Steelhead (SS-280) was laid down on 1 June 1942 by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine; launched on 11 September 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Marguerite Brown; and commissioned on 7 December 1942.

After refitting at Pearl Harbor, the ship sailed on 13 September for the Gilbert Islands where she operated as a lifeguard submarine off Tarawa during bombardment by Army aircraft.

Her fourth patrol, off Formosa from early April to 23 May, provided no targets worthy of torpedo fire, but she sank a trawler by gunfire.

Upon concluding the patrol when she arrived at Pearl Harbor on 16 August, Steelhead was routed to the West Coast for a much needed overhaul.

After a long repair period, the submarine stood out of San Francisco on 16 April 1945, en route to Pearl Harbor.

Steelhead arrived at San Francisco on 5 September 1945 and provided services for the West Coast Sonar School until 2 January 1946.