USS Paddle (SS-263)

USS Paddle (SS-263)

USS Paddle (SS-263), a Gato-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the paddle, a large ganoid fish of the Mississippi and its larger tributaries.

Paddle was laid down on 1 May 1942 by Electric Boat Co., Groton, Connecticut; launched on 30 December 1942; sponsored by Mrs. William M. Fechteler, wife of later Chief of Naval Operations Admiral William M. Fechteler; and commissioned at New London on 29 March 1943, Lieutenant Commander R. H. Rice in command.