USS Swordfish ( SS - 193 ) USS " Swordfish " ( SS - 193 ) , a " Sargo " - class submarine , was the first submarine of the United States Navy named for the swordfish , a large fish with a long , swordlike beak and a high dorsal fin . She was the first United States Navy submarine to sink a Japanese ship during World War II . Operational history . Her keel was laid down on 27 October 1937 by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard of Vallejo , California . She was launched on 3 April 1939 sponsored by Miss Louise Shaw Hepburn , and commissioned on 22 July 1939 with Lieutenant Chester C . Smith in command . Following shakedown and post - shakedown repairs at Mare Island , " Swordfish " operated out of San Diego , California , until early 1941 , when she set sail for Pearl Harbor . On 3 November , " Swordfish " , in company with three other U . S . submarines , departed Pearl , and on 22 November , arrived at Manila , Philippine Islands . The submarine remained at Manila until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 . The following day , she set sail on her first war patrol , conducted off the coast of Hainan , China . After damaging several enemy vessels on the 9th , 11th , and 14th , Swordfish sank her initial victim of the war on 16 December . Hit amidships by one of three torpedoes , the cargo ship " Atsutasan Maru " erupted in a cloud of smoke and flames and disappeared beneath the waves . On 27 December , " Swordfish " embarked the organizational staff of the Submarine Asiatic Command Staff at Manila and headed for Soerabaja , Java , arriving on 7 January 1942 . " Swordfish " departed Soerabaja on 16 January for her second war patrol , conducted in the Celebes Sea and in the Philippines . On 24 January , she torpedoed and sank a cargo ship off Kema , Celebes Islands . On 20 February , she submerged in the entrance of Mariveles , Luzon , only to surface after dark to take on board the President of the Philippines , his family and select high - ranking officers . She departed on the surface about 11 : 30pm and sailed through a minefield . She submerged during the day of 21 February , between 6 : 20am and 6 : 20pm which caused it to be quite warm , 94F & 92 % humidity . She arrived off the coast of San Jose , Panay , Philippine Islands on 22 February at 10pm and they stopped at 2 : 30am on 23 February about a mile off the coast of San Jose de Buenavista , Antique . Fifteen minutes later they were advised that their launch was approaching . The passengers debarked the sub around 3am on 23 February . The President and his party were transferred to a motor tender . " Swordfish " then returned to Manila Bay and embarked the High Commissioner of the Philippines , arriving Fremantle , Western Australia , on 9 March . " Swordfish " got underway from Fremantle on 1 April for her third war patrol , with her primary mission being to deliver 40 tons of provisions to the besieged island of Corregidor . However , Corregidor fell to the Japanese before the mission could be carried out and the submarine was ordered to patrol in the vicinity of Ambon Island . The only ships sighted were beyond effective range , and the submarine returned to Fremantle on 1 May . Departing Fremantle for her fourth war patrol on 15 May , " Swordfish " was in the South China Sea on 29 May where she sank a 1900 - ton cargo ship and was in the Gulf of Siam on 12 June where she torpedoed and sank another cargo ship . The submarine returned to Fremantle on 4 July . Although her fifth war patrol , conducted in the Sulu Sea , and her sixth war patrol , conducted in the Solomon Islands , were unproductive , during her seventh war patrol " Swordfish " sank a 4122 - ton cargo ship on 19 January 1943 . Returning to Pearl Harbor on 23 February , the submarine underwent overhaul until 29 July , when she got underway for her eighth war patrol . On 22 August , she sighted her first target of the patrol , and quickly sent the cargo ship to the bottom , the victim of two torpedo hits . A convoy was intercepted on 5 September , and " Swordfish " damaged a large tanker before sinking a cargo ship . The submarine concluded this patrol at Brisbane , Australia , on 20 September . " Swordfish " ' s ninth war patrol lasted only three weeks . Shortly after reaching her assigned patrol area , material defects were discovered , and the submarine had to return to port . On the day after Christmas 1943 , " Swordfish " departed for her tenth war patrol , in the hands of one of the Submarine Force ' s oldest commanders , 42 - year - old Karl G . Hensel ( Class of 1923 ) , formerly commanding Submarine Division 101 . The patrol was conducted in Tokyo Bay . It was plagued with equipment casualties in old " Swordfish " , including radar trouble and electrical fires . On 13 January 1944 , she sank 6 , 921 ton freighter " Yamakuni Maru " , while surviving " heavy — and close — depth charges " . The depth charging caused her to lose power in her electrical systems , and when she dived at dawn the next day , she suffered two separate fires and nearly went right to the bottom ; her