USS Perch (SS-176) - a Porpoise-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the perch.

The Porpoise class were submarines built for the United States Navy in the late 1930s, and incorporated a number of modern features that would make them the basis for subsequent Salmon, Sargo, Tambor, Gato, Balao, and Tench classes. In some references, the Porpoises are called the "P" class.