USS Muskallunge ( SS - 262 ) , a " Gato " - class submarine , was a ship of the United States Navy named for the muskallunge , a fish of the pike family found in the upper Mississippi Valley , the Great Lakes region , and northward . Her keel was laid down 7 April 1942 by Electric Boat Company , Groton , Connecticut . She was launched 13 December 1942 ( sponsored by Mrs . Merritt D . Graham , widow of Chief Torpedoman Graham who was lost in in July 1942 ) , and commissioned 15 March 1943 , Lieutenant Commander ( LCDR ) Willard A . Saunders ( Class of 1927 ) in command . First war patrol , September 1943 – January 1944 . Following shakedown , the new submarine departed New London for the Pacific , arriving Pearl Harbor 7 August . She cleared Pearl Harbor 7 September for her first war patrol , taking station off the Palau Islands . " Muskallunge " carried the first electric torpedo es to be fired in the war by an American submarine . She made two attacks on Japan ese convoys ; although handicapped by malfunctioning torpedoes , she managed to damage a passenger freighter and a cargo ship . On 25 October " Muskallunge " returned to Pearl Harbor . She sailed 27 November for her second war patrol , which was conducted in the western Carolines area and south of Guam . During this patrol " Muskallunge " scored hits on a tanker and two freighters , sinking one of the " Noroto Maru " class , before returning to Pearl Harbor 21 January 1944 . From there , she went to the West Coast for overhaul . Third , fourth , and fifth war patrols , April – December 1944 . After overhaul at Mare Island early in the year , " Muskallunge " left Pearl Harbor 30 April on her third war patrol . In June she joined eight other submarines in an operation designed to intercept any enemy forces approaching the Marianas which the Navy was invading . In the ensuing Battle of the Philippine Sea two of these submarines landed fatal blows on Japanese carriers and American naval aircraft wiped out the Japanese Fleet ' s air arm in a one - sided melee known as " the Marianas Turkey Shoot . " " Muskallunge " ended the patrol at Fremantle , Australia , 4 July . In company with , " Muskallunge " got underway 1 August for the South China Sea on her fourth war patrol . On 21 August off French Indochina she sank 7 , 163 - ton passenger - cargo " Durban Maru " before being severely depth charge d . The submarine docked in Fremantle 22 September for refit . Her fifth war patrol , 19 October to 14 December , saw her operating west of Palawan Passage . She then left Pearl Harbor 16 December for overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard , returning 9 April 1945 . Sixth and seventh war patrols , April – August 1945 . On 26 April " Muskallunge " departed Pearl Harbor for patrol off Formosa . She also acted as lifeguard for Philippine - based airstrikes on China and Formosa on her sixth war patrol . She sailed to Midway Atoll via Saipan to complete the patrol on arrival 15 June . Her seventh and last war patrol started 30 July when " Muskallunge " got underway for the Kurile Islands , north of Japan . On 8 August she attacked several small ships through dense fog . Her guns damaged two of the Japanese ships , but enemy fire killed one of the submarine ' s gunners and wounded two other bluejacket s . The news of victory brought orders to Tokyo Bay for the surrender ceremonies on board the battleship 2 September . The next day " Muskallunge " sailed for New London via Pearl Harbor and the Panama Canal . After operations with the Atlantic Fleet , she decommissioned and joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet there 29 January 1947 . " Muskallunge " received five battle star s for World War II service . " Humaitá " ( S14 ) , 1957 – 1968 . " Muskallunge " recommissioned 31 August 1956 prior to transfer to Brazil ; decommissioned 18 January 1957 , and the same day was loaned under the Military Assistance Program . She served the Brazilian Navy as until returned to the United States in March 1968 and sunk as a target off Long Island , NY on 9 July 1968 .