USS Searaven ( SS - 196 ) USS " Searaven " ( SS - 196 ) , a " Sargo " - class submarine , was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sea raven , a sculpin of the northern Atlantic coast of America . Her keel was laid down on 9 August 1938 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery , Maine . She was launched on 21 June 1939 sponsored by Mrs . Cyrus W . Cole ; and commissioned on 2 October 1939 , with Lieutenant Thomas G . Reamy in command . World War II . In the two years preceding the United States ' s entry into World War II , " Searaven " operated in Philippine waters conducting training and maneuvers . At the outbreak of war between the United States and the Japanese Empire , the submarine was at the Cavite Navy Yard in Manila Bay . During her first two war patrols in December 1941 and the spring of 1942 , she ran supplies to the American and Filipino troops besieged on the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island . In a night action in the Molucca Strait on 3 February 1942 , she torpedo ed a Japanese destroyer and claimed her first kill of the war . " Searaven " conducted her third war patrol in the vicinity of Timor Island of the Netherlands East Indies , from 2 April to 25 April 1942 . On 18 April , she rescued 32 Royal Australian Air Force men from enemy - held Timor , an act for which two of her officers were awarded the Navy Cross . Five days later , fire broke out in her main power cubicle , immobilizing " Searaven " completely . assisted her into port in Australia . " Searaven " s fourth war patrol was a quiet one and returning from her fifth patrol , she claimed 23 , 400 tons sunk and 6 , 853 damaged . This tally , however , went unconfirmed . She ended her fifth patrol on 24 November 1942 at Fremantle , Australia , where she underwent refit . On 18 December , she got underway from Fremantle , bound for the Banda Sea , Ceram Sea , and the Palau Islands . In the Banda Sea , she welcomed the New Year by loosing a spread of three torpedo es at the minelayer " Itsukushima " . Again , the sinking claimed by " Searaven " went unconfirmed . Two weeks later , on 14 January 1943 , the submarine pumped four torpedoes into the freighter " Siraha Maru " and collected her first confirmed victory . On 10 February , she sailed into Pearl Harbor and , two days later , she set out for overhaul at Mare Island , California . She completed overhaul on 7 May 1943 and returned to Pearl Harbor on 25 May . On 7 June , " Searaven " departed from Pearl Harbor for her seventh patrol , this time in the Mariana Islands area . During this patrol , she reconnoitered Marcus Island , but encountered no enemy shipping . She put into Midway Island on 29 July for refit . Her eighth war patrol began at Midway on 23 August 1943 . She plied the waters off the northeastern coast of Honshū , Japan , but found no enemy ship worth a torpedo . After a month and one - half at sea , the submarine made Pearl Harbor on 6 October . A month later , she stood out for her ninth patrol . She patrolled the Eastern Caroline Islands and , for a three - day period , operated with a coordinated attack group ( " wolfpack " ) of submarines which was used as part of the defensive screen for the Gilbert Islands operation . On 25 November , she got her second confirmed kill , sending the 10 , 052 - ton tanker " Toa Maru " to the bottom with four torpedoes . She sailed back into Pearl Harbor on 6 December . " Searaven " s tenth war patrol , from 17 January to 3 March 1944 , was occupied by photo reconnaissance of Eniwetok Atoll and lifeguard duty for the air strikes on the Marshall Islands , Mariana Islands , and Truk . She rescued three airmen , but put into Midway on 3 March with no additional sinkings to her credit . On 26 March , " Searaven " embarked upon her 11th war patrol . Her assigned area was the southern islands of the Nanpō Islands , the Bonin Islands . She made two attacks during this patrol , claimed two more sinkings , but was officially credited with none . After a complete overhaul at Pearl Harbor , " Searaven " set course for the Kuril Islands area . Twelve enemy vessels were sunk during this patrol . On 21 September 1944 , in a night surface attack , the submarine torpedoed and sank an unescorted Japanese freighter , " Rizan Maru " , which had dropped behind her convoy . On the night of 25 September , " Searaven " engaged two trawlers , four large sampans , and four 50 - ton sampans . " Searaven " passed down the column of eight sampans and two trawlers , abeam , engaging from one to three at a time at practically point blank range . Those that did not sink on the first pass were given another dose of the same treatment until all were destroyed . On 1 November 1944 , " Searaven " sailed on her final war patrol as part of a coordinated attack group which also included the submarines , , and . Operating in the South China Sea , east of Hainan Island , the submarine closed out her combat career by sinking one " Heinan Maru " - class transport and an " Omurosan Maru " - type oiler . With combat ended , " Searaven " was assigned target and training duties for the remainder of the war . Post - War . " Searaven " was one of the target ships in the 1946 atomic bomb test , Operation Crossroads , at Bikini Atoll . She escaped the tests with negligible damage . The submarine was decommissioned on 11 December 1946 , sunk as a target on 11 September 1948 , and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 21 October 1948 . Awards . " Searaven " earned ten battle star s for her World War II service .