— a submarine — was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the mingo snapper. Construction and commissioning Mingo′s keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company at Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 30 November 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Henry L. Pence, and commissioned on 12 February 1943. Operational history After shakedown off Long Island, Mingo departed for Naval Station Newport at Newport, Rhode Island, on 1 April 1943 for three weeks of operations with the Naval Torpedo Station. She cleared Naval Submarine Base New London at New London, Connecticut on 16 May 1943 for the Pacific via the Panama Canal Zone. First and second war patrols After further training at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Mingo departed on her maiden war patrol on 25 June 1943. She made damaging attacks on three Japanese merchant ships and bombarded Sorol Island off the Palaus before returning to Pearl Harbor for refit. Her second war patrol — from 29 September-20 November — took her to the Marshalls, Carolines, and Marianas. Her torpedoes damaged a Japanese cruiser. She departed the Hawaiian Islands for overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard, San Pablo Bay, California. It is likely that her Hooven-Owens-Rentschler diesels were replaced with Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8⅛ opposed piston engines during this overhaul. The submarine left the West Coast on 3 February 1944 for continued operations in the Pacific. Third and fourth war patrols For her third war patrol, Mingo joined the US 7th Fleet in patrolling the South China Sea. She then sailed for Brisbane, Australia, via the Bismarck Sea and Milne Bay, New Guinea, arriving on 9 May. She continued on to Manus, Admiralty Islands on 10 June for further training. Mingo left Manus for the Philippines on 18 June on her fourth war patrol. On 7 July, she attacked a Japanese high-speed convoy off Luzon and sank the destroyer . The submarine put into Fremantle, Australia on 30 July. Fifth and sixth war patrols Mingo began her fifth war patrol on 27 August 1944. Although her primary operation was lifeguard duty in support of the US Thirteenth Air Force strikes on the Philippines and Borneo, she sank four coastal freighters. Mingo did a noteworthy job as lifeguard as she rescued 16 B-24 Liberator fliers shot down off Balikpapan, Borneo; six of them from rubber boats in Makassar Strait and the other 10 from the beach of