USS Tinosa ( SS - 283 ) USS " Tinosa " ( SS - 283 ) , a , was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the tinosa , a poisonous , black , tropical fish . The first " Tinosa " ( SS - 283 ) was laid down on 21 February 1942 at Vallejo , California , by the Mare Island Navy Yard ; launched on 7 October 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs . William E . Molloy ; and commissioned on 15 January 1943 , Lt . Comdr . Lawrence Randall Daspit in command . World War II . After preliminary operations , the submarine proceeded to Hawaii , arriving at Pearl Harbor on 16 April 1943 . Over the next two years , she completed twelve war patrols in the $ 3 and was credited with sinking 16 enemy ships , totaling 64 , 655 tons . First and second war patrols , May – August 1943 . On her first war patrol , conducted from 3 May to 19 June 1943 , " Tinosa " damaged three enemy ships in the waters east of Kyūshū , Japan , while sustaining some depth - charge damage herself . After refitting at Midway , she got underway on 7 July to patrol the sea routes between Borneo and Truk . On 24 July 1943 , " Tinosa " encountered the cargo ship " Tonan Maru No . 3 " , the largest tanker of the Japanese fleet , 19 , 262 tons , sailing from Palau to Truk . Codebreaker warning had put Tinosa in a perfect position to shoot the tanker with a spread of four torpedoes . None exploded . The boat ' s Commanding Officer , Lieutenant Commander L . R . ( Dan ) Daspit recorded in his log , " Target had been carefully tracked and with spread used [ torpedoes ] could not have run properly and missed . " " Tinosa " made herself a second chance by chasing throughout the following day . Daspit also checked the torpedoes he had left and insured that the magnetic influence exploders had been disabled ( see below for why ) . Even so , the first two torpedoes of the second attack had to be shot at an awkward angle and range . They hit and exploded disabling " Tonan Maru " ' s engines . With the target dead in the water " Tinosa " found herself in an ideal firing position , moving in to fire on the tanker at the submarine equivalent of point blank range . The torpedo appeared to hit its target but did not explode . Daspit and crew continued to fire torpedoes one at a time at this ( for 1943 ) huge tanker . All of them hit . None exploded . Daspit ' s log gives time of firing of each and states over and over again " fired [ nth ] torpedo . Hit . No apparent effect . " Daspit recorded about the sixth one since Tonan Maru had become a " sitting duck " , " . . . Hit . No apparent effect . This torpedo hit well aft on the port side , made splash at the side of the ship and was then observed to have taken a right turn and to jump clear of the water about from the stern of the tanker . I find it hard to convince myself that I saw this . " He took his sub to the other side of the target and fired the eighth and ninth torpedoes even as he saw a destroyer approaching from the east . As " Tinosa " went deep they heard the last torpedo hit and stop running . Daspit recorded in his log , " No explosion . Had already decided to retain one torpedo for examination by base . " After shooting nine torpedoes at a sitting duck over almost an hour and a half 1009 to 1131 , and taking time out to examine the fish in the torpedo room between shots , Lieutenant Commander Daspit took " Tinosa " back to Pearl Harbor with the single remaining weapon . Daspit stormed into SUBPAC ' s office . He had shot 15 torpedoes at " Tonan Maru " over two days and only 2 of them had worked . The others shot under ideal conditions failed to explode . Rear Admiral Lockwood , COMSUBPAC wrote : wrote , " I expected a torrent of cusswords , damning me the bureau of Ordnance , the Newport Torpedo Station and the Base Torpedo Shop , and I couldn ’ t have blamed him – 19 , 000 ton tankers don ’ t grow on trees . I think Dan was so furious as to be practically speechless . His tale was almost unbelievable , but the evidence was undeniable . " When , upon inspection , nothing obvious was found wrong with that last torpedo , Commander Swede Momsen suggested conducting tests on actual warshots by firing them against the cliffs of Kahoolawe , a small island south of Maui . The first two exploded . The third one did not . Within a few days the cause was traced to a firing pin that was mounted athwart - ships such that when the torpedo hit a target dead - on ( ninety degree track angle ) the deceleration forces slowed the pin ' s motion in its bearings and its spring couldn ' t move it fast enough to set off the explosive train . A glancing blow , however , would result in the proper behavior ( which is why Daspit ' s first two torpedoes , fired at less optimum track angle , did explode ) . Two solutions were worked on . One involved recycling a very light metal alloy that had been melted down from the engine of a Japanese