USS Batfish ( SS - 310 ) USS " Batfish " ( SS / AGSS - 310 ) , is a " Balao " - class submarine , known primarily for the remarkable feat of sinking three Imperial Japanese Navy submarines in a 76 - hour period , in February 1945 . USS " Batfish " is the first vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the batfish , a small pediculate fish resembling the stingray . Construction and commissioning . Originally to be named " Acoupa " , hull SS - 310 was renamed " Batfish " on 24 September 1942 prior to its keel laying on 27 December 1942 . The Batfish was constructed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Kittery , Maine and launched 5 May 1943 sponsored by Mrs . Nellie W . Fortier ; and commissioned 21 August 1943 , with Lieutenant Commander Wayne R . Merrill in command . Service history . 1943 - 1945 . " Batfish " s war operations spanned a period from 11 December 1943 to 26 August 1945 during which she completed seven war patrols . She is credited with having sunk nine Japanese ships totaling 10 , 658 tons while operating east of Japan , in the Philippine Sea , Luzon Strait , and South China Sea . " Batfish " received the Presidential Unit Citation for her sixth war patrol in the South China Sea during which she sank the three Japanese submarines . She was also awarded six battle star s for her World War II service . Combatant vessels sunk were : the minesweeper " # 22 " on 23 August 1944 at ; the destroyer " Samidare " , 26 August 1944 at ; " most likely " Japanese Submarine " RO - 115 " ( since there were several possible IJN subs missing in approximately the same time period and region , along with conflicting claims of sinking by other US surface warships and aircraft ) on 10 February 1945 at ; Japanese submarine " RO - 112 " on 11 February 1945 at ; and Japanese submarine " RO - 113 " on 13 February 1945 at . 1946 - 1952 . " Batfish " arrived in San Francisco on 9 September 1945 after the Japanese surrender . After arriving in San Francisco , " Batfish " was sent to Mare Island Navy Yard for inactive overhaul to prepare the boat for her peacetime service . Following completion of her pre - inactivation overhaul , " Batfish " was decommissioned on 6 April 1946 and laid up as a training vessel in the Pacific Reserve Fleet . 1952 - 1969 . As the Korean War gained intensity , " Batfish " received her reactivation overhaul in January 1952 and was recommissioned on 7 March 1952 with Lieutenant Commander Robert J . Jackson in command . She set course via the Panama Canal for Key West , Florida after six weeks of readiness training . She was assigned to Submarine Division 122 , U . S . Atlantic Fleet on 21 April . " Batfish " served the remainder of her commissioned career in training operations in the Caribbean and along the eastern seaboard . She was deactivated for the last time 5 May 1957 at the Charleston Naval Shipyard she was later decommissioned on 4 August 1958 and assigned to the Charleston Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . During the summer of 1959 , " Batfish " was assigned as a naval reserve training vessel in New Orleans , and on 1 July 1960 , she was redesignated as an Auxiliary Research Submarine ( AGSS - 310 ) on 1 July 1960 . She continued to serve at New Orleans until she was laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet and her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Registry on 1 November 1969 after 26 years of Service . Museum ship . Procurement . Starting in 1969 , Oklahoma Submarine veterans were impressed by the museum in Mobile , Alabama , which drew over 300 , 000 paying visitors its first year . A delegation from the Oklahoma City and Tulsa chapters asked the U . S . Navy if they could adopt a retired submarine . On hand at the time in the New Orleans Naval Yard was , which the Navy agreed to turn over to them if they could fulfill the donation requirements . Wanting " Piranha " for his hometown , then State Senator James Inhofe agreed to sponsor a bill accepting the submarine for Oklahoma . An initial report claimed that it was impossible to get a submarine as far upriver as Tulsa , due to the Arkansas River Channel not being deep enough above Muskogee , Oklahoma . Later , a direct tow to Muskogee was determined to also not be possible , therefore another method of transport other than direct towing would have to be devised . The Muskogee City - County Trust Port Authority in the meantime donated five acres of prime waterfront real estate for the submarine ' s berth and memorial park . The procurement committee