USS RUNNER SS 275

USS RUNNER SS 275 Gato Class

May 28, 1943. Sunk by enemy mines. 78 men lost.

From: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

Runner
An amberfish inhabiting subtropical waters. So called for its rapid leaps from the water.

(SS-275: displacement 1,526 (surfaced), 2,410 (submerged); length 311'8"; beam 27'4"; draft 15'8"; speed 20.25 knots (surfaced), 8.75 knots (submerged); complement 60; armament 10 21" torpedo tubes, 1 3", 2 .50 caliber machine guns, 2 .30 caliber machine guns; class Gato)

On May 7, 1943, Runner departed Midway on her third and final war patrol. She was to patrol to the south and west, until she came into the area south of Hokkaido and east of the northern tip of Honshu, where she was to patrol from about June 8 to July 4, 1943. She was never heard from again. She was expected at Midway about July 11, and not later than July 15, and should have made a transmission when approximately 500 miles from this base. She was ordered on July 12 to make an immediate transmission, but no reply came. Runner was declared overdue and presumed lost in July 1943 and struck from the Navy list on October 30, 1943.

The U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II and the official Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Web site memorialize May 28, 1943 as the date of Runner's loss. However, post war Japanese records indicate she sank the cargo ship Seinan Maru on June 11, 1943 in Tsugaru Strait off Hokkaido, and the passenger-cargo ship Shinryu Maru on June 26th off the Kurile Islands. The Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee (JANAC) also credits Runner with these sinkings on the same dates. It therefore seems improbable she was lost on May 28. A summary of Japanese antisubmarine attacks received after the war contains no mention of an attack, which could explain the loss of Runner. It is now known that there were at least four enemy minefields in the area to which she was assigned. Destruction by a mine sometime after June 26 is considered the most likely reason for her loss.

Runner was awarded one battle star for World War II service. She is credited with sinking two enemy vessels for a total of 6,274 tons.