USS Rock (SS/SSR/AGSS-274), a Gato-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy to be named for the rockfish, a striped bass found in the Chesapeake Bay region and elsewhere along the United States East Coast. Construction and commissioning Rock was laid down by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, on 23 December 1942; launched on 20 June 1943, sponsored by Mrs. B. O. Wells, and commissioned on 26 October 1943. Service history World War II After a month of intensive training in Lake Michigan, Rock passed through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (at the time known as the Chicago Drainage Canal) to Lockport, Ill. There she entered a floating drydock for her voyage down the Mississippi River. She arrived in New Orleans on 29 November 1943, and got underway 6 days later for Panama, where she received further training before sailing for Pearl Harbor on 2 January 1944. Following voyage repairs Rock departed from Pearl Harbor for her first war patrol on 8 February 1944. First and second war patrols, February–May 1944 On 29 February 1944, Rock contacted a large enemy convoy en route to Truk. Detected by destroyer Asashimo while making a night surface approach on the convoy, she fired a spread of four torpedoes from her stern tubes at the closing enemy destroyer without scoring. Then illuminated by the destroyer's searchlight, and under fire from the surface ship's guns, she dived. For 4 hours she underwent depth charge attacks, but survived. That night she surfaced and found that her periscopes were excessively damaged and that her bridge had been riddled with shrapnel. The damage necessitated a return to Pearl Harbor for repairs. Later that night, the busy Asashimo sank . Rock began her second war patrol on 4 April 1944, destination Honshū. However, after 34 days in the Bungo Suido and Sagami Wan area without action, she returned to Majuro where she was refitted by . Third war patrol, June–August 1944 Rock, in company with and , departed Majuro on 22 June 1944, in a coordinated attack group to patrol the Luzon Strait. At dawn on 19 July Rock attacked a Japanese convoy of seven large ships and three escorts, firing 10 torpedoes, six of which exploded. But, as she immediately dove to escape a depth-charge attack, she could not observe their effect. Two days later Rock contacted another enemy convoy consisting of six