USS Tiru ( SS - 416 ) USS " Tiru " ( SS - 416 ) , a " Balao " - class submarine , was a ship of the United States Navy named for the tiru . " Tiru " — laid down on 17 April 1944 at Vallejo , Calif . , by the Mare Island Navy Yard — remained uncompleted for three years as a result of the curtailment of the submarine building program at the end of World War II . In the fall of 1947 , the Navy decided to complete " Tiru " as a " Guppy " ( Greater Underwater Propulsive Power ) snorkel boat . Her altered design incorporated improvements resulting from the Navy ' s recent combat experience and German technical development . " Tiru " was launched on 16 September 1947 ; sponsored by Mrs . John P . Cromwell , the widow of Captain John P . Cromwell , and commissioned on 1 September 1948 , Commander Charles N . G . Hendricks in command . 1948 – 1959 . " Tiru " conducted training and trials off the West Coast before heading for Hawaii on 10 February 1949 . Homeported at Pearl Harbor and attached to Submarine Squadron 12 ( SubRon 12 ) , the " Guppy " submarine operated in Hawaiian waters for a year and one - half before conducting a 12 - day snorkel voyage from Pearl Harbor to the West Coast which ended upon her arrival at San Diego on 27 June 1950 . On 9 June 1951 , " Tiru " sailed for the Far East and her first Western Pacific ( WestPac ) deployment . While in Asiatic waters , she operated in support of United Nations forces engaged in the Korean War . Then , after departing Yokosuka , Japan , on 26 November , the warship arrived at Pearl Harbor on 6 December . Her operations in the Hawaiian area continued until 24 February 1952 , when " Tiru " got underway for her second WestPac deployment . Between 1952 and 1959 , " Tiru " conducted four more WestPac deployments , interspersed with local operations — providing services for antisubmarine warfare ( ASW ) exercises and conducting type - training . Operating with the 7th Fleet , her seventh WestPac tour lasted from 1 January to 17 April 1959 . 1959 – 1965 . " Tiru " returned to Pearl Harbor for a major overhaul , entering the shipyard on 4 May 1959 for a fleet rehabilitation and modernization ( FRAM ) conversion to a " Guppy III " . In the course of the work , the ship took on a new and different external appearance . Her hull was lengthened by 12 feet ( 3 . 6 m ) ; she acquired a new conning tower , five feet longer than its predecessor ; and a fiberglass sail was added . Internally , increased sonar and ordnance equipment greatly enhanced the ship ' s capabilities in those key areas . On the last day of the year 1959 , " Tiru " emerged from the overhaul a virtually " new " ship . From 1 January to 10 November 1960 , " Tiru " conducted local operations out of Pearl Harbor to prove the worth of the FRAM / Guppy III conversion . After testing and honing her capabilities , the submarine departed Pearl Harbor on 10 November for another 7th Fleet deployment . She later returned to Pearl Harbor on 10 May 1961 upon completion of her eighth WestPac cruise . Local operations out of her home port occupied the rest of 1961 and the first few months of 1962 . She again was deployed to WestPac in March and April before returning to Hawaiian waters on 3 May . The next month , the ship operated with a carrier task force on ASW " hunter - killer " exercises . While the submarine was engaged in a firing exercise , a torpedo malfunction in her after torpedo room seriously damaged the compartment , and 18 men were overcome by toxic gases . Quick reaction averted a more serious tragedy and earned four men — one officer ( Lieutenant Commander W . Earle Smith Jr . ) and three enlisted men — Navy and Marine Corps medals . 1966 . The ship conducted three more WestPac deployments through 1965 before she returned to a schedule of local operations . " Tiru " entered another major overhaul on 6 December 1965 — one which saw the installation of a masking system to cover the ship ' s own noise while snorkeling . Further internal alterations improved both her fighting capacity and her habitability . She conducted sea trials until 14 June 1966 when she departed Hawaii for the Naval Torpedo Station at Keyport , Wash . , for an alignment and testing of her weapon system . The submarine departed the West Coast on 9 July , bound for Hawaiian waters , and made port at Pearl Harbor nine days later to commence pre - deployment operations . After a 16 - day passage from Hawaii , " Tiru " arrived at Brisbane , Australia , on 12 October . Three days later , she sailed to commence ASW exercises in the Coral Sea with warships of the Australian , British , New Zealand , and United States Navies . The nine - day exercise provided for submarine patrol , reconnaissance , and attack operations against both carrier and destroyer task forces before the submarine returned to Brisbane on 26 October . On 