airplane that had crashed on Oahu during the bombing of Pearl Harbor . Both solutions were installed into torpedoes very quickly and the submarine force finally had a mostly reliable weapon 21 months after the war started . This was the third strike for the Mark 14 torpedo . It started with the USS " Sargo " missing 13 of 13 easy shots in December 1941 . Finally on 20 June 1942 , Admiral Lockwood , the Commander of Submarines South West Pacific ( COMSUBSOWESPAC ) , arranged to have torpedoes - with special non - exploding warheads ( but unlike the exercise heads of that time and later they were filled to make them just as heavy as the actually explosive - filled warheads ) - shot at fishnets . They were set to run at . away they went through the nets at depth . The Bureau of Ordnance ( BUORD ) wouldn ' t accept this until they were forced to face the facts and conduct their own experiment . They confirmed Lockwood ' s experiments on 1 August . But that wasn ' t the end . It wasn ' t until 27 April 1943 that BUORD admitted that the magnetic influence exploder was susceptible to premature explosions . Even then it wasn ' t until 24 July when Admiral Nimitz ordered that the influence exploders be disabled on all Pacific Fleet submarines . This did not apply , however , to COMSUBSOWESPAC . Admiral Christie then in command had been the officer in charge of testing the super secret influence exploder in the 1930s and he just couldn ' t give up on the concept and he ordered that his boats continue to use the defective magnetic exploder . This set the stage for Dan Daspit , USS " Tinosa " and the " Tonan Maru " to show that the contact exploder was defective as well , as described above . Third war patrol , September – October 1943 . " Tinosa " next departed Pearl Harbor on 23 September . While prowling waters near the Carolines on the morning of 6 October , " Tinosa " sighted a lone tanker . In a midday torpedo attack , she damaged the enemy ship ; then quickly dove to . Four depth charges exploded nearby , springing open lockers and knocking men off their feet in the after torpedo room . Moments later , a fire broke out in the motor room but was quickly brought under control . Throughout the afternoon , " Tinosa " and continued to harass the tanker until evening , when they had the satisfaction of seeing their target go down , sinking by the stern . At sunset on 6 October , " Tinosa " bombarded a radio station on Alet Island , near Truk . She ended the patrol at Midway on 16 October . Fourth war patrol , October – December 1943 . Departing Midway on 27 October , " Tinosa " headed for the Palau - Truk sea lanes . On the morning of 22 November , she sighted two cargo ships and two small escort craft steaming in convoy . The submarine fired six torpedoes , scoring hits on both cargo ships . The entire action took only five minutes and left her between two mortally - stricken ships , her position clearly marked by torpedo wake s leading out ahead and astern — a perfect fix for the enemy escorts . Amid the sounds of the cargo vessels breaking up , " Tinosa " dove deep to avoid the certain counter - attack of the escort vessels . A short time later , four depth charges exploded close by the submarine , knocking out her planes , gyro , steering , internal communications , and other equipment . She made a wild climb to , then dove to , before her crew regained control . " Tinosa " then resumed evasive tactics which enabled her to elude the remnants of the convoy late in the afternoon . During an attack on a convoy on 26 November , " Tinosa " sank Japanese cargo ship " Shini Maru " and then dodged 34 depth charges , none of which caused her any damage . She emerged from this encounter with a torpedo stuck in her number 5 tube but managed to remedy the problem and headed for the Molucca Passage - Palau traffic lanes . On 3 December , she sighted a large passenger - cargo vessel , the " Azuma Maru " , protected by a single escort . At 18 : 20 , " Tinosa " launched a torpedo attack from periscope depth , damaging the Japanese ship . At 21 : 01 while maneuvering on the surface as she sought to finish off the " Azuma Maru " , " Tinosa " came under fire from the now - blazing cargo vessel ; and , minutes later , she narrowly avoided being rammed by the crippled enemy ship which circled out of control because of a damaged rudder . At 21 : 20 , " Tinosa " fired three more torpedoes , and the " Azuma Maru " disappeared , leaving behind a fiercely burning spot of oil and debris . The submarine then eluded the enemy escort and returned to her patrol area . She concluded this patrol at Fremantle , Australia , on 16 December 1943 . Fifth war patrol , January – March 1944 . After sailing on 10 January 1944 for the South China Sea , " Tinosa " landed an intelligence team and its supplies at Labian Point , North Borneo , under cover of darkness on 20 January , before