USS Sea Devil (SS/AGSS-400), a Balao-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sea devil (Manta birostria), the largest of all rays, noted for power and endurance. Construction and commissioning Sea Devils keel was laid down 18 November 1943 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine. She was launched on 28 February 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Sherman K. Kennedy, and commissioned on 24 May 1944. World War II First war patrol, September – October 1944 Completing shakedown training at New London, Connecticut, Sea Devil departed that port on 11 July 1944 and arrived at her home port, Pearl Harbor, on 9 August to join Submarine Division (SubDiv) 281 and prepare for her first war patrol. On 3 September, she sailed west. By 15 September, she was off Honshū, and, during the early morning darkness, made contact with her first enemy ships — two sampan-type patrol vessels. Rough seas, however, precluded an attack, and she continued on to patrol in the shipping lanes to Japan's major ports: Yokohama, Kobe, and Osaka. On 16 September, at 04:32, Sea Devil made her second contact; submerged; and commenced closing the target. At 05:38, the enemy, a cargo submarine, was sighted. At 05:45, Sea Devil made her first attack. Four torpedoes were fired. Two exploded against the target. Sea Devil lost depth control. A minute later, periscope depth was regained. Brown smoke marked the enemy's previous location. Seven underwater explosions followed. By 05:53, a large oil slick covered the site where the Japanese submarine had gone down. Sea Devil reloaded and continued to move closer to Japan. On 17 September and 18 September, mountainous seas inhibited hunting. On 21 September, the submarine commenced running along the 100 fathom (183 m) curve, but the strong Kuroshio Current there caused her to lose ground and forced her to shift her course. On the morning of 22 September, she made several contacts, but all were too small. During the early afternoon, she sighted a small convoy and fired on a freighter. The target turned toward the submarine. Sea Devil went deep. An hour later, the surface ships had gone and the hunted submarine again became a hunter. During her remaining 22 days on station, Sea Devil attacked several targets, but scored on none. In mid-October, she headed for Majuro for refit, and, on 19 November, she got underway for