Steel Shark in the Pacific : USS Pampanito SS-383

Powerful. Formidable. Sinister. The World War II fleet submarine was a near perfect blend of design, form, and function. This is the story of the USS Pampanito (SS-383): enemy attacks, crash-dives, depth charges, missed targets, "kills" -- and a daring rescue. Part of a U.S. Navy wolf pack that sank a Japanese convoy, she returned later and discovered thousands of Allied prisoners of war abandoned by their captors to die. At great risk, Pampanito's crew rescued as many POWs as they could.

Today, part of San Francisco's museum fleet, she is a portal to World War IIs "Silent Service." Pampanito earned six battle stars.