proceeding to the Flores Sea . Two days later , she sank " Koshin Maru " and " Seinan Maru " and damaged a third ship in a running attack on a convoy off Viper Shoal . In another action on the night of 15 February – 16 February , " Tinosa " drew gunfire from the ships of a convoy as she torpedoed and sank " Odatsuki Maru " and " Chojo Maru " . She ended her fifth patrol at Pearl Harbor on 4 March 1944 . Sixth war patrol , March – May 1944 . In company with and , " Tinosa " got underway for the East China Sea and her sixth patrol on 29 March . Operating off Japan and the Ryukyus , this wolf pack preyed successfully on passing convoys by stationing units along well - traveled routes . The submarines made six major attacks on this patrol . " Tinosa " herself sank two Japanese cargo ships , " Taibu Maru " and " Toyohi Maru " , in a night attack on 4 May . On this patrol , she also sank a trawler with her gun on 9 May and claimed to have damaged three other vessels . The submarine arrived at Majuro on 15 May . Seventh war patrol , June – August 1944 . After refitting , " Tinosa " departed the Marshalls on 7 June , bound for the East China Sea . On 18 June , she resorted to unusual tactics in attacking a three - masted 400 - ton fishing sampan which had withstood her gunfire . " Tinosa " closed the enemy vessel , doused her with fuel oil , and set her ablaze by tossing flaming , oil - soaked rags on her deck . Shortly after dawn on 2 July , Japanese planes and patrol vessels forced " Tinosa " to go deep near Nagasaki and kept her down until dusk . The following day , the submarine sank two passenger - cargo ships in an attack on a convoy , adding " Konsan Maru " and " Kama Maru " to her list of kills . Following this patrol , " Tinosa " reported to Hunters Point Naval Shipyard , California , on 7 August , for a much needed overhaul . Eighth and ninth war patrols , November 1944 – April 1945 . " Tinosa " departed San Diego on 7 November 1944 and proceeded , via Pearl Harbor , to Nansei Shoto to reconnoiter its waters and to test new FM sonar equipment in locating Japanese mines . After 58 days at sea , " Tinosa " returned to Pearl Harbor . On 17 March 1945 , " Tinosa " got underway from Tanapag Harbor in the Marshalls . Despite unexplained damage in her bow - plane rigging gear , " Tinosa " proceeded to the Nansei Shoto area and resumed testing the mine - detecting capabilities of her temperamental FM sonar . She also observed Japanese shipping and took reconnaissance photographs before ending the patrol at Apra Harbor , Guam , on 7 April . Tenth war patrol , April – May 1945 . On 28 April , " Tinosa " headed for Truk . Her FM sonar equipment — which she had received while at Guam — remarkably improved her sonar range , and she gathered data on sonar performance throughout the voyage . On 3 May , she narrowly escaped damage from bombs dropped by an enemy airplane off Moen Island . Although there was no opportunity to attack enemy shipping during this patrol , " Tinosa " bombarded a Japanese installation on Ulul Island on the night of 14 May . She also made numerous photographs which she turned over to intelligence officers upon her arrival at Guam on 16 May . Eleventh and twelfth war patrols , May – August 1945 . " Tinosa " got underway for the Sea of Japan on 29 May . En route , she rescued 10 survivors of a ditched B - 29 . Acting on this special mission as a member of a wolf pack selected to initiate Operation Barney , an incursion into the Sea of Japan , " Tinosa " accomplished the dangerous task of plotting mines in Tsushima Strait on 6 June . Following the completion of this special mission , " Tinosa " made six aggressive torpedo attacks , sank three cargo ships , and — during the daylight hours of 12 June — launched a brilliant surface battle against the " Keito Maru " , a Japanese sea truck . Having sunk four Japanese vessels and damaged a fifth , she completed her llth patrol arriving at Pearl Harbor on 4 July . After refitting , " Tinosa " set course for her 12th patrol on 11 August . Before she reached her assigned area this patrol was terminated by Japan ' s capitulation . On 26 August 1945 , she departed Midway for an overhaul at San Francisco . After operating off the West Coast from January to June 1946 , she was placed in reserve . In January 1947 , " Tinosa " was placed out of commission . Second period in commission , 1952 – 1953 . The Korean War precipitated her recommissioning in January 1952 . However , she was decommissioned on 2 December 1953 , and her name was struck from the Navy List on 1 September 1958 . The use of her hulk for experimental and training purposes was authorized on 2 March 1959 . She was used as an ASW target , then scuttled off Hawaii in November 1960 . " Tinosa " received nine battle star s for World War II service . She received the Presidential Unit Citation for her fourth , fifth , and sixth war patrols .