USS S - 41 ( SS - 146 ) USS " S - 41 " ( SS - 146 ) , a , was a first - group ( " S - 1 " or " Holland " ) " S " - class submarine of the United States Navy . Her keel was laid down on 17 April 1919 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in San Francisco , California . She was launched on 21 February 1921 sponsored by Mrs . John F . Conners , and commissioned on 15 January 1924 with Lieutenant A . H . Donahue in command . Service history . Asiatic fleet , 1924 - 1941 . Through the summer of 1924 , " S - 41 " operated out of San Francisco , completing her trials and conducting exercises . On 17 September , she departed the West Coast with her division , Submarine Division 17 , and headed for the Philippine Islands . Arriving at Manila on 5 November , she joined the Asiatic Fleet and , through the winter of 1925 , engaged in exercises with surface and submarine units in Philippine waters . In May , she departed Manila for Tsingtao , whence she conducted operations , with her division , off the China coast into September . She then returned to the Philippines and resumed type exercises , patrols , and joint United States Army - United States Navy exercises in the Manila Bay - Subic Bay area . For the next fifteen years , " S - 41 " ’ s schedule , and that of her division , remained basically the same ; summer months were spent in Chinese waters , winters in the Philippines . The S - boat s , primarily engaged in operations as a division during that period , occasionally interrupted their schedule and operated independently on special missions . In January 1932 , after Japanese forces attacked Shanghai , " S - 41 " was ordered to assist in the evacuation of American nationals from the area . As the decade progressed , Japanese actions in China became increasingly hostile , and S - boat schedules became more varied . Operations and patrols from China and the Philippines were extended to include , by the spring of 1938 , the East Indies . In 1940 , " S - 41 " ’ s China deployment was shortened to two months . At the end of June , she returned to the Philippines , where she conducted familiarization cruises into 1941 . That year was spent at Cavite and Olongapo for overhauls ; in the South China Sea for fleet exercises ; and in the waters off Luzon on patrol . World War II . First war patrol , December 1941 . On 8 December 1941 , " S - 41 " was in Manila Bay . After hearing of Japan ' s attack on Pearl Harbor , she patrolled off Looc Bay , Tablas Island , in an attempt to impede the Japanese offensive . But the Japanese thrust continued . Second war patrol , December 1941 . " S - 41 " returned briefly to Manila for replenishment but departed again on 24 December . Into the new year , 1942 , she patrolled off the Lingayen area . On 4 January she retired from Luzon and moved south toward the Netherlands East Indies . By 12 January , she was off Tarakan ; by 15 January , Balikpapan ; and by 25 January , after patrolling Makassar Strait , she was at Soerabaja . On 4 February , she departed that north Java base and returned to Makassar Strait . Thirteen days later , she torpedo ed a Japanese transport off Cape Mangkalihat and was credited with a kill by the American - British - Dutch - Australian Command ( ABDA ) . On 10 March , she concluded her patrol at Fremantle , Western Australia . The Netherlands East Indies had fallen . Third war patrol , May 1942 . Throughout the patrol , " S - 41 " ’ s gyrocompass had given continuous trouble , and her periscope had proven faulty . Repairs were made at Fremantle and at Brisbane , Queensland ; and , on 9 May , she departed the latter port for the Solomon Islands . Encountering poor weather during the patrol , she operated in the Shortland Islands and Treasury Islands through the end of the month and returned to Brisbane on 6 June . Fourth war patrol , July 1942 . On 22 July , she headed out of Moreton Bay , returned for emergency repairs ; and , on 7 August , got underway for the New Britain - New Ireland area . She fired on several enemy ships , including a submarine with probable damage , and her patrol was noted for its " absence of serious material failures " — an achievement unique in boats of her class at that time . Fifth war patrol and overhaul , September 1942 . At Brisbane from 2 – 21 September , she got underway for Hawaii on the latter date and , after patrolling in the Ellice Islands , arrived at Pearl Harbor on 13 October . On 29 October , she put into San Diego , California , and the next day began an extensive overhaul which lasted into April 1943 . On 23 April of that month , she departed southern California for the Aleutian Islands . Sixth war patrol , May 1943 . Arriving at Dutch Harbor on 11 May , " S - 41 " departed four days later and took up patrol duties off Paramushiro in the Kuril Islands , on 21 May . On 27 May , she scored a probable kill on a four - masted fishing schooner ; and , in the pre - dawn darkness of 31 May , she torpedoed a cargo ship in a night surface attack . From the violent internal explosion and fires which followed the initial torpedoing , the victim was presumed to have been carrying high explosives or light , volatile liquids . Seventh and eighth war patrol , July 1943 . On 15 June , " S - 41 " returned to Dutch Harbor . Thirteen days later , she got underway for Attu , whence she departed for the Kuril Islands on 3 July . Fog , heavy seas , sampans , fishing nets , and the erratic performance of torpedoes hindered her movements and impaired her hunting during that 33 - day patrol and during her final patrol , again off Paramushiro , in late August and early September . Retirement . With the onset of winter , " S - 41 " was reassigned to training duty ; and , after an overhaul , she commenced those operations out of Pearl Harbor . She returned to San Diego for inactivation in December 1944 , and she was decommissioned on 13 February 1945 . Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 25 February 1946 ; and , in November of that year , her hulk was sold , for scrapping , to the National Metal and Steel Corporation , Terminal Island , Los Angeles , California . " S - 41 " earned four battle star s during World War II .