passenger cargo ship. Her next victim was a freighter (Koto Maru 3,557 tons), sunk 7 July. Twelve days later, Flasher sighted cruiser Ōi escorted by a destroyer. Two attacks, each followed by a heavy depth charge retaliation from the destroyer, sufficed to sink the cruiser, a fact confirmed several hours later when a periscope observation revealed only the destroyer in sight. Seven days later, she sank another important target, a merchant tanker (Otoriyama Maru 5,280 tons), and the same day damaged another tanker (Tosan Maru) later sunk by one of her sisters. With all her torpedoes gone, Flasher put back for Fremantle, where she replenished and refitted between 7 August and 30 August. During her fourth war patrol, in the Philippines, Flasher headed a coordinated attack group which included two other submarines, and . Although she was on lifeguard station during the air attacks preliminary to the invasion of the Philippines during part of this patrol, Flasher sank three ships, a former light cruiser (Saigon Maru 5,350 tons) on 18 September, a transport and hospital ship(Ural Maru 6,374 tons) on 27 September, and a cargo ship (Taibin Maru 6,886 tons) on 4 October. She returned to Fremantle 20 October. Fifth and sixth war patrols, November 1944 – April 1945 Lieutenant Commander George W. Grider took command of Flasher on 31 October 1944.< Heading the same attack group, Flasher departed on her fifth war patrol 15 November 1944, bound for Cam Ranh Bay. On 4 December one of her companions reported a tanker convoy, and Flasher set a converging course. As she made her approach in a heavy downpour, a destroyer suddenly loomed up before her, and Flasher launched her first spread of torpedoes at this escort. The destroyer (Kishinami) was stopped by two hits, and began listing and smoking heavily. Flasher got a spread of torpedoes away at a tanker before she was forced deep by a second destroyer, which dropped 16 depth charges. Rising to periscope depth, Flasher located the tanker burning and covered by yet a third destroyer. Speedily reloading, she prepared to sink the destroyer and finish off the tanker, and though almost blinded by rainsqualls, she did so with a salvo of four torpedoes, two of which hit the destroyer (Iwanami), and two of which passed beneath her, as planned, to hit the tanker (Hakko Maru 10,022 tons). Once more, counter-attack forced Flasher down, and when