USS Drum ( SS - 228 ) USS " Drum " ( SS - 228 ) is a of the United States Navy , the first Navy ship named after the drum , any of various types of fish capable of making a drumming sound . " Drum " is presently on display as a museum ship in Mobile , Alabama , at Battleship Memorial Park . " Drum " was laid down on 11 September 1940 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard , Kittery , Maine . She was launched on 12 May 1941 ( sponsored by Mrs . Thomas Holcomb ) , and commissioned on 1 November 1941 , with Commander Robert H . Rice in command . " Drum " was the twelfth of the " Gato " class but was the first completed and the first to enter combat in World War II . She is the oldest of her class still in existence . Service history . World War II . " Drum " arrived at Pearl Harbor from the East Coast on 1 April 1942 , and after a voyage to Midway Atoll , cleared Pearl Harbor on 14 April on her first war patrol . Cruising off the coast of Japan , she sank on 2 May and afterwards endured a 16 hour depth charge attack consisting of 31 depth charges . Later that month she sank three cargo ships before returning to Pearl Harbor on 12 June to refit . " Drum " s second war patrol , which she made in the waters between Truk and Kavieng from 10 July2 September , found her efforts frustrated by poor torpedo performance , but she damaged one freighter before returning to Midway to refit . The submarine sailed from Midway on 23 September on her third war patrol , bound for the eastern coast of Kyūshū . On 8 October , she contacted a convoy of four freighters , and defying the air cover guarding the ships , sank one of the cargo ships before bombs forced her deep . The next day , " Drum " underwent a severe depth charging from several escorts after she attacked a cargo ship . Later in the patrol , she sank one of three air - escorted cargo ships , and damaged at least two more ships before completing her patrol at Pearl Harbor on 8 November . On her fourth patrol , 29 November 194224 January 1943 , " Drum " carried out the demanding task of planting mines in heavily traveled Bungo Suido . On 12 December , she spotted , which had a full deck - load of planes . Although taking water forward due to faulty valves , " Drum " launched torpedoes at this choice target , scoring two hits , and causing the carrier to list so far that her flight deck became completely visible . Also visible was a destroyer bearing down , and splashes that indicated " Drum " s periscope was under fire . As the submarine dove she lost depth control and her port shaft stopped turning . As she made emergency repairs , she underwent two waves of depth charging . When she surfaced several hours later to see what had become of her prey , an airplane forced her down . Also during this patrol , " Drum " damaged a large tanker , another choice target . After a thorough overhaul at Pearl Harbor , " Drum " made her fifth war patrol , 24 March13 May , searching waters south of Truk after she had made a photographic reconnaissance of Nauru . She sank two freighters in April , then refitted at Brisbane , Australia . Her sixth war patrol , 7 June26 July , found her north of the Bismarck Archipelago , sinking a cargo - passenger ship on 17 June . Again she put into Brisbane to replenish , and on 16 August sailed on her seventh war patrol . Adding to her already impressive list of sinkings , she sent a cargo ship to the bottom on 31 August , as well as patrolling off New Georgia during the landings there . She put into Tulagi from 29 September2 October to repair her gyrocompass , then sailed on to Brisbane . " Drum " sailed on 2 November for her eighth war patrol , coordinated with the landings at Cape Torokina . Patrolling between the Carolines and New Ireland , she sank a cargo ship on 17 November , and on 22 November attacked a convoy of four freighters . The convoy ' s escorts delivered three depth charge attacks . " Drum " was heavily damaged and ordered to Pearl Harbor . She returned there on 5 December , and after inspection showed the conning tower needed to be replaced , she sailed to the West Coast . Returning to Pearl Harbor on 29 March 1944 , " Drum " sailed 11 days later on her ninth war patrol , during which she patrolled the waters around Iwo Jima and other islands in the Bonin Islands . No worthy targets were contacted , but a reconnaissance of Chichi Jima gained valuable intelligence for bombardment of the island later by surface ships . The submarine refitted at Majuro from 31 May24 June , then sailed on her 10th war patrol to give lifeguard service for raids on Yap and Palau . She sank a 125 - ton " sampan " on 29 July , capturing two prisoners with whom she arrived at Pearl Harbor on 14 August . She sailed for Surigao Strait on 9 September on her 11th war patrol , and after two weeks in the Strait with no contact , was ordered north to the South China Sea . Here she patrolled during the Leyte landings and the decisive Battle for Leyte Gulf , sinking three cargo ships bound for the Philippines with Japanese reinforcements . While bound for Majuro for refit , " Drum " searched east of Luzon Strait for downed aviators . " Drum " replenished and made repairs at Majuro from 8 November7 December , then sailed for the Nansei Shoto on her 12th war patrol . Only one contact was made during this patrol , and she returned to Guam on 17 January 1945 . During her 13th war patrol , from 11 February2 April , " Drum " played a part in the assaults on both Iwo Jima and Okinawa , providing lifeguard service for air strikes on the Nansei Shoto and the Japanese home islands as bases were neutralized before both invasions . Returning to Pearl Harbor , " Drum " sailed to the West Coast for another overhaul , and after training at Pearl Harbor , cleared Midway on 9 August on what would have been her 14th war patrol ; this trip was cut short by the Japanese surrender on 15 August . She proceeded to Saipan at the end of hostilities , and from there sailed for Pearl Harbor , the Panama Canal Zone , and Portsmouth , New Hampshire . Post - War . " Drum " was decommissioned on 16 February 1946 and on 18 March 1947 , began service at Washington , D . C . , to members of the Naval Reserve in the Potomac River Naval Command , which continued through 1967 . She was in the inactive Fleet at Norfolk , Virginia from 1967 to 1969 . Awards . " Drum " received of 12 battle star s for her World War II service . She is credited with sinking 15 ships , a total of 80 , 580 tons of enemy shipping , eighth highest of all US submarines in total Japanese tonnage sunk . Museum ship and landmark . " Drum " was donated to the USS " Alabama " Battleship Commission on 14 April 1969 . She was towed to Battleship Alabama Memorial Park in Mobile , Alabama arriving on 18 May 1969 . " Drum " was dedicated and opened to the public on 4 July 1969 . The submarine was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986 . " Drum " was moored in the waters behind " Alabama " , until she was substantially damaged by the storm surge of Hurricane Georges in 1998 . As a result , she is now on display on shore . " Alabama " and " Drum " also sustained damage when Hurricane Katrina came ashore on 29 August 2005 . Tours on board " Drum " resumed 9 January 2006 . Most funding to maintain the submarine comes from a community of American Submarine Vets . it is now a major attraction for tourists who visit the battleship