USS Swordfish

Two submarines of the United States Navy have been named USS Swordfish after the swordfish, a large fish with a long, swordlike beak and a high dorsal fin.

• USS Swordfish (SS-193), a Sargo-class submarine commissioned in 1939 and sunk in 1945, was the first United States submarine to sink a Japanese ship during World War II.
• USS Swordfish (SSN-579), a Skate-class submarine in commission from 1958 to 1989, is accused by Russia of ramming and sinking the Soviet Golf II class submarine K-129 during the Cold War (see Project Jennifer).

The U.S.S. Swordfish was in an episode of Perry Mason, Season 3.

Fictional ships

• The 1957 novel On the Beach, and subsequent 1959 film, feature a fictional submarine named Swordfish.
• The 1979 novel, Inoculate!, features a fictional submarine named Swordfish.
• The 2004 movie In Enemy Hands features a fictional Balao class submarine named Swordfish (SS-161).

In reality, SS-161 was the hull number of the S-boat S-50