The USS Flying Fish (SS/AGSS-229) was a Gato-class submarine constructed for the United States Navy, renowned for its extensive wartime service during World War II. Her keel was laid on December 6, 1940, at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. She was launched on July 9, 1941, with Mrs. Dorothy K. Kimmel as her sponsor, and commissioned on December 10, 1941, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Glynn "Donc" Donaho. The vessel measured approximately 311 feet in length, with a beam of around 27 feet, and displaced approximately 1,526 tons when submerged. Her armament included torpedoes, which she used effectively in numerous combat engagements. Flying Fish’s service record comprises twelve war patrols, during which she sank a total of 58,306 tons of Japanese shipping and earned 12 battle stars. Her operational history began shortly after her commissioning, with her first patrols off Midway and around Japan, where she conducted reconnaissance, screening, and offensive operations. Notably, during her second war patrol, she engaged a Japanese battleship, Yamato, launching torpedoes at her and surviving intense depth charge attacks. Flying Fish demonstrated boldness and resilience throughout her missions, sinking various enemy vessels, including transports and patrol ships, despite facing counterattacks and technical issues with torpedoes. In 1944, after multiple successful patrols, she participated in lifeguard duties during air strikes on Celebes and provided vital intelligence that contributed to the Allied naval campaign. Her final wartime patrol was conducted in the Sea of Japan, where she sank additional enemy vessels before returning to Pearl Harbor in July 1945. Post-war, Flying Fish served as flagship of the Atlantic Fleet’s submarine force and participated in training, exercises, and sonar experiments, notably becoming the first American submarine to make 5,000 dives in 1952. She was reclassified as an auxiliary submarine (AGSS-229) in 1950, decommissioned in 1954, and sold for scrapping in 1959. Her service history underscores her significance as a resilient and successful wartime submarine, with notable contributions to US naval operations during WWII.

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