captain managed to bring her back up , where she wallowed on the surface , only to have a Japanese patrol boat close on her . She regained power in the nick of time and dived . At around 2200 on 14 January , " Swordfish " detected another ship , and made radar contact at on the Japanese navy ' s first genuine Q - ship , the 2 , 182 ton merchantman " Delhi Maru " , on her maiden voyage . She had been outfitted with sonar ( which " Swordfish " had heard pinging ) , new watertight bulkheads , depth charge throwers , and concealed guns , specially to destroy submarines . At midnight , " Swordfish " fired three bow torpedo tubes , scoring three hits with the recently corrected Mark XIV torpedo . " Delhi Maru " blew up , and the two patrol boats of her escort kept " Swordfish " down with depth charges for three hours before she evaded . 17 January , " Swordfish " was detailed to intercept " Shōkaku " and her escort . In the dark , it was impossible to see the carrier , but radar made contact on the force at ( ) , making . To avoid being detected , " Swordfish " dived , only to end up in front of one of " Shokaku " s escorting destroyers , which practically ran right over her . " Shokaku " came on so fast , " Swordfish " could barely get off a shot from her four stern tubes , with the carrier going away ; all missed . On 27 January , " Swordfish " fired two torpedoes at a converted salvage vessel which broke in half and sank . She completed her tenth patrol at Pearl Harbor on 7 February . Her total score was claimed to be two ships for 15 , 200 tons ; this was reduced by JANAC to 12 , 543 tons postwar , but raised to three ships . " Swordfish " put to sea on 13 March for her eleventh war patrol , conducted in the Mariana Islands . Although several enemy ships were damaged during this patrol , no sinkings could be confirmed ; and the submarine returned to Majuro on 29 April . " Swordfish " ' s twelfth war patrol was conducted in the area of the Bonin Islands . On 9 June , the submarine found Japanese destroyer " Matsukaze " clearly illuminated against the horizon and sank the enemy ship with two torpedoes from her bow tubes . On 15 June , she torpedoed and sank a cargo ship . The remainder of the patrol was unproductive , and the submarine terminated her twelfth patrol at Pearl Harbor on 30 June . On 22 December , " Swordfish " departed Pearl Harbor to conduct her thirteenth war patrol , in the vicinity of Nansei Shoto . She topped off with fuel at Midway on 26 December and left that day for her area . In addition to her regular patrol , " Swordfish " was to conduct photographic reconnaissance of Okinawa , for preparation of the Okinawa Campaign . On 2 January , " Swordfish " was ordered to delay carrying out her assigned tasks in order to keep her clear of the Nansei Shoto area until completion of carrier - based air strikes which were scheduled . She was directed to patrol the general vicinity of 30°N ; 132°E until further orders were received . Her acknowledgement of those orders on 3 January was the last communication received from " Swordfish " . On 9 January 1945 , " Swordfish " was directed to proceed to the vicinity of Okinawa to carry out her special mission . It was estimated that the task would not take more than seven days after arrival on station , which she should have reached on 11 January . Upon completion of her mission , " Swordfish " was to proceed to Saipan , or to Midway if she was unable to transmit by radio . Since neither place had seen her by 15 February , and repeated attempts to raise her by radio had failed , she was reported as presumed lost on that date . In the report of her loss , mention was made that , which at the time was patrolling the vicinity of Okinawa , reported that on the morning of 12 January she contacted a submarine by radar . It was believed that contact was with " Swordfish " . Four hours later " Kete " heard heavy depth charging from this area , and it was believed that this attack might have been the cause of " Swordfish " ’ s loss . Japanese information on antisubmarine attacks does not mention the attack heard by " Kete " on 12 January , and records no attacks in which " Swordfish " is likely to have been the victim . However , it is now known that there were many mines planted around Okinawa , since the Japanese were expecting an Allied invasion of that island . The majority of the mines were planted close in . It is considered about equally likely that " Swordfish " was sunk by depth charge attack before she reached Okinawa for her special mission or that she was lost to a mine at that place . Honors and awards . " Swordfish " earned eight battle star s for World War II service . A memorial to the boat has been erected in St . Paul , Minnesota near the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory . It is just off Churchill Street , on a rise a short walk south of Hamm Falls . This consists of a torpedo on a stand . On one side of the base is a plaque listing the names of the crew and giving a brief history of the vessel . On the other is a roll of U . S . submarines lost in World War II .