USS Gurnard ( SS - 254 ) , a " Gato " - class submarine , was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the gurnard , a trigloid fish having three free pectoral rays , a food fish of the genus " Trigla " . The striped gurnard inhabits the South Atlantic . Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company , Groton , Connecticut on 2 September 1941 . She was launched 1 June 1942 ( sponsored by Miss Suzanne Slingluff ) , and commissioned 18 September 1942 , Lieutenant Commander Charles . H . Andrews ( Class of 1930 ) in command . Atlantic Patrol . Following shakedown out of New London , " Gurnard " sailed for Rosneath , Scotland , 2 November 1942 and reached that port 13 days later . Her first war patrol , 28 November to 27 December 1942 , brought her to the Bay of Biscay where she lay off the Spanish coast awaiting German blockade runners bound for Spanish ports . The patrol was uneventful ; no enemy ships were sighted and subsequently " Gurnard " returned to New London 9 February 1943 for repairs and alterations . Pacific Patrols . Second , third , and fourth war patrols , May 1943 – January 1944 . After reaching Pearl Harbor 26 May , the submarine got underway 12 June for her second war patrol . She patrolled off Toagel Mlungui Passage and on 29 June saw action for the first time , damaging two Japan ese merchantmen and surviving 24 depth charges thrown by an enemy destroyer . Varied damage was inflicted on other ships in these waters before " Gurnard " made her first kill , sinking cargo ship " Taiko Maru " at . on 11 June 1943 . Having expended all torpedoes , the submarine returned via Midway Island to Pearl Harbor , arriving 26 July for refit . Underway again 6 September , she sailed to the South China Sea to begin her third war patrol . A five - ship convoy was sighted near midnight 7 October and " Gurnard " began stalking , closing at 01 : 39 on 8 October and sending to the bottom cargo ship " Taian Maru " and passenger - cargo ship " Dainichi Maru " west of Luzon . This successful patrol terminated at Pearl Harbor 28 October . One month later she sailed on her fourth patrol to prowl off the southeast coast of Honshū and soon found good hunting . A convoy was sighted 24 December and at 07 : 10 " Gurnard " attacked . Two minutes later cargo ship " Seizan Maru No . 2 " had broken in two and sunk ; she was soon joined by cargo ship " Tofuku Maru " . Japanese destroyers attacked the submarine with over 80 depth charges without success . After damaging another merchantman on 27 December , " Gurnard " returned to Pearl Harbor 7 January 1944 . From there she was sent Stateside for overhaul . Fifth , sixth , and seventh war patrols , April – November 1944 . Following overhaul at San Francisco " Gurnard " departed Pearl Harbor 16 April on her fifth war patrol , bound for the eastern Celebes Sea . On this patrol she chalked up one of the highest single - patrol tonnage scores of the Pacific war , attacking the Take Ichi convoy on 6 May and sinking 6 , 886 - ton cargo ship " Tenshinzan Maru " , 6 , 995 - ton passenger - cargo vessel " Taijima Maru " , and 5 , 824 - ton passenger - cargo ship " Aden Maru " . Nearly a hundred depth charges rained down around her but she eluded the hunters and escaped undamaged . This vital convoy carried 40 , 000 troops intended to oppose Gen . MacArthur in New Guinea , and the embarked units suffered losses of nearly 50 percent . " Gurnard " ' s next kill occurred 24 May when several torpedoes sent to the bottom the 10 , 090 - ton tanker " Tatekawa Maru " . No further opportunities presented themselves ; and " Gurnard " put in at Fremantle , 11 June 1944 with the completion of the patrol . The submarine stood out on her sixth patrol 8 July for the Banda , Molucca , Celebes , Sulu , and Mindanao Sea s . After topping off at Darwin she patrolled off the Peleng Straits and damaged one merchantman before returning to Fremantle 5 September . " Gurnard " ' s seventh patrol commenced 9 October after refit . While cruising off Borneo , she detected a five - ship enemy convoy . A successful attack was pressed home 3 November at the end of an 18 - hour hunt , and two torpedoes demolished cargo ship " Taimei Maru " . " Gurnard " returned to her Australian port 17 November after this victory . Eighth and ninth war patrols , December 1944 – May 1945 . The submarine ' s eighth and ninth patrols ( 11 December 1944 – 1 February 1945 and 10 March – 9 May 1945 ) included reconnaissance off Camranh Bay and patrols with submarines and , but hunting was poor and no ships were sunk . " Gurnard " finished her final patrol at Pearl Harbor 9 May and put in at Mare Island , Calif . , 9 days later for a major overhaul . Following a round - trip voyage thence to Pearl Harbor and Midway , she returned to San Francisco 11 September 1945 and decommissioned there 27 November 1945 . " Gurnard " remained in reserve until 1 July 1949 when she reported to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard for activation as an armory for naval reserve submarine training . Towed to Pearl Harbor 27 November to 9 December 1949 , the submarine served there until returning under tow to Tacoma , Wash . , 18 May 1953 to continue reserve training duties in that port until June 1960 . She was then inactivated in preparation for disposal . Her name was struck from the Navy List 1 May 1961 . She was sold for scrapping 26 September 1961 to the National Metal and Steel Corporation , Terminal Island , Los Angeles , California Awards . " Gurnard " received six battle star s and the Navy Unit Commendation for service in World War II . War patrols numbers two through seven were designated " successful " .