USS Hammerhead (SS-364)
USS Hammerhead (SS-364), a Balao-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the hammerhead shark; a shark found in warm seas with a flattened anterior forward of the gill slits, presenting a hammer-like silhouette when viewed from above.
The first Hammerhead was launched 24 October 1943 by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. of Manitowoc, Wisc.; sponsored by Mrs. R. W. Berry; and commissioned 1 March 1944, Commander J. C. Martin in command.
After a month's training in Lake Michigan Hammerhead was placed in a floating drydock and towed down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, La., where she arrived 8 April 1944. She subsequently proceeded to Balboa, Canal Zone, for further training, and thence to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Read more about USS Hammerhead (SS-364): First Patrol, June – August 1944, Second Patrol, September – November 1944, Third and Fourth Patrols, November 1944 – March 1945, Fifth and Sixth Patrols, March – May 1945, Seventh Patrol, June – August 1945, Decommissioning, 1945, Second Period in Commission, 1952-1953, TCG Cerbe (S 341), Awards