met with the Navy for preliminary arrangements for the transfer of " Piranha " , however the Navy would not hold the submarine unless the committee made a formal application for her with possession being immediate once the donation contract was approved . Since the Arkansas River Navigable Waterway system would not be open for at least a year , interim docking charges would be incurred . The procurement committee decided to wait and take their chances on another submarine being made available . In September 1970 , the procurement committee inspected " Batfish " as a possible alternative to " Piranha " , both of which were mothballed at the Naval Inactive Ship Facility in Orange , Texas . Both submarines had suffered considerable neglect , with " Piranha " being almost completely cannibalized for parts , whereas " Batfish " was much cleaner and better outfitted . " Batfish " s better war record compared to " Piranha " impressed the committee ; in 1971 , a formal application to acquire " Batfish " was made . The Navy made no objection to the last - minute swap , and the donation contract was drawn up on 24 June 1971 . John H . Chafee , the Secretary of the Navy , approved the transaction and congressional approval was obtained on 8 November 1971 . Towing and permanent placement . On 9 December 1971 , ownership of the boat was transferred to the Oklahoma Maritime Advisory Board . The towing was divided into two phases . Phase one was a direct offshore tow from Orange to the Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans . At the shipyard , " Batfish " would be raised on steel lifting straps and cradled between two pairs of bare - decked barges , so the submarine ' s draft would be high enough to make phase two of the tow , upriver , possible . Strike action at the Orange drydock caused the submarine to instead be towed to the Bethlehem Steel drydock in Beaumont , Texas . After a general inspection and clearing of fuel and ballast tanks , " Batfish " was sealed up and was ready to tow to Avondale on 1 March 1972 . At Avondale , it was found that the four barges were insufficient to reduce the submarine ' s draft , and a new plan for six barges , ballasted to the outside and linked together by steel cables . On 13 March , " Batfish " was partially secured to the barges by lifting straps , but no cables had been placed to bind them together . That afternoon , the English tanker " Silverman " passed through a nearby zone at : the resulting wake sank one barge and seriously damaged several others , although " Batfish " herself escaped major harm . The flotilla of barges was re - assembled , and " Batfish " was slowly moved up - river by two tugs at . On 3 May 1972 she passed with ease through Lock - and - Dam Number 6 , but her superstructure had trouble clearing a bridge on the way into Little Rock , Arkansas , and was only able to pass under when the U . S . Army Corps of Engineers lowered the river level by . One tug returned downriver , and the second tug continued the tow towards Fort Smith . " Batfish " arrived at the Will Brothers Port of Muskogee Terminal on 7 May 1972 : this was her temporary home until a wide , trench could be dug to the boat ' s permanent berthing site . On 4 July 1972 , while still at Muskogee Terminal , " Batfish " was unofficially opened to the public . Heavy spring rains flooded the Arkansas River on 12 March 1973 , which caused " Batfish " to strain at her moorings , with fears that she would rip loose and damage the surrounding docks or collide with the new U . S . Route 62 bridge downriver and block the channel . Although the submarine remained moored , the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Commission wanted to return the submarine to the Navy . However , the Navy expected Oklahoma to honor its contract . On 4 April 1973 , the trench to the new slipway was completed , and " Batfish " was manoeuvered into position by cables attached to four bulldozers , plus a Port of Muskogee tugboat . Over the next week , further flooding of the slip was used to bring the submarine to her final resting elevation , and by 1 May , she had been realigned to overlook the Arkansas River . " Batfish " was officially opened on the Memorial Day weekend ; by the end of August 1973 , the submarine was attracting a thousand visitors a week , with income from paid attendance doubling over the boat ' s first seven weeks on display . The submarine had been restored well , with the exception of the conning tower , and she is open to the public from late March until November .