Marines of 2d Raider Battalion, under Evans Carlson, embarked aboard the USS Argonaut in August 1942 to raid the Japanese-held island of Makin. <br />The largest pre-nuclear age submarine built by the United States was able to billet over 100 marines due to conversions carried out at the Mare Island shipyard in the spring of 1942. <br />The Argonaut avoided Japanese A2/AD capabilities in the form of the world’s most combat ready and proficient navy, and successfully delivered the marines deep into Japanese controlled waters without detection. <br />Despite the less than impressive results of the operation (Carlson’s Raiders experienced a high rate of casualties for little gained in terms of tangible results), the event demonstrated conclusively the effectiveness of submarines as a platform for amphibious operations in the World War II equivalent of an A2/AD environment.
