USS Snapper ( SS - 185 ) USS " Snapper " ( SS - 185 ) , a " Salmon " - class submarine , was the third ship of the United States Navy of the name and the second to be named for the snapper , any of numerous carnivorous , bass - like fishes , esteemed as food and as game fishes . Her keel was laid down by the Portsmouth Navy Yard on 23 July 1936 . She was launched on 24 August 1937 , sponsored by Mrs . Stark , wife of Rear Admiral Harold R . Stark , Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance , and commissioned on 16 December 1937 with Lieutenant F . O . Johnson in command . Pre - World War II Service . On 10 May 1938 , " Snapper " departed Portsmouth , New Hampshire , for her shakedown cruise , visited Cuba , the Panama Canal Zone , Peru , and Chile , and returned to Portsmouth on 16 July . There , she conducted final acceptance trials and underwent post - shakedown overhaul . On 3 October , " Snapper " was assigned to Submarine Squadron ( SubRon ) 3 based at Balboa , Canal Zone , where she participated in training and fleet exercises until 15 March 1939 , when she set sail for repairs at the Portsmouth Navy Yard . Departing Portsmouth on 9 May , she stopped at New London , Connecticut , and then got underway for the West Coast , arriving at San Diego , California , on 2 June . On 1 July , the submarine set sail for Pearl Harbor and maneuvers in the Hawaiian area , followed by overhaul at the Mare Island Navy Yard in Vallejo , California , from 1 December 1939 to 1 March 1940 . Following her return to San Diego , " Snapper " was assigned to SubRon 6 and got underway for Hawaii on 1 April , arriving at Pearl Harbor on 9 April . Except for a brief voyage to San Diego in October and November 1940 , " Snapper " remained in the Hawaiian area participating in training exercises and fleet tactics until 3 May 1941 , when she departed for overhaul at the Mare Island Navy Yard . Upon completion , she became a unit of SubRon 2 based at San Diego . During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , " Snapper " was operating in the Philippine Islands area . First and Second War Patrols . On 19 December , " Snapper " departed Manila for her first war patrol , covering the shipping lanes between Hong Kong and Hainan Strait until 8 January 1942 , when she set sail for Davao Gulf in the Philippines . On 12 January , she made an unsuccessful attack on a Japanese supply ship which escaped when " Snapper " was forced down by an escorting destroyer . While off Cape San Agustin on 24 January , she attacked another supply ship without success , again being forced deep by destroyer escorts . On 1 February , as the submarine approached Bangka Strait , she was detected by an enemy destroyer which made a fruitless depth charge attack . In return , " Snapper " fired two torpedoes but both failed to find the target . " Snapper " arrived at Soerabaja , Java , on 10 February and then continued on to Fremantle , Western Australia . " Snapper " departed Fremantle on 6 March for the approaches to Tarakan , Indonesia , and her second war patrol . Finding no suitable targets there , she was directed to Davao Gulf where , on 31 March , she closed a large armed tender or auxiliary cruiser . She fired two bow torpedoes at and , after reversing course , came to periscope depth to observe the enemy ship dead in the water . After firing one torpedo from her stern tube , she was forced deep to evade an attacking escort ship . Later that night , she was ordered to Mactan Island to unload ammunition and take on board 46 tons of food for the besieged island of Corregidor . Arriving there on 4 April , she transferred her cargo to submarine rescue vessel , took on board 27 evacuees , and headed back to Fremantle , evading Japanese destroyer patrols on the way . On 23 April , " Snapper " received word that was in trouble and reversed course to go to her aid . After towing the stricken submarine to Fremantle , she sailed for Albany and then returned to Fremantle . Third and Fourth War Patrols . " Snapper " ’ s third war patrol was conducted in the Flores Sea , Makassar Strait , and the western Celebes Sea . Despite intensive efforts , the submarine found no worthwhile targets and returned to Fremantle from a disappointing patrol on 16 July . On 8 August , " Snapper " headed for the South China Sea and her fourth war patrol . On 19 August , she fired two torpedoes at a cargo ship but lost contact when forced to evade an escort ship . The only other targets sighted during this patrol were at too great a distance or on a course and speed