USS Lizardfish
USS Lizardfish , a Balao-class submarine, was a boat of the United States Navy named for the lizardfish, a slender marine fish having a scaly, lizard-like head and large mouth.
Construction and commissioning
Lizardfish was laid down on 14 March 1944 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company at Manitowoc, Wisconsin; launched on 16 July 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Lansdale G. Sasscer; wife of Congressman Sasscer of Maryland; and commissioned on 30 December 1944.Operational history
World War II
Lizardfish departed the Manitowoc River 20 January 1945 for Lockport, IL, where she was loaded on a floating drydock and towed down the Mississippi River. She arrived at Algiers, La., 1 February and put to sea 5 days later for the Panama Canal and Pearl Harbor, arriving 23 March.Lizardfish left Pearl Harbor on her first war patrol 9 April 1945. Topping off with fuel at Saipan on the 21st, she set course for the South China Sea. The submarine maintained a thorough close-in patrol of Indochina between 30 April and 18 May, but contacted no enemy traffic. From 23 to 28 May, a similar painstaking patrol in the Java Sea produced no enemy contacts. Completing this arduous patrol, Lizardfish arrived Fremantle, Australia, on 2 June.
Lizardfish got underway 28 June 1945 on her second patrol in the Java and South China Seas. Throughout this patrol, the submarine sought out targets and carried destruction to the enemy in confined harbors, straits, and anchorages. After careful submerged reconnaissance, she made two daring daylight gun attacks within range of shore batteries.
On 5 July, she entered the coral-fringed bay of Chelukan Bawang, Bali, discovering four landing barges, a 250-ton sea truck, and a 100-ton submarine chaser, all heavily camouflaged. She made a submerged run and sank No.1-class submarine chaser Cha-37, then battle-surfaced and opened her deck guns. Her salvos started a gasoline fire which destroyed a nest of four landing barges. She then demolished a boat shed and ripped apart the bow of a sea truck inside. Leaving this target in a flaming mass, she headed out to sea.
On 19 July near Sunda Strait, she was patrolling southward along the western shore when her crew sighted a convoy of sea trucks. The submarine surfaced and commenced firing at the closest target, started a brisk fire, and shifted targets. Meanwhile, a shore battery opened up and was lobbing shells close by. When ammunition was expended, Lizardfish submerged, leaving behind three ships burning fiercely. She surfaced that night and headed for lifeguard station off Singapore in support of Army B-24 Liberator bomber strikes. The submarine arrived Subic Bay, Philippines, on 6 August and was there when Japan capitulated nine days later.
Lizardfish received one battle star for World War II service.