USS Flier (SS-250)

USS Flier (SS-250), a Gato-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the flier, a round sunfish widely known in the United States.

Her keel was laid down 30 October 1942 by Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 11 July 1943 (sponsored by Mrs. A. S. Pierce), and commissioned on 18 October 1943 with Lieutenant Commander John D. Crowley in command.

First war patrol
Flier reached Pearl Harbor from New London, Connecticut, on 20 December 1943, and prepared for her first war patrol, sailing 12 January 1944. However, the submarine ran aground near Midway Island on 16 January. USS Macaw (ASR-11), a Chanticleer-class rescue ship submarine rescue ship, attempted to pull Flier free but ran aground herself and sank. Flier was eventually saved by USS Florikan (ASR-9) and towed to first Pearl Harbor and then the Mare Island Navy Yard for repairs. On 21 May she sailed again for action, heading for a patrol area west of Luzon. She made her first contact on 4 June, attacking a well-escorted convoy of five merchantmen. Firing three torpedoes at each of two ships, she sent the transport Hakusan Maru to the bottom and scored a hit on another ship, before clearing the area to evade countermeasures.

On 13 June 1944, Flier attacked a convoy of 11 ships, cargo carriers and tankers, guarded by at least six escorts. The alert behavior of the escorts during the attack resulted in a severe counterattack on Flier before she could observe what damage she had done to the convoy. On 22 June, she began a long chase after another large convoy, scoring four hits for six torpedoes fired at two cargo ships that day, and three hits for four torpedoes launched against another cargo ship of the same convoy the next day.

Second war patrol
Flier put in to Fremantle, Australia, to refit between 5 July and 2 August 1944, then sailed on her second war patrol, bound for the coast of Indochina via the Lombok Strait, Macassar Strait and Balabac Strait. At about 2200 on 12 August, while transiting Balabac Strait on the surface, she struck a naval mine. She sank in about a minute, but 13 officers and men were able to clamber out. Eight of them reached the beach of Mantangula Island after 15 hours in the water. Friendly natives guided them to a coast-watcher, who arranged for them to be picked up by submarine, and on the night of 30–31 August, they were taken on board by USS Redfin (SS-272).

Flier received one battle star for World War II service on her single war patrol, designated "successful." She is credited with having sunk 10,380 tons of Japanese shipping. See also List of U.S. Navy losses in World War II.

Wreck
On 1 February 2009, the U.S. Navy announced the discovery of Flier near the Philippines' Balabac Strait. The discovery of a Gato-class submarine was made during an expedition by YAP Films, based in part on information provided by a survivor of the sinking of Flier. Further research by the Naval History and Heritage Command revealed that no other submarine, American or Japanese, had been reported lost in that general vicinity. In addition, footage of the wreck showed a gun mount and radar antenna, both of which were similar to the same equipment seen in contemporary photographs of Flier. The ship rests in 330 ft of water.