GUPPY IIA]] modernization, was placed in commission in reserve on 28 February 1952, and returned to active status 17 October 1952.

Every second year beginning in 1953, ''Entemedor'' deployed to the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] to serve with the [[United States Sixth Fleet|6th Fleet]], and from her home port at New London also sailed for a [[midshipman cruise]] to northern European ports in the summer of 1958, and the [[Isle of Portland]], England, in February 1960.

Her stateside operations included participation in large-scale exercises off the east coast and in the Caribbean, and serving as target for Task Force "Alfa", in development of antisubmarine warfare techniques. Through 1962 she continued to operate from New London. ''Entemedor'' was decommissioned and struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 31 July 1972.

===Turkish Navy===
''Entemedor'' was transferred to [[Turkey]] under the terms of the Security Assistance Act on 24 August 1972 and renamed '''TCG ''Preveze'' (S 345)''', the second [[Turkish Navy]] submarine of that name. She was sold to Turkey on 1 August 1973. She was decommissioned and struck from the rolls of the Turkish Navy in 1987.

==Awards==
*[[File:Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]]
*[[File:World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[World War II Victory Medal]]
*[[File:Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|106px]] [[Navy Occupation Service Medal]] with "ASIA" and "EUROPE" clasps
*{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon, 2nd award.svg|width=106}} [[National Defense Service Medal]] with star

==Miscellaneous==
A bronze plaque from the ship was purchased by contestants in an episode of the British TV show [[Bargain Hunt]] for £20, then sold at auction for £35.<ref name="BargainHunt">{{cite episode|title=Shrewsbury 22|series=Bargain Hunt|network=BBC One|date=2022-07-15}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/e4/entemedor.htm|http://hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss340.htm}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{navsource|08/08340|Entemedor}}

{{Balao class submarine|others}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Entemedor (Ss-340)}}
[[Category:Balao-class submarines]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Turkish Navy]]
[[Category:Balao-class submarines of the Turkish Navy]]

USS Carp (SS-338)

2025-10-29T03:10:33Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:5084:D12A:6D7C:BEB9: /* Awards */

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{other ships|USS Carp}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = [[Image:USS Carp (SS-338) underway, circa in the 1960s.jpg|300px|''Carp'' underway, c. 1960s.]]
| Ship caption =
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header =
| Ship country = United States
| Ship flag = {{USN flag|1968}}
| Ship name =
| Ship ordered =
| Ship builder = [[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat Company]], [[Groton, Connecticut]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book
| last = Friedman
| first = Norman
| title = U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
| publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]]
| year = 1995
| location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
| pages = 285–304
| isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
| Ship laid down = 23 December 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship launched = 12 November 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship acquired =
| Ship commissioned = 28 February 1945<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship decommissioned = 18 March 1968<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship in service =
| Ship out of service =
| Ship struck = 20 December 1971<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship reinstated =
| Ship fate = Sold for scrap, 26 July 1973<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header =
| Header caption =
| Ship class = {{sclass|Balao|submarine|4}} [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register">{{cite book
| last = Bauer
| first = K. Jack
|author2=Roberts, Stephen S.
| title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants
| publisher = Greenwood Press
| year = 1991
| location = [[Westport, Connecticut]]
| pages = 275–280
| isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
| Ship displacement = *1,526 [[long ton|ton]]s (1,550 [[tonne|t]]) surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*2,424 tons (2,463 t) submerged<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship length = {{convert|311|ft|9|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship beam = {{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship draft = {{convert|16|ft|10|in|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship propulsion = {{Fleet-boat-propulsion-late-GM-4-GE}}
| Ship speed = *{{convert|20.25|kn|km/h|0|lk=in}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref>
*{{convert|8.75|kn|km/h|0}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
| Ship range = {{convert|11000|nmi|km}} surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
| Ship endurance = *48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
| Ship test depth = {{convert|400|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
| Ship complement = 10 officers, 70–71 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
| Ship sensors =
| Ship EW =
| Ship armament = 2 5”/25 wet mount deck guns
}}
|}

'''USS ''Carp'' (SS/AGSS/IXSS-338)''', a [[Balao class submarine|''Balao''-class]] [[submarine]], was the second ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[carp]].

==Construction and active service==

''Carp'' (SS-338) was launched 12 November 1944 by [[Electric Boat]] Company, [[Groton, Connecticut]]; sponsored by Mrs. W. E. Hess; and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] 28 February 1945.

''Carp'' departed [[Naval Submarine Base New London|New London]] 14 April 1945, conducted training at [[Balboa, Panama]], and arrived at [[Pearl Harbor]] 21 May. On her first and only war patrol (8 June – 7 August), ''Carp'' cruised off the coast of [[Honshū]], destroying small craft and patrolling for the [[aircraft carrier|carriers]] of the [[US 3rd Fleet|3rd Fleet]] engaged in air strikes on the mainland. Undergoing refit at [[Midway Atoll|Midway]] when hostilities ended, ''Carp'' returned to [[Seattle]] 22 September.

''Carp'' received one [[battle star]] for her service in [[World War II]]. Her single war patrol was designated as "successful".

Based in [[San Diego]] as [[flagship]] for [[Submarine Division 71]], ''Carp'' operated along the West Coast with occasional training cruises to Pearl Harbor. Between 13 February and 15 June 1947 she made a simulated war patrol to the Far East, and in 1948 and 1949 ''Carp'' made two exploratory cruises to extreme northern waters, adding to the knowledge of an increasingly important strategic area for submarine operations.

Converted to a [[Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program#Fleet Snorkel Program|Fleet Snorkel]]-type submarine in February 1952, which added to her submerged speed and endurance, ''Carp'' supported [[United Nations]]' forces in the [[Korean War]] during her cruise of 22 September 1952–April 1953 to the Far East. Arriving at Pearl Harbor, her new home port 15 March 1954, ''Carp'' remained on active duty with the fleet from that port through July 1959. During this time she continued to make cruises to the Far East, one of which included a good-will visit to [[Australia]] and participation in a [[Southeast Asia Treaty Organization]] exercise, and to [[Alaska]]n waters.

On 1 August 1959 ''Carp'' departed Pearl Harbor for her new assignment with the [[US Atlantic Fleet|Atlantic Fleet]]. Arriving at [[Naval Station Norfolk]] in [[Norfolk, Virginia]], 28 August 1959, the submarine conducted type exercises and training off the [[United States East Coast]] and in the [[Caribbean Sea]] through 1967.

==Auxiliary and training service==

''Carp'' was redesignated an Auxiliary Submarine, '''AGSS-338''', in 1968, and Miscellaneous Submarine '''IXSS-338''' in 1971.

Around 1971, ''Carp'' was moored at [[South Boston Naval Annex]], across the harbor from [[Logan International Airport]] at about the point where [[Interstate 90]] now crosses. She was used for training. Her [[battery room]] was converted into a [[television]] lounge, and her [[rudder]] was [[Welding|welded]] in place; otherwise, ''Carp'' seemed fully operational to trainees.

==Fate==
''Carp'' was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 20 December 1971 and sold for scrapping in 1973. Her [[conning tower]] has been preserved at [[Seawolf Park]] on [[Pelican Island (Texas)|Pelican Island]] just north of [[Galveston, Texas]].

==Awards==

*[[File:Combat Action Ribbon.svg|106px]] [[Combat Action Ribbon]]
*{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with one [[battle star]] for [[World War II]] service
*[[File:World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[World War II Victory Medal]]
*[[File:Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|106px]] [[Navy Occupation Service Medal]] with "ASIA" clasp
*[[File:China Service Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[China Service Medal]]
*{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon, 2nd award.svg|width=106}} [[National Defense Service Medal]] with star
*[[File:Korean Service Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[Korean Service Medal]]
*[[File:Presidential Unit Citation (South Korea).svg|106px]] [[Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation]] ([[Republic of Korea]])
*[[File:United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|106px]] [[United Nations Korea Medal]] ([[United Nations]])
*[[File:Republic of Korea War Service Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[Korean War Service Medal]] (Republic of Korea)

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c4/carp.htm|http://hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss338.htm}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
*{{navsource|08/08338|Carp}}

{{Balao class submarine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carp (SS-338)}}
[[Category:Balao-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Korean War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]

USS Besugo

2025-10-29T02:51:03Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:5084:D12A:6D7C:BEB9: /* Honors and awards */

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Besugo;0832101.jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Besugo'' (SS-321) underway, ''circa'' 1950. She has a {{convert|5|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}/25 [[Caliber (artillery)|caliber]] deck gun fore and aft her [[conning tower]]. Water can be seen draining from her limber holes.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1958}}
|Ship name=USS ''Besugo'' (SS-321)
|Ship namesake=[[Blackspot seabream|Besugo]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat Company]], [[Groton, Connecticut]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book
| last = Friedman
| first = Norman
| authorlink =
| title = U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
| publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]]
| year = 1995
| location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
| pages = 285–304
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
|Ship laid down=27 May 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=27 February 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=19 June 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=21 March 1958<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=15 June 1965
|Ship decommissioned=31 March 1966
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=15 November 1975<ref name="Register">{{cite book
| last = Bauer
| first = K. Jack
| authorlink =
|author2=Roberts, Stephen S.
| title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants
| publisher = Greenwood Press
| year = 1991
| location = [[Westport, Connecticut]]
| pages = 275–280
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=*Transferred to [[Italy]] 31 March 1966
*Returned 15 November 1975
*Sold for scrap 16 April 1976 or 20 June 1977<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=Italy
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Italy|naval}}
|Ship class=
|Ship name=''Francesco Morosini'' (S 508)
|Ship namesake=[[Francesco Morosini]] (1619–1694), [[Doge of Venice]] (1688–1694)
|Ship acquired=31 March 1966
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=30 November 1973
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=15 November 1975
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Returned to United States 15 November 1975
|Ship homeport=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Balao|submarine|4}} [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship displacement=*1,526 [[long ton|ton]]s (1,550 [[tonne|t]]) surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*2,424 tons (2,463 t) submerged<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|9|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|16|ft|10|in|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-late-GM-4-GE}}
|Ship speed=*{{convert|20.25|kn|km/h|0|lk=in}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref>
*{{convert|8.75|kn|km/h|0}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|km}} surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|400|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=10 officers, 70–71 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-5-inch}}
}}
|}

'''USS ''Besugo'' (SS-321, later AGSS-321)''', a [[Balao class submarine|''Balao''-class]] [[submarine]], was a ship of the [[United States Navy]] in commission from 1944 to 1958. She was named for the [[Blackspot seabream|besugo]].

During [[World War II]], ''Besugo'' made five war patrols between 26 September 1944 and 25 July 1945, operating in the [[Bungo Channel]], [[Makassar Strait]], [[Java Sea]], and [[South China Sea]]. During these patrols, ''Besugo'' sank the German submarine {{GS|U-183||2}}, becoming one of a very few U.S. submarines to sink a German naval vessel during the war. She also sank the 10,020-[[gross register ton]] [[Tanker (ship)|tanker]] ''Nichei Maru'', one [[landing ship]], one [[frigate]], and a [[minesweeper]].

After post-World War II [[Korean War]] and [[Cold War]] U.S. Navy service, ''Besugo'' was decommissioned. She was loaned to the [[Italian Navy]] in 1966, in which she served until 1973 as '''''Francesco Morosini'' (S 508)'''.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Besugo''′s [[keel]] was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] on 27 May 1943 at [[Groton, Connecticut|Groton]], [[Connecticut]], by the [[Electric Boat]] Company. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 27 February 1944, [[Ship sponsor|sponsored]] by Mrs. Margaret Perry Homer, an employee in the Outside Machinist's Department of the Electric Boat Company and wife of Peter J. Homer, also an employee of the company. ''Besugo'' was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] at [[Naval Submarine Base New London]] in Groton on 19 June 1944 with [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] Thomas L. Wogan in command.

==Service history==
===United States Navy===
====World War II====
=====June–September 1944=====
''Besugo'' completed [[Shakedown (testing)|shakedown]] training in the waters off [[New London, Connecticut|New London]], Connecticut, before heading south on 25 July 1944. Arriving at [[Key West, Florida|Key West]], [[Florida]], on 1 August 1944, she conducted another two weeks of training with the Key West Sound School before setting out for the [[Pacific Ocean]] on 13 August. She transited the [[Panama Canal]] on 17 August and, after five days of repairs at [[Balboa, Panama|Balboa]] in the [[Panama Canal Zone]], continued on to [[Pearl Harbor]] in the [[Territory of Hawaii]], arriving there on 7 September 1944. She spent the next two weeks training in the waters of the [[Hawaiian Islands]].

=====First war patrol=====

''Besugo'' put to sea from Pearl Harbor for her first war patrol on 26 September 1944, escorted until dark by the [[submarine chaser]] {{USS|PC-486}}. In company with the submarine {{USS|Gabilan|SS-252}}, ''Besugo'' headed west and stopped at [[Midway Atoll]] in the [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]] to refuel on 30 September. Departing Midway the same day, the two submarines rendezvoused with the submarine {{USS|Ronquil|SS-396}} before heading northwest to the [[Bungo Channel]] entrance to [[Japan]]'s [[Seto Inland Sea]].

While en route on 6 October 1944, the submarines spotted a picket boat — a small Japanese [[patrol boat]] — lying to northwest of [[Marcus Island]]. As ''Besugo'' closed to destroy the patrol boat, ''Gabilan'' and ''Ronquil'' continued on course. At 21:02, ''Besugo'' fired three torpedoes at the target. All missed, probably because of the shallow [[Draft (ship)|draft]] of the patrol boat. After waiting for night to fall, ''Besugo'' circled the target, surfaced, and closed for a gun attack at 22:28. Although the combination of light [[Swell (ocean)|swells]] and insufficient moonlight made {{convert|5|in|mm|0|adj=on}} gunfire ineffective, the two 20-millimeter guns scored some hits. The Japanese patrol boat responded with sporadic bursts of light [[Machine gun|machine-gun]] fire. Just as the patrol boat closed the range, both of ''Besugo''′s 20-millimeter guns jammed. The Japanese picket boat then opened fire with a heavy machine gun. Bullets began striking the water around ''Besugo'', and several struck her [[conning tower]] and [[periscope]] shears. Splinters from these hits wounded the [[gunnery officer]] and a lookout. Unable to return fire effectively, ''Besugo'' withdrew, leading her [[commanding officer]] to remark, "Not an auspicious beginning to our fighting career."

On 8 October 1944, ''Besugo'' spotted an [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[Mitsubishi G4M]] Type 1 [[bomber]] ([[World War II Allied names for Japanese aircraft|Allied reporting name]] "Betty") and submerged for the remainder of the day. On the morning of 9 October, a patrolling Japanese [[Naval trawler|armed trawler]] forced her to submerge, further delaying her progress. Then, at 03:29 on 10 October, her [[radar]] indicated a Japanese [[Maritime patrol aircraft|patrol plane]] was pursuing her. As put by her war diarist, it took half an hour of "nerve-wracking" maneuvering to shake off the Japanese plane.

At dawn on 10 October 1944, ''Besugo'' reached her patrol station and began a submerged daylight patrol in the eastern approaches to the Bungo Channel. Owing to the upcoming [[Battle of Leyte|U.S. landings]] on [[Leyte]] in the [[Philippine Islands]], scheduled for 20 October, ''Besugo'' had orders to spot any Japanese heavy fleet units departing the Bungo Channel and to refrain from firing at any targets until after sending in a contact report. On the morning of 15 October 1944, she watched as five Japanese [[cruiser]]s and a [[destroyer]] steamed by her position before she radioed in a contact report that evening.

On the evening of 16 October 1944, ''Besugo''′s radar picked up two targets transiting the Bungo Channel. Believing they were [[heavy cruiser]]s, ''Besugo'' maneuvered into firing position and loosed six [[Bow (watercraft)|bow]] torpedoes at the nearest target. Two minutes later, at 22:12, one torpedo hit one of the Japanese [[warship]]s just abaft the [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]]. The Japanese ships "milled about," according to ''Besugo''′s war diary, for a few minutes, during which time ''Besugo'' retired to reload, but the Japanese quickly skirted the coast of [[Kyushu]] and turned for home. ''Besugo'' tracked them for almost two hours but was unable to close for another attack. A postwar review of records indicated that the damaged ship actually was the destroyer {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Suzutsuki|1942|2}}.

On 18 October 1944, ''Besugo'' spotted two more warships, this time entering the Bungo Channel rather than leaving it, and noted the contacts in accordance with her orders. Although Japanese air patrols increased noticeably over the next few days, including one radar-equipped search plane that kept ''Besugo'' pinned down on 22 October, ''Besugo'' and ''Ronquil'' did manage to find a Japanese formation early on 24 October 1944. At 03:49 that morning, ''Besugo'' closed a Japanese [[Tanker (ship)|tanker]], protected by two coast defense [[frigate]]s and a destroyer, intending to sneak between two of the escorts for a shot at the tanker. However, two rapid Japanese [[zigzag]]s away put the tanker out of reach, so ''Besugo'' turned on the port-quarter escort instead. She fired three torpedoes at the escort, the frigate ''Coast Defense Vessel No. 132'', and, at 04:15, at least one torpedo hit the target. In a blinding flash, the frigate suddenly blew up, illuminating the entire area and silhouetting ''Besugo'' on the surface. She [[Crash dive|crash-dived]], expecting to be [[Depth charge|depth-charged]] by the rear escort, but no counterattack attack materialized.

Over the next week, ''Besugo'' and up to six other U.S. submarines patrolled the approaches to [[Van Diemen Strait]] (also known as Ōsumi Strait) and the east coast of Kyushu, hoping to catch some of the Japanese warships retiring north from their defeat in the waters around the Philippine Islands in the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]]. The only things ''Besugo'' spotted were three Japanese patrol planes, a Japanese submarine′s periscope, and a drifting [[contact mine]], all of which she evaded with some difficulty. Retiring to the [[Mariana Islands]] on 1 November 1944, ''Besugo'' concluded her patrol by mooring alongside the [[submarine tender]] {{USS|Fulton|AS-11}} at [[Saipan]] on 5 November 1944.

=====Second war patrol=====
Following minor repairs and a torpedo reload, ''Besugo'' departed [[Tanapag Harbor]] at Saipan to begin her second war patrol on 10 November 1944. Transiting the [[Luzon Strait]] on 16 November 1944, she entered the [[South China Sea]], and she took up a position off [[Linapacan Island]] in the Philippine Islands on 20 November. At 04:55 on 22 November, ''Besugo'' picked up a radar contact while operating off the northern tip of [[Palawan (island)|Palawan]]. Owing to the approaching dawn, she attacked the target quickly, firing four torpedoes at what she believed was a Japanese tanker. One torpedo hit amidships, starting an enormous fire that eventually sank what turned out to be the Japanese [[landing ship]] ''T.151''. A few minutes later, she spotted a {{convert|300|ft|0|adj=on}} [[barge]] nearby, probably a [[Towing|tow]] abandoned by the stricken landing ship, and sank it with two torpedoes.

Returning to her patrol station that evening, ''Besugo'' encountered rough weather, and the heavy swells interfered with her surface search radar. At 21:38, she closed her only good contact and fired four bow torpedoes at a large vessel. All missed, possibly because they grounded in the shallow water. Over the next 10 minutes, she fired eight more torpedoes, one of which finally hit and brought to a stop what turned out to be a cargo ship. ''Besugo'' then fired her last four torpedoes into the target. Two of them demolished the midships section and the ship settled to the [[Sea bed|bottom]] in {{convert|6|fathom|0}} of water, leaving the [[Superstructure (ship)|superstructure]] still visible above the surface. A postwar records review, however, did not indicate any Japanese losses in that area, and ''Besugo'' did not receive credit for a sinking. With her torpedoes gone, ''Besugo'' headed south, passed through the [[Lombok Strait]], and arrived at [[Fremantle]], [[Australia]], on 4 December 1944, bringing her patrol to an end.

=====Third war patrol=====
After a refit alongside the submarine tender {{USS|Anthedon|AS-24}}, ''Besugo'' got underway for her third war patrol on 24 December 1944. She passed through Lombok Strait late on 30 December and entered the [[Celebes Sea]]. On 31 December 1944 she sighted a small Japanese [[merchant ship]] emerging from a rain [[squall]]. ''Besugo'' dove and attacked with three torpedoes, but all missed, and the target escaped and disappeared from view. It probably radioed in a contact report, because searching Japanese aircraft later forced ''Besugo'' to submerge four times.

Clearing [[Karimata Strait]] on 2 January 1945, ''Besugo'' took up a patrol station off the southern tip of Japanese-occupied [[French Indochina]] on 4 January. At 18:40 on 6 January, her lookouts sighted the heavily laden Japanese 10,020-gross register ton tanker ''Nichei Maru'' escorted by a destroyer and two coast defense frigates. She closed undetected and at 21:18 fired six torpedoes at ''Nichei Maru''. Three of the torpedoes hit home, and ''Nichei Maru'' burst into flame and sank. As ''Besugo'' cleared the area, the escorts dropped seven depth charges in desultory and ineffective attacks.

Joined by the submarines {{USS|Hardhead|SS-365}}, {{USS|Cobia|SS-245}}, and later {{USS|Blackfin|SS-322}}, ''Besugo'' spent the next two weeks fruitlessly patrolling a scouting line south of the [[Cà Mau Peninsula]]. Finally, at 05:30 on 24 January 1945, she received a contact report from ''Blackfin''. As ''Besugo'' closed the three Japanese ships (destroyer {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Shigure|1935|2}}, the tanker ''Sarawak Maru'', and a small [[minesweeper]]) ''Blackfin'' reported, her crew heard ''Blackfin'' send one torpedo into the tanker. Shortly thereafter, the Japanese escorts drove ''Besugo'' off with gunfire and depth charges. Twenty minutes later, ''Besugo'' tried approaching again and, despite [[sonar]] searches and a close depth-charge attack by the escorts, she fired six torpedoes at the tanker. The torpedo tracks attracted the attention of the escorts, and ''Besugo'' endured a furious pounding from the two escorts, who dropped a total of 22 depth charges over the next half hour. Later that afternoon, ''Besugo''′s crew heard Japanese escorts drop another 32 depth charges. A postwar records review determined the tanker to have been damaged in the attack.

A week later, ''Besugo'' discovered four Japanese [[antisubmarine warfare]] vessels conducting a sound sweep off [[Cape Laguan]] on the [[Malay Peninsula]]. After calling in ''Blackfin'' and ''Hardhead'' for help, ''Besugo'' crept under the right-flank ship and took up a firing position. At 02:27 on 2 February 1945, she fired four torpedoes at the right-center ship, and one of them hit and sank the frigate ''Coast Defense Vessel No. 144''. ''Besugo'' easily evaded the ensuing counterattack and withdrew from the area. As no further contacts developed, she set a course for Australia on 5 February 1945, transited Lombok Strait on 8 February, and moored alongside the submarine tender {{USS|Euryale|AS-22}} in the harbor at Fremantle on 15 February 1945.

