USS Stingray ( SS - 186 ) USS " Stingray " ( SS - 186 ) , a " Salmon " - class submarine , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the stingray , which is a large ray with a whiplike tail and sharp spines capable of inflicting severe wounds . Her keel was laid down by the Portsmouth Navy Yard on 1 October 1936 . She was launched on 6 October 1937 sponsored by Mrs . McLean , widow of Rear Admiral Ridley McLean , who had had a distinguished career in the submarine service , and was commissioned on 15 March 1938 with Lieutenant L . N . Blair in command . Pre - World War II Service . Following shakedown off New England and in the Caribbean Sea , " Stingray " entered Portsmouth Navy Yard for alterations and upon completion on 14 January 1939 , departed for a cruise in Caribbean waters . After briefly stopping at New London , Connecticut , on 20 April the submarine transited the Panama Canal and arrived at San Diego , California , on 11 May for a rigorous schedule of training and maneuvers as a unit of Submarine Squadron 6 . She put to sea on 1 April 1940 for fleet exercises in the Hawaiian area , followed by overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard at Vallejo , California . Upon completion , " Stingray " returned to the Hawaiian area , where she remained until joining the Asiatic Fleet at Cavite , Philippine Islands , on 23 October 1941 . First and Second War Patrols . " Stingray " was at Manila on 7 December during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , and immediately put to sea on her first war patrol . Patrolling in Lingayen Gulf , the submarine witnessed the Japanese invasion of Lingayen , but due to material deficiencies in the submarine , she was unable to attack . She terminated her first war patrol at Manila on 24 December . Following repairs , " Stingray " got underway on her second war patrol on 30 December . While in Sama Bay on 10 January 1942 , she torpedo ed and sank her initial victim of the war , the transport " Harbin Maru " . The submarine then patrolled in Davao Gulf through 8 February without any contacts and put into Surabaja , Java , on 12 February . As the Japanese closed upon that Dutch base , she quickly got underway for Fremantle , Western Australia , arriving on 3 March . Third and Fourth War Patrols . " Stingray " departed Fremantle on 16 March for her third war patrol , conducted in the Celebes Sea and Java Sea . The only worthwhile target encountered during this patrol was a Japanese destroyer cruising just off Makassar City , Celebes . Although the submarine fired three torpedoes at the enemy , all were misses . " Stingray " returned to Fremantle on 2 May . For her fourth war patrol , " Stingray " got underway on 27 May and headed for Davao Gulf , and then on to Guam . On the afternoon of 28 June , the submarine sighted two ships with escort , and quickly began to close the range . She fired four torpedoes at the first ship , and the resultant explosion quickly sank the converted gunboat " Saikyo Maru " . The submarine continued patrol in the vicinity of Guam until 15 July , when she returned to Pearl Harbor for overhaul . During that overhaul , she was fitted with two external torpedo tubes , just below deck level forward . Fifth through Seventh War Patrols . Although " Stingray " ’ s fifth war patrol , in the vicinity of the Solomon Islands , and sixth war patrol , conducted in the Marshall Islands , were unproductive , during the seventh , the submarine torpedoed and sank the cargo ship " Tamon Maru " . Eighth and Ninth War Patrols . For her eighth war patrol , " Stingray " got underway from Pearl Harbor on 12 June 1943 , and set course for the Caroline Islands . Her only contact during this patrol was a high - speed northbound convoy that she was unable to close on . The submarine returned to Brisbane , Australia , from a disappointing patrol on 31 July . On 23 August , " Stingray " departed Brisbane for her ninth war patrol , conducted en route to Pearl Harbor . After being slightly damaged by four bombs mistakenly dropped by a friendly plane , the submarine was forced to surface and repair the damage . She then patrolled in the Admiralty Islands without making a single contact and terminated her ninth patrol at Pearl Harbor on 10 October , continuing on to Mare Island Navy Yard for shipyard overhaul . Tenth War Patrol . Following return to Pearl Harbor , " Stingray " got underway on 10 March 1944 for her tenth war patrol conducted in the Mariana Islands . On 30 March , she slipped past three escorts to gain attack position on two cargo ships , and fired four torpedoes at the lead ship . One torpedo hit amidships and stopped the enemy dead in the water . " Stingray " then fired four more torpedoes at the damaged cargo ship that quickly sent " Ikushima Maru " to the bottom . On the afternoon of 8 April , while patrolling north of the Marianas , " Stingray " bounced off a large submerged object at a depth of , lifting the submarine three or four feet ( 1 to 1 . 2 m ) . Inasmuch as the submarine was in the middle of the ocean , with her charts showing over of water , the first thoughts of the commanding officer concerned what new type of antisubmarine measure the enemy was using . " Stingray " then took precautionary soundings and found no bottom at 2 , 000 fathoms . Unable to determine what she had collided with , the submarine continued patrol . During the early morning darkness of 13 April , " Stingray " ’ s lookouts sighted the approach of a broaching torpedo . She made a sharp turn to port as the torpedo passed ahead . Two seconds later , a second torpedo just missed as it ran down her starboard side . She searched the area for her attacker without success and returned to Pearl Harbor on 22 April . Eleventh through Sixteenth War Patrols and Fate . " Stingray " spent her eleventh war patrol on lifeguard station for air strikes on Guam . On 11 June the submarine rescued a downed Navy aviator and the following day pulled two more airmen from the water . On 13 June , " Stingray " received word that a Navy airman was down approximately offshore . With shells exploding on either side of the submarine , she made four submerged approaches until the pilot finally grabbed one of the submarine ' s periscopes and was towed safely clear of the island and taken on board . On 18 June , " Stingray " experienced a fire in her superstructure near the conning tower hatch . After extinguishing the fire several times only to have it flare up again , the trouble was finally located , and the submarine continued patrol . She returned to Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands on 10 July . For her twelfth war patrol , " Stingray " was occupied in a special mission , landing fifteen Filipino officers and men and six tons of supplies on the northeastern coast of Luzon . On the way back to Port Darwin , Australia , on 18 August , she picked up four Japanese sailors from a cruiser sunk earlier in the day by the submarine . " Stingray " reached Port Darwin on 7 September . " Stingray " was underway again three days later for her thirteenth war patrol , spent on a special mission to look over possible landing beaches at Marjoe Island . She returned to Port Darwin on 19 September . " Stingray " carried out two special missions in the Philippine Islands during her fourteenth and fifteenth war patrols ; and , on 11 January 1945 , she put to sea on her sixteenth and final war patrol . Four special missions in the Celebes area were carried out during this patrol . Landing parties were put ashore on Nipanipa Peninsula , Celebes ; Kagean Island ; Pare Pare Bay , Celebes ; and another at Nipanipa Peninsula . She returned to Fremantle , Western Australia , on 23 February and then headed back to the United States arriving at New London , Connecticut , on 29 April . She operated there until decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 17 October 1945 . She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 3 July 1946 and sold for scrap the following year . " Stingray " ( SS - 186 ) received twelve battle star s for World War II service . She holds the record for most war patrols — 16 — of any American submarine .