US Cold War Japanese Cigarette Lighter, USS Carbonero, WWII US Submarine
This item is listed for historical interest only. It was listed on our site previously but has been sold and is no longer available for purchase.
Sold for: $35.00

Original era manufacture. Pocket size, Japanese made cigarette lighter by Penguin. On the cover is an enameled insignia bearing the crest of the USS Carbonero, a Balao Class submarine. The Carbonero was launched in October 1944, and commissioned into the US Navy on 7 February 1945.She conducted two war patrols during the summer of 1945, sinking 6 small vessels of the dwindling Japanese Merchant Fleet off of the Malay Peninsula.During the Cold War, she participated in the 1962 Nuclear test, Operation Dominic, and during the Vietnam War, she acted as a rescue vessel off of the coast of Vietnam. She was sunk by a torpedo while used as a target ship off of Hawaii in 1975.  The lighter exhibits typical pocket age and wear, scratching to the enameled crest, and lighter body,  needs a flint and fuel to operate.