|
USS
Razorback comes home to serve as a Maritime Museum on the North Little
Rock shore of the Arkansas River |
The USS Razorback Balao Class submarine arrived at the North Little Rock shore of the Arkansas River on August 29, 2004 over 60 years after being launched from the Portsmouth Naval Yard in Kittery, Maine. Lieutenant Commander Albert M. Bontier led a team of 60 sailors as the Razorback was commissioned April 3, 1944. After sailing to Pearl Harbor, the submarine began patrol duty August 25 near Luzon as a member of an offensive group in support of the September Palau landings. By the middle of October the Razorback was at Midway and began patrolling the Luzon straits in mid-November. During that patrol, it damaged two freighters and sank a destroyer. By January it was time for a refit so the Razorback went to Guam for a little R & R. On the first of February, the submarine sailed for the East China Sea. After sinking four wooden ships in three separate surface gun actions, she deposited three Japanese prisoners at Guam before terminating her patrol at Pearl Harbor March 26, 1945. On May 7 the Razorback sailed for the Nanpo Shoto and Tokyo Bay area for lifeguard or rescue duty. While there the crew rescued four B-29 pilots and one fighter pilot. After a June retrofit back at Midway, the crew sailed for the Okhotsk Sea. Once again the Razorback and her crew rose to the occasion by sinking six wooden cargo sea trucks and damaging two others. The remainder of the tour was spent performing lifeguard services near Paramushiro for planes launching from Alaska. On August 31, 1945 the Razorback and 11 other submarines sailed into Tokyo Harbor to take part in the formal surrender of Japan. The USS Razorback received 5 battle stars for World War II service. She was not finished by any means. The Razorback and its crew earned 4 more battle stars in Vietnam. On November 30, 1970 the Razorback was decommissioned from United States military service and sent to Turkey where she was recommissioned as the Turkish submarine Murat Reis. The Razorback (Murat Reis) served the Turkish Navy for 21 years and was decommissioned in 1991. The USS Razorback is 311 feet long, had a speed of 20 knots on the surface and was armed with six bow and four stern torpedo tubes. For more information, click here to visit the USS Razorback Maritime Museum. |
Order
Dell Online |
||
| Site Design by Arkansas Web Designs | ©Copyright 2003 - 2006 All Rights Reserved |
|