The USS Archerfish (SS/AGSS-311) was a Balao-class submarine constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid on 22 January 1943 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, and she was launched on 28 May 1943, sponsored by Malvina Thompson, Eleanor Roosevelt’s secretary. Commissioned on 4 September 1943, Archerfish underwent shakedown training off New England before heading to Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal, arriving on 29 November 1943 to join the Pacific Fleet. Throughout her wartime service, Archerfish conducted multiple war patrols targeting Japanese vessels and provided critical lifeguard services. Notably, during her fifth patrol in November 1944, she sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano—the largest warship ever sunk by a submarine—after firing six torpedoes that struck the 72,000-ton carrier, which was originally a battleship converted into a supercarrier. The sinking of Shinano, achieved under the command of Commander Joseph F. Enright, earned Archerfish the Presidential Unit Citation and Enright the Navy Cross. The attack was a significant maritime event, as Shinano was the largest warship lost during WWII. Archerfish’s design included a length of approximately 312 feet, a beam of 27.9 feet, and a surfaced displacement of about 1,500 tons. Her armament comprised torpedo tubes and deck guns suitable for submerged and surface combat. Post-war, Archerfish continued her service with various patrols and scientific missions, including Operation Sea Scan, which involved extensive oceanographic surveys across the Pacific and Atlantic. She was reclassified as an auxiliary submarine (AGSS-311) in the early 1960s and participated in deep-sea escape experiments. She was finally decommissioned on 12 June 1968, struck from the Naval Vessel Register, and sunk as a target off San Diego by a torpedo from the submarine Snook on 17 October 1968. Archerfish remains a historically significant vessel, chiefly remembered for her extraordinary sinking of Shinano and her contributions to submarine warfare and oceanographic research.

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