USS Sturgeon ( SS - 187 ) USS " Sturgeon " ( SS - 187 ) , a " Salmon " - class submarine , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sturgeon . Her keel was laid down on 27 October 1936 by the Mare Island Navy Yard . She was launched on 15 March 1938 sponsored by Mrs . Charles S . Freeman ; and commissioned on 25 June 1938 with Lieutenant Commander A . D . Barnes in command . 1938 – 1941 . " Sturgeon " completed builder ' s trials in Monterey Bay and began her shakedown cruise on 15 October , visiting ports in Mexico , Honduras , Panama , Peru , Ecuador , and Costa Rica before returning to San Diego , on 12 December 1938 . She was assigned to Submarine Squadron ( SubRon ) 6 and operated along the West Coast as far north as Washington . She made two squadron cruises to Hawaii with the Pacific Fleet : from 1 July to 16 August 1939 and from 1 April to 12 July 1940 . The submarine departed San Diego on 5 November 1940 for Pearl Harbor and operated from there until November 1941 . " Sturgeon " stood out of Pearl Harbor on 10 November , headed for the Philippine Islands , and arrived at Manila Bay on 22 November . She was then attached to SubRon 2 , Submarine Division ( SubDiv ) 22 , United States Asiatic Fleet . First patrol : December 1941 . " Sturgeon " was moored in Mariveles Naval Section Base on 7 December 1941 during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . She put to sea the next afternoon to patrol an area between the Pescadores Islands and Formosa . A small tanker was sighted the afternoon of 9 December , but it remained out of torpedo range . The submarine found a convoy of five merchantmen accompanied by a cruiser and several destroyer s on 18 December . As she came to periscope depth within attack range of the cruiser , she was sighted by one of the escorts approximately away . She started going deep but had only reached a depth of when the first depth charge exploded , breaking numerous light bulbs but causing no serious damage . " Sturgeon " began silent running and evaded the escorts . On the evening of 21 December , she sighted a darkened ship believed to be a large cargo carrier . A torpedo spread was fired from the stern tubes , but they all passed ahead of the ship due to an error in her estimated speed . The ship ended her first war patrol when she returned to Mariveles Bay on 25 December . Second patrol : December 1941 – March 1942 . " Sturgeon " was at sea again on 28 December 1941 en route to the Tarakan area , off the coast of Borneo . A tanker was sighted southwest of Subutu Island on 17 January 1942 , but all three torpedoes missed and the ship escaped . On the night of 22 January , " Sturgeon " was alerted by that a large convoy was headed her way in Makassar Strait . A few minutes later , her sonar picked up the pings of ships dead astern . She submerged and fired four torpedoes at a large ship , with two explosions following . The submarine was then subjected to a two and one - half - hour depth charge attack by two destroyer s which caused no damage . She next sighted an enemy transport and four destroyer s off Balikpapan on 26 January . " Sturgeon " fired a spread from her forward tubes which resulted in a large explosion on the transport , and her screws stopped turning . No post - war record of a sinking could be found , but the transport was believed damaged . Three days later , she made two hits on a tanker . On the morning of 8 February , " Sturgeon " found herself on the track of an enemy invasion fleet headed toward Makassar City . She submerged to avoid detection by several destroyer s and a cruiser , as they passed overhead , but was able to report the movement of the convoy to Commander , Submarines Asiatic Fleet . The submarine retired from her patrol area two days later , when she was ordered to Java , Netherlands East Indies . She arrived at Soerabaja on 13 February ; but , as the Japanese were advancing upon that base , the ship proceeded to Tjilatjap . After embarking part of the Asiatic Fleet Submarine Force Staff , " Sturgeon " and sailed for Fremantle , Western Australia , on 20 February , as escorts for and . Third patrol : March – May 1942 . " Sturgeon " remained there , from 3 to 15 March , when she departed to again patrol off Makassar City . On 30 March , she sank the cargo ship " Choko Maru " . On 3 April , one of her torpedoes caught a 750 - ton frigate directly under the bridge , and she was officially listed as probably sunk . She then fired three torpedoes at a merchantman but missed . With one torpedo remaining in the bow tubes , she fired and hit the target abreast the foremast . When last seen , it was listing heavily to port and making for the Celebes shore . On 6 April , she fired a spread at a tanker ; but the range was so close that they failed to arm . The submarine was then depth charged by escorts but eluded them and patrolled off Cape Mandar in the Makassar Strait . On 22 April , a destroyer ' s searchlight blinked to " Sturgeon " , and she went deep to avoid the subsequent two - hour depth charge attack . On 28 April , the submarine sailed for Australia . However , she interrupted her voyage on the night of 30 April in an attempt to rescue some Royal Air Force personnel reported on an island at the entrance of Cilacap Harbor . A landing party under Lieutenant Chester W . Nimitz , Jr . entered the cove and examined it by searchlight but found only a deserted lean - to . She continued to Fremantle and arrived there on 7 May . Fourth patrol : June – July 1942 . " Sturgeon " refitted and returned to sea , on 5 June , to patrol an area west of Manila . On 25 June , she caught up with a nine - ship convoy before daylight , and fired three torpedoes at the largest ship and heard explosions . After some 21 depth charges were dropped by the escorts , she managed to escape with only a few gauges broken . On 1 July , " Sturgeon " , captained by LT CMDR Wright , sank the 7 , 267 - ton prisoner transport " Montevideo Maru " off the coast of Luzon . On 5 July , she scored hits on a tanker in a convoy northbound from Manila . Her patrol ended on 22 July when she arrived at Fremantle for refit . It was later discovered that " Montevideo Maru " had been carrying over a thousand Australian POW s and civilian internees from Rabaul New Guinea . 