USS Cero ( SS - 225 ) , a " Gato " - class submarine , was the first submarine and second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the cero mackerel , a large food and game fish of the mackerel family , found chiefly in the West Indies . " Cero " ' s keel was laid down on 24 August 1942 by Electric Boat Co . , Groton , CT . She was launched 4 April 1943 ( sponsored by Mrs . D . E . Barbey ) and commissioned 4 July 1943 , Commander David C . White ( Class of 1927 ) in command . First War Patrol . " Cero " cleared New London 17 August 1943 for Pacific waters , and on 26 September sailed from Pearl Harbor , bound for the East China and Yellow Seas on her first war patrol . This patrol was also the first American wolfpack , comprising " Cero " , , and , commanded from " Cero " by Captain " Swede " Momsen . At dawn on 12 October , " Cero " made her first attack , on a convoy of three freighters escorted by two destroyer s ; one of the merchantmen was heavily damaged . During this patrol , she damaged two other freighters , and a small patrol boat which she engaged on the surface . Second , Third , and Fourth War Patrols . After refitting at Midway from 16 November to 13 December 1943 , " Cero " , Edward Dissette commanding , made an unproductive second war patrol along the Truk - New Ireland route , then put in to Milne Bay , New Guinea , from 12 January to 4 February 1944 . Returning to the Truk - New Ireland shipping lanes , she attacked a freighter ( later sunk by one of her sister submarines ) and inflicted damage on another merchantman . She put in to Brisbane , Australia , 2 March , and sailed 3 April on her fourth war patrol , off the Palau Islands . Her most successful day to date came on 23 May , when she attacked two freighters and a tanker , sinking one cargo ship , and damaging the tanker . Fifth and Sixth War Patrols . " Cero " was refitted at Seeadler Harbor , Manus , from 2 June to 26 June 1944 , then put to sea for the dangerous waters off Mindanao , where on 5 August , she sent another tanker to the bottom ; fifteen days later she finished her fifth patrol at Brisbane . On 19 September 1944 , " Cero " cleared Darwin , Australia , for the Mindanao and Sulu Seas for her sixth patrol . She called " en route " at Mios Woendi , where she took on board of supplies for Philippine guerrilla s , along with 16 soldiers headed for behind - the - lines operations in Luzon . Although not permitted by her orders to attack escorted merchantmen while on this mission , " Cero " encountered two small craft on 27 October , and in a resulting gun action , damaged both and forced them ashore . On 3 November , north of Manila , she made contact with the guerrillas , landed the soldiers and supplies , and took aboard four evacuees . Later attacked by a Japanese submarine , an alert bridge crew , lead by Jim " Red Dog " Vermillion , enabled " Cero " to evade a torpedo aimed at her . Mission completed , she returned to Pearl Harbor 24 November , then sailed to the West Coast for overhaul . Seventh War Patrol . " Cero " , now commanded by Raymond Berthrong , shoved off for action from Pearl Harbor once more 31 March 1945 , on her seventh and most productive war patrol . Cruising off Honshū and Hokkaidō , she not only provided lifeguard services for air strikes on Japan , but sank two picket boats and damaged a third , as well as sending three freighters and a large trawler to the bottom . Eighth War Patrol . Refitted at Guam and Saipan between 27 May and 27 June 1945 , " Cero " , commanded by Raymond Berthrong , had lifeguard and picket duty off Honshū for her eighth war patrol . On 15 July , she rescued three survivors of a downed bomber , and later that day bombarded the Japanese lighthouse and radio station at Shiriya Saki , Honshū . On 18 July , while sailing for the Kurile Islands , " Cero " came under enemy air attack ; a bomb that landed close aboard caused damage so extensive that the sub was forced to cut short her patrol and head for Pearl Harbor , where she arrived 30 July . Post war . " Cero " made prolonged visits to New Orleans and Baton Rouge before arriving 5 November 1945 at New London , where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve 8 June 1946 . She was recommissioned 4 February 1952 , and on 22 March , " Cero " arrived at her new home port of Key West , Florida . For the next year she cruised in the Caribbean Sea and aided in the work of the Fleet Sonar School , then sailed north for inactivation . She was again decommissioned and placed in reserve at New London 23 December 1953 . " Cero " also served as a reserve pierside training vessel at the Detroit Naval Armory across from Belle Isle from 1960 to 1967 , replacing . " Cero " was in turn replaced by " Cero " was sold for scrap in 1970 .