USS Scabbardfish ( SS - 397 ) USS " Scabbardfish " ( SS - 397 ) , a " Balao " - class submarine , was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the scabbarddfish , a long , compressed , silver - colored fish found on European coasts and around New Zealand . Her keel was laid down on 27 September 1943 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery , Maine . She was launched on 27 January 1944 sponsored by Ensign Nancy J . Schetky , and commissioned on 29 April 1944 with Lieutenant Commander F . A . Gunn in command . After completing initial training at Portsmouth , and torpedo trials at Newport , Rhode Island , " Scabbardfish " reported to the Commander , Submarine Force Atlantic , New London , Connecticut , for advance training and final outfitting . Upon completion thereof , she sailed to Key West , Florida , for ASW duties which began on 21 June 1944 . On 1 July , she departed for Panama . Four days later , she transited the Panama Canal en route to the West Coast and Pearl Harbor . " Scabbardfish " , as a unit of Submarine Force , Pacific Fleet , arrived at Pearl Harbor on 24 July . After completing voyage repairs and final training , she departed for Midway Island on 17 August . After refueling there , she departed on her first war patrol in the Ryukyu Islands area . First War Patrol . On 31 August , she sighted her first enemy ships , an inter - island steamer with two escorts . " Scabbardfish " fired two spreads of three torpedoes but all missed . After a light depth charge attack , she surfaced and continued steaming west . On 19 September , west of Okinawa , she damaged the 5500 - ton submarine tender with two hits . She also fired a spread " down the throat " of a " Chidori " - class escort but missed . As a consequence , she underwent a depth charge attack for three hours but suffered no damage . The remainder of her patrol proved fruitless , and the submarine returned to Midway Island , on 12 October , for refitting . Two weeks later , she sailed to Saipan , Mariana Islands , for further orders . Second and Third War Patrols . " Scabbardfish " departed Saipan on 12 November to patrol in the seas southeast of Honshū . She arrived at her designated patrol area on 16 November and sank a 2100 - ton inter - island steamer that day . Six days later she sank the 875 - ton " Kisaragi Maru " and damaged a 4000 - ton freighter . On 29 November , she sank Japanese submarine " I - 365 " , picking up one lone survivor named Sasaki . SS - 397 completed her patrol at Guam on 20 December 1944 ; remained there until 16 January 1945 ; and then sailed to Saipan . Upon arrival there , she underwent intensive training in wolfpack tactics . Her third war patrol began on 23 January when she began patrolling the sea lanes between the Philippine Islands and Ryukyu islands . In late February , she engaged 12 luggers and a trawler with her deck gun but was forced to submerge by an enemy plane . She was bombed but suffered no damage . She returned to Saipan on 6 March and was ordered to return to Pearl Harbor for refitting . Fourth War Patrol . " Scabbardfish " returned to Guam in late April and underwent voyage repairs by submarine tender . On 29 April , she departed for the East China Sea . A change of orders assigned her to the Life Guard League , and , on 4 May , she rescued five crewmen from a ditched B - 29 Superfortress . They were transferred to submarine two days later , and SS - 397 continued to the Yellow Sea area . On 17 May , " Scabbardfish " fired a spread of torpedoes at a small freighter which was accompanied by two escorts . This proved to be a hunter - killer group , and when the torpedoes missed , they subjected the submarine to a grueling four - hour depth charge attack . The submarine sustained no serious damage and returned to Guam on 11 June to be refitted by submarine tender . Fifth War Patrol . " Scabbardfish " began her fifth , and last , war patrol on 1 July with another assignment to the Life Guard League . During the period from 25 July to 10 August she rescued seven pilots . When she returned to Saipan on 15 August , the cease fire had gone into effect , and " Scabbardfish " sailed to Pearl Harbor . She sailed from there on 6 September under orders which sent her to Eniwetok for ASW training duties . She remained there for a month ; sailed to Guam for a month ; and , on 14 November , stood out of Apra Harbor en route to San Francisco , California , via Midway Island . On 29 November 1945 , the submarine arrived at Mare Island for her first overhaul , which was not completed until mid - March 1946 . " Scabbardfish " operated along the West Coast until 17 March 1947 when she entered the San Francisco Naval Shipyard for her second major overhaul . The submarine departed directly from drydock , on 8 August , for San Diego , California . One month later , she called at Pearl Harbor for a few days and then continued sailing west on a simulated war patrol . After visiting the Palau Islands , Hong Kong , Shanghai , Tsingtao , and Okinawa , she returned to San Diego on 11 December 1947 . On 3 January 1948 , she was underway for Mare Island and , two days later , reported to the Pacific Reserve Fleet for inactivation . In February 1948 , she was placed in reserve , out of commission , and berthed at Mare Island . " Scabbardfish " remained there until October 1964 when she was again placed in commission , preparatory to transferring her to the government of Greece . " Scabbardfish " received five battle star s for World War II service . Korean War Patrol . " Scabbardfish " participated in reconnaissance missions during the Korean War . In December 1952 , when weather conditions required suspension of the Hokkaido area patrols , she was assigned a special patrol duty of the coast of China . This marked a time when submarines were being used increasingly for special operations including amphibious raids and other clandestine missions . HS Triaina ( S - 86 ) . She was officially transferred on loan to the Royal Hellenic Navy on 26 February 1965 , and commissioned as " Triaina " ( S - 86 ) . Ex - " Scabbardfish " was stricken from the American Naval Vessel Register on 31 January 1976 and purchased outright by Greece in April 1976 . She was stricken from the Greek Navy in 1980 but still in use as a pier - side trainer as late as 1982 .