USS Saury ( SS - 189 ) USS " Saury " ( SS - 189 ) , a " Sargo " - class submarine , was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the saury , a long - beaked relative of the flying fish found in the temperate zones of the Atlantic . Her keel was laid down on 28 June 1937 by the Electric Boat Company in Groton , Connecticut . She was launched on 20 August 1938 sponsored by Mrs . James Paul Casbarian , who headed the Navy ' s Ships Names and Sponsors Office , and commissioned on 3 April 1939 with Lieutenant G . W . Patterson , Jr . , in command . Pre - World War II service . Following commissioning , " Saury " conducted tests in the New London , Connecticut , area and as far south as Annapolis , Maryland , before visiting New York City in late April for the 1939 New York World ' s Fair . In mid - May , she conducted tests with experimental periscopes , then prepared for her shakedown cruise which , between 26 June and 26 August , took her from Newfoundland to Venezuela and the Panama Canal Zone and back to southern New England . In September , she entered the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery , Maine , for post - shakedown overhaul . After overhaul and final trials , " Saury " got underway on 4 December for the West Coast . On 12 December , she transited the Panama Canal and , nine days later , joined Submarine Division ( SubDiv ) 16 of Submarine Squadron ( SubRon ) 6 , at San Diego , California . Upkeep , exercises , and services as a target for surface units took her through March 1940 . In April , she sailed west to participate in Fleet Problem XXI , an eight - phased problem simulating an attack on the defense of the Hawaiian area and the destruction of one fleet prior to the concentration of another . Based afterward at Pearl Harbor , " Saury " conducted exercises in the Hawaiian Islands and as far west as Midway Island until she returned to the West Coast in September for overhaul at Mare Island . From March to October 1941 , she operated out of both Pearl Harbor and San Diego , California , then departed the former for her new base , Cavite , Philippines . First war patrol . Assigned to SubDiv 21 , SubRon 2 , after 1 June 1941 , " Saury " arrived in Manila Bay in mid - November . On 8 December ( 7 December east of the International Date Line ) , she got underway for her first war patrol . Clearing Manila Bay , " Saury " moved north to search for and intercept ships of the Japanese invasion force . Lack of emergency identification systems and radio problems complicated her job . During the next two weeks , she patrolled near Vigan and along a north - south line at longitude 120 degrees East . Then , on 21 December , she was ordered into Lingayen Gulf in response to a report from submarine of Japanese forces there . Prior to dawn on 22 December , she took up patrol duties off San Fernando in the northern approaches to the gulf , and moved south . At 0411 , she sighted an enemy destroyer and , at 04 : 24 , she fired . Although the " fish " headed " right at " the destroyer , there was no explosion . At 04 : 26 , a second destroyer appeared ; and , the hunter became the hunted . " Saury " commenced evasive tactics in the relatively shallow waters of the gulf . Depth charge s were dropped , but none within of the submarine . " Saury " continued on evasive courses , working her way to the northwest and out of the destroyer - patrolled area . By noon , she was clear . After dark , she moved back into the gulf , past the enemy patrol line between San Fernando and Cape Bolinao . At about 02 : 10 on 23 December , an enemy destroyer sighted " Saury " . The submarine went to . By 02 : 16 , three depth charge s had exploded within . Two more depth charge s followed , but " Saury " escaped and continued to hunt for targets . Early afternoon brought more depth charging , but " Saury " was not damaged . On 24 December , she sighted a transport , running fast and very close in shore . The submarine was unable to close and attack . That evening brought a change in orders ; and , in preparing to clear the area , " Saury " found herself between two enemy ships . She headed out " playing tag with enemy destroyers all night " . The next evening , she was again closed by an enemy destroyer . She went to and evaded the enemy ' s depth charge s . On the night of 27 – 28 December , she interrupted battery charging to avoid a division of enemy destroyers . On 1 January 1942 , she sighted an enemy convoy , but was unable to close the range . On 8 January , she received orders to proceed to the Netherlands East Indies . Moving south , " Saury " patrolled the Basilan Strait area on 11 and 12 January . By then , Tarakan had fallen and the submarine headed south to patrol the enemy ' s Davao - Tarakan line . By 16 January , she was east of the Tarakan lightship ; and , on 18 January , she crossed the equator into the southern latitudes . On 19 January , the Japanese landed at Sandakan in North Borneo , and " Saury " arrived at Balikpapan to fuel and provision . The next day , the submarine departed , fueled but not provisioned . After patrolling toward Cape William , Sulawesi ( Celebes ) , she took up station in the approaches to Balikpapan . Second war patrol . On 23 January , as other Allied units moved into Makassar Strait to delay the Japanese , " Saury " shifted north to the Koetai River Delta ( Mahakam ) in hopes of impeding enemy shipping moving south to Balikpapan . On the morning of 24 January , she was illuminated , forced to go deep , and was unable to attack . After the Japanese took Balikpapan , " Saury " was ordered to patrol off Cape William . On 27 January , she moved toward Java . On 30 January , she met a Dutch patrol vessel off Meinderts Reef , then proceeded through Madura Strait to Surabaya ( Soerabaja ) . On 9 February , as the Japanese were taking Makassar , " Saury " departed Surabaya for her second war patrol . The submarine headed east to patrol along the north coasts of the Lesser Soendas . On 13 February , she headed north - northwest for a three - day patrol between Kabaena and Salajar off the Sulawesi coast . From there , she moved southwest to patrol the entrance to Lombok Strait . On the night of 19 and 20 February , she received word of the Japanese landing on Bali ; sighted her first enemy ships of the patrol ; and commenced 18 hours of submerged evasive tactics to avoid enemy destroyer s ' depth charge s . On 24 February , she shifted northward to an area southeast of Sepandjang Island where she sighted and attacked , unsuccessfully , an enemy convoy . From 26 February to 8 March , " Saury " patrolled from Meinderts Reef to Kangean Island , the eastern entrance to Madura Strait . However , the Japanese moved on Surabaya from the north and west . Batavia and Surabaya fell . On 9 March , " Saury " began making her way to Australia . The submarine arrived at Fremantle on 17 March . Her torpedo es , Mark 14s , had not damaged the enemy . Third war patrol . On 28 April , " Saury " cleared Fremantle for her third war patrol , but , three days later , a crack in the after trim tank caused her to return to Australia . On 7 May , she again departed Fremantle and headed north . By 14 May , she was off Timor ; and , by 16 May , she was in the Flores Sea , en route to the Banda Sea and the eastern Sulawesi ( Celebes ) coast . On 18 May , off Wowoni , she fired three torpedo es at an enemy cargo - passenger ship without effect . She remained in the area for two days to intercept enemy traffic to Kendari ; then moved north to hunt in Greyhound Strait and the Molucca Passage . On 23 and 24 May , she was off Kema , whence she rounded North Cape to patrol off Manado on the tip of northern Sulawesi . On 26 May , " Saury " commenced hunting in the eastern Celebes Sea . On 28 May , she sighted and fired on a merchantman which had been converted into a seaplane carrier , but again was unsuccessful . On 8 June , the submarine turned south and began retracing her route through the Molucca Passage and Greyhound Strait . From 12 to 14 June , she again patrolled off Kendari . On 15 June , she searched Boeton Passage ; then moved into the Flores Sea , whence she headed via Timor for Australia . " Saury " returned to Fremantle on 28 June . On 2 July , she sailed for Albany , where tests were to be conducted on the Mark 14 torpedo es . On 18 July , " Saury " launched four torpedoes at a net 850 to away . They were set for ten feet . The first passed through an area from which the net had been torn during the night . The other three penetrated the net at . From 23 to 25 July , " Saury " escorted submarine tender back to Fremantle , then prepared for her fourth war patrol , which would take her back to the Philippines . Fourth war patrol . Sailing at the end of the month , " Saury " transited Lombok Strait on 6 August and , by 16 August , was running up the Iloilo - Manila sea lane . On 17 August , she investigated Ambulong Strait and Mangarin Bay . On 18 August , she moved up the Mindoro Coast to Cape Calavite , whence she took up station west of Corregidor . On 20 August , the submarine moved into the presumed enemy convoy route . The next day , she sighted and attempted to close a tanker ; then shifted her patrol to a line five miles ( 8 km ) off the coast . On 24 August , the submarine again closed Manila Bay . At 06 : 45 , she sighted masts ; but heavy rain soon moved in and obscured the target . At 09 : 52 , she launched two torpedoes . Her periscope began vibrating , hindering visibility and precluding the firing of two more torpedoes . At 09 : 54 , an explosion was heard and the target , a small tanker , was seen to take