USS Shark (SS-314)

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USS Shark (SS-314), a Balao-class submarine, was the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the shark, a large marine predator. Construction began in 1943 and commissioning occurred in 1944. Following shakedown, Shark was deployed to the Pacific, where she attacked ships and rescued downed airmen. Shark was sunk on its third patrol by a Japanese destroyer on 24 October 1944. In the engagement in which she was sunk, Shark torpedoed and sank the Japanese freighter Arisan Maru. Arisan Maru was transporting captured Americans, but carried no markings or flag indicating this. The Americans had no way of recognizing Arisan Maru was a prison ship. The sinking of Arisan Maru is the greatest loss of American life in a single military sinking.

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