=====Fourth war patrol=====

As the port at Fremantle was very busy, ''Besugo''′s refit was delayed for two weeks, and she was not ready for operations until 24 March 1945. Underway that same day to begin her fourth war patrol, ''Besugo'' proceeded to a patrol area in the eastern [[Java Sea]]. Passing through Lombok Strait on 31 March, she joined the submarines ''Gabilan'' and {{USS|Charr|SS-328}} and took up a position near [[Bangka Island]] off [[Sumatra]] on 3 April 1945.

On 4 April 1945, while patrolling submerged, ''Besugo'' contacted an enemy group consisting of a cruiser, three [[torpedo boat]]s, and a minesweeper. After they passed over the horizon, she surfaced, radioed a contact report, and set out in pursuit of the Japanese force. During the afternoon and evening, she tried to work around the Japanese task group, but Japanese aircraft forced her to dive four times. Finally, at 03:58 on 5 April, after a long night of maneuvering, she fired six torpedoes at the cruiser, but all of them missed. A nearby escort then forced ''Besugo'' to dive and dropped 13 depth charges in the area before ''Besugo'' escaped.

Later on the morning of 5 April 1945, ''Besugo'' received orders to patrol the [[Sumba Strait]] while [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] aircraft from Australia attempted to sink the elusive Japanese task group. ''Besugo''′s crew hoped that at the very least, the air attacks might force the Japanese warships to retire past ''Besugo''′s position, and on 6 April 1945 sighted the Japanese ships doing exactly that. Unfortunately for ''Besugo'', the cruiser's high speed and [[haze gray]] [[camouflage]] allowed her to surprise ''Besugo'', quickly slipping by her and evading all nine torpedoes ''Besugo'' fired hastily.

Despite the appearance of Japanese patrol planes, ''Besugo'' was better prepared for the trailing Japanese escorts, and she blew the minesweeper ''W.12'' in half with one of four torpedoes fired. Although ''W.12''′s bow sank immediately, her [[stern]] remained afloat in a sea filled with Japanese sailors abandoning ship. Before ''Besugo'' could fire a torpedo at ''W.12''′s stern section, a sudden attack by a Japanese patrol plane forced ''Besugo'' to break off the attack and dive to safety. ''Besugo'' spent the next two hours dodging Japanese air attacks; she was [[Aerial bomb|bombed]] once and [[Strafing|strafed]] twice, before finally sinking ''W.12''′s stern section with her last torpedo.

''Besugo'' then returned to Fremantle on 11 April 1945 for another load of torpedoes, before putting to sea on 16 April to continue her patrol. Transiting Lombok Strait on 21 April, she took up a patrol station in the Java Sea in company with the submarines {{USS|Blower|SS-325}} and {{USS|Perch|SS-313}}. On 23 April, she spotted unusual prey, the German submarine {{GS|U-183||2}} painted with Japanese colors, and sank her with a torpedo at {{coord|04|57|S|112|52|E|name=''U-183''}}, becoming one of only a very few American submarines to sink a German warship. Quickly surfacing, ''Besugo'' recovered ''U-183''′s only survivor, a badly wounded German [[warrant officer]].

''Besugo'' sighted nothing of interest again until 28 April 1945, when she began tracking a Japanese guard boat. Surfacing at 02:20 on 29 April, she quickly sank ''Otome Maru'' with {{convert|5|in|mm|0|adj=on}} gunfire. On the evening of 29 April, after closing with an immense pillar of fire spotted over the horizon, ''Besugo'' rescued a badly burned sailor, most likely from the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] tanker ''Yuno Maru'', recently sunk by a [[Naval mine|mine]]. From then until 12 May 1945, ''Besugo'' patrolled off [[Java]] between [[Surabaya]] and [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]], scouting for any Japanese warships responding to the [[Borneo campaign|Allied landings]] on [[Borneo]]. After swinging through the [[Gulf of Siam]], ''Besugo'' concluded her patrol, arriving at [[Subic Bay]] on [[Luzon]] in the Philippine Islands on 20 May 1945.

=====Fifth war patrol=====
Following a refit alongside ''Anthedon'', ''Besugo'' got underway for her fifth war patrol on 13 June 1945. proceeding southeast to French Indochina, ''Besugo'' spent close to three uneventful weeks on a lifeguard station off [[Camranh Bay]] in support of Allied airstrikes. Then, on 5 July 1945, she moved to the south coast of Borneo but again made no contacts with Japanese ships. After transiting Lombok Strait, she arrived at Fremantle on 25 July 1945 and received a refit alongside the submarine tender {{USS|Clytie|AS-26}}. ''Besugo'' was at Fremantle when [[Surrender of Japan|hostilities with Japan ended]] on 15 August 1945, bringing [[World War II]] to an end.

====Post-World War II====
=====1946–1949=====
''Besugo'' departed Fremantle on 29 August 1945, when she proceed south and east to [[Sydney]], Australia, which she reached on 5 September 1945. She got back underway on 7 September 1945 to proceed to [[San Diego]], [[California]], where she arrived on 26 September 1945. She had an extended period of [[shore leave]] and upkeep at San Diego, she proceeded to [[Vallejo, California|Vallejo]], California, where on 31 October 1945 she entered the Mare Island Navy Yard (renamed the [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] in November 1945 — on [[Mare Island]] for an overhaul.

Upon completion of her overhaul on 8 February 1946, ''Besugo'' headed to Pearl Harbor for duty with the [[United States Pacific Fleet]]. She made a cruise to [[Guam]] in the Mariana Islands. then returned to Pearl Harbor on 6 May 1946. She then operated locally in Hawaiian waters, included training at the [[French Frigate Shoals]] in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in December 1946 and a simulated attack exercise against the [[light cruiser]] {{USS|Oakland|CL-95}} in January 1947. Between 3 February and 5 May 1947, she received another overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard before returning to Pearl Harbor on 13 May 1947.

With the [[Cold War]] beginning amid growing tensions between the [[United States]] and the [[Soviet Union]], the U.S. Navy began planning for possible confrontations with the [[Soviet Navy]]. One training measure, devised to give submarine crews experience was the "simulated war patrol," a mission upon which'' Besugo'' embarked on 7 June 1947. Heading west from Hawaii, she avoided numerous air and surface contacts in an attempt to avoid detection by U.S. forces en route to the [[Marshall Islands]]. Arriving off [[Majuro Atoll]] on 18 June 1947, she conducted a [[photographic reconnaissance]] of the area before heading on to the Philippines. After a stop at Subic Bay from 4 to 7 July 1947, where she provided target services to [[Martin PBM Mariner]] and [[Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer]] patrol aircraft of [[Fleet Air Wing 1]], proceeded to [[Hong Kong]] on 8 July. There, the crew enjoyed shore leave under the "care" of the British light cruiser {{HMS|Belfast}}. ''Besugo'' moved on to [[Qingdao]], [[China]], where she arrived on 18 July 1947 and began a six-week series of exercises with [[United States Seventh Fleet]] units in the [[Yellow Sea]]. These included radar tracking drills with the submarine {{USS|Entemedor|SS-340}}, [[Marine salvage|salvage]] drills with the [[submarine rescue vessel]] {{USS|Bluebird|ASR-19}}, and, in company with the submarine {{USS|Catfish |SS-339}}, a simulated attack exercise against a [[task force]]. During the latter, aircraft contacts plagued the two submarines, which failed to make any successful attacks. After stops to refuel at [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] and Midway Atoll, ''Besugo'' arrived at Pearl Harbor on 21 September 1947.

''Besugo'' remained in Hawaiian waters until July 1948, conducting routine upkeep and local training operations. Then, following a visit to [[Hilo, Hawaii|Hilo]], Hawaii, from 3 and 8 July 1948, she got underway on 9 July 1948 for a reconnaissance mission to the [[Bering Sea]]. Arriving at [[Adak, Alaska|Adak]] in the [[Aleutian Islands]] on 16 July 1948, she headed east and rendezvoused with the submarine {{USS|Diodon|SS-349}} on 18 July. After exchanging information with ''Diodon'', ''Besugo'' moved to [[St. Lawrence Island]] on 19 July and began three weeks of photo reconnaissance operations off [[Cape Navarin]] on the coast of the Soviet Union at the southern extremity of the [[Gulf of Anadyr]]. During this time, she sighted three Soviet warships — a [[destroyer escort]], a [[patrol frigate]], and a minesweeper — and six cargo ships, all without being detected. After a rendezvous with the submarine ''Blower'' on 10 August 1948, ''Besugo'' proceeded to Adak and [[Kodiak, Alaska|Kodiak]], [[Alaska]], before returning to Pearl Harbor on 20 July 1948. She remained in Hawaiian waters for the next 18 months, conducting independent ship's drills, [[antisubmarine warfare]] exercises, and other local operations from Pearl Harbor.

=====1950–1958=====
Despite the outbreak of the [[Korean War]] on 25 June 1950, ''Besugo'' entered the [[Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard]] for an overhaul not long thereafter. Completing the overhaul on 28 September 1950, she departed Pearl Harbor on 19 October 1950 bound for [[Yokosuka]], [[Japan]], which she reached on 31 October 1950. After four weeks of training, including target services for U.S. antisubmarine warfare planes and warships, she began the first of her two Korean War reconnaissance patrols. Leaving Japan on 6 December 1950, she passed through the [[Tsugaru Strait]] and took up a patrol station off [[La Perouse Strait]] north of [[Hokkaido]] on 9 December. There, in spite of rough seas and a succession of [[snowstorm]]s, she spent two weeks tracking Soviet shipping moving between the [[Sea of Okhotsk]] and the [[Sea of Japan]]. Returning to Yokosuka in late December 1950, she remained in Japanese waters for the next three months, conducting local operations and twice visiting Okinawa. During her first visit to Okinawa, she proceeded to [[Naze Ko]] on [[Omami o Shima]] on 12 January 1951 to rescue six survivors of a PBM Mariner [[flying boat]] that had crashed. Departing the [[Far East]] on 11 April 1951, she returned to Pearl Harbor on 22 April 1951.

Following nine months of local operations in Hawaiian waters and two [[shipyard]] periods, during which new sonar equipment and mine clearing cables were installed, ''Besugo'' got underway from Pearl Harbor on 7 January 1952 bound for Subic Bay in the Philippines. Arriving there on 24 January 1952, ''Besugo'' embarked on her second special mission the following day. Ordered to conduct a photographic reconnaissance of [[Hainan Island]], she took up a submerged patrol station off [[Yulin Bay]] on 28 January 1952. Frequent contacts with fishing [[sampan]]s, and even with entire [[Commercial fishing|fishing fleets]] on a half-dozen occasions, made surveillance and photographic operations very difficult. In addition, the sampans constituted an even greater hazard at night, since they had no running lights and registered poorly on radar. As a result, the mission produced limited results. ''Besugo'' returned to Subic Bay on 28 February 1952, and then to Pearl Harbor in March 1952, after which ''Besugo''′s crew received a two-month leave and upkeep period.

After the two-month leave-and-upkeep period, ''Besugo'' entered the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for a three-month overhaul in July 1952. The shipyard work was complete in September 1952, but a small electrical fire on 23 October 1952 delayed her return to service until December 1952. Departing Pearl Harbor on 31 January 1953, she headed northeast for a visit to [[Puget Sound]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], and its environs. Between 9 February and 22 March 1953, she visited [[Esquimalt, British Columbia|Esquimalt]], [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]], and [[Seattle]], Washington, before conducting a training exercise off [[Cape Flattery]], Washington. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 29 March 1953, and her only other movement later in the spring of 1953 was a mid-May visit in Hawaiian waters to [[Nawiliwili Bay]] on [[Kauai]].

Assigned to training duty for [[United States Naval Reserve]] personnel, ''Besugo'' departed Pearl Harbor on 2 August 1953 and arrived at her new [[home port]] of San Diego, California, on 9 August. She conducted local operations in nearby waters for the next five years, including the provision of target services to local fleet units, and made occasional operational and Naval Reserve training cruises. Her first training cruise took place in the autumn of 1954, when she proceeded from San Diego to [[Lahaina Roads]] in Hawaii and laid a drill minefield on 21 October 1954.

In the autumn of 1955, ''Besugo'' visited the Puget Sound area again for antisubmarine warfare exercises with [[Royal Canadian Navy]] warships and a U.S. Naval Reserve training cruise. She received an overhaul in [[San Francisco]], California, during the spring of 1956. In January 1957, in company with the submarine {{USS|Remora|SS-487}}, she made a cruise sto [[Mexico]] which included a port visit at [[Mazatlan]]. She carried out Naval Reserve reserve training duties in Puget Sound in February 1957. In August 1957, she proceeded to San Francisco for antisubmarine warfare exercises, and in November 1957 she again visited Mazatlan.

=====1958–1966=====
Never having been modernized, ''Besugo'' was scheduled for inactivation in 1958. She departed San Diego for the last time on 6 January 1958 and entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard to commence deactivation procedures on 8 January 1958. She was decommissioned on 21 March 1958 and laid up in the [[Pacific Reserve Fleet]]. While in [[Reserve fleet|reserve]], she was reclsassified an "[[Auxiliary ship|auxiliary]] [[Research ship|research]] submarine" and given the [[hull classification symbol]] '''AGSS-321''' in 1962.

''Besugo'' was recommissioned on 15 June 1965. She was converted to a [[Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program#Fleet Snorkel Program|Fleet Snorkel]] submarine in 1966.

===Italian Navy===

{{other ships|Italian ship Francesco Morosini}}

After the completion of her Fleet Snorkel conversion, ''Besugo'' was decommissioned on 31 March 1966 and transferred on loan to [[Italy]] the same day. The [[Italian Navy]] commissioned her as '''''Francesco Morosini'' (S 508)''', named for [[Francesco Morosini]] (1619–1694), who was [[Doge of Venice]] from 1688 to 1694.

The Italian Navy decommissioned ''Francesco Morosini'' on 30 November 1973. It struck her from its naval vessel register on 15 November 1975 and returned her to U.S. Navy custody on the same day.

==Disposal==
The submarine was struck from the U.S. [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 15 November 1975, the day Italy returned her to the United States. She was sold either on 16 April 1976 or 20 June 1977<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/> (according to different sources) for scrapping.

==Honors and awards==

*[[File:Combat Action Ribbon.svg|106px]] [[Combat Action Ribbon]]
*{{ribbon devices|number=4|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with four [[battle star]]s for [[World War II]] service
*[[File:World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[World War II Victory Medal]]
*[[File:Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|106px]] [[Navy Occupation Service Medal]] with "ASIA" clasp
*[[File:China Service Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[China Service Medal]]
*{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon, 2nd award.svg|width=106}} [[National Defense Service Medal]] with star
*{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Korean Service Medal]] with one battle star for [[Korean War]] service
*[[File:Presidential Unit Citation (South Korea).svg|106px]] [[Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation]] ([[Republic of Korea]])
*[[File:United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|106px]] [[United Nations Korea Medal]] ([[United Nations]])
*[[File:Republic of Korea War Service Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[Korean War Service Medal]] (Republic of Korea)

{{clear}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/besugo-i.html|http://hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss321.htm}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
*{{navsource|08/08321|Besugo}}
*[http://pigboats.com/ww2/besugo.html Kill record USS ''Besugo''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722110054/http://pigboats.com/ww2/besugo.html |date=22 July 2023 }}

{{Portal bar|United States|Italy|Engineering}}
{{Balao class submarine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Besugo (SS-321)}}
[[Category:Balao-class submarines]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Korean War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Balao-class submarines of the Italian Navy]]

USS Rasher

2025-10-29T00:58:50Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:5084:D12A:6D7C:BEB9: /* Honors and awards */

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USS Rasher;0826901.jpg|300px|''Rasher'' (SS-269), c. post 1953.]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Rasher'' sometime after her 1953 recommissioning.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1967}}
|Ship namesake=[[Sebastes miniatus|Rasher]] (''Sebastes miniatus'')
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company]], [[Manitowoc, Wisconsin]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book
| last = Friedman
| first = Norman
| authorlink =
| title = U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
| publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]]
| year = 1995
| place = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
| pages = 285–304
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
|Ship laid down=4 May 1942<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=20 December 1942<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship sponsor= Mrs. G. C. Weaver
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=8 June 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=22 June 1946<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=14 December 1951<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=28 May 1952<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=22 July 1953<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=27 May 1967<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=20 December 1971<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap 7 August 1974<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Gato class submarine|''Gato''-class]] [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register">{{cite book
| last = Bauer
| first = K. Jack
| authorlink =
|author2=Roberts, Stephen S.
| title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants
| publisher = Greenwood Press
| year = 1991
| place = [[Westport, Connecticut]]
| pages = 271–273
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
|Ship displacement=*1,525 [[long ton|ton]]s (1,549 [[tonne|t]]) surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*2,424 tons (2,460 t) submerged<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|9|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|0|in|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-early-GM-4-GE}}<ref name="Sasgen">{{cite book
|author=Peter T. Sasgen
|title=Red Scorpion
|publisher=Naval Institute Press
|year=1985
|isbn=1-55750-404-0
}}</ref>
|Ship speed=*21 knots (39 km/h) surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref>
*{{convert|9|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range=11,000 [[nautical mile|NM]] (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h|0}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|300|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=6 officers, 54 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-3-inch}}
*3-inch gun replaced with 5-inch (127 mm) in October 1944<ref name="Sasgen"/>
}}
|}

'''USS ''Rasher'' (SS/SSR/AGSS/IXSS-269)''', a {{sclass|Gato|submarine}}, was a ship of the [[United States Navy]] named for the rasher, or [[vermilion rockfish]], a fish found along the [[California]] coast.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Rasher'', a [[fleet submarine]], was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] on 4 May 1942 by [[Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company]] at [[Manitowoc, Wisconsin|Manitowoc]], [[Wisconsin]]; [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] 20 December 1942, sponsored by Mrs. G. C. Weaver; and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] 8 June 1943, [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] E. S. Hutchinson in command. [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[Charles A. Lockwood]] had earlier relieved Hutchinson of command of the submarine {{USS|Grampus|SS-207}} for lacking aggressiveness.{{sfnp|Blair|1975|p=463}}

==Service history==
Following builder's trials in [[Lake Michigan]], ''Rasher'' was decommissioned and towed down the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] on a floating [[drydock]]. After recommissioning and fitting out in [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]], the new submarine trained in the [[Bay of Panama]], departed [[Balboa, Panama|Balboa]] 8 August 1943, and arrived at [[Brisbane, Australia]], on 11 September.

=== First war patrol, September – November 1943 ===
On her first war patrol, 24 September through 24 November 1943, ''Rasher'' operated in the [[Makassar Strait]]–[[Celebes Sea]] area, and sank the passenger-cargo ship ''Kogane Maru'' in a submerged attack at dawn on 9 October. Four days later, off [[Ambon, Maluku|Ambon]] Harbor, she spotted a convoy of four merchantmen escorted by two [[destroyer]]s and a "[[Mitsubishi F1M|Pete]]" [[seaplane]]. She fired two salvoes of three [[torpedo]]es each, then crash dived to avoid the destroyers and bombs from the scout plane. Freighter ''Kenkoku Maru'' broke up and sank, while the escorts struck back in a vigorous but vain counterattack.

On the afternoon of 31 October, while patrolling the shipping lanes off the [[Borneo]] coast, ''Rasher'' commenced trailing [[Tanker (ship)|tanker]] ''Koryo Maru'', but because of a patrolling float plane, was unable to attack until night. ''Rasher'' then surfaced, attacked and sent the tanker to the bottom after a thunderous explosion of exploding torpedoes and gasoline.

The submarine's next victim was tanker ''Tango Maru'' which lost her stern to a spread of three torpedoes on the afternoon of 8 November. ''Rasher'' escaped the escorts by diving deep and silently slipping away. A midnight attack on a second [[convoy]] in the [[Makassar Strait]] off Mangkalihat Peninsula resulted in a hit on a tanker, but vigorous countermeasures by enemy destroyers prevented any assessment of damage. ''Rasher'' escaped the enemy surface craft and, her torpedoes expended, headed home. During her transit, an [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[patrol bomber]] mistakenly attacked her in the [[Indian Ocean]] {{convert|310|nmi|0}} north-northeast of [[Exmouth Gulf]] in [[Western Australia]] at {{coord|17|44|S|115|39|E}} on 20 November 1943, dropping a [[depth charge]] as ''Rasher'' was submerging and passing a depth of {{convert|47|ft}}.<ref name=hinmanp174>Hinman & Campbell, p. 174.</ref> ''Rasher'' sustained no damage,<ref name=hinmanp174/> and arrived at Fremantle on 24 November 1943.

Hutchinson had cleared his record on ''Grampus'' with the sinkings and was promoted to command a submarine [[Division (naval)|division]].{{sfnp|Blair|1975|p=463}}

=== Second war patrol, December 1943 – January 1944 ===
Command of ''Rasher'' was given to [[Willard R. Laughon|Willard Ross Laughon]], former commanding officer of {{USS|R-1|SS-78|2}} in the [[Atlantic Ocean]].{{sfnp|Blair|1975|p=463}} Following refit, ''Rasher'' commenced her second war patrol on 19 December 1943 and hunted [[Japan]]ese shipping in the [[South China Sea]] off Borneo. When she attacked a three-tanker convoy on the night of 4 January 1944, her first torpedo exploded prematurely. A melee ensued, with tankers scattering and escorts racing about, firing in all directions. ''Rasher'' was pursuing ''Hakko Maru'' when the tanker exploded from a torpedo from {{USS|Bluefish|SS-222|2}}. ''Rasher'' fired at a second target while submerged, and heard explosions, but was unable to confirm a sinking. She pursued the third tanker, firing a spread of four torpedoes early on the morning of 5 January 1944. A mushroom-shaped fire rose as the last two torpedoes struck, and ''Kiyo Maru'' sank, leaving an oil slick and scattered debris. During the patrol, ''Rasher'' planted [[naval mine|mine]]s off the approaches to [[Saigon]] harbor. Prematurely exploding torpedoes and vigilant escorts frustrated her attacks on convoys on 11 January and 17 January. A week later she returned to Fremantle.

=== Third and fourth war patrols, February – June 1944 ===
''Rasher'''s third war patrol from 19 February to 4 April 1944, was conducted in the [[Java Sea]]–Celebes Sea area. On 25 February she attacked a Japanese convoy off [[Bali]]. First she sank the cargo ships ''[[Tango Maru]]'', killing thousands of [[Imperial Japanese Army]] soldiers, Javanese ''[[rōmusha]]'' forced laborers, and Allied [[Prisoner-of-war|prisoners-of-war]]. Later in the same attack she sank ''[[Ryusei Maru]]'', killing up to 5,000 of her complement of Japanese Army soldiers, [[British Indian Army|Indian prisoners of war]], and rōmusha forced labourers. Then, after transiting Makassar Strait into the Celebes Sea, she destroyed the cargo ship ''Nattai Maru'' on 3 March.

