USS Stingray (SS-186), a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named the stingray. Construction and commissioning Stingray′s keel was laid down at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, on 1 October 1936. She was launched on 6 October 1937, sponsored by Mrs. Olive G. McLean, widow of Rear Admiral Ridley McLean, who had had a distinguished career in the submarine service, and was commissioned on 15 March 1938. Pre-World War II service Following shakedown off New England and in the Caribbean Sea, Stingray entered Portsmouth Navy Yard for alterations and upon completion on 14 January 1939, departed for a cruise in Caribbean waters. After briefly stopping at New London, Connecticut, on 20 April the submarine transited the Panama Canal and arrived at San Diego, California, on 11 May for a rigorous schedule of training and maneuvers as a unit of Submarine Squadron 6. She put to sea on 1 April 1940 for fleet exercises in the Hawaiian area, followed by overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard at Vallejo, California. Upon completion, Stingray returned to the Hawaiian area, where she remained until joining the Asiatic Fleet at Cavite, Philippine Islands, on 23 October 1941. First and second war patrols Stingray was at Manila on 7 December during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and immediately put to sea on her first war patrol. Patrolling in Lingayen Gulf, the submarine witnessed the Japanese invasion of Lingayen, but due to material deficiencies in the submarine, she was unable to attack. She terminated her first war patrol at Manila on 24 December. Following repairs, Stingray got underway on her second war patrol on 30 December. While in Sama Bay on 10 January 1942, she torpedoed and sank her initial victim of the war, the transport Harbin Maru. The submarine then patrolled in Davao Gulf through 8 February without any contacts and put into Surabaja, Java, on 12 February. As the Japanese closed upon that Dutch base, she quickly got underway for Fremantle, Western Australia, arriving on 3 March. Third and fourth war patrols Stingray departed Fremantle on 16 March for her third war patrol, conducted in the Celebes Sea and Java Sea. The only worthwhile target encountered during this patrol was a Japanese destroyer cruising just off Makassar City Celebes. Although the submarine fired three torpedoes at the enemy, all were misses. Stingray returned to Fremantle on