on a five - degree list to port . " Saury " proceeded to to avoid detection by enemy air patrol units . At about 10 : 47 , a bomb exploded close by the submarine . Depth charge s followed and , at 11 : 50 and 11 : 52 , two more bombs exploded . The hunt for the submarine continued through the afternoon . At 18 : 10 , the sounds of propellers and pinging died out . At 19 : 21 , " Saury " surfaced , started recharging and headed out to sea on her three available engines . An hour later , she was sighted by an enemy destroyer , which closed in fast . " Saury " submerged , and her elusive tactics were again successful . The next night , she sighted another enemy warship , a destroyer or a torpedo boat . The submarine , badly in need of a charge , did not attack . 29 August brought extremely poor weather . On 31 August , she sighted a hospital ship . On 3 September , the day she headed south , the weather began to clear . On 7 September , " Saury " received orders to patrol off Makassar City and , while surfaced on the night of 11 September , she sighted a cargoman . At 20 : 58 , she sent three torpedo es at the target . At 21 : 00 , an explosion rocked the target . Flames enveloped the center of the ship . Its superstructure and deck cargo blazed . Eighteen minutes later , the target blew up . Japanese records identified the victim as the 8 , 606 - ton aircraft ferry , " Kanto Maru " . On 17 September , " Saury " cleared Lombok Strait and headed for Exmouth Gulf where she delivered excess fuel to a barge ; thence continued on to Fremantle , arriving on 23 September . Fifth and sixth war patrols . From 24 September to 18 October , she underwent upkeep and repairs . She then shifted to Brisbane , whence she departed on 31 October for her fifth war patrol . Her 27 - day patrol was conducted off western and northern New Britain , where she had 27 contacts , was able to develop four , and fired 13 torpedoes , of which only one was a possible hit . On 21 December , " Saury " arrived at Pearl Harbor and , on 29 December , she moored at Mare Island . During her ensuing overhaul , she received a bathythermograph and a high periscope . " Saury " returned to Pearl Harbor on 16 April 1943 and , on 7 May , she departed for her sixth war patrol which would take her into the East China Sea to operate off the northern Ryukyu Islands and in the coastal waters of Kyūshū . During the patrol , she would also test the effectiveness of the high periscope in daytime attacks and the usefulness of the bathythermograph in locating thermal layers in which to hide . On 11 May , " Saury " topped off on fuel and lubricating oil at Midway Island , then continued west . On 19 May , she ran into the edges of a typhoon . On 20 May , " the bottom dropped out of the barometer " , but the next day , the storm abated . On 25 May , the submarine entered her assigned area and headed toward Amami Ōshima , a naval base some south of the industrial port of Kagoshima on southern Kyūshū . Patrolling to the west of the island , " Saury " sighted her first enemy " maru " soon after 09 : 00 on 26 May ; but the ship was too distant to catch . About an hour later , she abandoned the approach ; then sighted a five - ship convoy on the port quarter . At 10 : 30 , she fired tubes one , two , and three . One minute and 44 seconds later , a torpedo exploded against the stern of a transport . Nine seconds after that , another hit broke the target ' s back and sent debris high into the air . The 2 , 300 - ton " Kagi Maru " went under . At 10 : 34 , " Saury " went deep . By 10 : 38 , nine depth charge s had been dropped , but none was close . On the afternoon of 28 May , " Saury " , patrolling on the surface with her high periscope in operation , sighted the masts of a steamer and moved to intercept . Fourteen minutes later , at 16 : 43 , she submerged . At 17 : 24 , she launched four torpedoes at the target , the unescorted , empty , 10 , 216 - ton tanker , " Akatsuki Maru " . Three missed , one hit . The tanker ' s speed had been underestimated . The tanker dropped two depth charge s . " Saury " fired six more torpedo es . Four scored and the tanker went under . In the late afternoon of 29 May , " Saury " , again on the surface and using the high periscope , sighted smoke about fourteen miles ( 21 km ) off . At 19 : 13 , she submerged and began tracking a convoy of four cargo ships and three tankers . At 20 : 58 , she surfaced and attacked . Japanese records show that she sank " Takamisan Maru " , 1 , 992 tons , and " Shoko Maru " , 5 , 385 tons . On 30 May , " Saury " headed back to Midway Island . On 7 June , her number four main engine went out of commission . The next day , she arrived at Midway ; and , on 13 June , she moored at Pearl Harbor for repairs and refit . Seventh war patrol . A month later , on 13 July , the