USS Harder ( SS - 257 ) , a " Gato " - class submarine , was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the harder , a fish of the mullet family found off South Africa . One of the most famous submarines of World War II , she received the Presidential Unit Citation . Her skipper , the resolute and resourceful Commander ( Cmdr ) Samuel D . Dealey ( 1906 – 1944 ) , " a submariner ' s submariner " , was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor . Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton , Connecticut , on 1 December 1941 . She was launched on 19 August 1942 ( sponsored by Miss Helen M . Shaforth ) , and commissioned on 2 December 1942 with Cmdr Dealey , ( Class of 1930 ) in command . Operational history . First War Patrol . Following shakedown off the East Coast , " Harder " sailed for Pearl Harbor , and after a short stay there , she departed on her first war patrol 7 June 1943 . Cruising off the coast of Japan , the submarine worked her way inside a picket line and sighted her first target 22 June . She made a radar approach on the surface and fired four torpedo es at the two - ship convoy , hitting the seaplane transport " Sagara Maru " ( 7189 BRT ) ( which was beached to prevent sinking , but later destroyed ) . She returned to Midway 7 July . Second War Patrol . " Harder " began her second war patrol 24 August 1943 from Pearl Harbor , and after touching at Midway Island , she again headed for the Japanese coast . While patrolling off Honshū on 9 September , she attacked and sank " Koyo Maru " and later that night ran by an escort ship at a range of without being detected . Two days later the submarine encountered a convoy . After running ahead to improve her firing position , she sank cargo ship " Yoko Maru " with a spread of three torpedoes . Continuing her patrol , " Harder " sighted two more ships 13 September , but she was forced down by enemy planes while firing torpedoes . Escorts kept the submarine down with a severe depth charge attack which lasted for over two days and almost exhausted her batteries . After evading the Japanese ships , " Harder " detected her next target 19 September ; a torpedo sent " Kachisan Maru " to the bottom almost immediately . Though running in bad weather , " Harder " continued to find good targets . On 23 September she sank the 4 , 500 ton freighter " Kowa Maru " and the 5 , 800 ton tanker " Daishin Maru " , off Nagoya Bay . Her torpedoes expended , " Harder " turned eastward 28 September . After shooting up two armed trawlers 29 September , she touched Midway 4 October and arrived Pearl Harbor four days later . Third War Patrol . For her third war patrol " Harder " teamed with and to form a deadly and coordinated attack group ( a " wolfpack " ) . Departing 30 October 1943 for the Mariana Islands , " Harder " encountered a target 12 November . Promptly dispatching this one , she surfaced and sighted a trawler - escort damaged by the explosion of one of her own depth charges . Submerging again until sunset , the submarine sank the damaged ship with gunfire , then turned toward Saipan in search of new targets . Sighting three " marus " on 19 November , she radioed her companions and closed for attack . After passing close by an escorting destroyer , " Harder " fired six torpedoes at two ships , sinking " Udo Maru " . As depth charges began to fall , she pressed the attack ; two more torpedoes finished " Hokko Maru " . " Harder " climbed to periscope depth after nightfall to finish off the third " maru " . Shortly before midnight , she fired several more shots at 6 , 000 - ton " Nikkō Maru " , but the Japanese ship stubbornly refused to sink . A brave , but doomed , enemy crew kept the cargo ship afloat until " Harder " had expended all torpedoes , many of which ran erratically . Rough weather the next day finally sank the damaged target . " Harder " returned to Pearl Harbor on 30 November , then sailed to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for overhaul . Fourth War Patrol . Returning to action in the Pacific , " Harder " reached Pearl Harbor on 27 February 1944 and departed on her fourth war patrol 16 March in company with . She headed for the western Caroline Islands where she was assigned duty as lifeguard ship for downed aviators . During American air strikes against Woleai on 1 April , " Harder " received word of an injured pilot awaiting rescue from the beach of a small enemy - held island west of Woleai . Protected by air cover , she nosed against