USS Guitarro (SS-363), a , was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the guitarro. Construction and commissioning Guitarro initially was ordered as a unit of the Balao class, but her builder, the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, did not receive the drawings for the Balao class from the Electric Boat Company in time to build Guitarro or the submarines , , and to the new design, so they were built as Gato-class submarines. Thus, in some references, these four submarines are listed as units of the Balao-class. Guitarro was launched 26 September 1943 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, sponsored by Mrs. Pauline Palmer McIntire, wife of Vice Admiral Ross T. McIntire, chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, and commissioned at Manitowoc on 26 January 1944. World War II service Guitarro departed Manitowoc for Chicago 13 February, and there she was placed in a floating drydock. Steamer Minnesota towed the drydock to New Orleans, arriving 22 February, and there Guitarro prepared for sea. Steaming from New Orleans 1 March, she operated out of Balboa, Canal Zone, for several weeks and departed for Pearl Harbor 2 April 1944. First war patrol, May – June 1944 Arriving at Pearl Harbor 17 April, Guitarro prepared for her first war patrol off Formosa. She got underway on this duty 7 May 1944. On the night of 30 May the submarine encountered heavily escorted cargo vessel Shisen Maru, and scoring two hits sent her to the bottom. She evaded counter-attacks by the screen ships and headed south for rendezvous with a wolf pack of four submarines under the command of Comdr. F. W. Fenno. On the night of 2 June Guitarro made a moonlight periscope approach and launched two torpedoes at the frigate Awaji, sinking her immediately. The submarine was then forced down to avoid depth charge, torpedo, and aircraft attacks. She made port at Darwin, Australia, 19 June, and 2 days later sailed for Fremantle, arriving 27 June 1944. Second war patrol, July – September 1944 Departing on her second war patrol 21 July 1944, Guitarro set course for the South China Sea off the west coast of Luzon. She commenced her approach to the lead escorts of a large convoy 7 August and after missing the first target scored three hits on frigate Kusakaki, blowing off her bow and sinking her in a spectacular explosion.