USS Medregal (SS-480)

USS Medregal (SS-480)

USS Medregal (SS-480/AGSS-480), a Tench-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the medregal, a streamlined, fast-swimming, bluish-colored fish of the jack family which abounds in waters of the West Indies and in the Atlantic as far north as the Carolinas.

Medregal's keel was laid down by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on 21 August 1944. She was launched on 15 December 1944, sponsored by Mrs. A. H. Taylor, and was commissioned on 14 April 1945, Commander William M. Wright in command with E. C. Linden as Exec (executive officer). Medregal departed Portsmouth in April 1945. A collision with a U.S. destroyer escort off the north coast of Panama while submerged caused major damage to the periscope shears and radar, requiring a return to Portsmouth just at the time that Germany surrendered. After repairs and Air/Sea Rescue modifications, Medregal departed New London, Connecticut, on 16 June, and steamed to participate in final operations in the Pacific against the Japanese. The surrender of Japan halted her long Pacific voyage and she returned to the Canal Zone, thence to Key West, Florida, for operations with Submarine Squadron 4.