USS Apogon ( SS - 308 ) USS " Apogon " ( SS - 308 ) , a " Balao " - class submarine , was a ship of the United States Navy named for the apogon , a group of large - headed salt water fishes with oblong compressed bodies found in tropical or subtropical waters . The original name planned for the ship was " Abadejo " , but the name was changed on 24 September 1942 before the keel was laid down . " Apogon " was laid down on 9 December 1942 , by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery , Maine ; launched on 10 March 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Thomas Withers , the wife of Admiral Withers ; and commissioned on 16 July 1943 , Lieutenant Commander Walter Paul Schoeni in command . Service history . World War II . The submarine held shakedown in the waters off the New England coast and departed New London on 13 September , bound for Hawaii . " Apogon " transited the Panama Canal on 25 September and reported for duty on that date to the Commander in Chief , Pacific Fleet . She reached Pearl Harbor on 11 October and began three weeks of training . After loading fuel and provisions , " Apogon " got underway on 3 November for her first war patrol . Her patrol area comprised the waters within a 60 - mile ( 110 km ) radius of Moen Island and those along the shipping lanes between Truk and Kwajalein . The submarine was acting in support of Operation Galvanic , the seizure of the Gilbert Islands . After a brief stop at Johnston Island on 5 November to top off her fuel tanks , " Apogon " continued on to her assigned area . During this patrol , she sighted four contacts deemed worthy of torpedo expenditure and actually attacked three . The only major damage she inflicted occurred on 4 December , when the submarine sank " Daido Maru " , a former gunboat . On 18 December , she ended her patrol and moored at Midway Atoll . Following a refit there , " Apogon " proceeded to Pearl Harbor on 26 December for further repairs and training . She left Hawaii on 15 January 1944 for her second patrol , this time in waters surrounding the Mariana Islands . On 1 February , " Apogon " made the only attack of the patrol . She sighted a six - ship convoy and , soon thereafter , opened fire . The crew heard an explosion and saw their torpedoed target burst into flames . Ten minutes later , the lookout saw about 50 feet of the Japanese ship ' s stern sticking out of the water , and this soon disappeared . " Apogon " then attacked another Japanese auxiliary . Although " Apogon " claimed to have sunk both ships , she was not officially credited with having destroyed either . " Apogon " ended her patrol after 50 days and returned to Pearl Harbor on 9 March . " Apogon " moored beside on 10 March to commence refit . The submarine was drydocked at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard from 15 – 19 March for the installation of two new propellers . After additional training exercises , she got underway on 2 April . She paused at Johnston Island on 4 April to refuel , and later that day resumed her voyage toward waters south of the Japan ese home islands . However , when a crewman was preparing to clean a 20 millimeter machine gun the next day , a live cartridge accidentally left in the chamber discharged and ricocheted into the man ' s leg . " Apogon " immediately returned to Johnston Island to transfer the wounded man to the dispensary . The submarine again got underway on 6 April and conducted her entire patrol without encountering any enemy shipping . She finally arrived at Majuro on 22 May . Refitting began on 23 May , and the submarine got underway on 8 June for trials . " Apogon " began her fourth patrol , which was in the area between Formosa and the Philippines , in company with , , and . On 12 July , " Apogon " and her wolf pack consorts spotted a nine - ship Japanese convoy sailing with approximately six escorts . The submarines immediately began preparing an attack . The leading Japanese ship of the center column of the formation apparently sighted the wake of " Apogon " ' s periscope and turned back to ram the submarine . As " Apogon " was turning to port to bring her stern tubes to bear , she was struck on the starboard side by the freighter . About eight feet of the main periscope and periscope shears were torn off , and the radar masts were bent and put out of commission . As a result , " Apogon " prematurely ended her patrol to return for repairs . She arrived at Midway on 22 July , where crews installed additional bracing on the periscope shears before the submarine proceeded on to Pearl Harbor . Having reached Pearl Harbor on 26 July , " Apogon " was dry - docked . Both tail shafts were replaced and realigned , and the periscope , periscope shears , and the radar masts were replaced . The three main engines were also overhauled . On 12 September , " Apogon " was underway on yet another wartime patrol . She headed for the Kuril Islands area . The submarine claimed to have sunk a Japanese patrol craft on 23 September , but this kill was not confirmed . Four days later , she sank " Hachirogata Maru " . Following this sinking , she rescued two Japanese survivors . The next month proved fruitless , and " Apogon " arrived at Midway on 28 October , ending her fifth patrol . After a month of refit , " Apogon " commenced her sixth patrol on 20 November , again sailing for the Kuril Islands . The only action of this patrol was an attack on a tanker , which the submarine hit and damaged with a torpedo . On 5 January 1945 , " Apogon " arrived in Pearl Harbor for a brief stay before getting underway on 7 January for the Mare Island Naval Shipyard , Vallejo , California to undergo a major overhaul . " Apogon " returned to action on 28 May . Her patrol station was the Kuril Islands - Sea of Okhotsk area . She attacked a convoy of four Japanese ships and escort vessels on 18 June and sank one 2 , 614 - ton transport , " Hakuai Maru " . On 2 July , " Apogon " severely damaged a small submarine chaser . The patrol ended on 14 July at Midway . " Apogon " began her eighth and final patrol on 7 August . She was assigned to the Marcus Island area . She made no attacks during this patrol because the Japanese capitulated on 15 August . " Apogon " returned to Pearl Harbor on 2 September and then continued on to San Diego , where she arrived on 11 September . " Apogon " was placed in reserve and decommissioned there on 1 October . Post - War . Operation Crossroads . In January 1946 , the submarine sailed for Pearl Harbor where she was to undergo preliminary work and tests in preparation to be used as a target in atomic bomb testing . Following completion of this refitting , " Apogon " arrived at Bikini Atoll on 31 May . She was sunk at Bikini during atomic bomb test " Baker " on 25 July 1946 . Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 25 February 1947 . Awards . " Apogon " received six battle star s for her World War II service .