USS Grouper ( SS - 214 ) USS " Grouper " ( SS / SSK / AGSS - 214 ) , a " Gato " - class submarine , was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the grouper , a saltwater fish noted as a gamefish and for its food values . " Grouper " was launched by the Electric Boat Co . , Groton , Conn . on 27 October 1941 ( sponsored by Mrs . Albert F . Church ) , and commissioned at New London on 12 February 1942 , Lieutenant Commander C . E . Duke in command . 1942 . After shakedown in Long Island Sound , " Grouper " sailed for Pearl Harbor on 30 March 1942 to join the Pacific Submarine Force , which was to play havoc on Japan ese shipping . Before departing for her first war patrol , " Grouper " was assigned to the submarine screen which ringed the area as the American and Japanese fleets clashed in the decisive Battle of Midway . Patrolling the fringe of the fighting on 4 June , " Grouper " sighted two burning enemy aircraft carrier s , but could not close for attack because of heavy air cover . On that day , she was strafed by fighter planes and driven deep in a series of aircraft and destroyer attacks which saw over 170 depth charges and bombs dropped on the novice submarine . The next day , as the battle still raged , " Grouper " crash - dived to avoid heavy bombers . She then put in at Midway for three days for fuel and provisions before sailing on her first war patrol on 12 June . She torpedoed and damaged two Japanese " maru " ( civilian ) ships before returning to Pearl Harbor on 30 July . On her second patrol ( 28 August – 9 October ) , " Grouper " sank two freighters , " Tone Maru " on 21 September and " Lisbon Maru " on 1 October . It was later learned that " Lisbon Maru " was carrying 1800 British POW s from Hong Kong ; over 800 died in the sinking . On her third patrol ( 12 November – 31 December ) to Brisbane , Australia , on 17 December , she encountered and sank " Bandoeng Maru " , a passenger - freighter headed for the Solomon Islands with troop reinforcements . 1943 . During her fourth war patrol ( 21 January – 18 March 1943 ) , " Grouper " rescued an aviator who had been stranded on Rengi Island for several days ; she also located several key Japanese radar installations in the Solomons . " Grouper " ' s next four patrols netted her no further kills , despite several determined attacks , but the patrols illustrated the varied tasks submarines took on during the war . In addition to her regular patrol duties , which harassed Japanese shipping and tied up valuable warships desperately needed by the enemy , " Grouper " landed 50 men and of gear on New Britain to carry on guerrilla warfare ; at the same time , she rescued an American aviator who had been stranded there almost three months . At the conclusion of her eighth patrol , " Grouper " headed for the States and overhaul , reaching San Francisco on 19 October 1943 . 1944 . After returning to Pearl Harbor on 7 January 1944 for additional repairs , the veteran submarine sailed for her ninth war patrol on 22 May . This patrol netted " Grouper " what was to be her last kill of the war , " Kumanoyama Maru " , which she sank in a night surface attack on 24 June . " Grouper " ’ s final three war patrols found a lack of targets ; American submarines had done their job on Japanese shipping too well for " Grouper " ’ s purposes . She stood lifeguard duty during several air strikes and rescued seven downed aviators during raids on the Palaus in September 1944 . 1945 – 1949 . Returning to Pearl Harbor from her 12th and last war patrol on 26 April 1945 , " Grouper " sailed the following day for San Francisco and overhaul . She returned to Pearl Harbor on 6 August , but V - J Day cancelled plans for another patrol , and on 9 September , " Grouper " , in company with and , sailed for New London . Four years of local operations and training exercises along the coast to Florida and in the Caribbean followed for " Grouper " . During this period , she chalked up two " firsts " : in 1946 she became the first submarine to have a Combat Information Center installed , and the following year she effected the first discharge and recovery of men from a submerged and underway submarine . 1950 – 1957 . These operations ended 5 March 1950 as " Grouper " entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for conversion to the Navy ' s first " hunter - killer " submarine . Her classification was changed to SSK - 214 on 2 January 1951 . With the addition of a snorkel and extensive sonar and radar facilities , " Grouper " emerged from the yard on 27 June 1951 to pioneer in research on the deadly submarine - versus - submarine warfare . For the next eight years , as a unit of Submarine Development Group 2 , " Grouper " worked to develop and test concepts of hunter - killer antisubmarine warfare . In this duty , she ranged along the East Coast from Nova Scotia to Florida , as well as participating in Caribbean exercises . In 1953 and 1957 , exercises took " Grouper " across the Atlantic Ocean to Rothesay , via Reykjavik Iceland . She also went 3 trips to Bermuda and had one brief stop in Havana ( Cuba ) , ( Bournemouth England ) , and ( Le Havre France ) . In the fall of 1957 , she then participated in NATO maneuvers . 1958 – 1962 . " Grouper " was reclassified AG ( SS ) - 214 , 17 May 1958 , and on 28 November 1959 she entered the Portsmouth Navy Yard for extensive modification . Her forward torpedo room was converted into a floating laboratory ; work benches and additional berths for scientists were installed , and various types of sonar gear were added topside . Thus equipped , " Grouper " departed Portsmouth on 23 June 1960 to embark on the fourth phase of her long career , research vessel for the Naval Research and Underwater Sound Laboratories . Her duties as a floating laboratory took her frequently to the Caribbean and Bermuda , although she retained New London as her home port and engaged in operations there and as far north as Nova Scotia . Her efforts were focused on the study of sound propagation in water . In December 1962 , " Grouper " entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for overhaul and modification to prepare for further work in this field . " Grouper " left the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in May 1963 to resume her investigation of waterborne sound . 1964 – 1968 . In June 1964 , " Grouper " was awarded the coveted Battle Efficiency " E " . In November 1965 , the submarine again entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for overhaul and equipment modifications to increase her usefulness as a floating underwater sound laboratory . She departed Philadelphia on 1 May 1966 , reached New London on 1 June , and headed for the Caribbean for intensive research . Her studies during 1966 also took her to Narragansett Bay and twice to Bermuda . At the beginning of 1967 , " Grouper " was at New London preparing to resume gathering knowledge of underwater sound propagation . As of 1968 , " Grouper " was still adding accomplishments as a floating laboratory to her long and outstanding record during both war and peace . " Grouper " received 10 battle star s for World War II service .