USS Crevalle ( SS - 291 ) USS " Crevalle " ( SS / AGSS - 291 ) , a " Balao " - class submarine , was a ship of the United States Navy named for the crevalle , the yellow mackerel , a food fish , found on both coasts of tropical America , and in the Atlantic as far north as Cape Cod . " Crevalle " is pronounced " cre - VAL - ley , " with the accent on the second syllable . " Crevalle " was launched 22 February 1943 by Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery , Maine ; sponsored by Mrs . C . W . Fisher ; and commissioned 24 June 1943 , Lieutenant Commander H . G . Munson in command . First and second war patrols , October 1943 – February 1944 . " Crevalle " arrived at Brisbane , Australia , from New London 11 October 1943 , and after replenishing there and at Darwin , put to sea 27 October on her first war patrol , in the Sulu and South China Seas . On 15 November she sank a passenger - cargo ship of almost 7 , 000 tons , and made two more attacks on merchant ships before returning to Fremantle , Australia , for refit 7 December . Her second war patrol , in the South China Sea from 30 December 1943 to 15 February 1944 , found her attacking a submerged Japan ese submarine on 7 January , only to know the frustration of premature torpedo explosion . In a hazardous special mission , she laid mines off Saigon on 14 and 15 January , and on 26 January sent a Japanese freighter to the bottom . A surface action with a small patrol boat on 11 February sank the enemy craft , and on 15 February , " Crevalle " fired at several targets in a large convoy , prudently clearing the area before the results of her firing could be verified . Third and fourth war patrols , April – August 1944 . On 16 March 1944 while refitting at Fremantle , Commander F . D . Walker assumed command , and on 4 April , " Crevalle " sailed for the South China Sea . She sank a freighter 25 April , and an oiler 6 May , and on 11 May surfaced off Negros Island in the Philippines on another daring special mission . She rescued 40 refugees here , including 28 women and children , and 4 men who had survived the Bataan Death March and made their escape . She also took off the family of an American missionary , who having seen his family to safety , returned ashore at the last minute to continue his ministry among the guerrillas . Along with her passengers , " Crevalle " recovered a group of important documents ( the Japanese " Z plan " ) , and transferred all she could spare in the way of supplies to the guerrillas . In May 1944 , while returning with her passengers to Darwin , " Crevalle " was spotted by a Japanese bomber on the third day of the journey . With four working torpedoes Capt . Walker maneuvered to attack , but was severely depth - charged by a Japanese convoy , a special ordeal for the passengers . The periscopes and radar were knocked out . They were landed safely at Darwin 19 May , 8 days after leaving the Philippines . " Crevalle " sailed on to refit at Fremantle . For her fourth war patrol , " Crevalle " returned to the South China Sea , as well as cruising off the northern Philippines , between 21 June and 9 August 1944 . In company with three other submarines for most of this patrol , " Crevalle " joined in a 30 - hour pursuit and attack on a convoy on 25 July and 26 July , sinking one freighter , and polishing off another already crippled by one of her groups . Two days later , " Crevalle " inflicted heavy damage on another freighter . Fifth war patrol , September 1944 . Refitted once more at Fremantle , " Crevalle " put to sea on her fifth war patrol 1 September 1944 . Ten days later , she surfaced after a routine trim dive . A lookout , Bill Fritchen , was first through the hatch followed closely by the Officer of the Deck , Lt . Howard James Blind . Fifteen seconds later , the boat took a sharp down angle , and submerged with the upper and lower conning tower hatches open , washing the lookout overboard . The flow of water through the upper hatch , which was latched opened , prevented anyone in the conning tower from closing it . The lower hatch to the control was blocked by a piece of floor matting . At the hatch was seen to close and lock . The ship continued diving to at an angle that reached 42 degrees down . With communications out , an alert machinist ' s mate , Robert L . Yeager , saved the submarine by backing full without orders . The pump room , control room and conning tower flooded completely , and all electrical equipment was inoperative . Yeager received the Silver Star for his action . Bringing the submarine under control , her men surfaced and were able to recover the lookout , but not Lt . Blind . It was later determined that the stern planes had jammed in the full dive position causing the sudden dive . With Fritchen having been washed off the bridge when the submarine dived , it was concluded that Blind had hung on the ship , and sacrificed his life in unlatching the upper conning tower hatch , saving the submarine . Blind posthumously received the Navy Cross for his action . Blind , a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , had married a woman in Australia only two weeks before his death . " Crevalle " made her way back to Fremantle 22 September , and sailed on to an overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard , followed by training at Pearl Harbor . Sixth and seventh war patrol , March – July 1945 . The submarine put to sea on her sixth war patrol from Pearl Harbor 13 March 1945 . Cruising in the East China Sea , she took up a lifeguard station during air strikes preparing for the Okinawa invasion , then on 23 April – 25 April , made a hazardous search for a minefield believed to be located near the southern entrance to the Tsushima Straits . She returned to Guam to refit from 3 May to 27 May , then sailed for her seventh war patrol in the northeast section of the Sea of Japan . She sank a freighter a day on 9 June , 10 June , and 11 June , and on 22 June inflicted heavy damage on an escort ship . Returning to Pearl Harbor 5 July , she got underway once more on 11 August , but received word of the end of hostilities before entering her assigned patrol area . She called at Guam and Saipan before returning to Pearl Harbor 10 September , then on 13 September , cleared for New York City , arriving 5 October . Post - war service . After a repair period , " Crevalle " reported at New London , her assigned home port , 27 March 1946 . She cruised to the Canal Zone and the Virgin Islands before being placed out of commission in reserve at New London 20 July 1946 . Recommissioned 6 September 1951 , " Crevalle " took part in training , exercises , and fleet operations along the East Coast and in the Caribbean until 19 August 1955 , when she was again placed out of commission in reserve at New London . Again recommissioned 11 April 1957 , she resumed her East Coast and Caribbean operations through 1960 . " Crevalle " was reclassified an Auxiliary Research Submarine AGSS - 291 in 1960 . She was decommissioned , 9 March 1962 . " Crevalle " was struck from the Naval Register , 15 April 1968 , and sold for scrap , 17 March 1971 . All of " Crevalle " ' s war patrols , save the interrupted fifth , were designated as " successful " , and the first four won her the Navy Unit Commendation for distinguished performance of duty as well as four battle star s . Her last two war patrols were recognized with one battle star awarded for the Okinawa operation . She is credited with having sunk a total of 51 , 814 tons of shipping , and shared in the credit for an additional 8 , 666 tons . References . " War in the Boats : My World War II Submarine Battles " , by Captain William J . Ruhe , describes life in " Crevalle " .