USS Pomodon ( SS - 486 ) USS " Pomodon " ( SS - 486 ) , a " Tench " - class submarine , was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the " Pomodon " ( an obsolete synonym for " Hemilutjanus " ) genera of snapper . Her keel was laid down on 29 January 1945 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery , Maine . She was launched on 12 June 1945 sponsored by Mrs . Lorena Neff , and commissioned on 11 September 1945 with Commander Melvin H . Dry in command . Departure . Departing Portsmouth 6 January 1946 , " Pomodon " slipped through the Cape Cod Canal and set her course for the Panama Canal Zone for further training . By May the submarine was back north to New London , Connecticut , for several days operations before an availability and upkeep period at New London . Slipping out of the Submarine Base at New London , " Pomodon " set her course southward again ; transited the Panama Canal arriving San Diego , California , on 12 October , and joined Submarine Squadron 3 . After alterations at Mare Island from 25 October 1946 to 26 July 1947 had made " Pomodon " the first Greater Underwater Propulsive Power Program ( GUPPY ) submarine in the Pacific Fleet , the submarine returned to San Diego on 28 July and began operations in the area as part of Task Forces 52 and 56 . Korean hostilities . At the outbreak of hostilities in Korea in July 1950 , " Pomodon " was deployed to Pearl Harbor . In January 1951 , " Pomodon " was again modernized at Mare Island Naval Shipyard and in May 1951 she returned to service as the most modern and advanced GUPPY submarine in the Submarine Force . " Pomodon " departed San Diego in November 1951 for a six month deployment with the United Nations Forces in Korea , followed by operations in the San Diego area . During the next decade , the submarine made six more WestPac deployments . Explosion . On 21 February 1955 , while recharging batteries in the San Francisco Naval Yard , a build - up of hydrogen gas caused an explosion and fire , damaging the submarine and killing five men . TM1 ( SS ) Charles E . Payne earned the Navy Commendation Ribbon with Metal Pendant ( later renamed as the Navy Commendation Medal ) by his actions in fighting the fire and rescuing the injured . Pasquale Talladino EnD2 ( SS ) received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal . After the third explosion he entered the control room through the conning tower in an attempt to rescue anyone who might still be alive . Final deployments . On 16 November 1962 , " Pomodon " sank the hulk of ex - " Aspro " ( SS - 309 ) . " Pomodon " ’ s eighth deployment with the Seventh Fleet , 6 June to 30 November 1966 , took her to Vietnamese waters and she operated with American destroyer s and antisubmarine aircraft carrier on Yankee Station . Training operations on the West Coast and overhaul at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard , filled 1967 . She again headed west across the Pacific for her ninth deployment on 22 March 1968 . She operated in Japanese waters , off Okinawa , and in the Philippines before entering the Vietnam combat zone 13 August . " Pomodon " returned to San Diego 17 October 1968 . Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 August 1970 , " Pomodon " was sold on 28 December 1971 .