The first USS Spadefish (SS/AGSS-411), a Balao-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the spadefish. Although she was commissioned late in the war and spent only one year in the Pacific war zone, she was able to run up a record of 88,091 tons in 21 ships and numerous trawlers sunk.
USS Spadefish (SS-411) off Mare Island Navy Yard on 11 May 1944.
In the Yellow Sea in November 1944 Spadefish sank the 1902 cargo ship Daiboshi Maru No. 6. This photo shows her as the British ship Gracchus, which was her name until Japanese owners bought her in 1923.
USS Spadefish's battle flag
The Balao class was a design of United States Navy submarine used during World War II, and with 120 boats completed, the largest class of submarines in the United States Navy. An improvement on the earlier Gato class, the boats had slight internal differences. The most significant improvement was the use of thicker, higher yield strength steel in the pressure hull skins and frames, which increased their test depth to 400 feet (120 m). Tang actually achieved a depth of 612 ft (187 m) during a test dive,
and exceeded that test depth when taking on water in the forward torpedo room while evading a destroyer.
USS Balao in 1944
Scheme of USS Pampanito (SS-383)
General Motors Cleveland Model 16-248 diesel engine
Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8⅛ diesel engine