Manitowoc 28
USS Robalo (SS 273)
On Eternal Patrol
Keel Laid – October 24, 1942
Launched – May 9, 1943
Commissioned – September 28, 1943
USS Robalo made two war patrols and earned two Battle Stars. Robalo left Fremantle, Australia on June 22, 1944, for her third and last patrol. On July 2, 1944, a contact report stated Robalo had sighted two FUSO Class Japanese battleships with air cover and two destroyers for escorts just east of Borneo. No other messages were ever received from Robalo and when she did not return from patrol, she was presumed lost.
Robalo was sunk July 26, 1944, off the east coast of Balabac Island from an explosion in the vicinity of her aft torpedo room It is supposed that the explosion was caused by the submarine striking an enemy mine. Four men swam ashore but were captured and imprisoned. On August 15, they were evacuated by a Japanese destroyer, and no other information is known regarding their destination or whereabouts.
In May 2019, the wreck of USS Robalo was discovered, and her identity was confirmed by the Navy in February 2020.
USS ROBALO Crew On Eternal Patrol
*The four men who survived the sinking, but died in captivity
S1 Ackley, James William
TM2 Bailey, John Billy
SM1 Bell, Robert William
TM1 Boehles, Jerome Peter
EM3 Breeden, Charles Edward
MOMM1 Brereton, Walter Allen
S1 Brokman, Gilbert
MOMM1 Cagle, Columbus L. Jr.
LCDR Carter, Hubert Earl
MOMM3 Changary, Stephen John “Chico”
S1 Clark, Edward Omer
S1 Clifford, Marvin D.R.
RT2 Cooperman, Herman Marx
PHM1 Cotterman, Stanley Norwood
RM3 Cress, Donald Clifford
CMOMM Dickerson, Darrell Ellroy
TM2 Dittman, Calvin Lee
MOMM2 Downey, Wallace Lamont
F1 Dvoraceck, James Louis Jr.
MOMM1 Ervin, Lyle Franklin
LCDR Fell, Charles Woodford
RM3 Fink, Dean Elwood
GM3 Flanagan, Arthur James
F1 Fondon, George Melvin
SC2 Fricker, John Joseph
ENS Gerdes, Herman John Jr.
CK2 Gleaton, Elliott Jr.
EM1 Graham, Kimball Elwood
TM3 Hamilton, Howard Leon
TM3 Hart, James Francis Jr.
TM3 Hood, Harley Truman
MOMM2 Hurst, Jack Akers
RT1 Ivey, Holly Berry
TM2 Jackson, Nyle Milton
GM1 Jambor, William Edward
MOMM1 Johnson, Emil Herman
SC1 Johnson, Nathan Young
MOMM2 Kesterson, William George
LCDR Kimmel, manning Marius
S2 Konen, Arthur Carl
QM1 Laughlin, Floyd George*
SC3 Leahey, Richard Jeremiah
CEMA Le Febvre, John Warren
MOMM3 Levy, Donald Judell
EM1 Lovell, Denzel Walter
ENS Lutman, Joseph Arnold
EM2 Martin, Ray Eugene
SM3 Martin, Wallace Keet*
Y1 Mathews, William George
EM2 Marx, Marvin Jerome
LTJG McKnight, Hugh Ferguson Jr.
F1 Nichols, Harvey Edward
MOMM2 Niclas, John Richard
MOMM2 O’Brien, John Joseph
FC2 Paw, Edward Joseph
TM1 Phelps, Billy Brite
EM2 Poston, Mason Collie*
CEM Priddis, John Frederick
LT Proseus, Reginald John
MOMM1 Ramsier, Harold Leon
MOMM1 Root, Charles Alfred
F2 Russell, Stanley Joel
GM3 Smith, Stephen William
RM3 Sonemann, Walter Frank
S1 Speener, Russell William
CTMA Spencer, Samuel Elliot
MOMM1 Taylor, Herschel Paul
ENS Tucker, Samuel Lombard*
S2 Usealman, Harold Elmer
MOMM3 Van Deurzen, Joseph Reinard
S1 Varney, Elmer Grayson
F1 Virga, Ciro Robert
TM3 Vogel, Frederick Paul
MOMM2 Wilkerson, Dale Francis
STM1 Williams, Davie Lee
CMOMM Wilson, Frederick Joseph
EM3 Winnan, Roland Oliver
S1 Wlodarczyk, Sigmund Julius
QM3 Wood, Claude Eugene
TM3 Zea, Calvin Kenneth
Discover more Submarines