The USS Cisco (SS-290) was a Balao-class submarine constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, and she was launched on December 24, 1942. Mrs. A. C. Bennett sponsored her, represented by Mrs. N. Robertson, and the vessel was officially commissioned on May 10, 1943, under the command of Commander James W. Coe. Designed as a wartime reconnaissance and attack vessel, Cisco was assigned to the Pacific Fleet upon commissioning. In her early operational history, she departed from Panama on August 7, 1943, heading towards Brisbane, Australia, which she reached on September 1. After her arrival, she undertook local patrol duties in the region, with her first war patrol commencing on September 20, 1943. During her service, Cisco operated in the waters around Australia and was involved in typical wartime patrols aimed at disrupting Japanese shipping and gathering intelligence. However, her operational history was tragically brief. On September 28, 1943, Japanese records indicate that a submarine leaking oil was sighted in an area where Cisco was operating, and this vessel was subsequently attacked by Japanese aircraft, including Nakajima B5N ("Kate") bombers of the 954 Naval Air Squadron, and by the gunboat Karatsu, which was a former U.S. Navy gunboat USS Luzon captured and repurposed by Japanese forces. Japanese records confirm that this submarine was destroyed by bombs and depth charges. It is presumed that the USS Cisco was lost in action on that same day, September 28, 1943. The only known survivor from her crew was taken ashore in Darwin after falling ill, prior to the submarine's sinking. The loss of Cisco marked a somber chapter in her brief but active wartime service, highlighting the peril faced by submarines operating in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.