USS Escolar (SS-294), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the escolar, a predatory fish of the open ocean related to the mackerels and tuna. Escolar was laid down by the Cramp Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was launched on 18 April 1943, sponsored by Mrs. J. Bilisoly Hudgins. She was transferred to Boston Navy Yard after launch and thence to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard prior to her commissioning on 2 June 1944, Commander W. J. Millican in command.