USS Sand Lance (SS-381)

USS Sand Lance (SS-381)

USS Sand Lance (SS-381), a Balao-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sand lance, a member of the ammodytidae family. Her keel was laid down on 12 March 1943 by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. She was launched on 25 June 1943 sponsored by Mrs. Edith Burrows, and commissioned on 9 October 1943 at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with Commander Malcolm Everett Garrison in command.

Sand Lance conducted training exercises out of New London, Connecticut, until 18 December 1943 when she sailed for the Panama Canal. She transited the canal on 30 December and reached her base of operations, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 17 January 1944. On 8 February, she got underway for the first of her five war patrols. She stopped at Midway Island for fuel, then headed for the Kuril Islands.