submarine departed Hawaii on her seventh war patrol . On 21 July , her number four main engine again went out of commission , and remained out for the duration of the patrol . Poor weather then slowed her westward progress still further ; and , on the night of 30 July , while half way between Iwo Jima and Okinawa , she made her first contact of the patrol . The contact was made by radar at about 22 : 25 . " Saury " set a course to intercept the targets , two large warships and a destroyer . At 03 : 03 on 31 July , " Saury " submerged . At 03 : 25 , she turned to attack ; losing , regaining , losing , and then regaining depth control . By then , the targets had passed firing bearing . A few seconds later , at 03 : 38 , the sound operator reported a bearing of 180 degrees relative . Almost simultaneously , the periscope revealed a destroyer with a zero degree angle on the bow . The commanding officer ordered " Saury " deep . A few seconds later , two jolts shook " Saury " . She took on a five - degree list to port . She continued to go deeper , then retired to the east . No depth charge s were heard . " Saury " remained at 175 to all day . At 20 : 20 , she surfaced . Her periscope shears were bent 30 degrees from the vertical to starboard . All equipment mounted therein was damaged . Both periscopes and both radars were out of commission . " Saury " had been blinded . Temporary repairs were made ; and , at 04 : 03 on 1 August , " Saury " headed home , arriving at Midway Island on 8 August and at Pearl Harbor on 12 August . Her patrol had ended before she had reached her assigned area but she was credited with causing damage to an enemy destroyer . During repair and refit , " Saury " was given an enlarged conning tower , new periscope shears , and new radar equipment . Her number four engine was completely overhauled . On 4 October , she was ready for sea . Eighth and ninth war patrols . On her eighth and ninth war patrols , 4 October to 26 November and 21 December 1943 to 14 February 1944 , " Saury " inflicted no damage . Much of the latter patrol was spent in fighting extremely bad weather in the East China Sea , during which proper navigational positions were unobtainable . At the end of that patrol , one day out of Midway , she was swamped by an oversized swell while her hatches were open . The wave overtook " Saury " from the quarter , pushed her over to a 40 - degree list to port ; turned her 140 degrees from her course ; and sent green water through the conning tower hatch and main induction . Electrical equipment grounded out and small fires were started , but were quickly extinguished . Auxiliary power was restored in half an hour , but repairs to main control required almost a full day , and repairs to the master gyro took even longer . " Saury " arrived at Pearl Harbor from Midway Island on 21 February and continued on to Mare Island , where she underwent overhaul and re - engining during March and April . On 16 June , she returned to Pearl Harbor , and on 29 June , she departed on her tenth war patrol . Tenth and eleventh war patrols . On 3 July , she topped off at Midway Island . On 5 July , a cracked cylinder liner forced her back to Midway for repairs , and , on 6 July , she headed out again . On 11 July , another cylinder liner cracked , but she continued on toward her assigned area , San Bernardino Strait in the Philippines , which she entered on 18 July . On 4 August , the submarine shifted north in hope of better hunting , and , on 6 August , she sighted an unescorted freighter . However , the glassy sea , unlimited visibility , and enemy , land - based , patrol planes combined against her , and she broke off the attack . Four days later , she departed the area , arriving at Majuro on 23 August . From 20 September to 29 November 1944 , " Saury " conducted her eleventh and last war patrol . She patrolled in the Nansei Shoto area from 20 September to 4 November , rescuing a downed pilot of Vought F - 8 , but sinking no enemy ships as she hunted in the wake of the fast carrier forces . After stopping at Saipan from 5 to 10 November , she proceeded on the second phase of the patrol , an antipatrol vessel sweep north of the Bonin Islands . Extremely poor weather again interfered , but on 18 November , she damaged a tanker . On 29 November , she returned to Pearl Harbor . Fate . For the remainder of the war , " Saury " served in the Hawaiian area as a target and training submarine . On 19 August 1945 , she sailed for San Francisco , California , and inactivation . " Saury " was decommissioned on 22 June 1946 , and her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 19 July . She was sold and delivered to the Learner Company of Oakland , California , in May 1947 , and was scrapped the following October . " Saury " earned seven battle star s during World War II .