2 November , " Tiru " got underway for Subic Bay , Philippine Islands . One day out , the submarine ran aground on Frederick Reef . For two anxious days and nights , " Tiru " attempted to extricate herself from the predicament by backing off under her own power , but to no avail . On 6 November , civilian tugboat " Carlock " and Australian destroyer HMAS " Vendetta " came to the rescue , arriving on the scene and commencing salvage operations under the direction of a 7th Fleet salvage officer . Returning to Brisbane , " Tiru " was drydocked at South Brisbane Dockyard for emergency repairs and damage estimates . Following temporary repairs to her sonar dome , outer hull , and keel , the submarine gingerly made her way from Australia to the United States Naval Ship Repair Facility , Yokosuka , Japan . En route , " Tiru " called at Guam to provision alongside and pick up new crew members . Arriving at Yokosuka on 29 November , the submarine entered drydock for restricted availability . 1967 – 1970 . Once repaired , " Tiru " left Yokosuka on 9 January 1967 for Chin Hae , South Korea , and while in transit provided services for an Iwakuni - based patrol plane squadron . Operating with Republic of Korea ( ROK ) ASW forces from 15 January to 17 January , " Tiru " arrived back at Yokosuka on 22 January for upkeep . From 7 February to 20 March , the submarine conducted special operations before returning for further upkeep prior to a " Yankee Station " deployment off Vietnam . She later operated with Nationalist Chinese forces on ASW exercises ; conducted additional special operations ; and again provided services for patrol plane squadrons based at Iwakuni , before returning to Hawaii on 15 May . Spending the remainder of the year 1967 on local operations out of Pearl Harbor , " Tiru " commenced the year 1968 as a unit of Submarine Division 72 ( SubDiv 72 ) , SubRon 7 , and Submarine Flotilla 5 ( SubFlot 5 ) . On 16 May , the submarine was shifted to operational control of Commander , 7th Fleet , with her home port changed to Yokosuka , Japan . Departing the western Pacific on 4 October after a tour which had included a transit through the Vietnam war zone , " Tiru " returned to the West Coast ; and her home port was changed to San Francisco , Calif . , while she became a unit of SubDiv 52 , SubRon 5 , SubFlot 1 . Overhauls and local operations occupied the ship until 12 November 1969 , when " Tiru " sailed west for another WestPac deployment . Transferred to the command of the Commander , 7th Fleet , on 6 December , the submarine arrived at Yokosuka on 10 December . Five days later , she got underway for special operations which took her into 1970 . " Tiru " participated in Exercise " Sea Rover , " with United States and Australian naval units , before heading home for the United States at the conclusion of her WestPac deployment . While approaching Guam for voyage repairs , she routinely copied the evening weather broadcast which was accompanied by an urgent alert notifying the ship of a search and rescue ( SAR ) operation underway to look for and rescue survivors of a small craft which had been adrift for two days in a heavy sea . An extensive search by Guam - based SAR forces had thus far turned up nothing , but " Tiru " located the five people — two of them Japan ese nationals — and rescued them , despite darkness and high seas . Soon after " Tiru " ' s arrival at Guam on 14 April 1970 , the Japanese consul visited the submarine to express his government ' s appreciation for the ship ' s rescue mission . 1970 – 1975 . Subsequently arriving at San Diego on 8 May after a brief period at Pearl Harbor , " Tiru " conducted local operations and underwent an overhaul prior to being transferred to the Atlantic Fleet on 1 August 1970 . Underway on 6 August for Charleston , S . C . , her new home port , " Tiru " called at Acapulco , Mexico ; Rodman , Canal Zone ; transited the Panama Canal ; and visited Kingston , Jamaica , before reaching Charleston harbor on 2 September . For the remainder of the year , the ship conducted local operations , provided services , and underwent type training — activities which continued into 1972 . Later transferred to SubFlot 6 , SubRon 4 , SubDiv 41 , during 1972 , " Tiru " operated in the Caribbean and off the lower East Coast of the United States , with two deployments to European waters , into 1975 . On 1 July 1975 , " Tiru " was decommissioned and struck from the Navy list to be sold to the Turkish government . An American arms embargo imposed on Turkey as a result of the Cyprus tensions between Greece and Turkey delayed the sale , however , even though negotiations and arrangements had been well into the planning stages . The sale was never completed , and on 19 July 1979 " Tiru " was sunk as a target by submarine at , about off Cape Hatteras , North Carolina .