She looked much like any other diesel-powered Balao-class submarine crafted in the 1940s, but the Archerfish, named for a fish that kills its victims with a lethal blast of water from below, won a unique, heroic place in military history and in the memories of her crew members.

Here is her story: from her assembly in New England and her dedication at the hand of Eleanor Roosevelt, to her service in World War II, when she broke the back of the Japanese Navy, and her critical role in the Cold War, crisscrossing the oceans for six years to foil Soviet naval intelligence.

Here, too, is the story of her officers and enlisted men, who waited years to serve on the Archerfish. In their own words, these men tell how, against all odds, they sent a Japanese aircraft carrier to the ocean floor…served in peacetime in the Navy’s only all bachelor crew…steered their ship into exotic ports all over the world…and welcomed B-girls, Japanese war veterans, royalty, Playboy bunnies, and a goat aboard ship, with equal hospitality. As they helped their sub outlast fires and even an earthquake, they worked hard, played hard, and lived even harder.

An extraordinary real-odyssey, Gallant Lady is a vivid, unforgettable portrait of a submariner’s life.