USS S - 18 ( SS - 123 ) USS " S - 18 " ( SS - 123 ) was a first - group ( " S - 1 " or " Holland " ) " S " - class submarine of the United States Navy . Her keel was laid down on 15 August 1918 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in Quincy , Massachusetts . She was launched on 29 April 1920 sponsored by Miss Virginia Bell Johnson , and commissioned on 3 April 1924 with Lieutenant Elliot M . Senn in command . Service history . Inter - War Period . From 1924 - 1929 , " S - 18 " operated out of New London , Connecticut , primarily off the New England coast but with annual deployments to the Caribbean Sea for winter maneuvers and fleet problems . Transferred to the Pacific fleet in 1930 , she departed New London on 24 May , operated off the California coast into the fall , and arrived at Pearl Harbor , on 7 December . For the next 11 years , " S - 18 " remained based at Pearl Harbor . In September 1941 , she returned to the West Coast ; and , three months later , after the United States had entered World War II , the submarine was ordered to the Aleutian Islands . World War II . A unit of Submarine Division 41 ( SubDiv 41 ) , " S - 18 " moved north in mid - January 1942 . Into March , she conducted defensive patrols out of the new and still incomplete submarine base at Dutch Harbor . In mid - March , she got underway for San Diego , California , underwent repairs there until mid - May , then returned to the Aleutians . En route on 29 May , the S - boat received orders to patrol the southern approaches to Umnak Pass in anticipation of a Japanese attack . On 2 June , she took up her station . The next day , the Japanese sent carrier planes against Dutch Harbor and landed troops on Kiska and Attu Islands . The war in the Aleutians had begun . Orders for submerged daylight operations in combat areas compelled the submarines of the north Pacific force , designed during World War I , to increase their submerged time to 19 hours a day . Surfaced recharging time was cut to the brief five hours of the northern summer night . Hampered by fog , rain , and poor radio reception - and lacking radar , fathometer , and deciphering equipment - " S - 18 " remained on patrol through 10 June . The next day , she returned to Dutch Harbor . On 13 June , she was underway again to patrol west and north of Attu , then north of Kiska . The weather , as on earlier patrols , was consistently bad . Habitability in the S - boats were poor . Material defects and design limitations in speed and maneuverability continued to plague her . On 29 June , she sighted an enemy submarine but was unable to close . The same day , she returned to Dutch Harbor , and as at the conclusion of previous patrols , her commanding officer requested up - to - date sound and radar equipment . From 15 July - 2 August , the S - boat conducted another patrol in the Kiska area , and on completion of the patrol , she was ordered to San Diego . In October , " S - 18 " returned to the Aleutians , and on 22 August , she cleared Dutch Harbor for her next patrol , again in the Kiska area . On 3 November , however , she was recalled and ordered to prepare for a longer , more distant patrol . On 12 November she put to sea , but on 15 November , a crack in the starboard main engine housing forced her back to Dutch Harbor . She arrived on 20 November , and her repairs were completed by the end of the month . On 30 November , " S - 18 " resumed her patrol , moved west , and operated off Kiska , Kiskinato , Agattu , and Attu . On 22 December , after 16 days in her patrol area , she lost her starboard stern plane , and depth control became erratic . On 28 December , she returned to Dutch Harbor . Repairs and refit took " S - 18 " into 1943 , and on 7 January , she got underway again . During that 28 - day patrol , she reconnoitered Attu and the Semichi Islands . On 4 February , she was ordered back to San Diego for overhaul , and was assignment to training duty . For the remainder of World War II , " S - 18 " remained in the San Diego area , providing training services for the West Coast Sound School . In late - September 1945 , she moved north to San Francisco , California , where she was decommissioned on 29 October . On 13 November , her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register , and a year later her hulk was sold for scrapping to the Salco Iron and Metal Company in San Francisco . Awards . " S - 18 " earned one battle star during World War II .