On 19 March 1944, ''Rasher'' sighted the Japanese submarine {{ship|Japanese submarine|Ro-112||2}} as ''Ro-112'' was surfacing in the [[Java Sea]] north of Bali off [[Cape Bungkulan]] at {{coord|08|02|S|115|25|E}}.<ref name=combinedfleetRo112>{{cite web |url= http://www.combinedfleet.com/RO-112.htm |title=IJN Submarine RO-112: Tabular Record of Movement |first1=Bob |last1=Hackett |first2=Sander |last2=Kingsepp |work=combinedfleet.com |year=2017|access-date=5 October 2020}}</ref> ''Rasher''′s watch officer described ''Ro-112'' as a black submarine of the "''Ro-51'' class."<ref name=combinedfleetRo112/> At 11:49, ''Rasher'' fired four [[Mark 14 torpedo|Mark 14 Mod 3]] torpedoes at ''Ro-112'', but ''Ro-112'' turned to [[Port and starboard|port]] and evaded them.<ref name=combinedfleetRo112/> En route home, however, ''Rasher'' met the 2,750-ton freighter ''Nichinan Maru'' on 27 March and sank her.

''Rasher'' returned to the Makassar Strait-Celebes Sea area for her fourth patrol, from 30 April to 23 June 1944. On 11 May, she torpedoed and sank the freighter ''Choi Maru''. Next to go down were the converted [[gunboat]] ''Anshu Maru'' on 29 May and the tanker ''Shioya Maru'' in the Celebes Sea off [[Manado]] on 8 June. On 14 June, the cargo ship ''Koan Maru'' went to the bottom, after taking a spread of torpedoes aft and [[Capsize|capsizing]].

=== Fifth war patrol, 22 July – 3 September 1944 ===
Commander [[Henry G. Munson]] relieved [[Willard R. Laughon|Commander Laughon]] as commanding officer of ''Rasher''.<ref name="ruhe">{{cite journal|author=Ruhe, W.J., CAPT USN |title=The ''Rasher's'' Fifth |journal=Proceedings |publisher=United States Naval Institute |date=September 1983 |pages=78–81}}
</ref> ''Rasher's'' fifth patrol was spent largely with {{USS|Bluefish|SS-222|2}} in the South China Sea west of [[Luzon]].

Thirty miles south of [[Scarborough Shoal]] at 2255 5 August, ''Rasher'' launched a spread of six bow torpedoes<ref name="ruhe"/> at the largest ship in a three-ship convoy. Diving to avoid being rammed, ''Rasher's'' crew counted five hits and heard the sounds of a ship breaking up as the army cargo ship ''Shiroganesan Maru'' went down.<ref name="cressman246">{{cite book
| last = Cressman
| first = Robert J.
| authorlink =
| title = The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II
| publisher = Naval Institute Press
| year = 2000
| place = Annapolis, MD
| url =https://archive.org/details/TheOfficialChronologyOfTheUSNavyInWorldWarII
| doi =
| isbn = 1-55750-149-1
| page = [https://archive.org/details/TheOfficialChronologyOfTheUSNavyInWorldWarII/page/n245 246] }}</ref>

''Rasher'' observed nine successive aircraft contacts to the north on the afternoon of 18 August and deduced these were air patrols for an important convoy.<ref name="ruhe"/> That dark, rainy night ''Rasher'''s radar picked up a {{convert|13|kn|km/h|adj=on}} convoy of thirteen ships protected by six escorts.<ref name="ruhe"/> After a surfaced approach to {{convert|2800|yd|m}}, two stern torpedoes were launched at ''Teiyo Maru''<ref name="cressman248">{{cite book
| last = Cressman
| first = Robert J.
| authorlink =
| title = The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II
| publisher = Naval Institute Press
| year = 2000
| place = Annapolis, MD
| url =https://archive.org/details/TheOfficialChronologyOfTheUSNavyInWorldWarII
| doi =
| isbn = 1-55750-149-1
| page = [https://archive.org/details/TheOfficialChronologyOfTheUSNavyInWorldWarII/page/n247 248] }}</ref> at 2122.<ref name="ruhe"/> Both torpedoes hit and the tanker loaded with gasoline exploded into a column of flame {{convert|1000|ft}} high, with parts of the ship being blown {{convert|500|yd|m}} from the flaming hulk.<ref name="ruhe"/> The escorts fired wildly and laid depth charge patterns astern of ''Rasher''.<ref name="ruhe"/> In a second surfaced approach to {{convert|3300|yd|m}} ''Rasher'' launched a spread of six bow torpedoes. Three torpedoes hit and sank the 17,000 ton transport ''[[Teia Maru]]'', killing 2,665 Japanese soldiers,<ref name="cressman248"/> and a fourth torpedo was heard exploding at a timed range of 3900 yards.<ref name="ruhe"/> ''Rasher'' swung hard to port to launch four stern torpedoes at 2214. Three torpedoes hit and sank the 20,000 ton [[Aircraft carrier|carrier]] {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Taiyō||2}},<ref name="cressman248"/> which was escorting the convoy, and the fourth torpedo was heard exploding on a more distant ship.<ref name="ruhe"/>

''Rasher'' pulled away to reload [[torpedo tube]]s and the convoy split into two groups.<ref name="ruhe"/> ''Rasher'' followed the group moving northwest while ''Bluefish'' intercepted the remaining ships continuing southwesterly and sank two tankers.<ref name="ruhe"/> ''Rasher'' launched four bow torpedoes at a range of {{convert|2200|yd|m}}, and three hits on the cargo-transport ''Eishin Maru''<ref name="cressman248"/> caused an ammunition detonation with the pressure wave sweeping over the submarine's bridge.<ref name="ruhe"/> The fourth torpedo was heard exploding on a more distant ship.<ref name="ruhe"/> ''Rasher'' then swung hard right to launch two stern torpedoes. Both torpedoes hit and ''Noshiro Maru''<ref name="cressman248"/> slowed to {{convert|5|kn|km/h}} and reversed course.<ref name="ruhe"/> {{USS|Spadefish|SS-411|2}} joined the [[wolf pack (submarines)|wolfpack]] and scored hits on two of the surviving transports.

''Rasher'' counted sixteen detonations from the eighteen torpedoes fired on 18 August and five detonations for the six fired on 5 August.<ref name="ruhe"/> With all torpedoes expended, ''Rasher'' set course for [[Midway Atoll|Midway]].<ref name="ruhe"/> Munson was called into a secret conference at Midway to compare his observations with decrypted Japanese message traffic.<ref name="ruhe"/> Postwar accounting verified ''Rasher'' had sunk the highest tonnage of any World War II U.S. submarine patrol to that date.<ref name="ruhe"/> That record would be exceeded only once, when {{USS|Archerfish|SS-311}} sank the Japanese [[aircraft carrier]] [[Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano|''Shinano'']] three months later.{{sfnp|Blair|1975|p=964}} ''Rasher'' proceeded to [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] via [[Hawaii]] for overhaul at [[Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard]] on 11 September. She was given a new 5-inch deck gun, ST radar, and many other upgrades.<ref name="Sasgen" />

=== Sixth, seventh, and eighth war patrols, January – August 1945 ===
Benjamin Ernest Adams Jr. replaced Munson for the sixth war patrol. ''Rasher'' departed San Francisco on 20 December 1944, arriving at Midway via Pearl Harbor in early January 1945. Her sixth patrol, as a unit of a wolfpack with {{USS|Pilotfish|SS-386|2}} and {{USS|Finback|SS-230|2}}, commenced on 29 January, and was conducted in the southern sector of the [[East China Sea]]. ''Rasher'' attacked a pair of ships on 15 February but missed, and approached a convoy the next day but was unable to get in position to attack. A later attack on another convoy also ended in misses.<ref name="Sasgen" /> No other suitable targets were found, only small patrol craft, hospital ships, and ubiquitous patrol aircraft. The patrol ended on 16 March 1945 at [[Guam]].

[[File:USS Rasher;0826912.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Battleflag of the ''Rasher'' (SS-269), 1945.]]
Charles Derick Nace replaced Adams for the seventh and eighth patrols. ''Rasher's'' seventh patrol, 17 April to 29 May 1945, was little more rewarding than the sixth. On lifeguard station off [[Honshū]], she riddled two small craft with gunfire. No aircraft came down in her area, and she returned to Midway on 29 May.

''Rasher'' departed Midway 23 June 1945 to take lifeguard station off southern [[Taiwan|Formosa]]. No Allied planes were downed in her area before orders arrived to proceed to the [[Gulf of Siam]]. While she was en route the war ended, and ''Rasher'' returned to the [[Philippines]]. She departed [[Subic Bay]] on 31 August arriving [[New York, New York|New York]] on 6 October, via Pearl Harbor and the [[Panama Canal]]. Following deactivation overhaul, she was decommissioned 22 June 1946 and was placed in the [[Atlantic Reserve Fleet]] at [[Naval Submarine Base New London|New London, Connecticut]].

''Rasher'' was credited with sinking 99,901 tons of Japanese shipping, the third highest total for US submarines in World War II. However, a Japanese destroyer credited as sunk by sister ship {{USS|Flasher|SS-249}} is given a name that never existed and may have been a case of mistaken identity. If the tonnage credited for this ship is removed from the record of ''Flasher'', then ''Rasher'' becomes the second highest-scoring US submarine for tonnage.{{sfnp|Blair|1975|p=989}}

=== Service as radar picket submarine, 1953–1960 ===
She was placed in commission in reserve at [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]] 14 December 1951, Lt. V. D. Ely in command. After being reclassified as a [[radar picket]] submarine, '''SSR-269''', she commenced conversion which continued after she decommissioned 28 May 1952. After extensive hull and interior alterations at Philadelphia Navy Yard, she was recommissioned 22 July 1953, Lt. Comdr. R. W. Stecher in command. She departed New London on 12 November, arriving [[San Diego]] 17 December via [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay]] and the Panama Canal.

The following two years were spent off the west coast in operations from [[Washington (state)|Washington state]] to [[Acapulco]]. On 4 January 1956, she deployed to the [[United States|7th Fleet]], where she operated with U.S. and [[SEATO]] naval units. She returned to San Diego 3 July 1956. Prior to and following a second WestPac deployment from 4 March to 4 September 1958, SSR-269 served in Fleet exercises as an early warning ship, and in [[Anti-submarine warfare|ASW]] training operations.

On 28 December 1959, ''Rasher'' departed the continental United States for the Far East. While attached to the 7th Fleet, she participated in exercise "Blue Star", a large-scale American-Nationalist Chinese amphibious exercise. In May 1960, she took part in the [[Black Ship]] Festival at [[Shimoda, Shizuoka|Shimoda, Japan]], commemorating Commodore [[Matthew C. Perry]]'s landing. She returned to San Diego on 20 June 1960.

=== Vietnam War service ===
[[File:USS Rasher AGSS 269 ship logo.jpg|thumb|USS ''Rasher'' (AGSS 269) ship's logo.]]
''Rasher'' was reclassified as an auxiliary submarine, '''AGSS-269''', on 1 July 1960, with conversion being accomplished at [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]]. Involved in maintaining fleet readiness until mid-August 1962 when she deployed to WestPac, ''Rasher'' continued to exhibit her usual high standards of performance. She returned to San Diego on 15 February 1963, and was overhauled that summer.

During the next year, AGSS-269 was engaged in strike exercises involving other American and [[Canada|Canadian]] ships. Her next deployment, beginning on 3 August 1964, involved support of 7th Fleet operations off [[Vietnam]], as well as ASW exercises with SEATO allies.

After returning to San Diego on 5 February 1965, she had ASW and amphibious training. Her next WestPac deployment, from 3 January to 17 July 1966, included amphibious and ASW training support for [[Republic of Korea]], [[Taiwan|Nationalist Chinese]], and [[Thailand|Thai]] units, as well as operations with the 7th Fleet off Vietnam.

''Rasher'' spent the remainder of her commissioned career providing training services off the coast of California to [[U.S. Navy SEALs|UDT]] and [[anti-submarine warfare|ASW]] units.

==Decommissioning and disposal==
''Rasher'' was decommissioned 27 May 1967, and later was reclassified "unclassified miscellaneous submarine" '''IXSS-269''', was towed to [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], [[Oregon]], where she served as a training submarine for Naval reservists until struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Navy List]], 20 December 1971.

==Honors and awards==

* [[File:United States Navy Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|106px]] [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]] for outstanding performance in combat during [[World War II]] patrols 1, 3, 4, and 5.
* {{ribbon devices|number=7|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with seven [[battle star]]s for World War II service
* {{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam Service Ribbon (With Two Bronze Stars).jpg|width=106}} [[Vietnam Service Medal]] with two [[service star]]s for [[Vietnam War]] service

==See also==
*[[List of most successful American submarines in World War II]]

== References ==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r3/rasher.htm}}
===Bibliography===
* {{cite book | last = Blair | first = Clay Jr. | authorlink = Clay Blair | title = Silent Victory | publisher = [[J. B. Lippincott & Co.]]| year = 1975 | place = Philadelphia | url = | doi = | isbn = 978-0-397-00753-0}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=hkupDwAAQBAJ&dq=LApon+raton&pg=PA181 Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.] {{ISBN|978-0-359-76906-3}}.

==Further reading==
* Sasgen, Peter. 1995. ''Red Scorpion: The War Patrols of the USS Rasher.'' Pocket Star Books. {{ISBN|0-7434-8910-1}} (The author's father served on all eight of the Rasher's patrols during World War II)

== External links ==
{{Commons category|USS Rasher (SS-269)}}
*{{navsource|08/08269}}

{{The Manitowoc Company|state=autocollapse}}
{{Gato class submarine}}
{{November 1943 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasher (Ss-269)}}
[[Category:Gato-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Vietnam War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:1942 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in November 1943]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]

USS Cod

2025-10-29T00:37:46Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:5084:D12A:6D7C:BEB9: /* Awards and decorations */

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin|infobox caption=yes}}
|+USS ''Cod'' (SS-224)
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USS Cod;0822430.jpg|300px|USS Cod (SS-224), about {{convert|40|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} south of Block Island, R.I., 1951 December]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Cod'' (SS-224) underway off [[Block Island, Rhode Island]] in December 1951}}

{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country= [[United States]]
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1942}}
|Ship name=USS ''Cod''
|Ship namesake=[[Cod]]
|Ship ordered= 9 September 1940
|Ship builder=[[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat Company]], [[Groton, Connecticut]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Cod (SS-224) (AGSS-224) (IXSS-224) |url=http://www.navsource.net/archives/08/08224.htm |website=NavSource |access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref>
|Ship laid down=21 July 1942{{sfn|Friedman|1995|pages=285–304}}
|Ship launched=21 March 1943{{sfn|Friedman|1995|pages=285–304}}
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. G.M. Mahoney
|Ship acquired= 21 June 1943
|Ship commissioned=21 June 1943{{sfn|Friedman|1995|pages=285–304}}
|Ship decommissioned= 21 June 1954
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship in service= 21 March 1943
|Ship out of service= 15 December 1971
|Ship struck=15 December 1971{{sfn|Friedman|1995|pages=285–304}}
|Ship reclassified= AGSS-224, 1 December 1962, IXSS-224, 30 June 1971
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=
|Ship honors= Seven [[File:Bronze-service-star-3d-vector.svg|18px]] [[Service star#Navy warships|battle stars]] for her successful [[World War II]] patrols
|Ship status=[[Museum ship]] and [[memorial]] in [[Cleveland, Ohio]] since 1 May 1976<ref name="Register">
{{cite book
|last1=Bauer
|first1=K. Jack
|author-link=K. Jack Bauer
|last2=Roberts
|first2=Stephen S.
|title=Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants
|publisher=Greenwood Press
|year=1991
|location=[[Westport, Connecticut]]
|pages=271–273
|isbn=0-313-26202-0
}}</ref>
|Ship badge=[[File:USS_Cod_SS-224.jpg|180px]]
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Gato|submarine|0}} [[Diesel-electric transmission|diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1525|LT|t|0}} surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*{{convert|2424|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} submerged<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|312|feet|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-early-GM-4-GE}}
|Ship speed=*{{convert|21|kn|abbr=on}} surfaced{{sfn|Friedman|1995|pages=305–311}}
*{{convert|9|kn|abbr=on}} submerged{{sfn|Friedman|1995|pages=305–311}}
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi}} surfaced at {{convert|10|kn|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Friedman|1995|pages=305–311}}
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|abbr=on}} submerged{{sfn|Friedman|1995|pages=305–311}}
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|300|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Friedman|1995|pages=305–311}}
|Ship complement=6 officers, 54 enlisted{{sfn|Friedman|1995|pages=305–311}}
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*10 × [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s (6 bow, 4 stern),
*1 × [[4"/50 caliber gun]] (102 mm),
*later 1 x [[5"/25 caliber gun]] (127 mm),
*[[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm Bofors]] and [[20 mm Oerlikon]] cannon
}}
{{Infobox NRHP
|embed=yes
|name=USS ''Cod'' (Submarine)
|nrhp_type=nhl
|image=USS Cod (2022).jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption=USS ''Cod'' moored in [[Cleveland, Ohio]]{{'s}} [[North Coast Harbor]]
|location=[[Cleveland, Ohio]]
|coordinates = {{coord|41.51005|-81.69164|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|locmapin = United States Cleveland#Ohio#USA
|map_width=300
|built=1942
|builder=[[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat Company]], [[Groton, Connecticut]]
|architecture= [[Submarine]]
|added=14 January 1986
|designated_nrhp_type = 14 January 1986
|area=Less than one acre
|refnum=86000088<ref name="nris">{{NRISref |refnum=86000088|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}
|}

'''USS ''Cod'' (SS/AGSS/IXSS-224)''' is a {{sclass|Gato|submarine}}, the only vessel of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[cod]], an important and very popular food fish of the [[Atlantic cod|North Atlantic]] and [[Pacific cod|North Pacific]] oceans. She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 21 March 1943, and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 21 June 1943.

''Cod'' is now a [[National Historic Landmark]], preserved as a [[museum ship]] and [[memorial]] permanently moored in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], and is open to visitors daily from May to November.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Cod''{{'s}} [[Keel laying|keel was laid down]] by the [[Electric Boat Company]] at [[Groton, Connecticut]], on 21 July 1942. The submarine's four main Cleveland Model 16-248 [[V16 engine|V16]] [[diesel engine]]s and one Cleveland Model 8-268 [[Auxiliary power unit|auxiliary diesel engine]] were built by [[Electro-Motive Diesel|General Motors]] [[Cleveland Diesel Engine Division]] on Cleveland's west side. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 21 March 1943, sponsored by Mrs. G.M. Mahoney, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 21 June 1943 with [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[James C. Dempsey]], USN in command. Commander Dempsey had already won fame by sinking the first Japanese [[destroyer]] lost in [[World War II]] while in command of the submarine {{USS|S-37|SS-142}}.

==World War II==

On 30 August 1943, the American [[Type C1 ship|Type C1-B]] [[cargo ship]] SS ''Alcoa Patriot'' opened gunfire on ''Cod'' in the [[Caribbean Sea]] at {{coord|12|25|N|076|03|W}}, about {{convert|120|nmi}} north-northwest of [[Barranquilla, Colombia]], and {{convert|330|nmi}} east of the northern entrance to the [[Panama Canal]]. Less than three hours later, ''Alcoa Patriot'' again sighted ''Cod'' and fired on her at {{coord|12|02|N|076|04|W}}, about {{convert|105|nmi}} northwest of Barranquilla and {{convert|310|nmi}} east of the northern entrance to the [[Panama Canal]]. ''Cod'' suffered no damage or casualties in either incident.<ref>Hinman & Campbell, pp. 37–38.</ref>

===First patrol, October 1943 – January 1944 ===
''Cod'' arrived in [[Brisbane, Australia]], on 2 October 1943 to prepare for her first [[Patrolling|war patrol]]. She sailed from there 20 days later. Penetrating the [[South China Sea]], she contacted few targets, and launched an attack only once, on 29 November, with unobserved results. She returned to [[Fremantle, Australia]], to refit from 16 December 1943 to 11 January 1944.

===Second patrol, February 1944 – March 1944 ===
''Cod'' put to sea for her second war patrol in the South China Sea, off [[Java (island)|Java]], and off [[Halmahera]]. On 16 February, she surfaced to sink a [[sampan]] by gunfire, and on 23 February, [[torpedo]]ed a Japanese [[cargo ship|merchantman]]. She sent another to the bottom on 27 February, ''Taisoku Maru'' (2,473 tons) and two days later attacked a third, only to be forced deep by a concentrated [[depth charge|depth charging]] delivered by a Japanese escort ship.

===Third patrol, March 1944 – June 1944 ===
Refitting at Fremantle again from 13 March – 6 April 1944, ''Cod'' sailed to the [[Sulu Sea]] and the South China Sea off [[Luzon]] for her third war patrol. On 10 May, she attacked a heavily escorted [[convoy]] of 32 ships and sank the [[destroyer]] [[Japanese destroyer Karukaya|''Karukaya'']] and cargo merchantman ''Shohei Maru'' (7,256 tons) before the escorts drove her down with [[depth charges]]. She returned to Fremantle to replenish on 1 June 1944.

===Fourth patrol, July 1944 – August 1944 ===
''Cod'' was put to sea again 3 July on her fourth war patrol. She ranged from the coast of Luzon to Java. She sank the converted [[net tender]], ''Seiko Maru'' (708 tons) on 3 August, and a [[landing craft]], ''LSV-129'', on 14 August, and, once more successful, she returned to Fremantle 25 August.

===Fifth patrol, September 1944 – November 1944 ===
''Cod'' put to sea on her fifth war patrol 18 September 1944, bound for [[Philippines|Philippine]] waters. She made her first contact, a cargo ship, ''Tatsushiro Maru'' (6,886 tons) on 5 October, and sank it. Two days later, she inflicted heavy damage on a tanker. Contacting a large convoy on 25 October, ''Cod'' launched several attacks without success. With all her torpedoes expended, she continued to shadow the convoy for another day to report its position. In November she took up a lifeguard station off Luzon, ready to rescue carrier pilots carrying out the series of air strikes on Japanese bases which paved the way for the [[Battle of Leyte]] later that month.

''Cod'' returned to [[Pearl Harbor Naval Base]] on 20 November 1944, and sailed on to a stateside overhaul at [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]], returning to [[Pearl Harbor]] on 7 March 1945.

===Sixth patrol, March 1945 – May 1945 ===
On 24 March she sailed from Pearl Harbor for the East China Sea on her sixth war patrol. Assigned primarily to lifeguard duty, she used her deck gun to sink a [[tugboat]] and its tow on 17 April, rescuing three survivors, and on 24 April launched an attack on a convoy which resulted in the most severe depth charging of her career. The next day, she sent the [[minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]] ''W-41'' to the bottom. On 26 April ''Cod'' was threatened by a fire in the aft torpedo room, but the ship's crew brought the fire under control and manually launched a torpedo already in its tube before the fire could detonate it. QM2c Lawrence E. Foley and S1c Andrew G. Johnson were washed overboard while freeing the torpedo room hatch. Foley was recovered the next morning, but Johnson drowned during the night. This was ''Cod''{{'s}} only fatality during [[World War II]].<ref>McDaniel, J.T., Ed. (2005) ''USS Cod: American Submarine War Patrol Reports'', Riverdale, Georgia: Riverdale Books, pp. 241–242. {{ISBN|1-932606-04-1}}</ref>

===Seventh patrol, May 1945 – June 1946 ===
[[File:Hr. Ms. O 19 op rif.jpg|thumb|left|[[HNLMS O 19|''O-19'']] stuck on [[Ladd Reef]]]]
After refitting at [[Guam]] between 29 May and 26 June 1945, ''Cod'' put out for the [[Gulf of Siam]] and the coast of [[Indo-China]] on her seventh war patrol. On 9 and 10 July she went to the rescue of a grounded [[Royal Netherlands Navy|Dutch]] submarine, [[HNLMS O 19|''O-19'']], taking its crew on board and destroying the Dutch submarine when it could not be gotten off the reef. This was the only international submarine-to-submarine rescue in history. After returning the Dutch sailors to [[U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay]], between 21 July and 1 August ''Cod'' made 20 gunfire attacks on the junks, motor sampans, and barges which were all that remained to supply the Japanese at [[Singapore]]. After inspecting each contact to rescue civilian crew, ''Cod'' sank it by gunfire and torpedoes, sending to the bottom a total of 23. On 1 August, an enemy plane [[Strafing|strafed]] ''Cod'', forcing her to dive, leaving one of her boarding parties behind. The men were rescued two days later by {{USS|Blenny|SS-324}}.

