USS Sea Devil ( SS - 400 ) USS " Sea Devil " ( SS / AGSS - 400 ) , a " Balao " - class submarine , was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sea devil ( " Manta birostria " ) , the largest of all rays , noted for power and endurance . Construction and commissioning . " Sea Devil " s keel was laid down 18 November 1943 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery , Maine . She was launched on 28 February 1944 sponsored by Mrs . Sherman K . Kennedy , and commissioned on 24 May 1944 with Commander Ralph E . Styles in command . World War II . First war patrol , September – October 1944 . Completing shakedown training at New London , Connecticut , " Sea Devil " departed that port on 11 July 1944 and arrived at her home port , Pearl Harbor , on 9 August to join Submarine Division ( SubDiv ) 281 and prepare for her first war patrol . On 3 September , she sailed west . By 15 September , she was off Honshū , and , during the early morning darkness , made contact with her first enemy ships — two sampan - type patrol vessels . Rough seas , however , precluded an attack , and she continued on to patrol in the shipping lanes to Japan ' s major ports : Yokohama , Kobe , and Osaka . On 16 September , at 04 : 32 , " Sea Devil " made her second contact ; submerged ; and commenced closing the target . At 05 : 38 , the enemy , a cargo submarine , was sighted . At 05 : 45 , " Sea Devil " made her first attack . Four torpedoes were fired . Two exploded against the target . " Sea Devil " lost depth control . A minute later , periscope depth was regained . Brown smoke marked the enemy ' s previous location . Seven underwater explosion s followed . By 05 : 53 , a large oil slick covered the site where Japanese submarine " I - 364 " had gone down . " Sea Devil " reloaded and continued to move closer to Japan . On 17 September and 18 September , mountainous seas inhibited hunting . On 21 September , the submarine commenced running along the 100 fathom ( 183 m ) curve , but the strong Kuroshio Current there caused her to lose ground and forced her to shift her course . On the morning of 22 September , she made several contacts , but all were too small . During the early afternoon , she sighted a small convoy and fired on a freighter . The target turned toward the submarine . " Sea Devil " went deep . An hour later , the surface ships had gone and the hunted submarine again became a hunter . During her remaining 22 days on station , " Sea Devil " attacked several targets , but scored on none . In mid - October , she headed for Majuro for refit , and , on 19 November , she got underway for the waters west of the Nansei Shoto . Second war patrol , November – December 1944 . At the end of the month , " Sea Devil " entered the East China Sea and turned toward the Kyūshū coast . On 1 December , just prior to midnight , she made radar contact with a distant convoy and commenced running with the state - five sea on four engines to gain position . At 02 : 39 on 2 December , she changed course to close the convoy . A minute later , she took a wave over the bridge which knocked the starboard lookout onto the bridge deck ; flooded the main induction and both engine rooms to the lower deck plates ; and sent water through the supply line into the after battery compartment , the crew ' s mess , and the radio shack . A solid stream came into the control room via the conning tower . But , other than numerous electrical grounds , no damage was sustained . By 03 : 20 , " Sea Devil " was ahead and off the port track of the convoy . The radar showed 11 definite targets and indicated the presence of others . Weather and visibility , however , worked against a night surface attack . At 03 : 22 , a floating naval mine was sighted less than off the port bow . " Sea Devil " swung right with full rudder . Ten minutes later , she submerged and commenced her approach , heading for the port flank of the convoy . By 04 : 00 , the moon had clouded over . Periscope observations became progressively more difficult . At 04 : 13 , an escort , pinging , passed " Sea Devil " close aboard . Sound conditions were also poor . At 04 : 14 " Sea Devil " commenced firing . Four Mark - 18 torpedo es headed for a medium - sized freighter , but all missed . At 04 : 24 , she fired tubes five and six at a large ship away . Forty seconds later , the torpedoes hit , throwing a huge column of debris into the air . At 04 : 25 , " Sea Devil " swung right to avoid an escort ahead of the ships in the center column . By 04 : 27 , water was over the deck of the stricken merchant ship . At 04 : 28 , another escort passed " Sea Devil " . A minute later , " Sea Devil " launched four torpedoes from her stern tubes at a large passenger / cargo maru away . A look around through the periscope then revealed a larger freighter in the center column less than away and headed directly for the submarine . " Sea Devil " went deep . At 04 : 30 , she was jolted by a tremendous explosion . Her torpedoes had hit , and from the concussion it appeared that the ship had been carrying ammunition . Breaking up noises quickly followed the explosion . " Sea Devil " leveled off at and rigged for depth charging . Twelve were counted ; none was close . Escorts milled about overhead for the next 40 minutes ; then the sound of screws faded out . Pinging was heard for a while longer , and distant depth charge s were heard for several hours . After sinking " Akigawa Maru " and " Hawaii Maru " , " Sea Devil " continued to patrol the sea lanes to Kyūshū . On 4 December , she received a positive ship contact report from a China - based B - 29 Superfortress , but the position was too distant . On 5 December , she sighted only two small fishing trawlers . Then , on the evening of 8 December , she made radar contact with four distant targets