USS Scorpion (SS-278) — a Gato-class submarine — was the fifth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the scorpion, an arachnid having an elongated body and a narrow segmented tail bearing a venomous sting at the tip. Her keel was laid down by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard of Kittery, Maine, on 20 March 1942. She was launched on 20 July 1942 sponsored by Ms. Elizabeth T. Monagle, and commissioned on 1 October 1942, Lieutenant Commander William N. Wylie in command.