When ''Cod'' returned to Fremantle 13 August 1945, the crew of ''O-19'' was waiting to throw a party for their rescuers. During that celebration, the two crews learned of the Japanese surrender. To symbolize that moment, another symbol was added to ''Cod''{{'s}} battle flag: the name ''O-19'' under a [[martini glass]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Farace |first1=Paul |title=A brief history of the U.S.S. COD |url=https://www.usscod.org/info.html |website=www.usscod.org |access-date=17 March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Dutch Submarines: The submarine O 19 |url=https://www.dutchsubmarines.com/boats/boat_o19.htm |website=www.dutchsubmarines.com |access-date=17 March 2025}}</ref>

''Cod'' sailed for home on 31 August. Arriving at [[Naval Submarine Base New London]], on 3 November after a visit to [[Miami, Florida]], ''Cod'' sailed to the [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]] for a overhaul, returning to [[New London, Connecticut]] where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve 22 June 1946.

===Post-War service, June 1946 – June 1954===
''Cod'' was [[United States Navy reserve fleets|mothballed]] in 1946, ''Cod'' was recommissioned in 1951 to participate in [[NATO]] anti-submarine training exercises. During the [[Cold War]], ''Cod'' traveled to [[St. John's, Newfoundland]], as well as [[Cuba]] and [[South America]].

==Great Lakes training vessel, June 1954 – December 1971==
''Cod'' was decommissioned in 1954 and placed in reserve. In 1959 she was towed through the [[St. Lawrence Seaway]] to [[Cleveland, Ohio]] and was used as a training vessel. The ''Cod'' served as a training platform during the reservists' weekend drills. The ''Cod'' was reclassified first as an Auxiliary Submarine (AGSS-224) on 1 December 1962, and later as a Unclassified Miscellaneous Submarine (IXSS-224) on 30 June 1971. The ''Cod'' was in commission, but classed as "in commission in reserve". On 15 December 1971, the ''Cod'' was stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]].

==Awards and decorations==
[[File:USS Cod, Conning Tower - 53056307522.jpg|thumb|left|''Cod''{{'s}} conning tower with her battle stars, battleflag, and cocktail glass]]
''Cod'' is credited with sinking more than 12 enemy vessels totaling more than 37,000 tons, and damaging another 36,000 tons of enemy shipping. All seven of her war patrols were considered successful and ''Cod'' was awarded seven [[Service star#Navy warships|battle stars]] for her service in [[World War II]], ''Cod''{{'s}} battleflag and conning tower both carry a cocktail glass above the name [[HNLMS O 19|''O-19'']] to commemorate the rescue and the party.

{|style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|colspan="4"|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
{{ribbon devices|number=7|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} {{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} {{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Phliber rib.svg|.svg|width=106}}
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan=4|[[American Campaign Medal]]
|-
|[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with seven [[Service star#Navy warships|battle stars]]
|[[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]
|[[National Defense Service Medal]]
|[[Philippine Liberation Medal]]
|}

==Museum ship==
[[File:USS Cod, Engine Room, GM Cleveland Model 248 Engine.jpg|thumb|left|''Cod''{{'s}} engine room shown with her [[Electro-Motive Diesel|General Motors]] [[Cleveland Diesel Engine Division|Cleveland Model]] 16-248 V16 diesel engines]]

A group of Cleveland residents formed the Cleveland Coordinating Committee to Save ''Cod'', Inc., with the goal of preserving the ship as a memorial. On 25 January 1976, the [[United States Navy]] gave guardianship of the submarine to the group. ''Cod'' opened for public tours as a floating memorial on 1 May 1976. In 1986, the [[U.S. Department of the Interior]] designated ''Cod'' a [[National Historic Landmark]]. The memorial is open daily between May and November of each year.

Today, ''Cod'' is the only [[World War II]] United States Navy museum submarine that has not had stairways and doors cut into her pressure hull for public access<ref>{{Cite magazine |author=Robert T. McLaren |date=April 2009 |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2009/april/museum-report-uss-cod/ |title=Museum Report: The USS Cod |magazine=Naval History |volume=23 |issue=2 }}</ref> and is the only World War II [[Fleet submarine]] that is still intact and in her wartime configuration.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Glenn |first1=Fontaine |title=WWII Submarine USS COD arrives in Erie for repairs |url=https://www.yourerie.com/news/local-news/wwii-submarine-uss-cod-arrives-in-erie-for-repairs |access-date=28 July 2023 |work=YourErie.com |date=14 June 2021}}</ref> Visitors to the ship use the same vertical ladders and hatches that were used by her crew. The ship's 5-inch deck gun, [[Torpedo Data Computer|Mark IV Torpedo Data Computer]], [[SJ radar|SJ-5 radar]], [[Sound-powered telephone]], and all five diesel engines have been restored and are fully operable.

Cleveland can claim partial credit as ''Cod''{{'s}} birthplace, since the submarine's four main diesel engines, and one auxiliary diesel engine were built at the [[Electro-Motive Diesel|General Motors]] [[Cleveland Diesel Engine Division]] on Cleveland's west side. ''Cod'' acquired two [[Electro-Motive Diesel|General Motors]] Cleveland Model 16-248 V16 diesel engines that had originally been used aboard another [[World War II]] submarine, {{USS|Stingray|SS-186}}. The engines are held in reserve for parts for the restoration of ''Cod''{{'s}} engines.

The ''Cod'' operates an [[amateur radio]] station, W8COD,<ref>{{cite web |title=Vanity License - W8COD - USS COD AMATEUR RADIO CLUB |url=https://www.wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?licKey=821244 |website=FCC ULS |publisher=US Federal Communications Commission |access-date=27 April 2020 |archive-date=19 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619032441/https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?licKey=821244 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and participates in various [[Contesting|amateur radio contests]] and other events such as [[Field Day (amateur radio)|Field Day]].

On 13 June 2021, ''Cod'' departed Cleveland under tow to Donjon Shipbuilding & Repair in [[Erie, Pennsylvania]] for dry docking to repair and renew her underwater hull. The last time the ''Cod'' was in dry dock for repairs was in 1963 in [[Lorain, Ohio]]. ''Cod'' was closed to tours for approximately 64 days for a dry dock maintenance program.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Avery |title=USS Cod to set sail for first time in 58 years |url=https://www.cleveland19.com/2021/06/10/uss-cod-set-sail-first-time-58-years |access-date=28 July 2023 |work=19 News |date=10 June 2021}}</ref> The goal of the $1.1 million project, partially funded by a $395,050 grant from the Save America's Treasures grant program administered by the [[U.S. Department of the Interior]], is to conserve and restore the underwater hull of the submarine. ''Cod'' returned to Cleveland on 18 August 2021 to the 1201 North Marginal Road berth that she has occupied since her arrival in [[Cleveland]] in 1959.<ref>{{cite news |title=USS Cod needs hull repair, donations |url=https://www.fox8.com/news/uss-cod-needs-hull-repair-donations |access-date=28 July 2023 |work=FOX 8 |date=28 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=USS Cod undergoing $1.4 million renovation |url=https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cleveland/uss-cod-submarine-renovations/95-fdd0df39-f173-4457-95ee-abd6ebd5f457 |access-date=28 July 2023 |work=WKYC |date=9 August 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Cod return.jpg|thumb|right|alt=The Cod returns to Cleveland on 18 August 2021 after maintenance in Erie, aided by the tug Manitou |''Cod'' returns to [[Cleveland]] on 18 August 2021 after her dry docking project completion in [[Erie]] aided by the [[tugboat|tug]] ''Manitou'']]

On 21 June 2023, ''Cod'' celebrated its 80th anniversary of her commissioning during [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Powers |first1=Rob |title=USS Cod celebrates 80th anniversary of commissioning during WWII |url=https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/watch-live-uss-cod-celebrates-80th-anniversary-of-commissioning-during-wwii |access-date=28 July 2023 |work=News 5 Cleveland |date=22 June 2023}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:USS Cod, Control Room - 53056308667.jpg| Control Room
File:USS Cod, Forward Torpedo Room - 53057383603.jpg|Forward Torpedo Room
File:USS Cod, After Torpedo Room.jpg|Aft Torpedo Room
File:USS Cod, Maneuvering Room.jpg|Maneuvering Room
File:USS Cod, Officer's Ward Room - 53057083779.jpg| Officer's Ward Room
File:USS COD - Joy of Museums 3.jpg| 5-inch deck gun
File:USS Cod - 53056902096.jpg|''Cod''{{'s}} Builder Plate
File:USS_Cod_-_53057280245.jpg|Cleveland Coordinating Committee for ''Cod'', Inc. Plaque
</gallery>

==Appearances in popular culture==

''Cod'' was subject of the television series ''The Silent Service'' and was the main plot for an episode titled ''The USS Cod's Lost Boarding Party'' which aired on 30 May 1958 on [[NBC]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |author=Evan Cerne-Iannone |date=October 2021 |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2021/october/cods-lost-boarders/|title=The Cod's Lost Boarders |magazine=Proceedings |volume=147 |issue=10}}</ref>

''Cod'' was used for exterior and interior scenes for the [[Smithsonian Channel]] war documentary ''[[Hell Below (TV series)|Hell Below]]'' to depict {{USS|Tang|SS-306|6}}, {{GS|U-99|1940|2}} and {{GS|U-100|1940|2}}. Filming took place aboard the ''Cod'' in 2015. The documentary aired on 17 July 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Watts |first1=Richard |title= Film shoot truly was hell below |url=https://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/film-shoot-truly-was-hell-below-4635236 |access-date=28 July 2023 |work=timescolonist.com |date=12 April 2016}}</ref>

''Cod'' was the subject of a two-part documentary on the ''[[World of Warships]]'' [[YouTube]] channel titled ''Naval Legends: USS Cod.'' The documentary published on 2 and 4 July 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldofwarships.com/en/news/history/naval-legends-uss-cod-part1/|title=Naval Legends: USS Cod – Part 1 World of Warships|website=www.worldofwarships.com}}</ref>

''Cod'' was used for exterior and interior scenes for the [[Dolph Lundgren]] motion picture ''Operation Seawolf'' to depict [[World War II]] [[U-Boat|German U-Boat]]s. The motion picture released on 7 October 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fandomize.com/steven-luke-and-hiram-a-murray-talk-operation-seawolf/|title=Steven Luke and Hiram A. Murray talk Operation Seawolf Fandomize Media|website= www.fandomize.com/|date=18 October 2022 }}</ref>

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
*{{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cod.html}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite web
|url={{NHLS url|id=86000088}}
|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form / USS Cod (SS-224)
|format=pdf
|first=Harry A.
|last=Butowsky
|date=May 1985
|access-date=2012-08-27
}}
::{{cite web
|url={{NHLS url|id=86000088|photos=y}}
|title=Accompanying Photos
|format=pdf
|first=Harry A.
|last=Butowsky
|date=May 1985
|access-date=2012-08-27
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Friedman
|first=Norman
|title=U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
|publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]]
|year=1995
|location=[[Annapolis, Maryland]]
|isbn=1-55750-263-3
}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=hkupDwAAQBAJ&dq=LApon+raton&pg=PA181 Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.] {{ISBN|978-0-359-76906-3}}.

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* {{Official website|https://www.usscod.org}}
* {{YouTube|channel=@USSCod}}
* {{navsource|08/08224|USS Cod}}
* [https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cod.html USS ''Cod''] on the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
* {{hnsa|uss-cod-ss-224}}
* [https://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675076083_USS-Cod_Dutch-submarine_holding-rubber-raft_airplane-in-flight USS ''Cod'' sinking ''O-19'']
* Naval Legends: USS ''Cod'' ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HuGbD8mBUM Part 1], and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnlKl6KrnU4 Part 2]) – World of Warships YouTube documentary
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4162jE5L1s The USS ''Cod's'' Lost Boarding Party] The Silent Service, The USS ''Cod's'' Lost Boarding Party

{{Cleveland}}
{{Gato class submarine}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cod (SS-224)}}
[[Category:Gato-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Submarines of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Naval museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1943]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Ohio]]
[[Category:Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Cleveland, Ohio]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Cuyahoga County, Ohio]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in Ohio]]
[[Category:Museum ships in Ohio]]
[[Category:Museums in Cleveland]]
[[Category:History of Cleveland]]
[[Category:Cleveland]]
[[Category:Downtown Cleveland]]
[[Category:Lake Erie]]

Joseph P. Hoar

2025-10-28T18:37:49Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:5084:D12A:6D7C:BEB9: /* Education and awards */

{{short description|United States Marine Corps general (1934–2022)}}
{{Infobox military person
|name = Joseph P. Hoar
|image = Joseph Hoar official military photo.jpg
|caption =
|nickname =
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1934|12|30}}
|birth_place = [[Boston, Massachusetts]], U.S.
|death_date = {{Death date and age|2022|09|17|1934|12|30}}
|death_place = [[San Diego, California]], U.S.
|placeofburial = [[Miramar, California]]
|placeofburial_label = Place of burial
|allegiance = United States
|branch = [[United States Marine Corps]]
|serviceyears = 1957–1994
|rank = [[General (United States)|General]]
|commands = {{plainlist|
*[[United States Central Command]]
*[[Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island]]
}}
|unit =
|battles = [[Vietnam War]]
|awards = {{ubl|[[Defense Distinguished Service Medal]]|[[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] (2)}}
|relations =
|laterwork =
}}

'''Joseph Paul Hoar'''<ref>{{cite book |title=Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and Reserve Officers on Active Duty |page=895 |date=January 1, 1965 |publisher=Bureau of Naval Personnel}}</ref> (December 30, 1934 – September 17, 2022) was a [[United States Marine Corps]] four-star general. He served as Commander in Chief of [[United States Central Command]] from 1991 to 1994, retiring from the Marine Corps on September 1, 1994.

==Marine Corps career==
Hoar attended [[Boston College High School]], then went on to graduate from [[Tufts University]] and receive a second lieutenant's commission in the Marine Corps in 1957. After graduating from [[the Basic School]] at [[Marine Corps Base Quantico|Quantico]], he was assigned as a rifle platoon commander with the [[5th Marine Regiment (United States)|5th Marine Regiment]]. Later assignments included duty with 1st Battalion, 1st Marines at [[Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton|Camp Pendleton]], battalion staff officer on [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]], the Marine Barracks at [[Yorktown, Virginia]], and Assistant Manpower, Personnel and Administration Officer at [[Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune|Camp Lejeune]].

During the [[Vietnam War]], Hoar was assigned with the [[2nd Marine Division (United States)|2nd Marine Division]], commanding Company M, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment of that unit. He later served as a battalion and brigade adviser with a [[Republic of Vietnam Marine Division|South Vietnamese Marine Corps]] unit. He then returned stateside, completing a three-year tour of duty in [[Washington, D.C.]] as an operations officer and as Special Assistant to the Assistant Marine Corps Commandant. In 1971, he again went overseas as Executive Officer of [[1st Battalion 9th Marines|1st Battalion]], [[9th Marine Regiment (United States)|9th Marines]].

From 1972 to 1976 Hoar was an instructor at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, later returning to [[Headquarters Marine Corps|Marine Headquarters]] where he served in the Personnel Management Division. In 1977, he returned to [[1st Marine Regiment (United States)|1st Marines]] as commander of its [[3rd Battalion 1st Marines|3rd Battalion]], later accepting duty with the Division's staff, where he was promoted to colonel. Hoar assumed command of [[1st Marine Regiment]] from 17 November 1979 to 24 April 1981.<ref>{{cite web |title=1st MARINE DIVISION AND ITS REGIMENTS |url=https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/The%201st%20Marine%20Division%20and%20its%20Regiments%20%20PCN%2019000314800.pdf |website=www.usmcu.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027011922/https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/The%201st%20Marine%20Division%20and%20its%20Regiments%20%20PCN%2019000314800.pdf |accessdate=2019-01-11|archive-date=2020-10-27 }}</ref>

After completing this tour he was assigned to the 31st Marine Amphibious Unit aboard {{USS|Belleau Wood|LHA-3|6}}, participating in three deployments in the [[Indian Ocean]]. He then returned to the U.S. as Assistant Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Administration, gaining a promotion to brigadier general in February 1984. In 1985, he returned to Washington as Director of the Facilities and Services Division at Marine HQ. 1987 saw Hoar accept a position as Commanding General at the [[Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island|Parris Island recruit depot]]; later that year he was promoted to major general.

Hoar moved to [[MacDill Air Force Base|MacDill AFB]], Florida in 1988 as Chief of Staff for [[United States Central Command]]. He returned to Headquarters Marine Corps in June 1990, earning a promotion to lieutenant general while serving there as Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, Policies and Operations. After a year at this assignment he returned to CENTCOM as its commander on August 9, 1991, relieving General [[H. Norman Schwarzkopf]]. He remained in that capacity until his retirement three years later.

While in command of CENTCOM, General Hoar oversaw a number of different operations in the region, including enforcement of the [[Persian Gulf]] and [[Red Sea]] naval embargo, enforcement of the [[Operation Southern Watch|southern no-fly zone]] over Iraq, ground operations in [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Somalia]], and American troop evacuation from [[Yemen]] during that country's [[civil war]] in 1994.

==Post-military career and death==
After retirement, he set up a consulting company involved in business ventures in various places in the Middle East and Africa. He has served as Director of [[Hawaiian Airlines]], as a Fellow of the [[World Economic Forum]], and on the boards of trustees of [[Suffolk University]] and the [[Center for Naval Analyses]].

General Hoar drew upon his experience with CENTCOM in the days leading up to the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] to stress the importance of allied cooperation, notably the ability to base military operations from [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Jordan]] and [[Turkey]], as key to success in the region.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/programs/morning/transcripts/2002/oct/021030.gjelten.html Profile: Possible Consequences Of Iraqi War Without U.N. Support], [[NPR]], October 30, 2002</ref> As U.S. strategy for the invasion coalesced, Hoar expressed misgivings, in particular regarding the number of troops committed to the operation.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/s803482.htm Experts fear a war with Iraq will not be short], [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]], March 11, 2003</ref>

A year after the official cessation of hostilities, Hoar continued to maintain that coalition forces did not have enough troops on the ground to accomplish their mission.<ref>[http://www.tnr.com/etc.mhtml?week=2003-03-30 Are the carping Generals actually making Rumsfeld's point?], ''[[National Review]]''</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=April 2, 2003
|title=Why Aren't There Enough Troops in Iraq?|author=Joseph P. Hoar|page=Section A, Page 21|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/02/opinion/why-aren-t-there-enough-troops-in-iraq.html|work=New York Times}}</ref> In December 2003, Hoar stated that [[Deputy Secretary of Defense]] [[Paul Wolfowitz]], "...doesn't know much about the business he's in".<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A22921-2003Dec22&notFound=true Holding Their Ground: As Critics Zero In, Paul Wolfowitz Is Unflinching On Iraq Policy]{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''[[Washington Post]]'', December 23, 2003</ref> In testimony before the [[United States Senate|Senate]] committee on foreign relations on May 19, 2004, he stated regarding the situation in Iraq, "I believe we are absolutely on the brink of failure. We are looking into the abyss".<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1220792,00.html Hostilities force Bush into deep hole: Strategy pushing US into 'abyss'], ''[[The Guardian]]'', May 20, 2004</ref>

On September 7, 2004, Hoar and seven other retired officers wrote an open letter to President Bush expressing their concern over the number of allegations of abuse of prisoners in U.S. military custody.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/PDF/detainees/Military_Leaders_Letter_President_Bush_FINAL.pdf |title=Open letter to President Bush |accessdate=2005-08-01 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050801021823/http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/PDF/detainees/Military_Leaders_Letter_President_Bush_FINAL.pdf |archivedate=August 1, 2005 }},''[[Human Rights First]]'', September 7, 2004</ref> In it they wrote:

<blockquote>We urge you to commit – immediately and publicly – to support the creation of a comprehensive, independent commission to investigate and report on the truth about all of these allegations, and to chart a course for how practices that violate the law should be addressed.</blockquote>

In March 2006, Hoar joined fellow former [[United States Marine Corps|United States Marines]] General [[Tony Zinni]], Lt. General [[Greg Newbold]], Lt. General [[Frank E. Petersen]], and Congressman [[Jack Murtha]] in endorsing fellow former [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine]] and [[Secretary of the Navy]] [[Jim Webb]] for [[U.S. Senate]] in [[Virginia]].<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.webbforsenate.com/press/release.php?id=24 |title=Generals Zinni, Newbold, Petersen and Rep. Murtha Endorse Jim Webb for Senate |date=May 3, 2006 |publisher=Jim Webb for U.S. Senate |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311031121/http://www.webbforsenate.com/press/release.php?id=24 |archivedate=March 11, 2007}}</ref>

Hoar served on the Board of Directors for the [[Middle East Policy Council]], a Washington D.C.–based non-profit organization that seeks to educate American citizens and policy makers about the political, economic and security issues impacting U.S. national interests in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://plantspedia.org/info/Middle_East_Policy_Council | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727175857/http://plantspedia.org/info/Middle_East_Policy_Council | archive-date=27 July 2011 | title=Middle_East_Policy_Council - Encyclopedia of Plants }}</ref> He also served on the National Advisory Board<ref>{{cite web|title=Board |url=http://armscontrolcenter.org/about/board/#JHoar|website=Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation|accessdate=22 September 2016}}</ref> of the [http://armscontrolcenter.org/ Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation], the research arm of [[Council for a Livable World]].

He died on September 17, 2022, of complications related to [[Alzheimer's disease]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oceansidemortuary.com/obituaries/Joseph-P-Hoar?obId=25944390#/celebrationWall|title=Obituary of Joseph P. Hoar (December 30, 1934 – September 17, 2022)|access-date=September 30, 2022|website=Oceanside Mortuary}}</ref>

==Education and awards==
Hoar held a master's degree from George Washington University and was also a graduate of the [[National War College]] and the Marine Corps Command and Staff College.