that prevented the submarine from closing . Fifth , Sixth and Seventh War Patrols . Although both the fifth and sixth war patrols were also unproductive , during the seventh , conducted in the vicinity of Guam , " Snapper " sank her initial victim of the war . According to her war diary , she sighted two vessels moored in the extreme northeast corner of Apra Harbor , Guam , and decided to patrol submerged off the harbor until they departed . Seven days later , on 27 August , she headed to the north of the harbor , firing three torpedoes at the first target and one at the second . As she quickly departed the vicinity , " Snapper " observed one hit on the first target , sinking the passenger - cargo ship " Tokai Maru " , stern first . On 2 September , " Snapper " closed a convoy of five cargo ships and two escorts . The primary targets , the cargo ships , zigged away ; and , when the port escort came into view " head on , " the submarine fired a " down - the - throat " shot at the escort , Japanese frigate " Mutsure " , that blew the enemy ' s bow completely off and enveloped her in flames as she sank . The submarine quickly cleared the locality as the other escort commenced a depth charge attack . On 6 September , " Snapper " intercepted another convoy and fired three torpedoes ; but all were misses . On 17 September , she terminated her seventh patrol at Pearl Harbor . Eighth and Ninth War Patrols . " Snapper " ’ s eighth war patrol was conducted off Honshū , Japan , from 19 October to 14 December . While battling heavy seas on 29 November , the submarine sighted a convoy of five ships and two escorts and began to close the range . She fired three bow torpedoes and scored two hits that set the cargo ship " Kenryu Maru " ablaze as she settled by the bow and sank . On 14 March 1944 , following overhaul at Pearl Harbor , " Snapper " began her ninth war patrol , conducted in the area of the Bonin Islands . Few worthwhile targets were sighted during this patrol . On 24 March , she contacted a convoy of 12 ships and fired eight torpedoes with six hits . She was credited with damaging a freighter but , due to heavy seas , was unable to continue the attack . Enemy escorts and heavy seas continually prevented any further attacks , and " Snapper " returned to Midway Island on 29 April . Tenth and Eleventh War Patrols . " Snapper " spent her tenth war patrol engaged in lifeguard duties near Truk in support of bombardment missions by the United States Army Air Forces . On 9 June , while the submarine was patrolling on the surface , an enemy plane broke quickly from a low cloud and attacked . As " Snapper " quickly dove , one bomb struck directly above the hatch instantly killing one crewman and injuring several others , including the commanding officer . As the submarine continued to dive , shells were heard striking her hull . Upon surfacing , it was found that her pressure hull had not been damaged , but a heavy oil slick indicated a puncture of a fuel oil ballast tank . Minor repairs were made . Two wounded enlisted men were transferred to submarine tender at Majuro Atoll on 13 June , and " Snapper " continued her lifeguard duty until returning to Pearl Harbor on 21 July . On 5 September , " Snapper " departed Pearl Harbor for her eleventh and final war patrol , conducted in the Bonin Islands area . On 1 October , the submarine encountered two enemy vessels escorted by a small patrol craft . The submarine fired her bow torpedoes at the large target then swung for a " down - the - throat " shot at the smaller vessel . Hits were scored on both vessels resulting in the sinking of the passenger - cargo ship " Seian Maru " , and the coastal minelayer , " Ajiro " . " Snapper " then took up lifeguard station off Iwo Jima until 18 October and terminated her eleventh patrol at Midway on 27 October , before continuing on to Pearl Harbor . End of war and fate . " Snapper " departed Pearl Harbor on 2 November and set sail for overhaul at the Mare Island Navy Yard . Getting underway from Mare Island on 9 March 1945 , the submarine arrived at San Diego on 11 March and engaged in local training operations for several months . She transited the Panama Canal on 20 May and arrived at New London , Connecticut , on 27 May where she operated until decommissioned at Boston , Massachusetts , on 17 November 1945 . " Snapper " was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 April 1948 and sold for scrap to the Interstate Metals Corporation of New York , on 18 May 1948 . " Snapper " received six battle star s for World War II service .