USS Pogy ( SS - 266 ) USS " Pogy " ( SS - 266 ) , a " Gato " - class submarine , was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the pogy , or menhaden . The first " Pogy " ( SS – 266 ) was laid down 15 September 1941 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co . , Manitowoc , Wisc . , launched 23 June 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs . Julius A . Furer ; and commissioned 10 January 1943 , Lt . Comdr . G . H . Wales in command . " Pogy " temporarily decommissioned 1 February for a Mississippi cruise on a river barge to New Orleans , LA , and recommissioned upon her arrival 12 February . Operational history . World War II . First war patrol , April – June 1943 . After fitting out , trial runs , and training , " Pogy " arrived Pearl Harbor 5 April 1943 . On 15 April she set out for her patrol area along the eastern coast of Honshū , making her first contact 1 May . Her periscope attack on a convoy of five ships with one escort sank ex - gunboat " Keishin Maru " , and damaged a small freighter . Upon surfacing that night , " Pogy " attacked a destroyer with three torpedo es , but was unable to observe the results . The next day she destroyed a large sampan by gunfire . On 9 May while making a submerged attack on a convoy of four freighters , a bomb close astern forced " Pogy " to retire . On 11 May , she sank a 100 - ton sampan by gunfire . Two torpedo hits sent a small freighter to the bottom 26 May , and on 5 June " Pogy " retired to Midway . Second war patrol , June – August 1943 . She departed Midway on her second war patrol 26 June . Throughout July she covered the Empire - Truk main communication and supply line . While patrolling submerged east of the Pulap Islands 5 July , she attacked two freighters with torpedoes , damaging the leading 3 , 000 - ton freighter by one hit . " Pogy " sighted an aircraft ferry steaming for Truk , and sank the 7 , 497 - ton " Mongamigawa Maru " and her valuable cargo 1 August . The submarine then departed the area , stopping at Johnston Island for fuel on the 14th , and arriving at Pearl Harbor two days later for refit . Third and fourth war patrols , September – December 1943 . " Pogy " departed Pearl Harbor 9 September for her third war patrol , in the Palau area . On 28 September she sighted a five ship convoy . After a two - day chase and one unsuccessful attack , she scored two torpedo hits on the largest freighter of the convoy , " Maebashi Maru " , sinking 7 , 000 more tons of enemy shipping . On 6 October " Pogy " fired and missed with 4 torpedoes at " Nichiei Maru " . On 26 October " Pogy " returned to Pearl Harbor . The submarine sailed for her patrol area again in the Palau Islands , 25 November . En route , she sighted a large freighter and a submarine tender escorted by a destroyer 7 December . In the ensuing attack three torpedoes hit and sank the 6 , 081 - ton submarine tender , and one hit the freighter , before " Pogy " went deep to sit out an attack of 22 depth charge s . She surfaced in the darkness to find the freighter dead in the water with the destroyer circling her . " Pogy " launched two torpedoes , both hits . On 13 December " Pogy " sank 3 , 821 - ton transport " Fukkai Maru " leaving Palau loaded with troops . The angry escort dropped 27 depth charges during the counter - attack , the three closest charges causing damage which forced " Pogy " to return to Midway 22 December . Fifth war patrol , February – March 1944 . On 5 February 1944 " Pogy " departed Midway on her fifth war patrol for an anti - shipping sweep of the Formosa area . During the morning of 10 February , she spotted a convoy in Bashi Channel , off the southern tip of Formosa , guarded by three Japanese destroyers . " Pogy " attacked with five torpedoes , sinking Japanese destroyer " Minekaze " and 5 , 500 - ton passengercargo ship " Malta Maru " , and damaging another freighter . " Pogy " then headed northward up the east coast of Formosa and , on 20 February , caught a convoy on the Tropic of Cancer . Skillful approach and sharpshooting sent two torpedoes slamming into the " Taijin Maru " , a 5 , 154 - ton freighter , and one into the " Nanyo Maru " , a 3 , 610 - ton freighter , sinking both . Three days later in Ryukyu waters , " Pogy " blew the bottom out of another freighter , before heading for Pearl Harbor , arriving 8 March 1944 . Sixth war patrol , April – June 1944 . On 7 April she departed on her sixth patrol , southeast of Japan . The night of 28 April , " Pogy " sighted and sank a Japanese submarine , " I - 183 " . She then attacked and sank a freighter 5 May , and a medium freighter on 13 May . Three days later " Pogy " sank a 20 - ton sampan by gunfire , and took five of her crew prisoner . On 20 May , " Pogy " destroyed a small trawler and arrived back in Pearl Harbor 29 May . She departed Pearl Harbor 1 June for a West Coast navy yard overhaul , arriving at Hunter ' s Point , San Francisco , Calif . 8 June . " Pogy " departed for Pearl Harbor 17 September . Seventh and eighth war patrols , October 1944 – February 1945 . After a training period , she got underway 13 October for her seventh war patrol , in the Ryukyu ( " Nansei " ) islands and waters south of Japan , but made no contacts before returning to Midway 2 December . On 27 December " Pogy " sailed on her eighth patrol in the Bonin and Volcano Islands . On 14 January 1945 she made an unsuccessful torpedo attack on a convoy of three freighters . No other opportunity to attack presented itself during the patrol , and the ship returned to Midway 11 February . Ninth war patrol , March – May 1945 . On 12 March " Pogy " got underway for her ninth patrol in the area south of Tokyo Bay . On 19 April , while on lifeguard station , a B - 24 Liberator on patrol strafe d and bombed " Pogy " by mistake , causing considerable damage . On 29 April " Pogy " rescued ten Army aviators from a downed B - 29 ( The Queen Bee ) , and got underway for Saipan to transfer them . On 6 May she departed Saipan for Pearl Harbor arriving 15 May for refit . Tenth war patrol , July – August 1945 . On 2 July " Pogy " departed Pearl Harbor for the Sea of Japan on her tenth and last war patrol . She made a run under the minefield s and patrolled in the " Emperor ' s private ocean " until V - J Day . Hunting was better on this patrol . On 27 July " Pogy " sank a large freighter with two torpedoes , damaged a 10 , 000 - ton tanker on 2 August , and on 5 August destroyed the 2 , 200 - ton freighter " Kotohirasan Maru " . She returned to Midway 21 August with her World War II career completed . Postwar . She departed Midway 5 September for Panama and then the East Coast of the United States . She arrived New York 3 October . " Pogy " was placed out of commission in the U . S . Atlantic Reserve Fleet 20 July 1946 at New London , Conn . She was struck from the Navy List 1 September 1958 and sold 1 May 1959 . " Pogy " was credited with sinking 62 , 633 tons of shipping in 16 ships . She received eight battle star s for service in World War II .