USS Medregal ( SS - 480 ) USS " Medregal " ( SS - 480 / AGSS - 480 ) , a " Tench " - class submarine , was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the medregal , a streamlined , fast - swimming , bluish - colored fish of the jack family which abounds in waters of the West Indies and in the Atlantic as far north as the Carolinas . " Medregal " ' s keel was laid down by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on 21 August 1944 . She was launched on 15 December 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . A . H . Taylor , and was commissioned on 14 April 1945 , Commander William M . Wright in command with E . C . Linden as Exec ( executive officer ) . " Medregal " departed Portsmouth in April 1945 . A collision with a U . S . destroyer escort off the north coast of Panama while submerged caused major damage to the periscope shears and radar , requiring a return to Portsmouth just at the time that Germany surrendered . After repairs and Air / Sea Rescue modifications , " Medregal " departed New London , Connecticut , on 16 June , and steamed to participate in final operations in the Pacific against the Japanese . The surrender of Japan halted her long Pacific voyage and she returned to the Canal Zone , thence to Key West , Florida , for operations with Submarine Squadron 4 . Atlantic Fleet service . From late 1945 to mid - 1957 " Medregal " operated out of Key West , training Reserves , supporting activities of the Fleet Sonar School , and taking part in antisubmarine warfare exercises . Her cruises sent her along the east coast from Florida to Virginia , into the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea , and to operating areas in the western Atlantic . Periodically she deployed to Guantanamo Bay and Havana , Cuba , as well us to Puerto Rico and islands of the West Indies . From March to November 1952 she underwent conversion to a Fleet Snorkel submarine at Charleston , South Carolina . On 17 June 1957 " Medregal " entered Charleston Naval Shipyard for conversion to a missile - guidance submarine . She completed overhaul 22 November , thence steamed to Norfolk , Virginia , for operations with Submarine Squadron 6 . During the next 18 months she participated in intermittent missile - evaluation projects in the Caribbean off the Virgin Islands and in the Atlantic out off Puerto Rico . Pacific Fleet service . Assigned to Submarine Squadron 3 on 10 July 1959 " Medregal " departed Norfolk 25 July and steamed to Pearl Harbor , arriving 24 August . She served in Hawaiian waters until sailing 9 January 1960 to the Far East , arriving Yokosuka on 26 January . During the next five months she conducted training and evaluation exercises with units of the Seventh Fleet , and ranged the western Pacific from Japan to the Philippines . Returning to Pearl Harbor 1 July , " Medregal " resumed type and squadron operations between Hawaii and the West Coast . Between September 1961 and March 1962 she made a second deployment with the Seventh Fleet . In October she steamed to the West Coast for ASW and Reserve training out of Puget Sound . She returned to Pearl Harbor in mid - December and for the next two years she maintained her pattern of operations between the Hawaiian Islands and the West Coast . " Medregal " departed Pearl Harbor for WestPac in mid - April 1965 . Steaming first to Australia , she visited Brisbane , Sydney , and Melbourne , and participated in the commemoration of the Battle of the Coral Sea . Thence , in May she sailed to the Philippines for operations out of Subic Bay . On 13 July 1965 she was in a collision with a freighter while submerged in the South China Sea . Returned to Subic Bay for repairs . Extensive damage was done to the sail , all periscopes and snorkel system were completely inoperative . After patched up in Subic Bay , returned to Pearl Harbor for a short while then to Mare Island , Vellejo , Calif . for major repairs . Arrived back in Pearl Harbor late December 1965 . Back in Pearl Harbor late in 1965 , " Medregal " operated their until departure for Japan 2 July 1966 . After reaching Yokosuka on 15 July , she joined Seventh Fleet aircraft carrier s and destroyer s for ASW operations in the western Pacific , and readiness and alert maneuvers with ships of the Republic of China Navy ( based in Taiwan ) . During the rest of the year she continued to support peacekeeping operations in the troubled Far East . In January 1967 , " Medregal " returned to her home port in Hawaii where she resumed her type training and squadron exercises with SubRon 1 . She continued duty out of Pearl Harbor until 1 May when she was assigned to SubRon 3 out of San Diego , California . On 1 May 1967 , " Medregal " was reclassified with hull classification symbol AGSS - 480 . On 6 February 1969 " Medregal " sank the USS Redfish ( SS - 395 ) as a target off the coast of California . " Redfish " was a combat veteran of World War II . On 24 June 1969 " Medregal " departed San Diego for her final WestPac cruise . Stops included Hawaii , Guam , Viet Nam ( twice ) , Subic Bay / Manila ( Philippines ) , Chinhae ( South Korea ) , Yokosuka / Kobe ( Japan ) , Kaohsiung ( Taiwan ) and Hong Kong . " Medregal " arrived back in San Diego on 24 December 1969 . She continued home port operations there until August 1970 . " Medregal " was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 August 1970 and sold for scrapping 13 June 1972 .