USS Amberjack, a 1525-ton Gato class submarine, was built at Groton, Connecticut. Commissioned in June 1942, she went to the Pacific a month later and began her first war patrol in September. Operating in the vicinity of New Ireland, which had become very active due to the battle for Guadalcanal further to the south, she made several attacks on Japanese warships and logistics shipping. The large aircraft ferry Tonan Maru II (a former whale factory ship) was sunk in shallow water, though later salvaged, and two cargo ships were sent to the bottom permanently. Before her patrol ended at Brisbane, Australia, in late October, Amberjack also conducted valuable reconnaissance work and transported badly-needed weapons and personnel to the Guadalcanal area.

The submarine's second patrol, starting in mid-November 1942, covered the waters near Bougainville. Though Amberjack attacked Japanese destroyers on two occasions, one of which resulted in a serious depth-charge counterattack, an enemy submarine and a convoy, no hits were made. Her return to Brisbane in mid-January 1943 was followed by an abbreviated refit. Solomons area combat operations required the presence of every available submarine, so she was sent back to sea later in the month, headed for the Bougainville-New Ireland area. By radio, she reported having sunk a freighter early in February and checked in again on the 14th. USS Amberjack was not heard from again and was officially presumed sunk when she failed to return to port. Seventy-four officers and men were lost with her.