USS Argonaut (SS-475)

A relative of the octopus, sometimes called the paper nautilus, which propels itself underwater by expelling a jet of water. The name argonaut may also have been inspired by the submarine of that name built in 1897 by Simon Lake which was the first submarine to navigate extensively in the open sea. Ultimately, the name is derived from the band of 50 heroes in Greek legend who sailed with Jason in the ship Argo to retrieve the Golden Fleece.

The second Argonaut (SS-475) was laid down on 28 June 1944 by the Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard; launched on 1 October 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Allen R. McCann, the wife of Capt. McCann; and commissioned on 15 January 1945, Lt. Comdr. John Sneed Schmidt in command.

The submarine held shakedown in the Portsmouth area and in Narragansett Bay and returned briefly to Portsmouth on 27 March for post-shakedown availability. She then sailed on 14 April for Key West, Fla., where she conducted special tests for lighter-than-air craft and training operations with the Fleet Sound School. Argonaut departed the Florida coast on 13 May to transit the Panama Canal en route Hawaii. Reaching Pearl Harbor on 11 June, the submarine spent two weeks in repairs and training exercises before beginning her first war patrol on 28 June.

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From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Argonaut II (SS-475)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.