USS Flier, a 1525-ton Gato class submarine built at Groton, Connecticut, was commissioned in mid-October 1943. After working up, she arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, near the end of the year and departed for her first war patrol in January 1944. However, while entering the harbor at Midway Island during a storm on 16 January, she went aground and was seriously damaged. The submarine rescue vessel Macaw (ASR-11), which attempted to pull Flier free, also went aground and ultimately sank.
The damaged submarine was towed back to Pearl Harbor by USS Florikan (ASR-9), again with difficulties caused by weather, and finally reached the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, where she was repaired. Flier made another start on her first war patrol in May 1944, heading from Pearl Harbor to the waters off Luzon. While en route on 4 June she attacked and sank the transport Hakusan Maru. On 13 June she attacked a Japanese convoy off Subic Bay, receiving a depth charging in return, and on 22-23 June hit another convoy off Mindoro, apparently damaging one or more ships.
In early August 1944 Flier left Fremantle, Australia, for her second war patrol. On 13 August, while transiting shallow water to enter the South China Sea, she struck a mine and quickly sank. Eight of her crewmen survived the sinking and subsequent long swim to reach shore. After making their way by raft to Palawan and being protected by local people and a group of guerrillas, at the end of the month they were evacuated by the submarine Redfin (SS-272).
This page features the only views we have related to USS Flier (SS-250).
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 2 February 2003