USS Shark ( SS - 314 ) , a " Balao " - class submarine , was the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the shark , a large marine predator . History . Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton , Connecticut , on 28 January 1943 . She was launched on 17 October 1943 ( sponsored by Mrs . Albert Thomas , wife of Honorable Albert Thomas , United States Congressman from the Eighth District of Texas ) , and commissioned on 14 February 1944 with Commander Edward Noe Blakely in command . Following shakedown off New London , Connecticut , " Shark " transited the Panama Canal and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 24 April 1944 for final training in the Hawaiian area . Her first war patrol commenced on 16 May 1944 and was conducted in waters west of the Mariana Islands as part of a coordinated attack group with submarines and . Early on the morning of 2 June , " Shark " submerged ahead of an enemy convoy and fired a spread of torpedoes at a Japanese tanker . Although all missed the original target , the torpedoes continued on to hit and sink another enemy vessel , the 4 , 700 - ton cargo ship , " Chiyo Maru " . After evading an ensuing depth charge attack , the submarine continued her patrol . On 4 June , " Shark " began tracking another heavily escorted convoy , and , in maneuvering for attack , encountered a patrolling destroyer dead ahead . Upon failing in a maneuver for a " down - the - throat " shot , the submarine passed down the port side of the enemy at and launched four torpedoes toward a heavily laden cargo ship . She was rewarded with four solid hits that quickly sent " Katsukawa Maru " to the bottom . After escaping from the aroused escort ships , " Shark " surfaced and continued the chase . She caught up with the convoy on the afternoon of 5 June , and after nightfall , let go a spread of six torpedoes which sank the 3 , 080 - ton freighter , " Tamahime Maru " , and the 7 , 006 - ton passenger - cargo ship , " Takoka Maru " . " Shark " again evaded the escort ships , then surfaced near midnight , but was unable to catch up with the convoy . The remainder of the patrol was unproductive , and the submarine returned to Midway Island for refit on 17 June . " Shark " put to sea on 10 July for her second war patrol , this time in the waters off the Volcano Islands and Bonin Islands . On 19 July , she launched four torpedoes at an enemy convoy , but they missed their mark as the convoy made a sharp " zig " away . On 1 August , " Shark " was again frustrated in an attack on a Japanese convoy when , while moving into firing position , three escorts forced her to take evasive action , allowing the convoy to escape . The following afternoon , the submarine set course for Iwo Jima where she took up lifeguard station in support of carrier airstrikes . On the afternoon of 4 August , " Shark " rescued two airmen from a crashed SB2C Helldiver from AG19 piloted by William S . Emerson . She terminated her lifeguard duties on 19 August and touched at Midway Island before arriving at Pearl Harbor ten days later . " Shark " was lost during her third war patrol , probably in the vicinity of Luzon Strait , while participating in a coordinated attack group with submarines and . On 24 October , " Seadragon " received a message from " Shark " stating that she had made radar contact with a single freighter , and she was going in to attack . This was the last message received from the submarine . She was reported as presumed lost on 27 November . After making radar contact , the USS " Shark " was in pursuit of a single freighter . Approximately 5 : 00 pm 24 October 1944 in the Bashi Straits , South China Sea Latitude 20°46 ' N , Longitude 118°18 ' E , the 6886 ton Japanese freighter " Arisan Maru " was sunk . The " Arisan Maru " carried no markings or flag to indicate that it was carrying Allied prisoners . The Americans had no way of recognizing the " Arisan " was a prison ship . The torpedo launched from the " Shark " , hit aft of midships causing the " Arisan Maru " to split in two . Naval records indicate that the USS " Shark " ( SS - 314 ) was lost with all 87 hands in the same battle after having torpedoed the " Arisan Maru " . " Regardless of the final count , the sinking of the " Arisan Maru " still represents the greatest loss of American life in a single military sinking . " – excerpt : The " Arisan Maru " Tragedy – " Shark " received one battle star for World War II service . Japanese records examined after the war indicate that on 24 October 1944 , in Luzon Strait , Japanese destroyer " Harukaze " made contact with a submerged submarine and dropped depth charge s . After losing and regaining the contact , the destroyer dropped another 17 depth charge s which resulted in “ bubbles , heavy oil , clothes and cork ” coming to the surface . Ironically , she was the second U . S . submarine named " Shark " to be sunk during the war . " USS Shark ( SS - 174 ) " was sunk in early February , 1942 .