a reef , maintained her position with both propellers , and sent a boat ashore through breaking surf . Despite Japanese snipers , boiling shoals , and the precarious position of the submarine , the daring rescue succeeded , and the intrepid submarine returned to the open sea . On 13 April an enemy plane sighted " Harder " north of the western Carolines and reported her position to the patrolling Japanese destroyer " Ikazuchi " . As the enemy ship closed to within " Harder " fired a spread of torpedoes that sank the attacker within five minutes . Dealey ' s terse report became famous — " Expended four torpedoes and one Jap destroyer . " Four days later " Harder " spotted a merchant ship escorted by destroyers . Firing four torpedoes , she sank the 7 , 000 ton " Matsue Maru " and damaged one of the escorts . Then , adding to the enemy ' s misery , she returned to Woleai where she surfaced on the morning of 20 April to deliver a shore bombardment under cover of a rain squall . She terminated this highly varied and successful patrol at Fremantle , Australia 3 May . Fifth War Patrol : Philippine Mission . Even greater successes lay ahead . Having sunk one destroyer , " Harder " joined the all - out hunt against Japanese destroyers , once considered the most dangerous of foes . Assigned the area around the Japanese fleet anchorage at Tawi - Tawi , " Harder " departed Fremantle on 26 May 1944 with and headed for the Celebes Sea . On 6 June " Harder " entered the heavily patrolled Sibutu Passage between Tawi - Tawi and North Borneo and encountered a convoy of three tankers and two destroyers . She gave chase on the surface but was illuminated by the moon . As one of the destroyers turned to attack , " Harder " submerged , turned her stern to the charging destroyer , and fired three torpedoes at range of . Two struck " Minazuki " and exploded ; the destroyer sank within five minutes . After attacking the second escort without success , " Harder " was held down by a depth charge attack while the convoy escaped . Early next morning an enemy plane spotted " Harder " . The submarine soon sighted another destroyer searching the area for her . As before , " Harder " took the initiative as the enemy closed the range . The sub fired three torpedoes at short range , and two of them struck amidships , one detonating the ship ' s magazine with a tremendous explosion . " Hayanami " sank a minute later . Following the inevitable depth charge attack , " Harder " transited the Sibutu Passage after dark and steamed to the northeast coast of Borneo . There on the night of 8 June she picked up six British coastwatcher s , and early next day she headed once more for Sibutu Passage . That evening " Harder " sighted two enemy destroyers patrolling the narrowest part of the passage , just a miles from Tawi - Tawi . After submerging , she made an undetected approach and at fired four torpedoes at the overlapping targets . The second and third torpedoes blasted " Tanikaze " ; she sank almost immediately , her boilers erupting with a terrific explosion . The fourth shot hit the second ship , which exploded with a blinding flash . Within minutes " Harder " surfaced to survey the results , but both ships had disappeared . Soon afterward , she underwent the inevitable depth charge attack by enemy planes , then she set course for a point south of Tawi - Tawi to reconnoiter . On the afternoon of 10 June " Harder " sighted a large Japanese task force , including three battleship s and four cruiser s with screening destroyers . An overhead plane spotted the submarine at periscope depth and a screening escort promptly steamed at toward her position . Once again , " Harder " became the aggressive adversary . As the range closed to , she fired three torpedoes on a " down the throat " shot , then went deep to escape the onrushing destroyer and certain depth charge attack . Within a minute two torpedoes blasted the ship with violent force just as " Harder " passed her some below . The deafening explosions shook the submarine far worse than the depth charges and aerial bombs which the infuriated enemy dropped during the next two hours . When she surfaced , " Harder " saw only a lighted buoy marking the spot where the unidentified destroyer either sank or was heavily damaged . " Harder " reconnoitered Tawi - Tawi anchorage 11 June and sighted additional enemy cruisers and destroyers . At 16 : 00 she headed for the open sea and that night transmitted her observations which were of vital