USS Gato ( SS - 212 ) USS " Gato " ( SS - 212 ) was the lead ship of her class of submarine in the United States Navy . She was the first Navy ship named for the gato , a species of small catshark found in waters along the west coast of Mexico . Her keel was laid down 5 October 1940 , by the Electric Boat Company of Groton , Connecticut . She was launched 21 August 1941 sponsored by Mrs . Royal E . Ingersoll , and commissioned 31 December 1941 with Lieutenant Commander William Girard Myers ( Class of 1926 ) in command . First war patrol , April – June 1942 . After shakedown at New London , Connecticut , " Gato " departed 16 February 1942 , for Pearl Harbor " via " the Panama Canal and San Francisco . On her first war patrol from Pearl Harbor ( 20 April – 10 June 1942 ) , she unsuccessfully attacked a converted aircraft carrier 3 May before being driven away by the fierce depth charging of four destroyer s off the Marshall Islands . On 24 May she was ordered to patrol the western approaches to Midway , taking station westward during the Battle of Midway . Second and third war patrols , July – December 1942 . On her second war patrol ( 2 July – 29 August 1942 ) , she patrolled east of the Kurile Islands toward the Aleutian chain . She obtained four torpedo hits with unconfirmed damage to a ship 15 August 1942 , and terminated her patrol at Dutch Harbor , Alaska . Her third patrol ( 4 September – 23 December 1942 ) included operations off Kiska ; then she steamed " via " Midway and Pearl Harbor to Truk atoll , where her attack 6 December on a convoy was broken off by aerial bombs and a severe depth charge attack by three destroyers . This patrol terminated at Brisbane , Australia , 23 December 1942 . Fourth and fifth war patrols , January – June 1943 . During her fourth war patrol ( 13 January 1943 – 26 February 1943 ) , " Gato " torpedoed and sank transport " Kenkon Maru " 21 January ; cargo ship " Nichiun Maru " on 29 January ; and cargo ship " Suruya Maru " on 15 February — all off New Georgia , Solomon Islands . On her fifth war patrol ( 19 March – 6 June 1943 ) , she landed an Australian Intelligence party at Toep , Bougainville , 29 March 1943 , and evacuated 27 children , nine mothers , and three nuns , transferring them 31 March to " SC - 531 " off Ramos , Florida Island . During a submerged radar attack approach 4 April 1943 , between Tanga and Lihir Islands , she was shaken so violently by three exploding depth charges that she returned to Brisbane for temporary repairs 11 to 20 April . " Gato " landed more Australian commandos at Toep Harbor 29 May , transported more evacuees to Ramos Island , and then reconnoitered off Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands before putting in at Pearl Harbor 6 June 1943 . Sixth and seventh war patrols , August 1943 – January 1944 . " Gato " was routed onward to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for overhaul ; returned to Pearl Harbor 22 August 1943 ; and conducted her sixth war patrol ( 6 September – 28 October ) " via " Truk and Bougainville in the Solomons to Brisbane . " En route " on 19 October she attacked a convoy , scoring hits for unknown damage to two large cargo ships . Her seventh war patrol ( 18 November 1943 – 10 January 1944 ) took her north of the Bismarck Archipelago . On 30 November she made a coordinated attack with , sinking the cargo ship " Columbia Maru " . She rescued a Japanese soldier from a life raft on 16 December , then attacked a convoy in the Saipan - Massau traffic lanes four days later to sink cargo ship " Tsuneshima Maru " and scored damaging hits on another freighter . After two hours of dodging depth charges , she finally evaded her attackers , surfaced , and headed for Tingmon , the most likely port for the damaged cargo ship . " Gato " discovered a live depth charge on her deck at the same time two enemy escorts were sighted headed in her direction . She outran them while disposing of the depth charge by setting it adrift on a rubber raft . Although she did not overtake the cargo ship , she did sight a convoy . On 2 December her chase was foiled by a float plane , which was driven off by " Gato " ' s gunners . She concluded the patrol at Milne Bay , New Guinea , 10 January 1944 . Eighth , ninth and tenth war patrols , February – September 1944 . " Gato " departed Milne Bay 2 February 1944 , her eighth war patrol in the Bismarck - New Guinea - Truk area . She rescued Fred Hargesheimer and two other downed airmen on 5 February . She sank a trawler off Truk 15 February , transport " Daigen Maru No . 3 " the 26th , and cargo ship " Okinoyama Maru No . 3 " 12 March . Two other trawlers were destroyed by her guns before she returned to Pearl Harbor 1 April 1944 . On her ninth war patrol ( 30 May 1944 – 2 June 1944 ) " Gato " took Vice Admiral Charles A . Lockwood to Midway ; completed photographic reconnaissance of Woleai Island , served on lifeguard station for air strikes on Truk 11 to 18 June , and terminated her patrol at Majuro atoll . Her 10th war patrol saw her on lifeguard 15 July 1944 for the carrier air strike on Chichi Jima , during which she rescued two aviators . She returned to Pearl Harbor on 2 September 1944 , proceeded to Mare Island for overhaul and then returned to Pearl Harbor . Eleventh and twelfth war patrols , January – June 1945 . On her 11th war patrol ( 28 January – 13 March 1945 ) , " Gato " patrolled the Yellow Sea as a unit of a coordinated attack group ( called a " wolf pack " ) , with and . She sank a coast defense ship on 14 February and cargo ship " Tairiku Maru " on 21 February , then returned to Guam . She departed on her 12th war patrol 12 April 1945 , taking lifeguard station in support of the invasion of Okinawa . On the night of 22 – 23 April she had a brief contest with two Japanese submarines and narrowly missed destruction as well - aimed torpedoes came close . Between 27 and 30 April she rescued 10 Army aviators from shallow water near the beaches of Toi Misaki , Kyūshū . She returned to Pearl Harbor 3 June 1945 . Thirteenth war patrol and postwar . On her 13th war patrol " Gato " departed 8 July for lifeguard station for air strikes on Wake Island and then off the eastern coast of Honshū . She received word of " Cease Fire " 15 August while making an attack approach on a sea truck ; steamed into Tokyo Bay the 31st ; remained for the signing of surrender documents on board 2 September ; and then departed the following day via Pearl Harbor and the Panama Canal to the New York Naval Shipyard , where she decommissioned 16 March 1946 . She served for a number of years as a naval reserve training ship at New York and later at Baltimore , Maryland , until her name was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 March 1960 . She was sold for scrapping 25 July 1960 , to the Northern Metals Company of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . Awards . " Gato " received the Presidential Unit Citation in recognition of daring exploits during war patrols four through eight and 13 battle star s for service in World War II . The " Gato " is the subject of the series finale of the syndicated television anthology series , " The Silent Service " , which aired during the 1957 – 1958 season .