zigging on various courses toward Nagasaki . " Sea Devil " went to full power on four engines and began gaining slowly . At , the radar pips were estimated to be one battleship or aircraft carrier , two light cruiser s , and four destroyer s . Darkness and intermittent rain squalls interfered with visibility . By 00 : 00 , 9 December , " Sea Devil " had gained a good position ahead of the nearest escort and off the port track of the largest pip . At 00 : 05 , she began a submerged radar approach . At 00 : 17 , she began tracking by sound , and , ten minutes later she fired four Mark - 23 torpedoes at the target . Two hit . Poor visibility precluded a damage assessment . " Sea Devil " went deep and rigged for depth charging but , by 00 : 50 , the sounds of searching surface ships faded out . At 01 : 07 , the submarine surfaced and headed up the target ' s track . An hour later , she reversed her course and headed back to her patrol area . That evening sister ship confirmed " Sea Devil " ’ s hits , but was unable to provide a damage estimate . Later reports identified the damaged ship as the aircraft carrier " Junyō " , which was subsequently damaged further by submarine . " Junyō " remained in the repair yard through the end of the war . At mid - month , " Sea Devil " moved further south to patrol off Okinawa ; and , on 29 December , she headed for Midway Island and Pearl Harbor . Third war patrol , February – April 1945 . On 7 February 1945 , " Sea Devil " cleared Pearl Harbor for her third war patrol . On 19 February , she arrived at Saipan for training in wolfpack tactics , and , on 27 February , she sailed for the Yellow Sea in company with submarines , , and . At the end of the month , she was diverted to search for downed aviators ; and , on 3 March , she continued on to her patrol area to further decrease the declining traffic between China and Manchuria , and the Japanese home islands . For over a week , fishing junks , sailing junks , and floating naval mines provided the only contacts . On 24 February , she sighted a large tanker with four escorts but lost the convoy . On 25 February , she sighted and evaded a Japanese hunter - killer group . On 29 February , she sank or exploded four mines and attempted to do the same to two others . Fog shrouded her area during the last days of the month . On 2 April , visibility was still poor , less than . At 07 : 10 , she made radar contact with an enemy convoy - four merchantmen and three escorts . At 09 : 15 , she commenced firing at the lead merchant ship . Forty seconds later , she fired at the next ship . She then swung around to bring her stern tubes to bear on a third merchant ship ; found herself well inside the escort on the convoy ' s starboard quarter ; continued swinging and fired three stern shots at the escort . Between 08 : 19 and 08 : 22 , seven hits were heard and felt . " Sea Devil " then left the formation and opened range to reload . The radar screen now showed only three small pips . The third torpedo of the first salvo had apparently missed its target and run on to hit the third maru . After reloading , the submarine tracked the remaining units of the convoy . Shortly after 10 : 00 , she fired on and damaged one of the escorts . Forty minutes later , she fired on the remaining merchantman and observed it suddenly disappear from the radar screen . After 11 : 00 , she made her way through the wreckage to pick up survivors . Only four allowed themselves to be picked up ; and , of these , one died of his wounds . Of the seven ships , " Sea Devil " had sunk three — cargo ships " Taijo Maru " , " Edogawa Maru " , and " Misshan Maru " — and had damaged the fourth maru and at least one of the escorts . The submarine remained in her Yellow Sea patrol area for another three days , then headed for Midway . On 6 April , however , she received orders to patrol south of Kyūshū , and , on 8 April , she was ordered closer to Okinawa in search of four downed United States Marine Corps pilots . The pilots , from aircraft carrier , had been covering the movements of battleship " Yamato " and , on running low on fuel , had ditched in a location they thought to be near Okinawa . Prior to midnight , on 8 April , " Sea Devil " located three of the pilots northeast of Okinawa . The search for the fourth continued through the night . With dawn on 9 April , friendly planes joined in the search . But they , too , were unsuccessful ; and , in the late afternoon the submarine continued southeastward . Fourth war patrol , May – July 1945 . On 13 April , " Sea Devil " arrived at Saipan . On 20 April , she completed her patrol , for which she was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation , at Midway Island . On 28 May , she was back at Saipan , and , on 30 May , she , along with submarines and , got underway . On 6 June , she entered the East China Sea via Tokara Kaikyo and headed northward to the Yellow Sea . On 7 June , she made her way through the islands of southwestern Korea ; and , on 8 June , she commenced patrolling between the Shantung peninsula and Korea . On the afternoon of 14 June , a cargo ship , with an escort on either side , was sighted through the high periscope . " Sea Devil " submerged , maneuvered into position ; launched four torpedoes " down - the - throat , " then changed course radically to avoid a collision with the target . Twenty - three seconds after firing , two of the torpedoes hit the target . " Wakamiyasan Maru " went under . Her escorts dropped depth charges . Five were fairly close . " Sea Devil " dropped below a 20 - degree temperature gradient and worked her way out . On the morning of 21 June , she sighted three armed trawlers , one under tow , headed from Shantung toward Korea . At 09 : 43 , she surfaced and , three minutes later , commenced firing