USS Robalo (SS-273)
The USS Robalo (SS-273) was United States submarine (Gato-Class) that served during World War II. The boat’s keel was laid on October 24th, 1942 at the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. located in Wisconsin and was subsequently launched on May 9th, 1943. The submarine’s sponsor was Mrs. E.S. Root, and she was commissioned on September 28th, 1943. The ROBALO earned two battle stars during WW2 prior to being sunk by a Japanese mine on or about July 26th, 1944 west of the Palawan Province of the Philippines.
USS Robalo (SS-273) Information
Builder: Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Keel Laid: October 24, 1942
Launched: May 9th, 1943
Commissioned: September 28th, 1943
Submarine Struck: September 16th, 1944
Fate of the ROBALO: Submarine was mined west of Palawan on the 26th of July, 1944 Information indicates that 4 of the 81 crew survived the mining but died as Japanese POW’s.
USS Robalo (SS-273) Submarine Characteristics
Submarine Class and Type: Gato-class Diesel-Electric submarine
Submarine Displacement: 1,525 tons on the surface
2,424 tons submerged
Submarine Length: 311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)
Submarine Beam: 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)
Submarine Draft: 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m) maximum
4 × General Motors Model 16-248 V16 diesel engines driving electrical generators
2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries
4 × high-speed General Electric Electric motors with reduction gears
5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced
2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged
Speed: 21 knots on the Surface
9 knots Submerged
Submarine Range: 11,000 nmi surfaced at 10 knots
Submarine Endurance: 48 hours at 2 knots (4 km/h) submerged
75 days on patrol
Submarine Test depth: 300 ft
Submarine Complement: 6 officers, 54 enlisted
Armament: 10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (six forward, four aft), 24 torpedoes
1 × 3-inch (76 mm) / 50 caliber deck gun, Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
USS Robalo World War 2 History
First Wartime Patrol of the USS Robalo (SS-273)
Once the USS Robalo traveled via United States inland waterways and was floated down the Mississippi River, she was deployed to the Pacific. She was under the command of Commander Stephen Ambruster and deployed from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on her first wartime patrol. The Robalo was tasked with the pursuit and sinking of Japanese shipping located to the west of the Philippines. During this patrol, the sub was able to damage a large freighter by firing four torpedoes from a range of just over 1.5 nautical miles (3,100 yards). During the 57 day patrol, the Robalo spent 36 of the days under the water (submerged). Once arriving in Fremantle, the submarine’s commanding officer was relieved by U.S. Admiral Christie.
Second Wartime Patrol of the USS Robalo (SS-273)
The U.S. Navy dispatched the ROBALO to the South China Sea for her second wartime patrol of World War II. She was tasked with the interdiction of Japanese tanker traffic between the Japanese fleet anchorage at Tawi Tawi and French Indochina. During the patrol, the ROBALO fired 22 torpedoes over four attacks on Japanese shipping. During the patrol, the submarine suffered damage from Japanese antisubmarine aircraft. During the attack, her periscopes were flooded and she lost her radar. The submarine sank to a depth of 350 feet after the main induction was not closed properly. After returning to the base in Fremantle, Australia, Admiral Christie considered relieving the commanding officer for remaining on patrol with significant damage but did not do so (many think this was due to the relation of LCDR Manning Kimmel to his father, Admiral Kimmel and his uncle Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid. The ROBALO was given credit for sinking a 7500 ton tanker during the patrol
Third Wartime Patrol of the USS Robalo (SS-273)
The USS Robalo (SS-273) left Fremantle, Australia on June 22nd 1944 for her third and final wartime patrol of WW2. The submarine was proceeding to the South China Sea to conduct her patrol in the vicinity of the Natuna Islands. The ROBALO’s transit was planned to proceed through the heavily mined Balabac Strait and to remain on station from July 6th through August 2nd, 1944. The final message received from the submarine was on July 2nd, when she made a contact report of sighting a Fusō-class battleship that had both destroyers and air cover. The submarine was subsequently considered lost at sea and later struck from the Naval Register.
USS Robalo (SS-273)Survivors
The sinking of the ROBALO is filled with a bit of intrigue to this day, as information came out that there were at least four survivors of the sinking.
On August 2nd, 1944, a note was dropped from a window of a cell in a Japanese POW camp located in at Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island in the Philippines. The note was subsequently picked up by another American and was ultimately given to the wife of guerrilla leader, Dr. Mendosa. The note provided information on the date and location of the sinking of the ROBALO. The four survivors made it to the mainland of the Philippines, but where captured by Japanese Military Police before they could make contact with the Philippine resistance movement.
The American survivors were then rumored to have been placed on a Japanese destroyer that may have been sank later and were never heard from again. There were unconfirmed reports that the CO of the submarine, LCDR Kimmel, was amongst the survivors. These reports indicated that he and some of the other survivors were burned alive by the Japanese after being attacked by the Allies. The Japanese destroyers that may have had the four survivors onboard that were sunk in this timeframe of WW2 were:
Yūnagi, sunk on 25 August 1944 off northwest Luzon by USS Picuda (SS-382).
Akakaze, sunk on 23 August 1944 off Cape Bilinao (Luzon), by USS Haddo (SS-255).
USS Robalo References
America’s Freshwater Submarine, researchandideas.com, Last Viewed: December 17th, 2013.
Department of the Navy Biography of LCDR Manning M. Kimmel, history.navy.mil, Last Viewed: December 18th, 2013.
Listing of Survivors of the USS Robalo and other information, PacificWrecks.com, Last Viewed: December 18th, 2013.
On Eternal Patrol’s Listing of the Men Lost on the USS Robalo, oneternalpatrol.com, Last Viewed: December 18th, 2013.