by a small escort. She launched six torpedoes at the "freighter," which disconcertingly turned and closed Sterlet. She succeeded in evading that aquatic chameleon and returned to Midway on 10 June. Fifth war patrol Sterlet’s final war patrol commenced on 5 July when she departed Midway for the vicinity of Kii Suido and Bungo Suido. Except for one occasion when she shelled oil storage tanks and a power plant near Shingu on Honshū, this whole patrol was given over to lifeguard duty for the crews of carrier planes and B-29 Superfortresses attacking Japan. Sterlet rescued a New Zealander and a Briton, one was near the Kii Channel between Shikoku and Honshu. When Japanese capitulation brought an end to the patrol, Sterlet returned to Midway on 23 August. On 6 September, she sailed for the United States reaching San Diego Naval Base ten days later. Post-war activities Sterlet remained on the West Coast until the end of February 1946, at San Diego until 13 November and at San Francisco, California, thereafter. On 26 February 1946, she started back to the western Pacific and after briefly stopping at Pearl Harbor, Guam, and Subic Bay, arrived in Tsingtao, China, on 20 April. She operated out of Tsingtao until the end of May, participating in the Navy's show of force along the northern China coast. She spent the first ten days of June in Shanghai and then got underway for Pearl. Sterlet reached Oahu on 22 June and conducted operations in the Hawaiian Islands for the next 16 months. She headed west again on 15 November 1947 and reached Brisbane, Australia, on 1 December. Five days later, the submarine shaped a course for Guam, arriving there on 14 December. She departed Guam on 2 January 1948, stopped at Okinawa from 6 January to 10 January, and arrived in the Sasebo operating area on 12 January. For the rest of the month, she operated in the vicinity of Sasebo and Yokosuka, visiting both ports. On 28 January, she sailed for the California coast and, after a brief stop at Midway and a six-week layover in Pearl Harbor, reached San Francisco on 30 April. On 1 May, she reported to the Pacific Reserve Fleet for inactivation. She was placed out of commission, in reserve on 18 September 1948 and berthed at Mare Island, California. Just under two years later, on 7 August 1950, Sterlet was ordered