His military decorations include:
{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="2" align="right" |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Defense Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|colspan="2" align="left"|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Bronze Star Medal ribbon with "V" device, 3rd award.svg|width=106}}[[File:1 golden star.svg|22px]]
|rowspan="4" align="center"|[[File:Joint Chiefs of Staff seal.svg|110px]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=award-star|ribbon=Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Combat Action Ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=U.S. Navy Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon, 2nd award.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Navy and Marine Corps Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal ribbon-Second Class.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam gallantry cross unit award-3d.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=VNCivilActionsRibbon-2.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon with 60- clasp.svg|width=106}}
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|
|[[Defense Distinguished Service Medal]]
|[[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] w/ 1 [[award star]] & [[valor device]]
|
|rowspan="4" align="center" |[[Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge]]
|-
|[[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]] w/ 1 award star
|[[Combat Action Ribbon]]
|[[Navy Unit Commendation]]
|[[Meritorious Unit Commendation|Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation]]
|-
|[[Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal]]
|[[National Defense Service Medal]] w/ 1 [[service star]]
|[[Vietnam Service Medal]] w/ 3 service stars
|[[Sea Service Ribbon|Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon]]
|-
|[[Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal]], 2nd class
|[[Vietnam Gallantry Cross]] unit citation
|[[Vietnam Civil Actions Medal|Vietnam Civil Actions unit citation]]
|[[Vietnam Campaign Medal]]
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[David M. Brahms]]
* [[James Cullen (US Army JAG)|James Cullen]]
* [[John L. Fugh]]
* [[Robert G. Gard Jr.|Robert Gard]]
* [[Lee F. Gunn]]
* [[John D. Hutson]]
* [[Richard O'Meara]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{cite web
|url = https://slsp.manpower.usmc.mil/GOSA/Biographies/rptBiography.asp?PERSON_ID=545&PERSON_TYPE=General
|title = Official Biography: General Joseph P. Hoar
|publisher = United States Marine Corps
|accessdate = 2009-01-27
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120220041551/https://slsp.manpower.usmc.mil/GOSA/Biographies/rptBiography.asp?PERSON_ID=545&PERSON_TYPE=General
|archivedate = 2012-02-20
}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box
| title=Commander-in-Chief of [[United States Central Command]]
| before=[[Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.|H. Norman Schwarzkopf]]
| years=1991–1994
| after=[[J. H. Binford Peay III]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{CentComHeads}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoar, Joseph P.}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Boston]]
[[Category:Boston College High School alumni]]
[[Category:George Washington University alumni]]
[[Category:Tufts University alumni]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps generals]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:Suffolk University people]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal]]
[[Category:National War College alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in California]]

George B. Crist

2025-10-28T03:56:26Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:5084:D12A:6D7C:BEB9: /* Awards and decorations */

{{Short description|U.S. Marine Corps general (1931–2024)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= George B. Crist
|birth_date= {{Birth date|1931|1|23}}
|birth_place= [[Hartford, Connecticut]], U.S.
|death_date= {{Death date and age|2024|7|26|1931|1|23}}
|death_place=[[Beaufort, South Carolina]], U.S.
|placeofburial=
|placeofburial_label= 
|image= General George Crist, official military photo, 1985.JPEG
|caption= General George B. Crist, USMC in 1985
|nickname=
|allegiance= [[United States of America]]
|branch= {{flag|United States Marine Corps}}
|serviceyears= 1952–1988
|rank= [[File:US-O10 insignia.svg|23px]] [[General (United States)|General]]
|commands= [[2nd Battalion, 6th Marines]] [[United States Central Command|CENTCOM]]
|unit=
|battles= [[Korean War]] [[Vietnam War]]
|awards=[[Defense Distinguished Service Medal]] (2) [[Defense Superior Service Medal]] [[Legion of Merit]] [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] with [[Combat V]] device
|laterwork= [[CBS]] military analyst
}}

'''George Brainard Crist'''<ref>{{cite book |title=Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and Reserve Officers on Active Duty |page=856 |date=January 1, 1965 |publisher=Bureau of Naval Personnel}}</ref> (January 23, 1931 – July 26, 2024) was a [[4-star rank|four-star]] [[General (United States)|general]] of the [[United States Marine Corps]] and was the first Marine to be designated as a Unified Commander, serving as Commander in Chief of the [[United States Central Command]] from 1985 to 1988. He was the first Marine to head one of the combatant commands.

==Biography==
George B. Crist was born on January 23, 1931, in [[Hartford, Connecticut]]. His father was a career [[United States Navy|Navy]] officer.

Crist graduated [[cum laude]] from [[Villanova University]] in 1952, where he was in the [[Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps|NROTC]]. Later, he received an [[honorary doctorate]] from Villanova; and he was honored with Villanova's Alumni Medallion in 1981.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.villanova.edu/artsci/college/about/awards/alumnimedallion/pastwinners.htm
|accessdate=2007-01-07
|title=Alumni Medallion – Past Winners
|publisher=Villanova University}}</ref>

===Marine Corps career===
Crist was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1952. While a lieutenant, he served in all three active duty Marine divisions. During the [[Korean War]], he served with the [[1st Marine Division (United States)|1st Marine Division]] in [[Korea]].

He returned to the United States in 1955, was promoted to [[Captain (United States)#Army.2C Air Force.2C and Marine Corps|captain]] and ordered to [[Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.]], where he served as a [[White House]] aide under [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|President Eisenhower]]. In 1959, he graduated from the Advanced Infantry Officers' School, [[Fort Benning]], Georgia, and joined the newly formed U.S. Naval Mission to the [[Republic of Haiti]].

By 1963, Crist had returned to the [[2nd Marine Division (United States)|2nd Marine Division]], where he deployed with an infantry battalion to the [[Caribbean]] during the 1962 [[Cuban Missile Crisis]]. Later, as Assistant Division G-3, he completed [[Airborne forces|airborne]] training at Fort Benning.

His first [[Vietnam War|tour in Vietnam]] came in 1965. As an advisor to the Vietnamese Joint General Staff, he participated in combat operations throughout the [[Republic of Vietnam]].

In 1966, he became [[aide-de-camp]] to the [[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]]. While in that assignment he was promoted to [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]].

Following his graduation from the [[Joint Forces Staff College|Armed Forces Staff College]] in 1968, he commanded the [[2nd Battalion 6th Marines|2nd Battalion, 6th Marines]] at [[Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune|Camp Lejeune]], North Carolina. In 1971, he completed the Air War College as a distinguished graduate, concurrently receiving a [[master's degree]] in [[Political science|Political Science]] from [[Auburn University]]. The next year, he returned to the [[Far East]], serving first as a battalion commander in the [[3rd Marine Division (United States)|3rd Marine Division]] and then with the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade, assisting in the defense of South Vietnam during the 1972 North Vietnamese [[Easter Offensive]].

When he returned to the U.S., he spent three years at [[Headquarters Marine Corps]] in Plans and Programs. While in Washington D.C., he was promoted to [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]].

In the summer of 1975, Crist was ordered to Headquarters, [[Fleet Marine Force]] (FMF), Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, where he served as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, Chief of Staff, and following his promotion to [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]], as Deputy Commander.

In 1978, he was transferred to Europe as the deputy director of Operations (J-3), [[United States European Command|U.S. European Command]], where he was actively involved in a series of crisis actions ranging from Iran to Africa.

In 1980, Crist was promoted to [[Major general (United States)|major general]] and returned to the United States as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Reserve Affairs. This was followed two years later by a tour with the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] as the Vice Director, Joint Staff. On October 23, 1983, during a weekend of international crises at the [[White House]], Crist was secretly dispatched from Washington to assist six Caribbean states organize a 300-man [[Caribbean Peace Force]] to support the surprise, U.S.-led [[invasion of Grenada]] on October 25. For the next five days, Crist served as the on-scene military liaison between the regional peacekeepers and the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, and the [[CIA]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cole|first=Ronald H.|date=1997|title=Operation Urgent Fury: The Planning and Execution of Joint Operations in Grenada, 12 October - 2 November 1983.|url=https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/History/Monographs/Urgent_Fury.pdf|access-date=December 23, 2021}}</ref> On November 2, after his return to Washington, Crist testified before a Congressional subcommittee on the weapons that were captured from Cubans and Grenadians by American troops in the course of the eight days of hostilities.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kukielski|first=Philip|title=The U.S. Invasion of Grenada : legacy of a flawed victory|publisher=McFarland and Co|year=2019|isbn=978-1-4766-7879-5|location=Jefferson North Carolina|pages=200|oclc=1123182247}}</ref>

In 1984, he was promoted to the rank of [[Lieutenant general (United States)|lieutenant general]] and served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Installations and Logistics and [[Quartermaster]] General and then as Chief of Staff, Headquarters Marine Corps.

Crist was promoted to the grade of [[General (United States)|general]] in November 1985—the first active-duty Marine to achieve that rank without serving as Commandant or Assistant Commandant of the Corps—and on November 27, 1985, he assumed command of the [[United States Central Command|U.S. Central Command]] (CENTCOM), [[MacDill Air Force Base]], Florida. At CENTCOM, he helped to run [[Operation Earnest Will]], the escort of reflagged Kuwaiti tankers; [[Operation Prime Chance]], the secret actions against Iranian naval forces; and [[Operation Praying Mantis]], the April 18, 1988, retaliation for the Iranian mining of the [[USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58)|USS ''Samuel B. Roberts'']].

Crist retired from active duty in December 1988 after more than 36 years of service. Following retirement, he became a military consultant for [[CBS news]] in 1990, appearing on national television and radio throughout the [[Gulf War]] and during subsequent crises in Africa and the Middle East.

===Personal life and death===
Crist and his wife, Barbara (née Clay), moved to [[Beaufort, South Carolina]], in 1990 after they restored an old house in the Historic District.

Crist earned a BA, cum laude, from Villanova University, an MS in political science from Auburn University, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Military Science by Villanova University.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.villanova.edu/library/archives/sesquicentennial/case14.htm?page=460.htm |title=Commencement, 1987 |website=www.villanova.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604154446/http://www.villanova.edu/library/archives/sesquicentennial/case14.htm?page=460.htm |archive-date=2010-06-04}}</ref>

George and Barbara had two sons, William and David.

Crist died in Beaufort on July 26, 2024, at the age of 93.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.marines.mil/News/News-Display/Article/3852000/in-memoriam-gen-crist-first-marine-combatant-commander/|title = In memoriam: Gen. Crist, first Marine Combatant Commander|last = Norwood|first = Tawanya|date = July 26, 2024|accessdate = August 1, 2024|website = [[United States Marine Corps]]}}</ref>

==Awards and decorations==
His military decorations included two awards of the [[Defense Distinguished Service Medal]], the [[Defense Superior Service Medal]], the [[Legion of Merit]], the [[Bronze Star Medal]], two individual awards of the [[Air Medal]], and the [[Joint Service Commendation Medal]]. Foreign decorations include the Egyptian [[Meritorious Badge of Honor]] of the First Degree, the [[Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry]] with silver and bronze stars, and the [[Armed Forces Honor Medal|Vietnamese Honor Medal]].

{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
| colspan="4"|[[File:United States Air Force Parachutist Badge.svg|110px]]
|-
|colspan="4"|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Defense Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Defense Superior Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|
|rowspan="5" |[[File:Joint Chiefs of Staff seal.svg|125px]]
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Bronze Star Medal ribbon with "V" device, 3rd award.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=award-star|ribbon=Air Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Joint Service Commendation Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Combat Action Ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon, 2nd award.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean_Service_Medal_-_Ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Vietnamese Gallantry Cross ribbon.svg|width=106}}[[File:Award-star-silver-3d.png|26px]][[File:Bronze-service-star-3d-vector.svg|26px]]
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal ribbon-First Class.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Presidential Unit Citation (Philippines).svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam gallantry cross unit award-3d.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon with 60- clasp.svg|width=106}}
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
| colspan="12"|[[Parachutist Badge (United States)|US Army Basic Parachutist Badge]]
|-
!1st Row
|[[Defense Distinguished Service Medal]] w/ 1 [[award star]]
|[[Defense Superior Service Medal]]
|[[Legion of Merit]]
|
|rowspan="5" align="center" |[[Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge]]
|-
!2nd Row
|[[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] w/ [[valor device]]
|[[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]]
|[[Air Medal]] w/ 1 award star
|[[Commendation Medal|Joint Service Commendation Medal]]
|-
!3rd Row
|[[Combat Action Ribbon]]
|[[Navy Occupation Service Medal]]
|[[National Defense Service Medal]] w/ 1 [[service star]]
|[[Korean Service Medal]]
|-
!4th Row
|[[Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal]]
|[[Vietnam Service Medal]] w/ 3 service stars
|[[Vietnam Gallantry Cross]] w/ silver & bronze stars
|[[Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal]]
|-
!5th Row
|[[Presidential Unit Citation (Philippines)]]
|[[Vietnam Gallantry Cross|Vietnam Gallantry Cross unit citation]]
|[[United Nations Korea Medal]]
|[[Vietnam Campaign Medal]]
|-
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*[[List of United States Marine Corps four-star generals]]
{{Clear}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
:{{Marine Corps}}
*{{cite web
|accessdate=8 March 2009
|url=http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/hd/Whos_Who/Crist_GB.htm
|title=General George B. Crist, USMC (retired)
|work=Who's Who in Marine Corps History
|publisher=History Division, United States Marine Corps
}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

==External links==
*{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/concepts_centcomlong.html
|accessdate=2007-01-07
|title=The Reagan Administration and Emergence of CENTCOM
|work=Central Command, United States
|publisher=Military History Encyclopedia on the Web}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-mil}}
{{Succession box|
title=Commander-in-Chief of [[United States Central Command]]|
before=[[Robert C. Kingston]]|
years=1985–1988 |
after=[[Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.|H. Norman Schwarzkopf]]
}}
{{S-end}}
{{CentComHeads}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crist, George B.}}
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:2024 deaths]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:Auburn University alumni]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:American recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam)]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps generals]]
[[Category:Villanova University alumni]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Air Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Hartford, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Beaufort, South Carolina]]

Jacob L. Devers

2025-10-28T03:50:12Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:5084:D12A:6D7C:BEB9: /* Awards and decorations */

{{Short description|US Army general (1887–1979)}}
{{Good article}}
{{use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}

{{Infobox military person
| name = Jacob L. Devers
| image = GEN Jacob L. Devers.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Devers in 1945
| nickname = "Jamie", "Jake"
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1887|9|8|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[York, Pennsylvania]], United States
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1979|10|15|1887|9|8|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], United States
| placeofburial = [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
| allegiance = United States
| branch = [[United States Army]]
| serviceyears = 1909–1949
| rank = [[General (United States)|General]]
| servicenumber = 0-2599<ref name="Military Times" />
| unit = [[Field Artillery Branch (United States)|Field Artillery Branch]]
| commands = {{ubl |Army Field Forces [[Army Ground Forces]] | [[Sixth United States Army Group|6th Army Group]] | [[Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II|North African Theater of Operations, United States Army]] | [[European Theater of Operations, United States Army]] | [[United States Army Armor School|Armored Force]] | [[9th Infantry Division (United States)|9th Infantry Division]] | 2nd Battalion, [[6th Field Artillery Regiment|6th Field Artillery]] | 1st Battalion, [[16th Field Artillery Regiment|16th Field Artillery]] | [[1st Field Artillery Regiment (United States)|1st Field Artillery]] }}
| battles = {{tree list}}
* [[World War I]]
* [[World War II]]
** [[Italian campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]]
*** [[Battle of Monte Cassino]]
** [[Operation Dragoon]]
** [[Battle of the Bulge]]
*** [[Operation Nordwind]]
** [[Colmar Pocket]]
** [[Western Allied invasion of Germany]]
*** [[Operation Undertone]]
{{tree list/end}}
| awards = [[Army Distinguished Service Medal]] (3) [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]] [[Bronze Star Medal]] ''[[#Awards and decorations|Full list]]''
| relations =
| laterwork = Business executive Chairman, [[American Battle Monuments Commission]]
}}
'''Jacob Loucks Devers''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɛ|v|ər|z}}; 8 September 1887 – 15 October 1979) was a [[United States Army]] [[General (United States)|general]] who commanded the [[Sixth United States Army Group|6th Army Group]] in the [[European Theatre of World War II|European Theater]] of [[World War II]]. He was involved in the development and adoption of numerous weapons, including the [[M4 Sherman]] and [[M26 Pershing]] tanks, the [[DUKW]] amphibious truck, the [[Bell H-13 Sioux]] helicopter, and the [[M16 rifle]].

A graduate of the [[United States Military Academy]], Devers was commissioned in the [[Field Artillery Branch (United States)|field artillery]] in 1909. During World War I, he was an instructor at the [[United States Army Field Artillery School|School of Fire]] at [[Fort Sill]], [[Oklahoma]] and the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|November 11 armistice]] ended the fighting before he received orders to go to France. He traveled to France soon afterwards, where he attended the French artillery school at [[Treves]]. Between the world wars, he was a staunch advocate of mechanization when the idea of phasing out horses met strong resistance from conservative gunners.

When World War II broke out in Europe, Devers was stationed in [[Panama]]. He was promoted to [[Major general (United States)|major general]] in October 1940 and took command of the newly formed [[9th Infantry Division (United States)|9th Infantry Division]] at [[Fort Bragg]], [[North Carolina]], a base whose construction he oversaw. Appointed Chief of the [[Armor Branch (United States)|Armored Force]] in August 1941, he supervised its expansion from four armored divisions to sixteen. He was an articulate proponent of the emerging tactical doctrine of [[combined arms]] and rejected the American doctrine that held that tanks were for exploitation, not for fighting other tanks. He pressed American industry to produce more powerful engines and, often against the views of his superiors, pushed the development of the M4 Sherman, a medium tank with a [[75 mm Gun M2/M3/M6|75 mm gun]]. Not satisfied with the Sherman, he called for still more heavily armed and -armored tanks. He wanted 250 of the new [[M26 Pershing]] tanks for [[Operation Overlord]] but was overruled.

In May 1943, Devers became [[European Theater of Operations, United States Army]] (ETOUSA) commander. His principal tasks were overseeing preparation of detailed plans and the buildup of men and materiel for Overlord, and supporting the [[Combined Bomber Offensive]]. He clashed with General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] over the diversion of ETOUSA resources to Eisenhower's [[North African Theater of Operations]]. Eisenhower succeeded him at ETOUSA in January 1944, and Devers went to the Mediterranean as Commander North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theater, to British [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] Sir [[Henry Maitland Wilson, 1st Baron Wilson|Henry Maitland Wilson]]. Devers was involved in the organization, planning and leadership of [[Operation Dragoon]], the invasion of southern France in August 1944. He led the 6th Army Group in France and Germany through the advance to the Rhine, the German counterattack in [[Operation Northwind]], the operations to reduce the [[Colmar Pocket]] and the [[Western Allied invasion of Germany]]. After the war, he commanded the [[Army Ground Forces]].

==Early life and education==
Jacob Loucks Devers was born in [[York, Pennsylvania]] on 8 September 1887.{{sfn|Cullum|1920|p=1429}} His parents were Philip Devers, a watchmaker and partner in a jewelry store, and Ella Kate Loucks, a homemaker. He had two younger brothers, Frank and Phillip, and a younger sister, Catherine, known as Kitts.{{sfn|Markey|1998|p=11}} The Devers, of Irish and [[Alsace|Alsatian]] ancestry, were strict, hardworking, and religious. The family belonged to the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church (United States)|Evangelical Lutheran Church]], which did not believe in smoking or drinking. While providing a comfortable middle-class life for their children, the couple taught them to value dependability, integrity, and industriousness.{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=5–7}}

Growing up in the heart of [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] country, the young Jamie Devers, as he was called by his family, enjoyed the outdoors: camping, fishing, and hunting. He played all the usual boyhood sports and made friends easily with his engaging smile and cheerful personality. In addition to his household chores, he did odd jobs around the neighborhood and worked on the farm of his maternal grandfather, Jacob Loucks.{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=8–9}} Initially, he was educated at Garfield Elementary School in York. He entered York High School in September 1901. A popular student, he was elected class president. He had an excellent academic record and earned high marks in mathematics and science. Always competitive despite being slightly built, the {{convert|120|lb|adj=on}} {{convert|5|ft|10|in|cm|adj=on}} Devers captained the basketball team, played [[linebacker|defensive quarterback]] in [[American football|football]], and starred in baseball.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=10–13}}

Devers graduated from York High School in May 1905. He was accepted to [[Lehigh University]], where he intended to study engineering,{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=10}} but [[U.S. Representative]] [[Daniel F. Lafean]] offered him an appointment to the [[U.S. Military Academy]] at [[West Point, New York|West Point]].{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=14–15}} He entered in June with the class of 1909. Among his classmates were [[George S. Patton]], [[William Hood Simpson]], and [[Robert L. Eichelberger]], who would also become four-star generals in World War II, and [[John C. H. Lee]], who became a three-star general.{{sfn|Ancell|Miller|1996|pp=96, 185, 252, 297}} Devers' classmates considered him a "puritanical" man with "a countercultural aversion to alcohol and tobacco".{{sfn|Kuehn|2016|pp=125}} He did well in his studies and excelled in sports by playing shortstop on the Army baseball team and guard on the [[Army Black Knights]]' basketball squad.{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=12}} He also played polo.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=29–30}} He graduated from West Point on 11 June 1909, ranking 39th in his class of 103, and was commissioned as a [[second lieutenant]] in his chosen branch, the [[Field Artillery Branch (United States)|field artillery]].{{sfn|Cullum|1920|p=1429}} There were only nine positions available, but enough of the higher-ranking cadets chose other branches that Devers secured his first preference.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=28}}

==World War I==
Devers's first posting was the 1st Battalion, [[4th Field Artillery Regiment|4th Mountain Artillery]], based at [[Vancouver Barracks]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. That was a [[pack artillery]] unit, with its howitzers, ammunition, and equipment carried by [[mule]]s.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=29–30}} It was equipped with the obsolescent [[QF 2.95-inch mountain gun]].{{sfn|Calhoun|2015|p=35}} Three months after Devers joined, the unit moved to [[Fort D. A. Russell (Wyoming)|Fort David A. Russell]], Wyoming, where it rejoined the 2nd Battalion, which was returning from the Philippines. Devers was assigned to Battery C. Soon afterwards, [[First lieutenant#United States|First Lieutenant]] [[Lesley J. McNair]] became the battery commander.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=34–36}} On 11 October 1911, Devers married Georgie Hayes Lyon of Arlington, Virginia, daughter of [[Frank Lyon]] and niece of Major LeRoy S. Lyon, his battalion commander, in a ceremony at her parents' home in [[Arlington, Virginia]].{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=16}}{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=39–40}}<ref>{{cite book|editor=Philip Alexander Bruce|publisher=[[Arlington Historical Society]]|title=History of Virginia|volume=6|year=1924|url={{Google books|GikSAAAAYAAJ|page=123|plainurl=yes}}|pages=123–125}}</ref> They had met when she visited her uncle at Fort Russell.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=39–40}}

