USS Herring ( SS - 233 ) , a " Gato " - class submarine , was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the herring , a type of small oily fish found in the temperate , shallow waters of the North Atlantic . Her keel was laid down 14 July 1941 by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery , Maine . She was launched on 15 January 1942 ( sponsored by Mrs . Ray Spear , wife of Rear Admiral Ray Spear , Chief of the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts ) , and commissioned on 4 May 1942 with Lieutenant Commander Raymond W . Johnson ( Class of 1930 ) in command . After shakedown , the new submarine was one of five sent to the Mediterranean Sea to take station off the North Africa n coast prior to Operation Torch , the invasion of North Africa . Reaching her position off Casablanca on 5 November 1942 , " Herring " remained there , spotting but not attacking several targets . On the morning of 8 November as the invasion was launched , the patient sub had her chance , sinking the 5 , 700 ton cargo ship " Ville du Havre " . " Herring " returned to Rosneath , Scotland , on 25 November and departed for her second war patrol 16 December , but targets were scarce . The fourth war patrol , an antisubmarine sweep in Icelandic waters , and fifth patrol , which took her back to the United States on 26 July 1943 , netted " Herring " no more kills . " Herring " departed New London , Connecticut , for the rich hunting grounds of the Pacific on 9 August 1943 . After intensive training at Pearl Harbor , she sailed 15 November 1943 on her sixth war patrol to join the ranks of the American submarines systematically decimating Japanese shipping and destroying the Japanese economy . She scored two kills , the 3 , 948 ton " Hakozaki Maru " on 14 December , and the 6 , 072 ton " Nagoya Maru " to celebrate New Year ' s Day 1944 . " Herring ’ " s next patrol was a frustrating one as on 24 March 1944 she stalked a large aircraft carrier but was detected and driven deep before she could attack . Lieutenant Commander Johnson commanded Herring for five of her first six patrols , with the sole exception being March 1943 when John Corbus was in command . On her seventh and eight patrols she was captained by Lieutenant Commander David Zabriskie , Jr . " Herring ’ " s eighth war patrol was to be both her most successful and her last . Topping off at Midway Island on 21 May 1944 , " Herring " headed for the Kurile Islands patrol area . Ten days later she rendezvoused with . " Herring " was never heard from or seen again . However , Japanese records prove that she sank two ships , " Ishigaki " and " Hokuyo Maru " , on the night of 30 – 31 May . " Ishigaki " had been responsible for the sinking of on 7 October 1943 . " Herring " ' s exact manner of loss can also be determined from these records . Two more merchant ships , " Hiburi Maru " and " Iwaki Maru " , were sunk while at anchor in Matsuwa Island on the morning of 1 June 1944 . In a counter - attack , enemy shore batteries scored two direct hits on the submarine ' s conning tower and " bubbles covered an area about 5 meters wide , and heavy oil covered an area of approximately 15 miles . " On her last patrol , " Herring " had sunk four Japanese ships for a total of 13 , 202 tons . In all she had sunk six " maru " s totaling 19 , 959 tons , and a Vichy cargo ship . " Herring " received five battle star s for her service in World War II .