USS Sea Cat ( SS - 399 ) USS " Sea Cat " ( SS / AGSS - 399 ) , a " Balao " - class submarine , was a ship of the United States Navy named for a shortened form of sea catfish , a marine fish of little food value found off the southeastern coast of the United States . World War II service . " Sea Cat " was laid down on 30 October 1943 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery , Maine ; launched on 21 February 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . E . L . Cochrane ; and commissioned on 16 May 1944 , Commander Rob Roy McGregor in command . After shakedown and trials off the New England coast , the new submarine departed New London , Conn . , on 28 August and proceeded via the Panama Canal to Hawaii . Following training in Hawaiian waters , " Sea Cat " departed Pearl Harbor on 28 October and headed , via Midway and Saipan , for the South China Sea where she operated in a wolf pack which also included , , and . During the war patrol , " Sea Cat " fired torpedoes at two Japan ese merchantmen which , together , displaced about 15 , 000 tons . Her commanding officer thought that they had both been sunk , but a postwar study of Japanese records did not confirm either sinking . After 61 days at sea , including 37 days in her patrol area , " Sea Cat " arrived at Guam for refit . The submarine got underway again on 1 February 1945 for her second war patrol which she conducted in the East China Sea in a wolf pack which included and . During operations off the coast of Kyūshū , she damaged a 300 - ton cargo ship by gunfire and attacked a 2 , 000 - ton ship with torpedoes . Although she reported sinking the latter , Japanese records do not seem to support the claim . " Sea Cat " completed the patrol upon arriving at Midway on 24 March . On 27 April , the submarine sailed for the Yellow Sea where she and six other submarines preyed upon Japanese shipping . " Sea Cat " accounted for 400 tons of enemy vessels by gunfire , and she picked up two survivors of the sunken enemy ships for questioning before returning to Pearl Harbor on 25 June . She headed toward the Kuril Islands on 6 August for her fourth war patrol ; but , upon arrival in her patrol area , learned that hostilities had ceased . She was ordered to proceed to the Japanese home islands and was in Tokyo Bay during the formal surrender ceremony on 2 September . She then sailed for the Marianas and reached Guam on 7 September . Following a brief stay at Apra Harbor , the submarine headed home . Following operations in the San Diego area into the spring of 1946 , the ship proceeded to San Francisco Bay and arrived at Mare Island on 15 April 1946 for overhaul . Post War duties in Atlantic . Yard work completed on 26 July , " Sea Cat " sailed back to San Diego , whence she departed on 12 August for her first simulated war patrol . On this cruise she visited Hawaii ; Canton Island ; Swains , Samoa , and Atafu Island ; Tsingtao , and Shanghai . Then , transferred to the Atlantic Fleet , the submarine arrived at Balboa , Canal Zone , on 12 January 1947 . After two and one - half years of exercises out of Balboa , her home port was changed to Key West in June 1949 . In the autumn , it was decided to have a number of experimental changes made to the ship during her forthcoming overhaul , and she was redesignated AGSS - 399 on 30 September . On 7 November , she arrived at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard where the work was done . The modifications and repairs were completed on 11 March 1950 , and the submarine returned , via New London , to Key West . She operated from that base until she got under way on 9 January 1952 for Philadelphia and another overhaul . After her arrival on 15 January , she was converted to a Fleet Snorkel submarine and redesignated SS - 399 . Overhaul and conversion completed . " Sea Cat " departed Philadelphia on 26 June 1952 and returned to Key West . She operated from that base for the remainder of her career , spending most of her time in the Caribbean , the Gulf of Mexico , and in waters off the southern coast of the United States . In July 1966 , she interrupted her customary routine by crossing the $ 3 for a four - month deployment with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean . Upon returning to Key West on 30 October , the submarine resumed her former routine and operated in Florida waters and the Caribbean until she was decommissioned on 2 December 1968 and struck from the Navy list on the same day . She was sold for scrapping , 18 May 1973 . " Sea Cat " earned three battle star s for her World War II service .