Red Scorpion: The War Patrols of the USS Rasher

by Peter Sasgen

Drawing on the reminiscences and correspondence of former crew members, including his own father, as well as other documentary records, the author of War Plan Red provides a dramatic account of the exploits of the USS Rasher, the submarine credited with sinking an incredible array of enemy warships. Reprint.

Genres: History, Military History, Nonfiction, World War II, Military Fiction

608 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 25, 2005

Reviews

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, historical accounting of the tours of the USS Rasher from 1943 to 1945 told in the form of a narrative using the accounts of the sailors and commanders using their own words, their journals, historical documents from both the USA and Japan, etc. It wasn't too bad of a read, actually, and gave some life to the day to day goings on of those who lived on these submarines during these patrols.

[K De · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Sasgen's "Red Scorpion: The War Patrols of the USS Rasher" is a comprehensive account of the combat patrols of the submarine. The fearsome attitude and courage the commanders and crew displayed were rewarded over the eight missions of achieving seven battle stars and sinking the second most mercahnt tonnage of any Pacific fleet submarine during the war. The USS Rasher was part of a number of US submarines to sink Japanese aircraft carriers during the war.

The author not only writes of the missions but in construcrstion of the Rasher and lays the ground work for understanding how a submarine operates. His writing is crisp and has some excerpts from his father's memoir, who served all eight tours aboard the boat. He gives details on the tactics of submarine warfare and some distinction between US submarine "wolf pack" vs German submarine "wolf pack" tactical differences and how Japanese versus American convoy tactics affected "wolf pack" implementation by Fleet commanders.

The use of maps helps greatly.

This is a very good book for military history and in particular naval warfare buffs. Highly recommended.

[jj Grilliette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read if you like submarine war reads

[Ackon]

Can't recall accurately

[Jeff Wombold · Rating 3 out of 5]

This doesn't have all the action of previous submarine books I have read, but it goes more into the personal side of one man's career. Definitely worth a read

[Raymond Pang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping stuff. Makes you feel as if you were really there. Real page turner. Highly recommended.