USS Scabbardfish (SS-397), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the scabbarddfish, a long, compressed, silver-colored fish found on European coasts and around New Zealand. Her keel was laid down on 27 September 1943 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine. She was launched on 27 January 1944 sponsored by Ensign Nancy J. Schetky, and commissioned on 29 April 1944 with Lieutenant Commander F. A. Gunn in command.