USS Sterlet

	USS Sterlet (SS-392) in 1968
History
United States
Builder	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine
Laid down	14 July 1943
Launched	27 October 1943
Commissioned	4 March 1944
Decommissioned	18 September 1948
Recommissioned	26 August 1950
Decommissioned	30 September 1968
Stricken	1 October 1968
Fate	Sunk as a target, 31 January 1969
General characteristics
Class and type	Balao class diesel-electric submarine
Displacement	1,526 tons (1,550 t) surfaced; 2,391 tons (2,429 t) submerged;
Length	311 ft 6 in (94.95 m)
Beam	27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)
Draft	16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum
Propulsion	4 × Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8-⅛ 10-cylinder opposed piston diesel engines driving electrical generators; 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries; 4 × high-speed Elliott electric motors with reduction gears; two propellers ; 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced; 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged;
Speed	20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced; 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged;
Range	11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Endurance	48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged; 75 days on patrol;
Test depth	400 ft (120 m)
Complement	10 officers, 70–71 enlisted
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 6 forward, 4 aft; 24 torpedoes; 1 × 5-inch (127 mm) / 25 caliber deck gun; Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon;

USS Sterlet (SS-392), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sterlet, a small sturgeon found in the Caspian Sea and its rivers, whose meat is considered delicious and whose eggs are one of the world's great delicacies, caviar.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 285–304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–280. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–280. ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261–263
^ ^a ^b ^c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311

History
USS Sterlet (SS-392) in 1968
United States
Builder	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine^[1]
Laid down	14 July 1943^[1]
Launched	27 October 1943^[1]
Commissioned	4 March 1944^[1]
Decommissioned	18 September 1948^[1]
Recommissioned	26 August 1950^[1]
Decommissioned	30 September 1968^[1]
Stricken	1 October 1968^[1]
Fate	Sunk as a target, 31 January 1969^[1]
General characteristics
Class and type	Balao class diesel-electric submarine^[3]
Displacement	1,526 tons (1,550 t) surfaced^[3] 2,391 tons (2,429 t) submerged^[3]
Length	311 ft 6 in (94.95 m)^[3]
Beam	27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)^[3]
Draft	16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum^[3]
Propulsion	4 × Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8-⅛ 10-cylinder opposed piston diesel engines driving electrical generators^[4]^[5] 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries^[6] 4 × high-speed Elliott electric motors with reduction gears^[4] two propellers ^[4] 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced^[4] 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged^[4]
Speed	20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced^[2] 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged^[2]
Range	11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)^[2]
Endurance	48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged^[2] 75 days on patrol
Test depth	400 ft (120 m)^[2]
Complement	10 officers, 70–71 enlisted^[2]
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 6 forward, 4 aft 24 torpedoes^[6] 1 × 5-inch (127 mm) / 25 caliber deck gun^[6] Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon