USS Sterlet (SS-392) to the Navy on 31 January 1969 when she was sunk as a target by the nuclear-powered submarine USS . "Sterlet" was awarded six battle stars for World War II service. USS Sterlet (SS-392) USS "Sterlet" (SS-392), a "Balao"-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sterlet, a small sturgeon found in the Caspian Sea and its rivers, whose meat is considered delicious and whose eggs are one of the world's great delicacies, caviar. Her keel was laid down on 14 July 1943 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard. She was launched on
USS Sterlet (SS-392) in reserve on 18 September 1948 and berthed at Mare Island, California. Just under two years later, on 7 August 1950, "Sterlet" was ordered reactivated. She was recommissioned at Mare Island on 26 August 1950 with Lieutenant Commander George W. Kittredge in command. On 25 September, she headed for San Diego where she conducted a month of training. In December, she shifted to Long Beach, California, where she became one of the stars in the motion picture "Submarine Command" with William Holden and William Bendix. "Sterlet" resumed operations along the West Coast early in 1951 and that employment continued until