USS Sarda, 1954

Sarda (SS-488), her building financed by bonds purchased by the residents of Lynn, Mass., was laid down on 12 April 1945 at the Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard; launched on 24 August 1945; sponsored by Mrs. James J. Heffernan; and commissioned on 19 April 1946, Comdr. C. W. Nimitz, Jr., in command.

During the period between launching and commissioning, Sarda, no longer needed for wartime service, was fitted out with an extra large conning tower to permit installation of experimental equipment. She joined Submarine Division (SubDiv) 22 of Submarine Squadron 2; and, for the next four years, tested new equipment for the Underwater Sound Laboratory, Fort Trumbull, and evaluated new ship control procedures. In the fall of 1949, she was transferred to SubDiv 21, and her primary mission was shifted from test and evaluation work to school ship duties. She continued that work through the 1950's. On her return, she resumed her primary function, training submarine school students. On 1 June 1964, Sarda was decommissioned. Her name was struck from the Navy list on the same day, and her hulk was sold for scrapping in March 1965.

[Taken from the entry on Sarda in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.]