[[File:QF2.95inchMountainGun3.jpg|thumb|left|A [[QF 2.95-inch Mountain Gun|QF 2.95-inch mountain gun]]]]
For his next assignment in December 1912, Devers was sent back to West Point to teach mathematics.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=41}} He also managed the baseball program and coached the Cadet basketball team. His players included [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] and [[Omar Bradley]].{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=16}} On 1 April 1916, he was promoted to first lieutenant.{{sfn|Cullum|1920|p=1429}} That August, he was transferred to the newly activated [[9th Field Artillery Regiment|9th Field Artillery]] at [[Schofield Barracks]], in what was then the [[Territory of Hawaii]]. His only child Frances Lyon, was born there on 20 July 1917. The 9th Field Artillery had a battalion of [[4.7-inch gun M1906|4.7-inch guns]] and one of [[Canon de 155 mm GPF|155 mm guns]]. Medium artillery was new in the United States Army, and the 9th was its first [[artillery tractor]]-drawn regiment. Devers was given command of Battery F. {{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=18–19}}<ref name="West Point">{{cite web |url=https://apps.westpointaog.org/Memorials/Article/4788/ |title=Jacob L. Devers 1909 |publisher=West Point Association of Graduates |access-date=31 October 2015 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208131819/https://apps.westpointaog.org/Memorials/Article/4788/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The United States entered [[World War I]] against Germany on 6 April 1917.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=50}} Devers was promoted to [[captain (United States O-3)|captain]] on 15 May and [[major (United States)|major]] on 5 August. He was posted to the [[United States Army Field Artillery School|School of Fire]] at [[Fort Sill]], [[Oklahoma]], on 10 December as an instructor. He received promotions to [[lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] on 30 July 1918 and [[colonel (United States)|colonel]] on 24 October 1918.{{sfn|Cullum|1920|p=1429}} He became executive officer of the 9th Field Artillery Regiment, his former unit from Hawaii now at Fort Sill, on 15 October 1918.{{sfn|Cullum|1920|p=1429}} In September, he was nominated to command the 60th Field Artillery, which was ordered to move to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] in France, but he never took up the post. The [[Armistice of 11 November 1918]] ended the fighting, and the orders were canceled. A disappointed Devers instead became commanding officer of the [[1st Field Artillery Regiment (United States)|1st Field Artillery]] at Fort Sill on 5 March 1919.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=62}}

In May 1919, Devers was sent on a three-month temporary duty assignment to Europe with the American Army of Occupation. He attended the French artillery school at [[Trier|Trèves]] to study guns, ammunition, equipment, and tactics used by the Allies and the Germans during the war.{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=21}}

==Interwar Period==
[[File:USA-Benicia-75mm Field Gun Model 1897-1.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Canon de 75 modèle 1897|75 mm gun]]]]
Returning to the United States, Devers began a second tour of duty at West Point by serving as Senior Field Artillery Instructor and Commander, Field Artillery Detachment. He reverted from colonel to his substantive rank of captain on taking up the appointment on 20 August 1919. He was promoted to major again on 1 July 1920.{{sfn|Cullum|1930|p=837}} The [[Superintendent of the United States Military Academy|superintendent]] was [[brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] [[Douglas MacArthur]]. MacArthur fought an uphill and unpopular battle to bring the curriculum up to date, and Devers defended MacArthur and his methods although his own department was unaffected.{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=23–24}}{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=73–74}}

After five years at West Point, Devers was selected to attend the [[United States Army Command and General Staff College|Command and General Staff School]] at [[Fort Leavenworth]], Kansas. He began his studies there on 3 September 1924 and finished as a Distinguished Graduate on 28 June 1925.{{sfn|Cullum|1930|p=837}} He was ranked 42nd in the class of 258.{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=25}} He was then posted once again to Fort Sill, this time as the director the Field Artillery School's Gunnery Department until 31 August 1929.{{sfn|Cullum|1930|p=837}} He worked with officers such as Captain [[Edward H. Brooks]].{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=27}} During his tour, Devers was credited with making a number of innovative artillery tactical and technical improvements, including advanced fire-support techniques, which was later used successfully during World War II. He remained a staunch advocate of mechanization throughout the interwar period.{{sfn|Cameron|2008|p=268}} The idea of phasing out horses met strong resistance from conservative gunners.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=84–89}}

[[File:Canon de 155mm GPF 3.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Canon de 155mm GPF|155 mm gun]]]]
In September 1929, Devers was ordered to [[Washington, DC]], to serve on the staff of the Chief of Field Artillery. Chosen to attend the [[United States Army War College|Army War College]] in Washington, he began his studies there on 15 August 1932 and graduated on 29 June 1933. That was followed by a one-year assignment to [[Aberdeen Proving Ground#Other component locations within Aberdeen Proving Ground|Fort Hoyle, Maryland]], as executive officer of the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, and then as commander of the 2nd Battalion, [[6th Field Artillery Regiment|6th Field Artillery]]. After 14 years as a major, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel again on 26 February 1934. On 15 June, he was sent to [[Fort Myer]], Virginia, near the District of Columbia, as commander of the 1st Battalion, [[16th Field Artillery Regiment|16th Field Artillery]].{{sfn|Cullum|1940|p=217}} The battalion was supposed to be a demonstration unit for parades and other public events, and was short of personnel because many were assigned to duty with the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]]. As a result, young regimental officers like Second Lieutenant Alexander Graham, who latter married Devers' daughter Frances, were surprised when Devers had them conduct training in the field and fire their [[canon de 75 modèle 1897|75 mm guns]] at every opportunity.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=96–97}}

In 1936, Devers returned to the Military Academy for the third time, now as graduate manager of athletics. The superintendent was now Major General [[William Durward Connor]], an officer renowned for his sharp tongue. Devers later recalled, "A lot of people were afraid of General Connor. He called me a moron once a week".{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=30}} The responsibility had grown considerably since the days when Devers was a cadet. Then, there were only six [[varsity team]] sports; by 1936, there were eighteen. Despite the [[Great Depression]], the Athletic Boards, which Devers ran, had accumulated considerable funds. His major task was the construction of new playing fields where there did not appear to be any available land. He came up with a plan to move the right of way of the [[West Shore Railroad]]. He found the railroad welcoming of the plan, as a shorter and straighter route saved them money.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=105}} The new fields were completed in December 1936.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=108}} He was promoted to full colonel on 1 July 1938.{{sfn|Cullum|1940|p=217}}

==World War II==
===Emergency===
In August 1939, Devers and his wife, Georgie, boarded the Army transport {{USS|Leonard Wood|APA-12|2}}, bound for the [[Panama Canal Zone]]. There was at the time a genuine fear that a hostile nation might strike at the United States with an attack on the [[Panama Canal]] and prevent the movement of ships between the Pacific and the Atlantic. The outbreak of [[World War II]] in Europe in September 1939 led to an escalation of fears. Reinforcements including the [[5th Infantry Regiment (United States)|5th]] and [[13th Infantry Regiment (United States)|13th Infantry]] were sent to Panama. Devers became Chief of Staff to Major General [[David L. Stone]], and then to [[Daniel Van Voorhis]], who replaced Stone in December. He supervised construction projects and other improvements to the Panama Canal Zone defenses.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=118–123}}

On the recommendation of the new [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Chief of Staff of the Army]], [[General (United States)|General]] [[George C. Marshall]], and with the approval of [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[Harry Hines Woodring|Henry H. Woodring]],{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=36–37}} Devers was promoted over 474 other colonels to brigadier general on 1 May 1940,{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}} becoming, at age 52, the youngest brigadier general in the army.{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=36–37}}{{sfn|Brown|2001|p=3}} In July he was recalled to Washington from the Panama Canal Zone to assume command of the Provisional Brigade in the District of Columbia area. In September, Marshall, with the approval of new Secretary of War [[Henry L. Stimson]], named Devers Senior U.S. Army representative to the Presidential Board tasked with surveying bases in the Caribbean and Newfoundland to be leased from the British under the [[Destroyers for Bases Agreement]]. When Devers said that he could use an [[United States Army Air Corps|Air Corps]] officer, Marshall told him to take the one outside his door, who happened to be Lieutenant Colonel [[Townsend Griffiss|Townsend E. Griffiss]].{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=38–39}}

Devers was promoted to major general on 1 October 1940 and was sent to command the newly formed [[9th Infantry Division (United States)|9th Infantry Division]] at [[Fort Bragg]], [[North Carolina]], to succeed Brigadier General [[Francis Honeycutt|Francis W. Honeycutt]], who had been killed in an air crash. Devers supervised training of the 9th and managed Bragg's huge base expansion program. Devers directed basic and advanced infantry training at Bragg for the thousands of troops under his command: regular army, national guard, reservists, and draftees. Among his colonels was [[Alexander Patch|Alexander M. (Sandy) Patch]], the commander of the [[47th Infantry Regiment (United States)|47th Infantry]]. During Devers's tour, Fort Bragg's strength grew from 5,400 to 67,000 soldiers. Meanwhile, he pushed forward immense construction projects for base housing, training facilities and roads on the overcrowded post. By working closely and co-operatively with engineers, local contractors, quartermasters and staff and by cutting through red tape, Devers oversaw completion of 2,500 buildings and {{convert|93|mi}} of roads in six months.{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=38–39}}{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=135–136, 144}}{{sfn|Brown|2001|p=6}}

===Armored Force===
On 1 August 1941, General Marshall named Devers Chief of the [[Armor Branch (United States)|Armored Force]],{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}{{sfn|Cameron|2008|p=268}} headquartered at [[Fort Knox]], Kentucky, replacing the terminally-ill Major General [[Adna R. Chaffee Jr.]]{{sfn|Cameron|2008|p=268}} Devers reported directly to Marshall. He was responsible for inspecting, organizing and training the army's armored divisions and separate non-divisional tank battalions, including all non-tank personnel assigned. McNair's Army General Headquarters (GHQ) was in tactical charge of all U.S. ground forces, but GHQ specifically did not control the semi-autonomous Armored Force,{{sfn|Watson|1950|p=65}} which was considered a "quasi-arm".{{sfn|Greenfield|Palmer|Wiley|1947|p=152}} The Armored Force had complete control of its own training, doctrine, and organization.{{sfn|Greenfield|Palmer|Wiley|1947|pp=56–57}} In a major reorganization of the [[United States Department of War|War Department]] in March 1942, McNair was named Commander of a new component, [[Army Ground Forces]] (AGF), which replaced GHQ.{{sfn|Greenfield|Palmer|Wiley|1947|pp=154–155}} Relations between GHQ/AGF and the Armored Force were distant, and lines of authority and responsibility were often unclear. McNair seemed to prefer leaving Devers alone.{{sfn|Greenfield|Palmer|Wiley|1947|p=58}}

[[File:M3grantmini.jpg|thumb|right|An [[M3 Lee]] tank at [[Fort Knox]]]]
When Devers took command, the Armored Force had two operational armored divisions: the [[1st Armored Division (United States)|1st Armored Division]] at Fort Polk (now [[Fort Johnson]]), Louisiana, and the [[2nd Armored Division (United States)|2nd Armored Division]] at [[Fort Knox]], as well as one independent tank battalion, the [[70th Armor Regiment|70th Tank Battalion]] at [[Fort Meade|Fort George G. Meade]], Maryland.{{sfn|Cameron|2008|pp=253–255}} Both divisions participated in the large-scale war games of the [[Louisiana Maneuvers]] in August and September 1941 and the [[Carolina Maneuvers]] in November 1941.{{sfn|Cameron|2008|pp=325–326}} Despite some successes, the maneuvers revealed armored unit and equipment operational deficiencies, as well as a general lack of combat readiness. Devers attributed much of the poor performance to poorly trained junior and staff officers but also saw doctrinal deficiencies, which hampered the co-ordination of tanks, the infantry, and the artillery.{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=78–79}}

In particular, post-maneuver reports emphasized the vulnerability of tanks to antitank fire. That bolstered the antitank gun, which were strongly supported by McNair. Devers differed by countering that the number of tank "kills" credited to antitank gunners was unrealistic and biased and felt that "we were licked by a set of umpires' rules".{{sfn|Gabel|1992|p=175}} McNair continued to push for an independent [[tank destroyer]] force,{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=81}} but Devers argued that "the weapon to best the tank is a better tank".{{sfn|Gabel|1992|p=192}} Nevertheless, in November, Marshall authorized creation of a tank destroyer force. The Tank Destroyer Center was created, and the War Department ordered the activation of 53 [[tank destroyer battalion (United States)|tank destroyer battalions]].{{sfn|Gabel|1992|p=175}} Battlefield experience proved that Devers was correct. In combat, most tanks were knocked out by other tanks, and tank destroyers were mainly used as mobile artillery support. The tank destroyer program was scaled back, and tank destroyer battalions were deactivated. At the end of the war, the tank destroyer quasi-arm was disbanded.{{sfn|Yeide|2004|pp=249–251}}{{sfn|Gabel|1992|p=192}}

Before Devers' arrival, Armored Force doctrine emphasized light tanks weighing no more than {{convert|15|ST}}. American doctrine held that tanks were for exploitation, not fighting other tanks.{{sfn|Cameron|2008|p=400}} He rejected the [[Heavy Tank M6|M6 heavy tank]] and recommended to McNair for it to be canceled, citing concerns about its weight, mobility, and reliability, which was seen as support for that position,{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=70}} but Devers wanted a medium tank, preferably by mounting something like a [[M101 howitzer|105 mm howitzer]]. He was appalled to find that the Armored Force's tanks were armed with nothing heavier than a [[37 mm gun M3|37 mm gun]]. A new medium tank had started to come off the production line, the [[M3 Lee]]. Devers observed testing of one of them just days after taking command, and he was unimpressed. American industry was unable to cast a turret large enough to hold a [[75 mm Gun M2/M3/M6|75 mm gun]] and so the M3 carried a 37 mm gun, with a 75 mm in a [[sponson]]. That gave it a limited traverse and made it difficult to engage moving targets. To make matters worse, the designers shortened the barrel to improve the M3's mobility, which Devers realized also reduced the gun's muzzle velocity and hence its effectiveness against armor.{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=60–64}} In practice, M3 crews attempted to engage German armor with the 75 mm, as the 37 mm was ineffective against it. It was found that the 75 mm could penetrate the frontal armor of German tanks at {{convert|400|yd}}, but German tanks destroyed M3s at up to {{convert|1100|yd}}.{{sfn|Cameron|2008|p=391}} Devers pronounced the M3 "overweight, underpowered, and insufficiently armed".{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=64}}

Often against the views of his superiors, Devers lobbied for a still more heavily armored and better-armed medium tank, the [[M4 Sherman]]. He played an important role in the M4's design, development and manufacturing, particularly its engine and armament. Throughout his tour as Chief of the Armored Force, he worked closely with the [[United States Army Ordnance Department]], manufacturers and the Armored Force Board at Fort Knox on the research and testing of tanks, guns, armored vehicles and ammunition. The biggest obstacle was engines. Those of prewar tanks were rated at {{convert|250|hp}}, insufficient for a {{convert|35|ST}} medium tank. Devers wanted an {{convert|800|hp}} engine, but that was beyond the ability of the American automotive industry to produce. Extraordinary efforts resulted in the development of a number of {{convert|400|hp}} engines. He controversially rejected the [[Detroit Diesel Series 71|General Motors 6046 diesel engine]] in favor of a gasoline engine. Battlefield experience demonstrated that the diesel engine was superior. The quest for a better engine eventually settled on the [[Ford GAA engine]],{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=66–70}}{{sfn|Green|Thomson|Roots|1955|pp=288–301}} but there was a persistent shortage of tank engines.{{sfn|Thompson|Mayo|2003|p=245}} Some 49,234 of the reliable, versatile, low-cost M4 Sherman and its variants were produced.{{sfn|Cameron|2008|pp=461–462}}

After the GHQ Maneuvers, the Army expected to have a period of "remedial training" to fix problems. The Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] on 7 December 1941 shattered those expectations and plunged a not fully prepared United States into the war.{{sfn|Gabel|1992|p=192}}{{sfn|Greenfield|Palmer|Wiley|1947|p=54}} In early 1942, two armored divisions were operational and three were in training: the [[6th Armored Division (United States)|6th Armored Division]] was activated in February, followed by the [[7th Armored Division (United States)|7th Armored Division]] in March.{{sfn|Cameron|2008|pp=365–366}} McNair recommended for one division in five to be an armored division,{{sfn|Greenfield|Palmer|Wiley|1947|p=69}} which meant up to 50 armored divisions by the end of 1943.{{sfn|Greenfield|Palmer|Wiley|1947|p=278}} Pressure increased on Devers, who was promoted to lieutenant general (equal in rank to McNair) on 6 September 1942,{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}} to push more armored units through the pipeline even more quickly. Training was sometimes neglected because of the pressing need to get units ready for overseas deployment.{{sfn|Cameron|2008|p=369}} Initially, the Armored Force trained all of the components of the armored division, but after March 1942, it became restricted to tank personnel, with other personnel coming from their own branch training centers.{{sfn|Greenfield|Palmer|Wiley|1947|p=58}}{{sfn|Cameron|2008|p=262}} Devers sent Patton, now commander of [[I Armored Corps (United States)|I Armored Corps]], to set up the [[Desert Training Center]] (DTC) in the California-Arizona [[Mojave Desert]], where soldiers could train for desert warfare. When it closed in 1944, 20 infantry and armored divisions had trained there; although none fought in the desert, and five of them were sent to the Pacific.{{sfn|Gorman|1992|pp=II-25–II-30}}

Devers was an articulate proponent of the Army's now-emerging tactical doctrine of [[combined arms]]: infantry-artillery-armor-close air support.{{sfn|Cameron|2008|pp=270–273}} He carried a translation of a German manual on the components of the [[Panzer division]].{{sfn|Cameron|2008|p=368}} Devers was neither the first nor the only general to embrace combined arms as the doctrinal solution to the problem of how best to employ tanks, but he was well-placed to act upon it.{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=91}} At his direction, an updated comprehensive (460 pages) ''Armed Force Field Manual: Tactics and Technique FM 17–10'' was written, published, and distributed in March 1942.{{sfn|Armored Force|1942|p=1}} A German manual on tank platoon tactics, with a foreword by [[Heinz Guderian]], was translated into English and issued as an Armored Force publication.{{sfn|Cameron|2008|p=282}}

March 1942 saw a reorganization of the armored divisions in the wake of the 1941 maneuvers. Devers added an artillery headquarters to the armored division and reorganized the artillery component into three battalions, each of three batteries of six [[M7 Priest]] [[self-propelled gun]]s. A division trains headquarters was added to coordinate logistical activities.{{sfn|Cameron|2008|pp=461–462}}{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=83}} In a first, at Devers' insistence, a flight of light aircraft to be used for [[artillery spotting]] and [[reconnaissance]] were included in the new [[Table of Organization and Equipment]] (TO&E) for each division.{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=83}} He was a strong and early supporter of the development of the [[DUKW]], an amphibious truck. [[Vannevar Bush]] later recalled that in the early stages of its development, Devers was the only man in the Army who fully appreciated its possibilities.{{sfn|Allen|2002}} Its value was demonstrated during the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]] in July 1943.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=203–204}}

[[File:M4 (105) Sherman IB at Bastogne Barracks.jpg|thumb|right|An [[M4 Sherman]] tank]]
From 14 December 1942 to 28 January 1943, Devers went on an inspection tour of the battlefields in North Africa, along with Major General [[Edward H. Brooks]] and Brigadier General [[Williston B. Palmer]] from the Armored Force, and [[Gladeon M. Barnes]] from the Ordnance Department. He spoke with key British generals, including [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Harold Alexander]], [[Bernard Montgomery]], and [[Richard McCreery]], and U.S. commanders including Eisenhower, Patton, [[Thomas B. Larkin]] and [[Orlando Ward]], and received a great deal of feedback about American equipment. Eisenhower was defensive since he was suspicious that Marshall may have sent Devers to replace him and was nervous when Devers had critical comments about the handling of the 1st Armored Division. Devers noted that the M4 Sherman was superior to the M3 Lee with which the 1st Armored Division was equipped, but he urged the development of the more powerful [[76 mm gun M1|76 mm gun]].{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=89–93}}{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=185–193}}

The intelligence that was gathered was nearly lost when their [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress|B-17]] lost its way returning to England and crashlanded in [[Athenry]], Republic of Ireland. Fortunately, nobody was injured, and the entire group, with the critical intelligence, made their way by train to Northern Ireland early the following morning.

