USS Piranha ( SS - 389 ) USS " Piranha " ( SS - 389 / AGSS - 389 ) , a " Balao " - class submarine , was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the piranha , a carnivorous freshwater fish of South America . " Piranha " was laid down 21 June 1943 by Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery , Maine ; launched 27 October 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . William S . Farber , wife of Rear Admiral Farber , Assistant Chief of Naval Operations ; and commissioned 5 February 1944 , Lieutenant Commander Harold E . Ruble in command . " Piranha " conducted six war patrols during World War II , receiving 5 battle stars . She was scrapped in 1970 . World War II . After East Coast training , " Piranha " departed Key West 3 April 1944 for the Panama Canal and her base , Pearl Harbor , arriving 18 May for final training . With , , and , she made her first war patrol between 14 June and 8 August . The coordinated attack group prowled waters west and north of Luzon , striking fiercely and with notable success at Japan ese convoys . " Piranha " ’ s victims were " Nichiran Maru " , sunk 12 July , and " Seattle Maru " , sunk four days later . Several times attacked by enemy aircraft and dodging surface patrol craft , " Piranha " returned safely to Majuro . For the first part of her second patrol , " Piranha " joined 9 other submarines in offensive reconnaissance covering the Third Fleet during the assault on Peleliu , patrolling 30 August to 25 September . When Peleliu , deemed essential for the liberation of the Philippines , had been seized , " Piranha " ’ s group dissolved and she searched for targets westward along the 20th parallel , engaging an enemy patrol craft 9 October . She endured a heavy depth charge attack , but outsmarted the patrol vessel , returning to Pearl Harbor 23 October . During her third war patrol , again with an attack group , besides seeking worthwhile targets in the East China Sea 19 November to 13 January 1945 , " Piranha " served as lifeguard during B - 29 strikes on Kyūshū . She scored two hits on a merchantman 8 January { No . 2 Shinto Maru } , only to be driven off by an escort without being able to regain attack position . Refitted at Guam , " Piranha " sailed 11 February for her fourth war patrol , a classic exhibition of submarine versatility . With her attack group she sought targets on the convoy lanes from Luzon to Formosa and Hong Kong . She spent 17 days on lifeguard during airstrikes on Formosa , on 27 February sinking a junk presumably serving as aircraft spotter . She was foiled by a large fleet of fishing junks from making a rapid approach on a convoy reported leaving Hong Kong 5 March . Daringly resorting to an ancient ruse of naval warfare , she improvised a Japanese naval ensign and ran it up . The deception was successful , and she threaded her way through the fishermen at flank speed , but was unable to locate the convoy . " Piranha " bombarded Pratas Island 26 March with 100 shells . Three times during this patrol , which concluded with 10 days off Wake Island , the submarine successfully maneuvered to avoid hits from attacking aircraft . She returned to Midway to refit 21 April – 17 May , then sailed for patrol , lifeguard , and bombardment at Marcus Island 22 May – 31 May . Here she was attacked several times by shore batteries . After refueling at Saipan , " Piranha " sailed to complete this patrol off Honshū . With the decimated Japanese merchant marine hugging its own coast , " Piranha " was frequently frustrated by shallow water and omnipresent escorts in her attacks . Hair - raising encounters with submarine chasers and aircraft were rendered infinitely more dangerous by being fought so close offshore , where she had little water depth for maneuver . Her persistence and courage paid off ; she heavily damaged a freighter 14 June , sank a coastal tanker and destroyed a trawler laden with oil drums by gunfire 17 June . Two more trawlers fell to her gun 23 June . Though slightly damaged when their escort retaliated with depth charges , " Piranha " returned safely to Pearl Harbor 10 July . End of war and fate . Her sixth and last war patrol lasted 14 hours ; she had sailed from Pearl Harbor 14 August and was ordered back when hostilities ended the next day . Returning to San Francisco 11 September , " Piranha " decommissioned at Mare Island Naval Shipyard 31 May 1946 . There she lay in reserve , redesignated AGSS - 389 on 6 November 1962 , until stricken from the Naval Register 1 March 1967 and sold for scrap . " Piranha " received 5 battle star s for World War II service .