importance to Admiral Raymond A . Spruance ' s fleet prior to the decisive Battle of the Philippine Sea . " Harder " steamed to Darwin on 21 June for additional torpedoes , and , after patrolling the Flores Sea south of the Celebes Islands ( with Admiral Ralph Christie aboard ) , she ended the patrol at Darwin on 3 July . The important results of " Harder " ' s fifth war patrol have caused some to call it the most brilliant of the war . Not only did " Harder " further deplete the critical supply of destroyers by sinking four of them and heavily damaging or destroying another one in four days , but her frequent attacks and a rash of enemy contact reports on this fleeting marauder so frightened Admiral Soemu Toyoda that he believed Tawi - Tawi surrounded by submarines . As a result , Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa ' s Mobile Fleet departed Tawi - Tawi a day ahead of schedule . The premature departure upset the Japanese battle plans , and forced Ozawa to delay his carrier force in the Philippine Sea , thus contributing to the stunning defeat suffered by the Japanese in the ensuing battle . Sixth War Patrol . " Harder " , accompanied by and , departed Fremantle on 5 August 1944 for her sixth and final war patrol . Assigned to the South China Sea off Luzon , the wolf pack headed northward . On 21 August " Harder " and " Haddo " joined , , and in a coordinated attack against a convoy off Palawan Bay , Mindoro . The Japanese lost four passenger - cargo " maru " s , possibly one by " Harder " . Battle of Dasol Bay . Early the next day , " Harder " and " Haddo " attacked and destroyed three coastal defense vessels off Bataan , " Harder " sinking frigates " Matsuwa " and " Hiburi " ; then , joined by " Hake " that night , they headed for Caiman Point , Luzon . At dawn 23 August " Haddo " attacked and fatally damaged " Asakaze " off Cape Bolinao . Enemy trawlers towed the stricken destroyer to Dasol Bay , and " Haddo " , her torpedoes expended , informed " Harder " and " Hake " the following night of the attack and left the wolf - pack for replenishment at Biak . " Harder " and " Hake " remained off Dasol Bay , searching for new targets . Before dawn 24 August they identified what they thought was a Japanese minesweeper and the three - stack Siamese destroyer " Phra Ruang " . It was later found out to be Kaibokan CD - 22 and PB - 102 ( ex - ) . As " Hake " closed to attack , the destroyer turned away toward Dasol Bay . " Hake " broke off her approach , turned northward , and sighted " Harder " ' s periscope about dead ahead . Swinging southward , " Hake " then sighted the CD - 22 about off her port quarter swinging toward them . To escape the charging escort , " Hake " started deep and rigged for silent running . At 07 : 28 she heard 15 rapid depth charges explode in the distance astern . She continued evasive action that morning , then returned to the general area of the attack shortly after noon . She swept the area at periscope depth but found only a ring of marker buoys covering a radius of one - half mile . The vigorous depth charge attack had ended the career of " Harder " with all hands . The Japanese report of the attack concluded that " much oil , wood chips , and cork floated in the vicinity . " Dubbed " Hit ' Em Again , " Harder " , " she had wreaked havoc among Japanese shipping . Her record of aggressive daring exploits became almost legendary . All six of her patrols were designated successful . " Harder " received six battle star s and the Presidential Unit Citation for World War II service . In accordance with Navy custom , the citation was presented to the second " Harder " upon commissioning . " Harder " s loss brought an end to the U . S . submarine force ' s happy time , and the demoralization of the submarine force boosted Japanese morale , confident that as a result of these , more U . S . submarines will be lost while Japanese shipbuilding would easily catch up with shipping losses , and thus returning the tide of the war in favour of the Japanese . Despite the losses however , towards the end of the war U . S . submarines were actively penetrating through the Inland Sea , and the Japanese shipping losses continued , albeit at a slower rate . Excerpt from USS " Harder " ' s log . SUBJECT : U . S . S . HARDER ( SS257 ) - report of Fifth War Patrol . 9 June ( cont . ) References . As well as the TROM of PB - 102 For a fellow submariner ' s view of the boat and its crew , see , by Admiral James F . Calvert .