USS Skate ( SS - 305 ) USS " Skate " ( SS - 305 ) was a United States Navy " Balao " - class submarine named for the skate , a type of ray . " Skate " was laid down at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard of Vallejo , California , 1 August 1942 . She was launched on 4 March 1943 , sponsored by Mrs . George P . Shamer and commissioned on 15 April with Commander Eugene B . McKinney in command . First War Patrol . Following shakedown off the California coast , " Skate " sailed to Pearl Harbor and on 25 September 1943 , headed toward Wake Island and her first war patrol during which she performed lifeguard duty for the carriers during airstrikes against that Japanese - held island . At dawn on 6 October , the submarine was strafed by enemy aircraft , mortally wounding one of her officers as he attempted to assist wounded airmen from a liferaft . The next day , " Skate " closed to within 5 , 000 yards ( 4 , 600 m ) of the beach , in the face of heavy enemy bombardment , to rescue two downed aviators . While searching for a third , she was attacked by a Japanese dive - bomber , and was forced to dive to escape . After a short return to Midway Island , " Skate " returned to Wake Island and rescued four additional airmen before terminating her first patrol at Midway on 29 October . Second War Patrol . On 15 November , " Skate " departed Midway for her second war patrol , conducted off Truk in the Caroline Islands . On 25 November , she sighted the masts of five warships ; but , after firing a spread of torpedo es at overlapping aircraft carriers , she was forced down by depth charging from the escort ships . On 30 November , " Skate " attacked Japanese carriers " Zuihō " , " Chuyō " , and " Unyō " without success . While north of Truk on 21 December , the submarine torpedoed and sank the cargo ship " Terukawa Maru " . During a rain squall on Christmas Day 1943 , she made a daring attack which damaged the battleship " Yamato " , the pride of the Japanese Fleet . " Skate " returned to Midway for refit on 7 January 1944 . Third and Fourth War Patrols . " Skate " ' s third war patrol was again conducted in the area of the Carolines , in support of Operation Hailstone , the carrier airstrikes on Truk . " Skate " departed Midway on 5 February , this time under the command of Lt . Commander W . P . " Bud " Gruner , Jr . On 16 February , the evening before the airstrike , " Skate " intercepted a Japanese light cruiser , which had survived a previous torpedo attack by submarine . " Skate " launched four torpedoes for three certain hits that engulfed the ship in a shroud of smoke as the submarine submerged to evade heavy depth charging from the enemy escorts . She later returned to the scene of the attack , but before another torpedo could be launched , the cruiser rolled to port and sank . It was later determined the cruiser sunk was the Japanese light cruiser " Agano " . Following the airstrikes and further patrol in the area , the submarine returned to Pearl Harbor on 17 March . During her fourth war patrol , off the Bonin Islands from 11 April to 31 May , " Skate " scored hits on an enemy cargo ship for unconfirmed damage and , on 14 May , sank an enemy sampan in a surface attack , taking three prisoners of war . Fifth , Sixth and Seventh War Patrols . " Skate " departed Midway on 23 June on her fifth war patrol , conducted off the Kuril Islands . On 7 July , she intercepted a convoy of five ships and escorting destroyer s , fired three torpedo es , and sank the trailing destroyer , " Usugumo " . The submarine was then forced deep by the other escorts and depth charged for over two hours before escaping . On 15 July , the submarine sank a cargo ship taking two prisoners and , on the following day , another cargo ship was also sent to the bottom . " Skate " terminated her fifth patrol at Pearl Harbor on 7 August . Departing Pearl Harbor on 9 September , " Skate " sailed for the Ryukyu Islands and her sixth war patrol , during which she performed photographic reconnaissance of Okinawa and , on 29 September , sank a small patrol craft and a cargo ship . Following her return to Pearl Harbor , she got underway for overhaul at Hunters Point Navy Yard , San Francisco , California . " Skate " got underway from Pearl Harbor for her seventh war patrol on 11 April 1945 , to form a coordinated attack group with other submarines and patrol in the Sea of Japan . On the morning of 10 June , she encountered a Japanese submarine on the surface returning to port . As the enemy crossed her bow , " Skate " launched two torpedoes with two hits , sinking the target . Two days later , while off the Nanto Peninsula , she evaded gunfire of enemy ships and an attack by an enemy escort to sink three cargo ships . " Skate " terminated her seventh war patrol at Pearl Harbor on 4 July . End of World War II and fate . " Skate " departed Pearl Harbor on 5 August for her eighth war patrol ; but , while en route to the patrol area , she received word of the Japanese surrender and returned to port , and then set sail for the United States arriving at San Diego , California , on 6 September . For the next four months , she participated in training operations along the west coast , and then sailed to Pearl Harbor arriving on 9 January 1946 . On 21 May , she departed for Bikini Atoll , Marshall Islands , to be used as a target ship in Operation Crossroads , the atomic bomb tests . Although considerably damaged by the first of the tests , the submarine survived and was towed back to Pearl Harbor , where she was moored in an isolated berth . On 11 October , salvage vessel took " Skate " in tow and headed for San Francisco , and then to Mare Island Naval Shipyard where the submarine was inspected and then decommissioned on 11 December . The submarine was destroyed on 5 October 1948 , off the California coast , and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 21 October 1948 . Awards . " Skate " received eight battle star s for World War II service .