USS Bluegill [SEP] vessel class
USS Bluegill
USS "Bluegill" (SS-242), a "Gato"-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the bluegill.
Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, on 17 December 1942. She was launched on 8 August 1943 (sponsored by Mrs. Cole, wife of Congressman W. Sterling Cole of New York) and commissioned on 11 November 1943, with Lieutenant Commander Eric L. Barr, Jr. (Class of 1934) in command, and
Vessel Register on 28 June 1969. In 1971, she was sunk and moored to the bottom as a salvage trainer about two kilometers off Lahaina in of water. For the next thirteen years, her hull was used for underwater rescue training.
In November 1983, after a month of preparatory work, the twin "Edenton"-class salvage and rescue ships and raised ex-"Bluegill" and towed her to deep water where she was sunk with military honors.
"Bluegill" received the Navy Unit Commendation for her first war patrol during which