USS Blueback (SS-326)

A form of the rainbow or steelhead trout found only in Lake Crescent on the Olympic peninsula in Washington state. The fish lives in deep water and is bluish black along its upper sides and whitish underneath.

Blueback (SS-326) was laid down on 29 July 1943 at Groton, Conn., by the Electric Boat Co.; launched on 7 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. William Brent Young; and commissioned on 28 August 1944 at New London, Conn., Lt. Comdr. Merrill K. Clementson in command.

Following shakedown training off New London and Newport, R.I., the new submarine got underway on 2 October for Key West, Fla. Upon her arrival there, she began making sound training runs for ships being trained in the Fleet Sound School. She sailed for the Canal Zone on 20 October, transited the Panama Canal on the 24th, and engaged in further training at Balboa, before continuing on to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where she arrived on 22 November. The submarine underwent voyage repairs and another two weeks' training in Hawaiian waters.

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From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Blueback I (SS-326)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.