USS Salmon (SS-182)

History: USS Salmon (SS-182) was the lead ship of her class of submarine. She was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the salmon, a soft-finned, game fish which inhabits the coasts of America and Europe in northern latitudes and ascends rivers for the purpose of spawning.

Her keel was laid down on 15 April 1936 by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 12 June 1937 sponsored by Miss Hester Laning, daughter of Rear Admiral Harris Laning, Commandant of the 3rd Naval District and New York Navy Yard. The boat was commissioned on 15 March 1938 with Lieutenant M.M. Stephens in command.

Class: The United States Navy Salmon-class submarines were an important developmental step in the design of the "fleet submarine" concept during the 1930s. An incremental improvement over the previous Porpoise class, they were the first US submarine class to achieve 21 knots with a reliable propulsion plant, allowing them to operate with the Standard-type battleships of the surface fleet. Also, their 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) unrefueled range would allow them to operate in Japanese home waters. These rugged and dependable boats provided yeoman service during World War II, along with their immediate successors, the similar Sargo class. In some references, the Salmons and Sargos are called the "New S Class", 1st and 2nd Groups.

Nationality: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.