with her five - inch ( 127 mm ) gun , 40 millimeter and 20 millimeter guns . The 40 millimeter soon jammed , but fire from the five - inch ( 127 mm ) gun and 20 millimeter guns sank the trawler being towed and left a second burning and settling . The third , the towing vessel , cast loose and headed west under full steam . " Sea Devil " picked up three survivors and moved south to patrol in another area . Poor weather impaired hunting during the next six days . On 27 June , however , she was able to take photographs of Saishu To and Chiri To ; and , on 29 June she was diverted to search and rescue operations . Assisted by a PB2Y Coronado and a PBM Mariner , she picked up a PBM crew from Rescue Squadron 4 , Kerama Retto , on the evening of 30 June , then located the pilot of an United States Army Air Corps P - 47 Thunderbolt based at Ie Shima . Another man , who had become separated , was located by accompanying aircraft the following morning and was picked up before noon . Fifth war patrol , August – September 1945 . " Sea Devil " remained on life guard duty in the northern Ryukyu Islands and southern Kyūshū area until 10 July , then headed east to Guam for refit and the installation of LORAN equipment and a radio direction finder . On 9 August , she headed back to the Yellow Sea . On 14 August , she transited the Nansei Shoto , passing south of Akuseki Shima ; and , on 15 August , after entering her patrol area , she received word of Japan ' s acceptance of Allied surrender terms . For another two weeks , " Sea Devil " remained in the area , looking for and sinking naval mine s . On 27 August , she sighted a fishing vessel near a mine . Closer inspection showed that the fisherman was using the mine as a buoy and had secured his net to the mine horns . On 28 August , the submarine was ordered to Guam , then diverted to Subic Bay , where she arrived on 3 September . Within a few weeks , " Sea Devil " was joined by seven other submarines of the new , postwar submarine squadron , SubRon 5 . Through the fall , she operated out of Subic Bay , conducting intensive training operations necessitated by a heavy turnover in personnel . On 1 December , she sailed for San Francisco , California , for overhaul and , on 23 April 1946 , she returned to her home port , Pearl Harbor . 1946 – 1964 . Three days later , SS - 400 again headed west . On 16 May , she returned to Subic Bay ; and , on 23 May , she continued on to Tsingtao where she provided antisubmarine warfare training services to TF 71 into July . On 5 May , she sailed for Shanghai , whence she proceeded back to Pearl Harbor . From 26 July 1946 to 5 May 1947 , she conducted operations in the Hawaiian area . Overhaul at Mare Island took her through the summer . In early October , she returned to Hawaii , and on 27 May , she sailed westward for another tour in the Far East . A simulated war patrol and the provision of ASW training services occupied her during her deployment ; and , on 8 January 1948 , she returned to Pearl Harbor whence she operated until ordered to Mare Island for inactivation . " Sea Devil " was decommissioned on 10 September 1948 and remained in the inactive reserve through the end of the decade . Two months after the outbreak of hostilities in Korea , however , she was ordered activated ; and , on 2 March 1951 , she was recommissioned , assigned to SubDiv 71 , SubRon 7 , and based at Pearl Harbor . Through the summer , " Sea Devil " operated in Hawaiian waters . In September , she returned to the west coast to provide ASW training services for Fleet Air Wing 4 in the Puget Sound area . In mid - November , she returned to Hawaii , where she conducted local operations through the winter . From mid - April to mid - June 1952 , she underwent overhaul at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard ; then resumed local operations . In late September , she sailed west for her first deployment to the western Pacific since recommissioning . " Sea Devil " arrived at Yokosuka on 7 October and commenced providing services to TF 96 , which conducted ASW training exercises and maintained preparedness for hunter - killer operations in support of the United Nations effort . In late January 1953 , she was detached for patrol purposes . Toward the end of January , she returned to Yokosuka , and , on 3 March , she sailed for Pearl Harbor . On 30 June , " Sea Devil " again got under way for Puget Sound where she provided services to Fleet Air Wing 4 before heading for San Francisco on 20 August to begin inactivation . On 28 August , she was placed in commission , in reserve ; and , on 19 February 1954 , she was decommissioned . Three years later , " Sea Devil " was again activated ; and , on 17 August 1957 , she was recommissioned and assigned to SubRon 5 at San Diego , California . For the next year , she conducted training operations off southern California and in the Puget Sound area , then prepared for deployment to the western Pacific . From November 1958 to April 1959 , she provided services to Seventh Fleet surface units and to Fleet Marine Force Pacific . In May , she returned to San Diego . On 1 July 1960 , she was redesignated an auxiliary submarine with hull classification symbol AGSS - 400 ; and , from that time through 1963 , she was primarily engaged in training operations off the West Coast . Only two deployments to the western Pacific during February – August 1961 and June – December 1963 interrupted that schedule . Decommissioning and disposal . In 1964 " Sea Devil " commenced inactivation for the last time . On 17 February 1964 , she was decommissioned . Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 April 1964 , and she was sunk as a target off Southern California on 24 November 1964 . Awards . " Sea Devil " earned five battle star s for her World War II service .