In 1943, McNair took an axe to the armored division organization and dramatically downsized it. For all but the 2nd and [[3rd Armored Division (United States)|3rd]] Armored Divisions, the number of armored battalions was reduced to three.{{sfn|Greenfield|Palmer|Wiley|1947|pp=332–335}} Devers favored the older larger organization.{{sfn|Cameron|2008|pp=384–385}} The surplus armored battalions were utilized as separate armored battalions and so by the end of 1943, there were 54 armored battalions in armored divisions and 65 non-divisional battalions. By then, the planned number of Army Ground Force divisions had been dramatically cut to 90, and McNair considered that only ten armored divisions were required and suggested for six of the sixteen armored divisions already active to be broken up. His proposal was not accepted, and the number of armored divisions was frozen at sixteen.{{sfn|Greenfield|Palmer|Wiley|1947|pp=332–335}}

===European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA)===
On 3 May 1943, while on an aerial inspection tour, Lieutenant General [[Frank Maxwell Andrews|Frank M. Andrews]],{{sfn|Harrison|1951|p=53}} [[European Theater of Operations, United States Army]] (ETOUSA) commander since replacing Eisenhower on 5 February 1943,{{sfn|Matloff|1959|p=48}} was killed in an air crash in Iceland.{{sfn|Harrison|1951|p=53}} Marshall appointed Devers to replace Andrews.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=205}} Devers arrived in England on 9 May 1943.{{sfn|Ruppenthal|1953|p=123}} His principal tasks were overseeing preparation of detailed plans and the buildup of men and materiel for [[Operation Overlord]] and supporting the [[Combined Bomber Offensive]].{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=96}} At the end of May 1943, there were 133,000 US troops in the United Kingdom, of which 19,000 were in the ground forces, 74,000 in the air forces, and 34,000 in the services of supply. By the end of the year, their numbers had grown to 774,000, of which 265,000 were in the ground forces, 286,000 in the air forces, and 220,000 in the services of supply.{{sfn|Ruppenthal|1953|pp=128–129}} In preparing the plans for Overlord, he worked closely with the Chief of Staff to the [[Supreme Allied Commander]] (COSSAC), British [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant General]] [[Frederick E. Morgan]]{{sfn|Harrison|1951|p=53}} with whom he had a good working relationship.{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=96}} Devers' main objection to the COSSAC plan was that he did not want American units smaller than corps directly subordinated to British command,{{sfn|Harrison|1951|p=109}} based on what he called "the [[John J. Pershing|Pershing]] Principl".{{sfn|Ruppenthal|1953|p=194}}

[[File:M26Belgium.jpg|thumb|left|An [[M26 Pershing]] tank]]
Devers clashed with Eisenhower over the diversion of ETOUSA resources to Eisenhower's [[North African Theater of Operations]]. On 28 July 1943, Eisenhower and Lieutenant General [[Carl Spaatz]] asked that four groups of [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress]] bombers be sent to the North African Theater to help support Operation Avalanche, the [[Allied invasion of Italy]]. The planned assault area at [[Salerno]] was at the extreme range of Allied fighters based in [[Sicily]], and long-range bombers were needed to isolate the battlefield. Eisenhower and Spaatz felt that their theater should have priority. However, the four groups represented about a third of the [[Eighth Air Force]]'s heavy bombers, and their departure would greatly impact the Combined Bomber Offensive, so Devers turned down the request. Devers and Eighth Air Force's commander, Major General [[Ira C. Eaker]], spoke to the British [[Chiefs of Staff Committee]], who agreed with them. When Eisenhower appealed to Washington, Marshall and General [[Henry H. Arnold]], the Chief of [[Army Air Forces]], also supported Devers. In August, Eisenhower asked for permission to retain three groups of [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator]] bombers in the North African Theater. Devers again turned down his request, and Marshall and Arnold again supported him. In September, however, when Avalanche came under severe pressure from German counterattacks, Devers readily acceded to a request for the return of the three groups.{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=99–101}}{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=224–225}} [[Stephen E. Ambrose|Stephen Ambrose]] later noted, "Eisenhower was not accustomed to having his requests to Marshall turned down and found it difficult to accept".{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=101}}

In September 1943, AGF representatives met with Devers to discuss his needs, and he asked for 250 of the new [[M26 Pershing|T26E1]] tanks, later redesignated the M26 Pershing, to be produced and shipped as a matter of urgency. The Ordnance Department concurred, but added on 1,000 [[T23 series]] tanks, an advanced design handicapped by problems with the reliability of its electric transmission. McNair rejected the request,{{sfn|Zaloga|2008|pp=122–123}}{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=108–109}}{{sfn|Green|Thomson|Roots|1955|pp=238, 280}} writing that "the M4 tank, particularly the M4A3, has been widely hailed as the best tank on the battlefield today.... Other than this particular request, which represents the British view—there has been no call from any theater for a [[90 mm gun M1/M2/M3|90mm tank gun]]. There appears to be no fear on the part of our forces of the German [[Tiger I|Mark VI (Tiger) tank]]... there can be no basis for the T26 tank other than the conception of a tank versus tank duel—which is believed unsound and unnecessary.... there is no indication that the 76mm antitank gun is inadequate against the Mark VI (Tiger) tank".{{sfn|Zaloga|2008|pp=123–124}}

===North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA)===
At the [[Tehran Conference]] in November 1943, President Roosevelt named Eisenhower as the Supreme Allied Commander for Overlord. Devers hoped that he would be appointed commander of the [[First United States Army Group|First Army Group]], but he was instead sent to the Mediterranean as Commander North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), which was primarily a logistical administrative organization.{{sfn|Ruppenthal|1953|pp=195}} American formations in the theater included Lieutenant General [[Mark W. Clark]]'s [[United States Army North|Fifth Army]] and George Patton's [[Seventh United States Army|Seventh Army]]; the [[Twelfth Air Force]], led by Major General [[John K. Cannon]]; the [[Fifteenth Air Force]], commanded by Major General [[Nathan F. Twining|Nathan Twining]]; and the NATOUSA [[Services of Supply]], headed by Major General [[Thomas B. Larkin]].{{sfn|Blumenson |1969|pp=294–296}}{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=247}} Eaker went with Devers as Commander in Chief of the [[Mediterranean Allied Air Forces]].{{sfn|Ruppenthal|1953|p=202}}{{sfn|Blumenson |1969|pp=294–296}} Devers, who arrived at [[Allied Force Headquarters]] (AFHQ) in [[Algiers]] on 4 January 1944,{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=119}} was also deputy to the Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theater, British [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Henry Maitland Wilson|Sir Henry Maitland Wilson]].{{sfn|Blumenson |1969|pp=294–296}} Devers and Wilson worked well together, and despite the administrative nature of his position, Devers spent most of his time at the front. Wilson often had Devers deal with difficult cases like the French and the Poles,{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=121–122}} and Devers was later decorated by the Polish government-in-exile for allowing Poles who were captured in German uniform to join the [[II Corps (Poland)|Polish II Corps]] in Italy.{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=176}}

[[File:General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, the Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theatre, in Italy, 30 April 1944 TR1767.jpg|thumb|right|Devers (''left'') with British [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Henry Maitland Wilson|Sir Henry Maitland Wilson]]]]
At the beginning of 1944, [[Allied Armies in Italy]] (AAI) fighting on the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Front]] were bogged down south of [[Rome]] in front of the German [[Winter Line|Gustav Line]]. The chain of strong defensive positions in mountainous terrain was anchored in the middle at [[Battle of Monte Cassino|Monte Cassino]]. [[Battle of Anzio|Operation Shingle]], Clark's plan for a surprise end run to outflank the German Winter Line called for Allied landings at [[Anzio]] on Italy's west coast, thirty miles south of Rome. On 7 January 1944, just days after he had become Wilson's deputy, Devers attended a conference in [[Marrakesh]] to discuss Shingle. In attendance was [[British Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]]; General Wilson, General [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Sir Harold Alexander]], [[Commander-in-chief|Commander-in-Chief]] of the AAI; [[Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)|Admiral of the Fleet]] [[Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope|Sir Andrew Cunningham]]; and Major General [[Walter Bedell Smith]]. Devers wondered why such a high-level conference was required for what he saw as a simple military decision, but he noted in his diary that "the individuals present all favored an amphibious operation at Anzio".{{sfn|Blumenson |1969|p=303}}

Devers clashed with Smith over the latter's attempt to obtain officers for Eisenhower's command. He tried to be accommodating, and consented to release a number of officers, including Patton and Major General [[Everett Hughes (United States Army officer)|Everett Hughes]], but declined to give up others, including Larkin, Brigadier General [[Clarence Lionel Adcock|Clarence Adcock]] and in particular Major General [[Lucian Truscott]], who was commanding the [[3rd Infantry Division (United States)|3rd Infantry Division]]. Eisenhower wanted Truscott to command a corps in the assault in Operation Overlord. Devers foresaw him doing the same in southern France.{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=119–120}}{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=246}} Eisenhower appealed to Marshall, who supported him, but Devers protested that Truscott was about to lead the 3rd Infantry Division ashore at Anzio in a few days' time. Not wanting to deprive Devers of a key subordinate on the eve of battle, Marshall backed down.{{sfn|Taaffe|2011|p=170}} Soon after the landing, Devers flew to the beachhead to see Truscott but was dismayed to find that the advance had halted on Clark's orders.{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=132}} Major General [[John P. Lucas]]' [[VI Corps (United States)|VI Corps]] did not achieve the desired result at Anzio, and Clark's [[Battle of Rapido River|attempted crossing]] of the [[Rapido (river)|Rapido River]] was a disaster.{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=135–136}}{{sfn|Blumenson |1969|pp=350–351}}

At Monte Cassino, the historic abbey overlooked Allied positions below. Ground commanders were sure the monastery was being used by the Germans as an observation post. Lieutenant-General [[Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg|Bernard C. Freyberg]], commander of the [[2nd New Zealand Division|New Zealand Corps]], who was preparing for a new assault on the mountain, had repeatedly requested for the abbey to be bombed. Taking advantage of the German practice of not giving away their positions by firing on small planes, Devers and Eaker flew low over the monastery and saw what they believed to be a radio aerial and enemy soldiers moving in and out. Wilson reluctantly agreed to its bombing. On 15 February Devers watched waves of American bombers level the monastery with Alexander, Clark, Freyberg, and Eaker.{{sfn|Blumenson |1969|pp=416–418}}{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=137}} However, follow-up attacks that day and over the next eight days, failed to take the position, much less break the Gustav Line.{{sfn|Blumenson |1969|pp=416–418}} Devers visited Anzio on 16 February and agreed with Alexander that Lucas should be relieved. Clark did so on 22 February.{{sfn|Taaffe|2011|pp=112–113}}{{sfn|Blumenson |1969|pp=425–427}}

[[File:Leese, Devers and McCreery.jpg|thumb|left|[[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-General]] [[Oliver Leese|Sir Oliver W. H. Leese]] (''left''), commander of the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]], with Devers and Lieutenant-General [[Richard McCreery|Sir Richard L. McCreery]] (''right''), commanding the [[X Corps (United Kingdom)|British X Corps]], at Eighth Army Tactical Headquarters]]
The continuing failure to advance in Italy prompted the [[Combined Chiefs of Staff]] to postpone [[Operation Dragoon|Operation Anvil]], the on-again-off-again proposal for Allied landings along the coast of Southern France coinciding with Overlord. Clark told Devers that another attack on the Gustav Line could not be mounted until May, and VI Corps could not be withdrawn from Anzio until it succeeded.{{sfn|Blumenson |1969|p=450}} However, planning continued for Anvil, which had begun in mid-January by AFHQ's Force 163 in [[Algiers]].{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=30–32}} Initially, Clark was to lead the assault, with Lucas taking over Fifth Army. Devers did not have much faith in either of them, even before Lucas's relief. [[Lyman Lemnitzer]] later recalled that Fifth Army staff feared that Devers would relieve Clark every time both met.{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=123}}

Marshall insisted that Anvil required an experienced commander, and with Patton gone, Clark was the only one in the theater. Then, Devers received a cable that [[IV Corps (United States)|IV Corps]] headquarters was on its way to the theater. It was commanded by Major General [[Alexander Patch]], who had a distinguished combat record by leading the soldiers and [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]] of [[XIV Corps (United States)|XIV Corps]] in the [[Guadalcanal campaign]] in the Pacific; before that, he had commanded the [[47th Infantry Regiment (United States)|47th Infantry Regiment]] of the 9th Division when Devers was commanding the 9th. With Marshall's concurrence, Devers appointed Patch to replace Patton as commander of the Seventh Army and Force 163 on 2 March.{{sfn|Taaffe|2011|pp=202–203}} While Patch and his staff planned the operation, Devers ensured that the supplies that had been accumulated for it were not dissipated.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=34}}

A successful Allied offensive in May finally broke through the Gustav Line, and Rome fell to Clark's Fifth Army on 4 June.{{sfn|Taaffe|2011|p=120}} On 13 June, Devers ordered Larkin to shift priority for supplies from Fifth Army in Italy to Seventh Army.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=48–49}} Two days later, Wilson ordered VI Corps to be withdrawn from the front line in preparation for Anvil.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=36}} Virtually all of the material needed for the assault was on hand, on the way, or promised because of Devers's efforts to preserve the stockpile of Anvil stores and supplies even when the operation was in doubt.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=48–49}} To command the assault, he created a special headquarters on [[Corsica]] called Advanced Detachment AFHQ, with Devers in command.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=28–30}}

Devers sent a cable to Marshall on 1 July proposing for an [[army group]] to be formed, with himself as commander.{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=157}} Eisenhower concurred with this on 12 July.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=28–30}} It would have been easy enough to add the Seventh Army to Bradley's [[Twelfth United States Army Group|12th Army Group]], but that would have meant that Eisenhower would have to deal with the French, and after his experience in [[Operation Torch]], Eisenhower preferred to let Devers do so.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=226}} Marshall made the appointment on 16 July. Thus, Devers wore four "hats" for the operation: Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theater; Commanding General NATOUSA; Commander, Advanced Detachment AFHQ, which was activated on 29 July; and Commanding General, [[Sixth United States Army Group|6th Army Group]], which Devers activated on 1 August.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=28–30}}

===France and Germany 1944–1945===
[[File:Eaker, Cannon, Devers and Larkin.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Anvil commanders (''left to right''): Lieutenant General [[Ira C. Eaker]], Major General [[John K. Cannon]], Devers, and Major General [[Thomas B. Larkin]]]]
[[Operation Dragoon]] was a crushing success. In a few short weeks, the French and American forces drove the Germans from southeastern France and captured major ports, including [[Port of Marseille|Marseille]], on 28 August.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=194–198}} On 15 September 1944, the 6th Army Group became operational and assumed control of Patch's Seventh Army and General [[Jean de Lattre de Tassigny]]'s [[French First Army]], as it became on 19 September.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=224–225}} The French First Army was the largest French force that was ever amassed under a foreign military leader.{{sfn|Brown|2001|p=3}}{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=435}} Eisenhower's [[SHAEF]] assumed operational control of the 6th Army Group although Devers retained his own logistical system via the Mediterranean.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=224–225}} The campaign was not without cost, and concurrent combat [[Operation Overlord|in Normandy]] and [[Italian campaign (World War II)|in Italy]] created a shortage of replacements, especially infantry, which left VI Corps about 5,200 men short.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=194–198}}

Devers remained in command of NATOUSA{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=323}} and so he sent Clark a message on 19 October suggesting for units to be rested to keep casualties down.{{sfn|Clark|1950|p=400}} Devers had written to McNair on 4 February 1944 and noted that when divisions were left in the line for more than 30 to 40 days, fatigue, carelessness, and exposure resulted in increased casualty and sickness rates.{{sfn|Palmer|Wiley|Keast|1948|p=227}} Clark replied that "your radio indicates a lack of appreciation of our tactical situation, the terrain, enemy resistance, and my mission".{{sfn|Clark|1950|p=400}}
Devers noted in his diary that Clark's response "shows quite well his lack of judgment and tact and indicate definitely that he is not a team player",{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=123}} and he recommended to Marshall that Eaker, not Clark, be his successor in the Mediterranean. Marshall chose Lieutenant General [[Joseph T. McNarney]] on 22 October.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=323}}{{sfn|Taaffe|2011|p=127}}

The activation of the French First Army left Seventh Army with only one corps. Devers asked for IV Corps to be transferred from Italy, but Wilson argued that would adversely affect operations in Italy against the [[Gothic Line]], and the Combined Chiefs agreed.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=225}} Instead, Devers proposed on 26 September that Major General [[Wade H. Haislip]]'s [[XV Corps (United States)|XV Corps]] to be transferred from Patton's [[United States Army Central|Third Army]], which had severe logistical difficulties, to the Seventh Army. Devers argued that they could better be supported over the 6th Army Group's line of communications from the Mediterranean. Eisenhower agreed and further ordered for three more divisions scheduled to join Bradley's 12th Army Group in Northern France (although they were unlikely to do so until the supply and the transport situations improved), be diverted to Marseilles, and join the 6th Army Group.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=254}} Haislip was a good fit: he spoke French fluently, had fought in France during World War I, had attended the ''[[École Superieure de Guerre]]'' from 1925 to 1927, and was attuned to French sensibilities.{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=248}}{{sfn|Taaffe|2011|p=193}} Above all, Haislip got along well with Major General [[Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque]], the mercurial commander of the [[2nd Armored Division (France)|French 2nd Armored Division]].{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=323}} Devers was shocked when Leclerc informed him that he and his men wanted to serve with the U.S. Army, not the French First Army, which he considered dominated by [[Vichy France|Vichy French]] traitors.{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=283}}
[[File:Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers.jpg|thumb|left|Despite the administrative nature of his position, Devers spent most of his time at the front]]
Devers may have oversold the benefits of the southern line of communications.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=292}} Marseille had been captured, but the harbor entrance was blocked with 75 sunken ships; the harbor basin had been sown with [[naval mines]]; the quays, jetties and cranes had been demolished; and the surrounding area had been filled [[land mines]] and [[booby traps]]. The U.S. Navy cleared the harbor, and the 1051st Port Construction and Repair Group undertook the rehabilitation of the port. Ships were able to discharge in the stream from 5 September, and the first [[Liberty ship]] docked on 15 September.{{sfn|Ruppenthal|1959|pp=121–122}} Beyond the port, there were numerous breakages in the rail network, and many bridges were down. To get the railroad from Marseille working, Devers turned to Brigadier General [[Carl R. Gray Jr.]], the commander of the 1st Military Railway Service. By 25 September, the railroad had reached [[Lyon]] with a capacity of {{convert|3000|ST}} per day. Devers pressed Gray for {{convert|15000|ST}}. By 1 October, when Devers had promised Eisenhower that he could support ten divisions by rail, sufficient supplies were arriving for just one. The rest had to be supported by road.{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=188–190}}{{sfn|Ruppenthal|1959|p=156}} Not until the third week in October could all of the Seventh Army's needs, including those of XV Corps, be met.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=256}}

Devers conceded that he could supply Patton with only {{convert|1000|ST}} per day from 15 November, which only increased Eisenhower's resolve to give priority to opening the port of [[Antwerp]], in the north. Devers was ordered to clear the Wehrmacht from the west bank of the [[Rhine]] in his sector.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=351–354}} His offensive went well; the French 1st Armored Division reached the Rhine on 19 November,{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=406}} and Leclerc captured [[Strasbourg]] on 23 November.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=380}} Devers inflicted a crushing defeat on the German [[19th Army (Wehrmacht)|Nineteenth Army]], nearly destroying six of its eight divisions.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=432}} A large German presence remained west of the Rhine, which came to be called the [[Colmar Pocket]].{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=434–437}} When Eisenhower and Bradley visited 6th Army Group on 24 November, they were astonished to find Devers, Patch, and Haislip energetically planning a crossing of the Rhine in early December. Bradley drew attention to the formidable defenses on the far bank, and Devers told him that he had spoken to patrols, who had found them empty. Eisenhower would have none of it. His strategy remained to destroy the German forces on the west bank before he would attempt a crossing.{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=263–269}}{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=437–440}} Official historians described this decision as "difficult to understand".{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=563}}

[[File:Truscott, Patch and Devers.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Lieutenant Generals [[Lucian K. Truscott Jr.]] and [[Alexander M. Patch]] with Devers]]
An attempt to reduce the Colmar Pocket on 15 December was called off by Eisenhower when Bradley was hit by the German [[Battle of the Bulge|Ardennes Offensive]],{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=288}} which Brigadier General [[Garrison H. Davidson]], the Seventh Army Engineer, felt might have been avoided entirely if Devers had been allowed to proceed with the Rhine crossing.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=444}} In response to the crisis, Eisenhower ordered Devers to cease offensive operations and to assume responsibility for much of Patton's front, which would allow the Third Army to turn north.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=490–491}} That left the Seventh Army holding a {{convert|126|mi|adj=on}} front with six infantry and two armored divisions.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=499}} Eisenhower ordered Devers to withdraw to a shorter line, but Devers balked at that, and there was a violent French reaction to the prospect of abandoning [[Strasbourg]].{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=495–497}} On 31 December 1944, the Seventh Army was struck by [[Operation Nordwind]].{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=505}} Between 5 and 25 January 1945, there were four more major German attacks against the 6th Army Group by [[Heinrich Himmler]]'s [[Army Group Oberrhein (Germany)|Army Group Oberrhein]].{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=513}} Seventh Army suffered some 14,000 casualties, but the Germans did not break through, and Strasbourg was held.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=527}} In Devers' estimation Brooks, the commander of VI Corps, "fought one of the great defensive battles of all times with very little".{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=527}}

Devers now turned his attention to the Colmar Pocket.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=533}} He had expected the Germans to withdraw and thought that the French First Army could reduce the pocket.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=434–437}} He later admitted that he had underestimated the German determination to hold it and had overestimated de Lattre's ability to keep moving against renewed and strengthened German resistance.{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=288}}{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=463}} Eisenhower regarded the pocket as a "sore" and sent five additional American divisions to 6th Army Group. After the Ardennes Offensive and Operation Northwind, Devers regarded it as petty of Bradley to begrudge him the additional divisions.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|p=556}} French and American troops finally eliminated the Colmar Pocket on 5 February 1945.{{sfn|Clarke|Smith|1993|pp=550–551}} Against Eisenhower's preference, Devers was promoted to general on 8 March 1945, ahead of Spaatz, Bradley, and Patton,{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=406}} remaining the second-highest ranking American officer in Europe, after Eisenhower.{{sfn|Colley|2008|p=7}}

Seventh Army crossed the Rhine on 26 March and began advancing into Germany.{{sfn|MacDonald|1973|pp=284–289}} On 5 May 1945, General [[Hermann Foertsch]] surrendered Army Group G unconditionally to Devers. Patch, Haislip, and other American generals were present, but there was no representative of the French First Army. That caused a final diplomatic tussle with the French over the status of the German [[24th Army (Wehrmacht)|Twenty-Fourth Army]], which de Lattre insisted should surrender to him. Devers refused to hand the 24th Army's [[Hans Schmidt (general of the Infantry)|General Hans Schmidt]] over to de Lattre. Two days later, Eisenhower accepted a general surrender of the German armed forces at his headquarters at [[Reims]].{{sfn|MacDonald|1973|pp=471–475}}

===Army Ground Forces===

Following the surrender of Germany on 8 May 1945, Seventh Army was transferred to 12th Army Group, and the French First Army reverted to French control, which left 6th Army Group with little to do, although Devers acted as commander of 12th Army Group in Bradley's absence.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=434–435}} In June 1945, Devers was appointed Chief of Army Ground Forces,{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=439–441}} in succession to General [[Joseph Stilwell]], who had left to command the [[Tenth United States Army]] on [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]].{{sfn|Ancell|Miller|1996|p=307}} Army Ground Forces still controlled schools and training centers in the United States,{{sfn|Palmer|Wiley|Keast|1948|p=225}} but their focus was demobilization and the co-ordination of the redeployment of units from Europe to the Pacific, where the [[Pacific War|war with Japan]] continued until it also [[Surrender of Japan|surrendered on 14 August 1945]].{{sfn|Palmer|Wiley|Keast|1948|pp=638–647}} Devers hired a civilian secretary, Dorothy Benn, a widow whose husband, an Army Air Forces pilot, had been listed as missing in action in New Guinea in 1943 and was presumed dead until his body was found in 1957.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=444, 469}}

[[File:Bell 47G-3B-1T AN0646686.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Bell 47]] helicopter]]
The Army Service Forces were abolished on 14 May 1946 on the recommendation of War Department's [[William H. Simpson|Simpson Board]], but the Army Ground Forces remained. Devers's November 1945 testimony before the board had urged for the Army Service Forces to be retained.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=445}} Army Ground Forces was given control of the six armies in the United States,{{sfn|Moenk|1972|pp=25–26}} but as demobilization continued, the strength of the army shrank dramatically.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=446–449}} Devers was faced with the unpleasant task of informing many officers that they were being demoted.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=442}} One reform that he achieved was to reduce the number of combat branches to three: infantry, armor, and artillery.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=446–449}}

McNair had established Army Ground Forces headquarters at the [[United States Army War College|Army War College campus]], where Devers lived,{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=442}} but Stilwell had moved the headquarters into [[the Pentagon]]. Eisenhower, as the new Chief of Staff of the Army, decided that the Army Ground Forces headquarters should be co-located with the Army Air Forces' [[Tactical Air Command]] at [[Fort Monroe]], [[Virginia]], not far from [[Langley Field]].{{sfn|Moenk|1972|p=27}} Devers opened his headquarters there on 1 October 1946.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=446–449}} Further reorganization occurred on 10 March 1948, when Army Ground Forces was renamed Army Field Forces. Control of the armies was transferred to the [[Department of the Army]], and Army Field Forces were reduced to a coordinating staff agency.{{sfn|Moenk|1972|p=29}}

As a member of the Joint Research and Development Committee with Spaatz, Devers took an interest in the development of helicopters and took rides in different machines. He met with [[Lawrence Dale Bell|Larry Bell]], the founder of [[Bell Aircraft]]. The company was in a poor financial situation, and Bell hoped the army would buy fifty of his new [[Bell 47]] helicopters. Devers was impressed with the aircraft and agreed to do so but for $25,000 each, rather than the $35,000 asked for by Bell; Devers found the money from Army Ground Forces funds. The [[Bell H-13 Sioux]] became one of the world's most recognizable helicopters.{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=377–378}}{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=357–358}}

