USS Pintado (SS-387/AGSS-387), a , was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the pintado. Construction and commissioning Pintado was laid down by the Portsmouth Navy Yard at Kittery, Maine, on 7 May 1943; launched on 15 September 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Antonio Prince; and commissioned on 1 January 1944, Lieutenant Commander Bernard A. Clarey in command. Operational history Pintado departed Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 17 February 1944 for torpedo trials at Newport, training from Naval Submarine Base New London at New London, Connecticut, and antisubmarine warfare tactics and experiments with torpedo developments from Key West, Florida. She sailed for the Pacific Ocean on 31 March 1944, transited the Panama Canal, and arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 23 April 1944. World War II First patrol, May – July 1944 On her first war patrol, Pintado served as flagship of a wolfpack, commanded by Captain Leon P. Blair, which also included submarines and . The attack group departed Pearl Harbor 16 May, touched at Midway 20 May – 21 May, and headed for waters west of the Marianas and south of Formosa. On 31 May, they formed a scouting line in search of a convoy reported by submarine . After sparring with the convoy's escorts through the night, Pintado managed to reach attack position shortly before dawn and fired a spread of six torpedoes at overlapping targets, destroying the 4,716 ton cargo ship Toho Maru. She then daringly came within of an escort while bringing her stern tubes to bear on another merchant ship. Although explosions suggested that some of the second spread of torpedoes had scored, no second sinking has been confirmed. Pintado then skillfully evaded angry Japanese destroyers and sped away to safety. About midday on 4 June, Pintado spotted smoke from a Japanese convoy heading toward Saipan. She and her sister subs headed for the enemy, and soon Shark sank 6,886-ton cargo ship Katsunkawa Maru before slipping away from a heavy depth charge attack. The American submarines continued to shadow the convoy and early the next day Sharks torpedoes accounted for two more cargo ships. Pintado made her kills shortly before noon of 6 June, D-Day in Normandy, with a spread of torpedoes at overlapping targets. An awesome explosion tore one ship apart, her bow and stern both projecting up in the air as she sank. The stern of a second was