Resting beneath Arkansas’ Main Street Bridge: a deadly WWII predator

USS Razorback’s Pacific Patrols to Tokyo Bay

The USS Razorback prowled the Pacific in 1944 with a simple job: hunt enemy ships and save American lives. She sank a Japanese destroyer, took down wooden cargo vessels, and pulled downed airmen from the sea.

After five combat patrols, this steel predator earned a front-row seat to history. On September 2, 1945, she was one of just twelve submarines chosen to witness Japan’s surrender in Tokyo Bay.

Today, this battle-tested warrior rests at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum in North Little Rock, where visitors can walk her decks and touch the hull that once sailed into victory.

Maine Shipyard Launched the Future War Hero

USS Razorback first hit the water on January 27, 1944, at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine.

Workers started building her on September 9, 1943, and she was part of a record-setting day when four submarines launched together. The Navy put her into service on April 3, 1944, with Lieutenant Commander Albert W. Bontier in charge.

This Balao-class sub was 311 feet long with a crew of 6 officers and 60 sailors ready to fight in the Pacific.

Early Training Nearly Ended in Disaster

The Razorback crew hit a major snag on May 23, 1944, when the sub ran aground at Race Rock Light near New London, Connecticut.

The grounding was so bad that crew members had to remove gun ammo and torpedoes after several failed attempts to free her. The Navy quickly held a hearing, fired Captain Bontier, and put Commander Roy S. Benson in charge.

After fixes in drydock from May 27 to June 4, Razorback finished training and headed to the Pacific on June 23, 1944.

First Combat Patrol Came Up Empty-Handed

Razorback left Pearl Harbor on August 25, 1944, joining the “Dog Pack” group for her first combat mission. Commander Benson led the three-submarine team east of Luzon to help with the mid-September Palau landings.

Despite weeks of searching, the crew only spotted enemy sub-hunting planes with no ships worth attacking. The submarine stopped at Midway Island on October 19, 1944, where Commander C. Donald Brown took over as captain two days later.

Second Patrol Proved Razorback’s Fighting Spirit

The sub went back to war on November 15, 1944, now part of “Roy’s Rangers” group patrolling the dangerous Luzon Strait. This time, Razorback attacked 10 times against six different groups of Japanese ships.

The crew damaged the 6,933-ton freighter Kenjo Maru on December 6, then sank the 820-ton destroyer Kuretake and damaged another freighter on December 30.

The sub fired so many torpedoes during these attacks that she stopped at Saipan to load 24 more.

Gun Battles Showed Razorback’s Versatility

Razorback left Guam on February 1, 1945, for her third war patrol with “Fulp’s Fiddlers” group in the East China Sea. When torpedo attacks didn’t work, the crew used their deck guns instead.

Using their 4-inch gun plus 40mm and 20mm guns, they sank two 85-foot wooden sea trucks, a 50-ton wooden schooner, and a 100-ton two-masted junk in three fights.

The sub even caught four Japanese prisoners who they dropped off at Guam before heading to Pearl Harbor on March 26, 1945.

A Fighter Pilot Got Lucky Off the Japanese Coast

The sub started her fourth war patrol from Pearl Harbor on May 7, 1945, with a new job: rescuing downed American airmen near Japan.

On May 25, while patrolling the Nanpo Shoto and Tokyo Bay areas, Razorback spotted and saved Lieutenant Colonel Charles E. Taylor, a P-51 fighter pilot from the 21st Fighter Group who had to ditch his plane.

Taylor was the first of five flyers the sub would rescue during this patrol as American bombing of Japan picked up.

Four B-29 Crewmen Found Salvation in the Pacific

Razorback kept rescuing people on June 5, 1945, when the crew pulled four B-29 Superfortress crewmen from the water after their bomber crashed during an air raid over Kobe, Japan.

The sub handed all five rescued flyers to USS Dragonet that same day so she could keep patrolling.

Though the crew saw no big ships during this fourth patrol, they faced new Japanese sub-hunting tricks including planes that would circle overhead for hours and possibly dropped torpedoes.

The sub returned to Midway Island on June 27, 1945, for repairs.

Final Combat Patrol Targeted Small Japanese Ships

Razorback left Midway on July 22, 1945, for her fifth and final war patrol, heading to the cold Okhotsk Sea off the Kuril Islands.

On August 2, the crew used their guns again, sinking six wooden cargo sea trucks and damaging two more. The sub spent the rest of her patrol watching for downed pilots off Paramushiro for Alaska-based planes.

The war ended while Razorback was still on patrol in northern waters.

An Arkansas Native Led the Surrender Task Force

The Navy assigned Razorback to a special group on August 30, 1945, called “Benny’s Peacemakers” under Commander Raymond Henry “Benny” Bass.

This Arkansas native and Olympic gold medalist led 12 submarines picked to watch Japan’s formal surrender. Bass was one of only two submarine commanders who served through the entire war and lived.

The task force got orders to enter Tokyo Bay for the historic surrender ceremonies that would officially end World War II.

Razorback Watched History Unfold in Tokyo Bay

The sub entered Tokyo Bay on August 31, 1945, joining 11 other submarines for a front-row seat to history.

On September 2, Razorback watched Japan’s formal surrender ceremony aboard the USS Missouri, one of only 12 submarines chosen for this honor among all U. S. submarines that fought in the Pacific.

The sub left Tokyo Bay the next day, reached Pearl Harbor on September 11, and arrived in San Diego on September 20, earning five battle stars for her World War II service.

From Turkish Navy to Arkansas Museum

After 26 years serving the U. S. Navy through the Cold War and Vietnam, the Navy transferred Razorback to Turkey on November 30, 1970. She served the Turkish Navy as TCG Muratreis from December 17, 1971, until August 2001.

North Little Rock officials purchased the submarine for $37,500 on March 25, 2004, with private donations covering the $500,000 towing costs.

Razorback arrived at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum on August 29, 2004, and opened to the public on May 15, 2005, finding her final home near Main Street Bridge in North Little Rock’s Riverfront Park.

Visiting Main Street Bridge, Arkansas

You can explore the USS Razorback submarine at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum at 120 Riverfront Park Drive in North Little Rock. General admission costs $12 plus tax, with discounts for seniors and military at $7.50 plus tax.

Summer hours run Wednesday-Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 1pm-6pm, while winter hours are Friday-Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 1pm-5pm.

Tours end 30 minutes before closing, and children under 5 can’t board for safety reasons.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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