USS Ronquil’s First War Patrol: Convoy Battles off Formosa, August 1944

In late August of 1944, USS Ronquil, a brand-new Balao-class submarine, made her first serious mark in the Pacific war. After weeks of drills, training, and shakedowns, the crew finally got their chance at combat in the waters north of Formosa. What they found was a massive Japanese convoy, heavy with cargo ships and bristling with escorts. For a green boat on her first patrol, it was a dangerous assignment.

Over the course of two days, August 23 and 24, Ronquil went head-to-head with the enemy, launching multiple torpedo attacks under cover of night and slipping away from the depth charges that followed. When the smoke cleared, two Japanese attack cargo ships had gone to the bottom and others were left damaged. For the men aboard Ronquil, it was the proof they needed that their boat could fight and survive. This was only the beginning of her wartime story.