8 Apr, 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) arrives at Pearl Harbour from the US east coast.

25 Apr, 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) departs Midway for her 1st war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in Japanese home waters.

12 May, 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) lays mines off Erimo Zaki, Japan.

30 May, 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) lays more mines off Erimo Zaki, Japan.

12 Jun, 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) ends her 1st war patrol at Midway.

30 Jun, 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) departs Midway for her 2nd war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Caroline Islands area.

10 Jul, 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) torpedoes and damages the Japanese escort carrier Unyo (offsite link) north-west of Truk in position 10º00'N, 150º48'E. (see map)

1 Aug, 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) torpedoes and damages the Japanese auxiliary vessel Seiko Maru (5385 GRT) north-west of Truk in position 11º20'N, 153º30'E. (see map)

6 Aug, 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) ends her 2nd war patrol at Pearl Harbour.

13 Sep, 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) departs Pearl Harbour for her 3rd war patrol. She is ordered to patrol off the Gilbert Islands.

25 Sep, 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) calles at Johnston Island to take on provisions and fuel and then resumes her patrol in the Palau area.

6 Oct, 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) torpedoes and damages the Japanese fleet tanker Kazahaya (18300 GRT) north-west of Truk in position 10º30'N, 146º37'E. The Kazahaya is sunk later that day by USS Tinosa. (see map)

21 Oct, 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) torpedoes and damages the Japanese aircraft transport Goshu Maru (8592 GRT, offsite link) south-east of Ulithi in position 08º16'N, 141º53'E. (see map)

23 Nov, 1943
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) ends her 3rd war patrol at Pearl Harbour.

10 Jan, 1944
While on her 4th war patrol USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese repair ship Yamabiko Maru (6799 GRT) about 200 nautical miles south of Hamamatsu, Honshu, Japan in position 31º28'N, 137º44'E. (see map)

15 Apr, 1944
The Japanese merchant cargo ship Sumida Maru (2022 GRT) is sunk, most likely by mine laid in May 1943 by USS Steelhead, off Honshu, Japan in position 42º07'N, 143º10'E. (see map)

30 Apr, 1944
While on her 5th war patrol USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) sinks a Japanese trawler with gunfire off the Ryukyu Islands in position 26º10'N, 125º34'E.

23 May, 1944
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) ends her 5th war patrol at Midway.

17 Jun, 1944
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) departs Midway for her 6th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol south of Formosa.

31 Jul, 1944
While operation near the Bashi Channel USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) teams up with USS Parche to sink the Japanese troop transport Yoshino Maru (8990 GRT) in position 19º05'N, 120º50'E. Steelhead by her self torpedoes and sink the Japanese troop transport Fuso Maru (8195 GRT) in position 19º00'N, 120º55'E and damages the Japanese troop transport Dakar Maru (7169 GRT) in position 19º08'N, 120º51'E. The Dakar Maru is towed to San Fernando and abandoned. (see map)

16 Aug, 1944
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. D.L. Whelchel) ends her 6th war patrol at Pearl Harbour. She is sent to the hunters Point Navy Yard for a much needed overhaul.

1 Oct, 1944
While in drydock USS Steelhead suffered a fire that required the installation of a new conning tower.

16 Apr, 1945
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. R.B. Byrnes) departs San Fransicso bound for Pearl Harbour.

13 May, 1945
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. R.B. Byrnes) departs Pearl Harbour for her 7th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol off Tokyo Bay.

5 Aug, 1945
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. R.B. Byrnes) ends her 7th war patrol at Midway.