==List of major assignments==
*Commander, 9th Infantry Division - 1 October 1940 to 31 July 1941
*Commander, Armored Force - 1 August 1941 to 8 May 1943
*Commander, European Theater of Operations, US Army - 9 May 1943 to 15 February 1944
*Commander, North African Theater of Operations, United States Army - 8 January 1944 to 22 October 1944
*Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theater - 8 January 1944 to 22 October 1944
*Commander, Sixth Army Group - 1 August 1944 to 15 June 1945
*Chief, Army Ground Forces - 23 July 1945 to 9 March 1948
*Commander, Army Field Forces - 10 March 1948 to 30 September 1949

==Retirement and post-military career==
Devers was given [[mandatory retirement]] on his 62nd birthday, 30 September 1949. Devers and his wife, Georgie, decided to buy a farm in [[Herndon, West Virginia]], although they retained their "Yellow House" in [[Georgetown, District of Columbia]], where Georgie had resided during the war. Devers settled into the role of a cattle rancher. He hired Curtis and Beatrix Murphy as handyman and cook. When he discovered that they owed $2,000 in hospital bills, he paid it for them and never accepted repayment. They continued working for him until his death.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=463–468}}

[[File:315th Air Commando Group C-123 Providers in VNAF markings 1962.jpg|thumb|left|[[Fairchild C-123 Provider]]s ]]
Finding that the life of a rancher did not sufficiently hold his interest, Devers accepted a job as managing director of the [[AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety|American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety]]. He hired Dorothy Benn as his executive assistant. The job mostly involved fund-raising, which Devers did not enjoy, and he left when a better opportunity as technical assistant to the president of [[Fairchild Aircraft]] presented itself in 1950.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=468–470}} He successfully lobbied the [[U.S. Air Force]] to buy the [[Fairchild C-123 Provider]].{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=382–383}} He was also a strong advocate of Fairchild's [[AR-15]] rifle, which he maintained was a much better weapon than the Army's [[M14 rifle]], which he described as "obsolescent".{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=472}} As the [[M16 rifle]], the AR-15 ultimately supplanted the M14.{{sfn|Adams|2015|p=386}}

Devers also served briefly in 1951 as military advisor to [[Frank Porter Graham|Frank P. Graham]], the [[United Nations]] mediator in the dispute between [[India]] and [[Pakistan]] over the status of [[Kashmir]].{{sfn|Adams|2015|pp=383–384}} Eisenhower, now president, had Devers represent the United States at 10th anniversary ceremonies for the invasion of Southern France in 1954, for the dedication of [[Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial]] and the [[Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial]] in France, and for that of the [[Sicily–Rome American Cemetery and Memorial]] in Italy. In 1960, as Devers was leaving Fairchild, Eisenhower asked him to replace Marshall as chairman of the [[American Battle Monuments Commission]]. He remained in that role until 1969.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=477}} In May 1964, he joined a number of other retired generals, including Eaker, [[Clyde D. Eddleman|Clyde Eddleman]] and [[Merrill B. Twining]], for Joint Exercise Desert Strike, a major military exercise.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=480}}

The farm was sold, and Devers and Georgie moved back to the Yellow House in 1957.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=473}} Her health declined in the 1960s; she died on 8 February 1967, and was buried at [[Arlington National Cemetery]].{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=482}} Dorothy Benn's second husband, a Harvard economics professor who worked for the [[United States Department of Agriculture|Department of Agriculture]], died in 1973,{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|p=469}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/ark:/99166/w6283xn1 |title=Ham, William T. (1893–1973) |publisher=University of Virginia |access-date=31 October 2015}}</ref> and she married Devers on 28 May 1975. He died at [[Walter Reed Army Medical Center]] on 15 October 1979, and was buried with Georgie at Arlington National Cemetery. He was survived by Dorothy, who died in 2007; his daughter Frances, who died in 1986; his sister Catherine and stepdaughter Bonnie Benn Stratton; and her sons, Troy DuVal Stratton and W. Benn Stratton, who graduated with the West Point class of 1983. Alex Graham died in 1977; Alex and Frances are buried at Arlington near Devers and Georgie.{{sfn|Wheeler|2015|pp=484–485}}<ref name="West Point"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jldevers.htm |title=Jacob Loucks Devers, General, United States Army |publisher=Arlington National Cemetery |access-date=31 October 2015}}</ref> Devers' papers are at the York County History Center in York.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.yorkhistorycenter.org/library/military-records-documents |title=Papers of Jacob L. Devers |publisher=York County History Center|access-date=6 March 2020}}</ref>

==Dates of rank==
{| class="wikitable"
! Insignia !! Rank !! Component !! Date !! Reference
|-
| No insignia in 1909
|[[US Second Lieutenant|Second Lieutenant]] || [[Regular Army (United States)|Regular Army]] || 11 June 1909 || {{sfn|Cullum|1920|p=1429}}
|-
|[[File:US-O2 insignia.svg|13px|center]]
|  [[US First Lieutenant|First Lieutenant]] || Regular Army || 1 April 1916 || {{sfn|Cullum|1920|p=1429}}
|-
|[[File:US-O3 insignia.svg|33px|center]]
|  [[Captain (U.S. Army)|Captain]] || Regular Army || 15 May 1917 || {{sfn|Cullum|1920|p=1429}}
|-
|[[File:US-O4 insignia.svg|40px|center]]
|  [[Major (United States)|Major]] || [[National Army (USA)|National Army]] || 5 August 1917 || {{sfn|Cullum|1920|p=1429}}
|-
|[[File:US-O5 insignia.svg|40px|center]]
|  [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]] || National Army || 30 July 1918 || {{sfn|Cullum|1920|p=1429}}
|-
|[[File:US-O6 insignia.svg|60px|center]]
|  [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] || National Army || 24 October 1918 || {{sfn|Cullum|1920|p=1429}}
|-
|[[File:US-O3 insignia.svg|33px|center]]
|  Reverted to permanent rank of captain || Regular Army || 20 August 1919 || {{sfn|Cullum|1920|p=1429}}
|-
|[[File:US-O4 insignia.svg|40px|center]]
|  [[Major (United States)|Major]] || Regular Army || 1 July 1920 || {{sfn|Cullum|1930|p=837}}
|-
|[[File:US-O5 insignia.svg|40px|center]]
|  [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]] || Regular Army || 26 February 1934 || {{sfn|Cullum|1940|p=217}}
|-
|[[File:US-O6 insignia.svg|60px|center]]
|  [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] || Regular Army || 1 July 1938 || {{sfn|Cullum|1940|p=217}}
|-
|[[File:US-O7 insignia.svg|33px|center]]
|  [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] || Regular Army || 1 May 1940 || {{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|[[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|66px|center]]
|  [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] || [[Army of the United States]]|| 1 October 1940 || {{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|[[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|66px|center]]
|  [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] || Regular Army || 22 February 1941 || {{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|[[File:US-O9 insignia.svg|100px|center]]
|  [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]] || Army of the United States || 6 September 1942 || {{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|[[File:US-O10 insignia.svg|133px|center]]
|  [[General (United States)|General]] || Army of the United States || 8 March 1945 || {{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|[[File:US-O10 insignia.svg|133px|center]]
|  [[General (United States)|General]] || Retired List || 30 September 1949 || {{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|}

==Awards and decorations==
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center
| colspan=3 |'''U.S. military decorations'''
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=oak|ribbon=U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Army Distinguished Service Medal]] with two [[oak leaf cluster]]s
|<ref name="Military Times">{{cite web |url=http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=100112 |title=Valor awards for Jacob L. Devers |publisher=Military Times |access-date=25 October 2015 |archive-date=23 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223202119/http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=100112 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Navy Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]
|<ref name="Military Times" />
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Bronze Star Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Bronze Star Medal]]
|{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center
| colspan=3 |'''U.S. Military Service Medals'''
|-
|{{ribbon devices|type=service-star|ribbon=World War I Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]]
|<ref name="TogetherWeServed">{{cite web |url=https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=289429 |access-date=30 October 2015 |publisher=TogetherWeServed – |title=GEN Jacob Loucks Devers }}</ref>
|-
|{{ribbon devices|type=service-star|ribbon=Army of Occupation of Germany ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Army of Occupation of Germany Medal]]
|<ref name="TogetherWeServed" />
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[American Defense Service Medal]]
|<ref name="TogetherWeServed" />
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[American Campaign Medal]]
|<ref name="TogetherWeServed" />
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=5|type=service-star|ribbon=European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]] with five [[service star]]s
|<ref name="TogetherWeServed" />
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[World War II Victory Medal]]
|<ref name="TogetherWeServed" />
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Army of Occupation Medal]] with "Germany" clasp
|<ref name="TogetherWeServed" />
|-
|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center
| colspan=3 |'''International and Foreign Awards'''
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=ARG Order of the Liberator San Martin - Grand Officer BAR.png|width=60}}
|[[Order of the Liberator General San Martín|Grand Officer of the Order of the Liberator General San Martín]] (Argentina)
|<ref name="Statute-72">{{cite web |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-72/pdf/STATUTE-72-PgA159-3.pdf |title=Statute 72 |publisher=United States Government Publishing Office|date=27 August 1958 |access-date=30 October 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=BEL - Order of Leopold - Commander bar.svg|width=60}}
|[[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Commander of the Order of Leopold]] (Belgium)
|{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Croix de Guerre 1940-1945 with palm (Belgium) - ribbon bar.png|width=60}}
|[[War Cross (Belgium)|Croix de guerre]] with palm (Belgium)
|{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=BRA_Ordem_do_Merito_Militar_Grande_Oficial.png|width=60}}
|[[Order of Military Merit (Brazil)|Order of Military Merit]], Grand Cross (Brazil)
|{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|
|[[Orders, decorations, and medals of Chile|Star of Gold]] (Chile)
|{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=EGY Order of the Nile - Grand Cordon BAR.png|width=60}}
|[[Order of the Nile|Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile]] (Egypt)
|{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Legion Honneur GO ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Legion of Honor]], Grand Officer (France)
|{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Croix_de_guerre_1939–1945_stripe_bronsepalme.svg|width=60}}
|[[Croix de guerre 1939–1945]] with palm (France)
|{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Order of the Bath UK ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Order of the Bath]], Knight Commander (United Kingdom)
|{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|
|Order of Military Merit (1st Class) (Mexico)
|{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=POL Virtuti Militari Srebrny BAR.svg|width=60}}
|[[Order of Virtuti Militari]], Silver Cross (Poland)
|{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=132}}
|}

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite book |last=Adams |first=John A. |title=General Jacob Devers: World War II's Forgotten Four Star |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington, Indiana |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-253-01517-4 }}
*{{cite magazine |last=Allen |first=Thomas B. |date=August 2002 |title=Odd DUKW: On land and in the water, World War II's amphibian workhorse showed the skeptics a thing or two — now it shows tourists the sights |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/odd-dukw-66979423/ |magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |location= |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |access-date=7 March 2021 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Ancell |first1=R. Manning |last2=Miller |first2=Christine |title=The Biographical Dictionary of World War II Generals and Flag Officers: The US Armed Forces |place=Westport, Connecticut |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1996 |isbn=0-313-29546-8 }}
*{{cite book|last=Armored Force|title=Armored Force Field Manual FM 17–10|year=1942|publisher=United States Government Printing Office|location=Washington, DC|url=https://archive.org/details/Fm17-10|access-date=22 October 2015}}
*{{cite book |last=Blumenson |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Blumenson |title=Salerno to Cassino |series=United States Army in World War II: The Mediterranean Theater of Operations |year=1969 |publisher=Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army |location=Washington, DC |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/006/6-3-1/CMH_Pub_6-3-1.pdf |access-date=19 October 2015 |oclc=22107 |archive-date=27 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927065605/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/006/6-3-1/CMH_Pub_6-3-1.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite book|last=Brown|first=Matthew J.|title=Strategic Leadership Assessment of General Jacob L. Devers|year=2001|publisher=United States Army War College|location=Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania|url=http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=ADA389167|access-date=18 October 2015|archive-date=25 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925235431/http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=ADA389167|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite book |last=Calhoun |first=Mark T. |year=2015 |title=General Lesley J. McNair: Unsung Architect of the US Army |location=Lawrence, Kansas |publisher=University Press of Kansas |isbn=978-0-7006-2069-2 |oclc=895730835 }}
*{{cite book|last=Cameron|first=Robert Stewart|title=Mobility, Shock and Firepower: The Emergence of the U.S. Army's Armored Branch 1917–1945|year=2008|publisher=Center of Military History U.S. Army|location=Washington, DC|url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/Mobility_Shock_and_Firepower/CMH_30-23-1.pdf|access-date=18 October 2015|archive-date=3 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103151010/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/Mobility_Shock_and_Firepower/CMH_30-23-1.pdf|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite book|last=Clark|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Wayne Clark|title=Calculated Risk|url=https://archive.org/details/calculatedrisk0000clar|url-access=registration|location=New York City|publisher=Harper & Brothers|year=1950|oclc=358946}}
*{{cite book |last1=Clarke |first1=Jeffrey J. |last2=Smith |first2=Robert Ross |title=Riviera to the Rhine |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army |year=1993 |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-10-1/CMH_Pub_7-10-1.pdf |access-date=25 October 2015 |isbn=0-7948-3771-9 |archive-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327102102/https://history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-10-1/CMH_Pub_7-10-1.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite book |last=Colley |first=David P. |year=2008 |title=Decision at Strasbourg: Ike's Strategic Mistake to Halt the Sixth Army Group at the Rhine in 1944 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |oclc=221961610 |isbn=978-1-57488-173-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781574881738 }}
*{{cite book |last=Cullum |first=George W. |title=Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point New York since its Establishment in 1802: Supplement 1910–1920 |volume=VI |author-link=George Washington Cullum |publisher=R. R. Donnelly and Sons, The Lakeside Press |location=Chicago, Illinois |year=1920 |url=http://digital-library.usma.edu/libmedia/archives/cullum/VOLUME_6B_cullum.pdf |access-date=13 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531131358/http://digital-library.usma.edu/libmedia/archives/cullum/VOLUME_6B_cullum.pdf |archive-date=31 May 2010 }}
*{{cite book|last=Cullum|first=George W.|title=Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point New York since its Establishment in 1802: Supplement 1920–1930|volume=VII|author-link=George Washington Cullum|publisher=R. R. Donnelly and Sons, The Lakeside Press|location=Chicago, Illinois|year=1930|url=http://digital-library.usma.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16919coll3/id/24660/rec/8|access-date=13 October 2015}}
*{{cite book| last = Cullum| first = George W.| title = Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point New York since its Establishment in 1802: Supplement 1930–1940| volume = VII| author-link = George Washington Cullum| publisher = R. R. Donnelly and Sons, The Lakeside Press| location = Chicago, Illinois| year = 1940| url = http://digital-library.usma.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16919coll3/id/19424/rec/9| access-date = 13 October 2015}}
*{{cite book| last = Cullum| first = George W.| title = Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point New York since its Establishment in 1802: Supplement 1940–1950| volume = IX| author-link = George Washington Cullum| publisher = R. R. Donnelly and Sons, The Lakeside Press| location = Chicago, Illinois| year = 1950| url = http://digital-library.usma.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16919coll3/id/22314/rec/10| access-date = 13 October 2015}}
*{{cite book|last=Gabel|first=Christopher|title=The U.S. Army GHQ Maneuvers of 1941|year=1992|publisher=Center of Military History U.S. Army|location=Washington, DC|url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/070/70-41-1/CMH_Pub_70-41-1.pdf|access-date=19 October 2015|isbn=978-0-16-061295-4|oclc=71320615|archive-date=14 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170514095511/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/070/70-41-1/CMH_Pub_70-41-1.pdf|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite book |last=Gorman |first=Paul F. |author-link=Paul F. Gorman |title=The Secret of Future Victories: IDA Paper P-2653 |year=1992 |publisher=Institute for Defense Analyses |location=Washington, DC |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/1186.pdf |access-date=22 March 2025 |oclc=65524027 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Green |first1=Constance McLaughlin |last2=Thomson |first2=Harry C. |last3=Roots |first3=Peter C. |title=The Ordnance Department: Planning Munitions for War |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army |year=1955 |series=United States Army in World War II: The Technical Services |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-9/CMH_Pub_10-9.pdf |access-date=20 October 2015 |oclc=18105901 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304105129/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-9/CMH_Pub_10-9.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite book |last1=Greenfield |first1=Kent |last2=Palmer |first2=Robert R. |last3=Wiley |first3=Bell I. |author-link3=Bell I. Wiley |title=The Organization of Ground Combat Troops |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=United States Army Center of Military History |year=1947 |series=United States Army in World War II: The Army Ground Forces |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/002/2-1/CMH_Pub_2-1.pdf |access-date=19 October 2015 |oclc=6993009 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924054827/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/002/2-1/CMH_Pub_2-1.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite book| last = Harrison| first = Gordon A.| title = Cross Channel Attack| url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-4-1/index.html| access-date = 19 October 2015| publisher = United States Army Center of Military History| series = United States Army in World War II| year = 1951| oclc = 1350280| archive-date = 18 October 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151018011253/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-4-1/index.html| url-status = dead}}
*{{cite journal|last=Kuehn|first=John T.|title=Review Essay: ''Jacob L. Devers: A General's Life''|journal=Military Review|date=November–December 2016|pages=125–126|url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/military-review/Archives/English/MilitaryReview_20161231_art019.pdf|access-date=8 July 2024}}
*{{cite book |last=MacDonald |first=Charles B. |title=The Last Offensive |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=United States Army Center of Military History |series=The United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations |date=1973 |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-9-1/CMH_Pub_7-9-1.pdf |access-date=29 October 2015 |isbn=978-0-486-45556-3 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924081551/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-9-1/CMH_Pub_7-9-1.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite book|last=Markey|first=Michael A.|title=Jake: The General from West York Avenue|year=1998|publisher=The Historical Society of York County|location=York, Pennsylvania |oclc=40560577}}
*{{cite book |last=Matloff |first=Maurice |series=United States Army in World War II: The War Department |title=Strategic Planning for Coalition Warfare 1943–1944 |year=1959 |publisher=Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army |location=Washington, DC |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/001/1-3/index.html |access-date=19 October 2015 |oclc=8749622 |archive-date=25 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225144348/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/001/1-3/index.html |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite book |last=Moenk |first=Jean |title=A History of Command and Control of Army Forces in the Continental United States 1919–1972 |location=Fort Monroe, Virginia |publisher= Headquarters, United States Continental Army Command |year=1972 |oclc=2558286}}
*{{cite book |last1=Palmer |first1=Robert R. |last2=Wiley |first2=Bell I. |author-link2=Bell I. Wiley |last3=Keast |first3=William R. |title=The Procurement and Training of Ground Combat Troops |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=United States Army Center of Military |series=The United States Army in World War II: The Army Ground Forces |date=1948 |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/002/2-2/CMH_Pub_2-2.pdf |access-date=19 October 2015 |oclc=1313266 |archive-date=25 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325235626/http://history.army.mil/html/books/002/2-2/CMH_Pub_2-2.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite book |last=Ruppenthal |first=Roland G. |title=Logistical Support of the Armies: May 1941 – September 1944 |volume=I |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army |year=1953 |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-2-1/CMH_Pub_7-2-1.pdf |access-date=24 October 2015 |oclc=313303609 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075332/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-2-1/CMH_Pub_7-2-1.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite book |last=Ruppenthal |first=Roland G. |title=Logistical Support of the Armies: September 1944– May 1945 |volume=II |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army |year=1959 |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-3-1/CMH_Pub_7-3-1.pdf |access-date=24 October 2015 |oclc=8743709 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073005/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-3-1/CMH_Pub_7-3-1.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite book |last=Taaffe |first=Stephen R.|year=2011 |title=Marshall and his Generals: U.S. Army Commanders in World War II |location=Lawrence, Kansas |publisher=University Press of Kansas |isbn=978-0-7006-1812-5 |oclc=714731520 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Thompson |last2=Mayo |first1=Harry C. |first2=Lida |series=The United States Army in World War II: The Technical Services |title=The Ordnance Department Procurement and Supply |year=2003 |publisher=Center of Military History United States Army |location=Washington, DC |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-10/CMH_Pub_10-10.pdf |access-date=18 October 2015 |oclc=53405948 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304121648/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-10/CMH_Pub_10-10.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite book|last=Watson|first=Mark Skinner|title=Chief of Staff: Prewar Plans and Preparations|year=1950|publisher=The War Department Office of Military History|location=Washington, DC|series=United States Army in World War II: The War Department|url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/001/1-1/index.html|access-date=18 October 2015|oclc=67938871|archive-date=30 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030155748/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/001/1-1/index.html|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite book|last=Wheeler|first=James Scott|title=Jacob L. Devers: A General's Life|date=2015|publisher=University Press of Kentucky |location=Lexington, Kentucky |isbn=978-0-8131-6602-5 }}
*{{cite book|last=Yeide |first=Harry |year=2004 |title=The Tank Killers: a History of America's World War II Tank Destroyer Force |location=Havertown, Pennsylvania |publisher=Casemate |isbn=978-1-932033-26-7 |oclc=58482351 }}
*{{cite book |last=Zaloga |first=Steve |author-link=Steven Zaloga |year=2008 |title=Armored Thunderbolt: the U.S. Army Sherman in World War II |location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania |publisher=Stackpole Books |isbn=978-0-8117-0424-3 |oclc=191318149 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Jacob L. Devers}}
*[http://yorkheritage.org/page.asp?id=41 Papers of Jacob L. Devers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418054638/http://www.yorkheritage.org/page.asp?id=41 |date=18 April 2016 }}, York County Heritage Trust
*[http://yorkheritage.org/page.asp?id=42 Research Papers of Thomas E. Griess] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418054716/http://www.yorkheritage.org/page.asp?id=42 |date=18 April 2016 }}, York County Heritage Trust – a major collection of research materials related to Jacob L. Devers
*[http://eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Finding_Aids/D.html Papers of Jacob L. Devers, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library]
*[https://generals.dk/general/Devers/Jacob_Loucks/USA.html Generals of World War II]
*[https://www.unithistories.com/officers/US_Army_officers_D01.html#Devers_JL United States Army Officers 1939–1945]

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=Newly activated organization}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[9th Infantry Division (United States)|Commanding General 9th Infantry Division]]|years=1940–1941}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Rene Edward De Russy Hoyle]]}}
|-
{{Succession box|
title=Commanding General, [[Armor Branch|Armored Force]]|
before= [[Adna R. Chaffee Jr.]] |
years= 1 August 1941 – May 1943 |
after= [[Alvan Cullom Gillem Jr.]]
}}

{{succession box|
title=Commanding General of [[U.S. Army Europe]]|
before= [[Frank M. Andrews]] |
years= 7 May 1943 – 16 January 1944 |
after= [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]
}}
{{succession box|
title=Commanding General of U.S. [[Army Ground Forces]] |
before= [[Joseph W. Stilwell]] |
years= 29 June 1945 – 9 March 1948 |
after= becomes Army Field Forces
}}
{{succession box|
title=Commanding General of U.S. [[Army Field Forces]] |
before= was Army Ground Forces |
years= 10 March 1948 – 10 September 1949 |
after= [[Mark W. Clark]]
}}
{{s-end}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Devers, Jacob L.}}
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