1140 ( including 88 Japanese crew ) were killed while 18 survived . Some of the Japanese including the ship ' s captain made it to the Philippines but most , including the captain , were killed by local guerrillas . This loss of Australian lives is the worst maritime disaster in Australian history . Only one eyewitness account has ever emerged . After 60 years the sole surviving Japanese sailor described the " death cries " of trapped Australians going down with the ship while others sung Auld Lang Syne . Fifth patrol : September – October 1942 . " Sturgeon " stood out of port , on 4 September , to begin her fifth war patrol in an area between Mono Island and the Shortland Islands in the Solomon Islands group . On 11 September , she began patrolling west of Bougainville to intercept enemy shipping between Rabaul , Buka , and Faisi . The submarine fired four torpedoes at a large cargo ship , on 14 September , but missed with all . Three days later , she fired a spread at a tanker with two apparent hits . At 0536 hours on 1 October , " Sturgeon " sighted the 8 , 033 - ton aircraft ferry " Katsuragi Maru " . A spread of four torpedoes was fired and resulted in three hits which sent the ship to the bottom . An escort depth charged the submarine for a while and then broke off to rescue survivors . " Sturgeon " moved south of Tetipari Island and patrolled there until she returned to Brisbane on 25 October for repairs and refit . Sixth patrol : November 1942 – January 1943 . " Sturgeon " returned to sea and began patrolling in the Truk area on 30 November . She fired four torpedoes at a maru on 6 December and observed one hit . She missed hitting targets on 9 and 18 December . The ship withdrew from the area on 25 December 1942 and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 4 January 1943 . She was in the yard from 14 January to 11 May for an overhaul . Seventh and eighth patrols : June – October 1943 . " Sturgeon " ’ s seventh war patrol began on 12 June and ended at Midway Island on 2 August . She sighted seven worthwhile targets but was able to attack only one . That occurred on 1 July when she fired a spread at a freighter and heard two hits , causing possible damage . The next patrol , from 29 August to 23 October , was equally unrewarding , and she returned to Pearl Harbor . Ninth patrol : December 1943 – January 1944 . On 13 December 1943 , " Sturgeon " sailed for Japanese home waters . She sighted a seven - ship convoy with four escorts on 11 January 1944 . Finding an overlapping target , she fired four torpedoes , and the cargo ship " Erie Maru " went to the bottom . The submarine was forced to go deep to avoid a depth charge attack and was unable to regain contact with the convoy . Five days later , she attacked a freighter " Akagi Maru " and a destroyer " Suzutsuki " in Bungo Channel . " Suzutsuki " was hit by two torpedoes which blew off the bow and stern . " Sturgeon " was pinned down all afternoon by " Hatsuzuki ' s " counterattacks and cleared the area at 1855 . Two attacks were made on a four - ship convoy on 24 January . One hit was registered on a maru from the first attack while the spread fired at the other merchantman sent the " Chosen Maru " to the bottom . Two days later , she made a fruitless attack on two freighters , and the submarine returned to Pearl Harbor , via Midway , for refit . Tenth patrol : April – May 1944 . " Sturgeon " ’ s next assignment was in the Bonin Islands area from 8 April until 26 May and included plane guard duty near Marcus Island during aircraft carrier strikes there . On 10 May , she attacked a convoy of five merchant ships and two escorts . She made two hits on a small freighter before the escorts and an enemy plane forced the submarine to go deep . " Sturgeon " finally came to periscope depth and trailed the convoy until the next morning when she made an end - around run and fired four torpedoes at a freighter . Three hits put " Seiru Maru " under in two minutes . The submarine swung around and fired her bow tubes at another ship . Two hits were recorded ; and , when last seen , the target was dead in the water , smoking heavily . The submarine began plane guard duty on 20 May and rescued three airmen before heading for Midway two days later . Eleventh patrol : June – August 1944 . " Sturgeon " sailed for the Nansei Shoto on 10 June to begin her last war patrol . Only two worthy contacts were made , and they were heavily escorted . The first was an eight - ship convoy which she attacked on 29 June . Four torpedoes were fired at a large ship . Four hits on the 7 , 089 - ton passenger - cargo troopship " Toyama Maru " sent her up in flames and to the bottom . On 3 July , " Sturgeon " sighted a nine - ship convoy accompanied by air cover and numerous small escorts . She registered three hits on the cargo ship " Tairin Maru " that blew her bow off and holed her side . She rolled to starboard and sank . The submarine went deep and avoided the 196 depth charges and aerial bombs that were rained down upon her . She evaded the escorts and returned to Pearl Harbor on 5 August . 1944 – 1948 . " Sturgeon " was routed to California for an overhaul and arrived at San Francisco , on 15 August . On 31 December 1944 , the ship shifted to San Diego and sailed on 5 January 1945 for the East Coast . She arrived at New London on 26 January , and was assigned to SubRon 1 . " Sturgeon " operated in Block Island Sound as a training ship until 25 October . She entered the Boston Navy Yard on 30 October and was decommissioned on 15 November 1945 . " Sturgeon " was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 April 1948 and sold to Interstate Metals Corporation , of New York City , on 12 June for scrap . " Sturgeon " received ten battle star s for World War II service .