Her 1942 sinking of the Montevideo Maru which, unknown to crew on the Sturgeon, was carrying over 1,000 POWs, was the worst maritime disaster in Australian history.

Sturgeon completed builder's trials in Monterey Bay and began her shakedown cruise on 15 October 1938, visiting ports in Mexico, Honduras, Panama, Peru, Ecuador, and Costa Rica before returning to San Diego, on 12 December 1938.

Sturgeon was moored in Mariveles Naval Section Base on 7 December 1941 during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

On the evening of 21 December, the submarine sighted a darkened ship believed to be a large cargo carrier.

A torpedo spread was fired from the stern tubes, but they all passed ahead of the ship because of an error in her estimated speed.

A tanker was sighted southwest of Sibutu Island on 17 January 1942, but all three torpedoes missed and the ship escaped.

Sturgeon fired a spread from her forward tubes which resulted in a large explosion on the transport, and her screws stopped turning.

She submerged to avoid detection by several destroyers and a cruiser as they passed overhead but was able to report the movement of the convoy to command.

After embarking part of the Asiatic Fleet Submarine Force Staff, Sturgeon and Stingray sailed for Fremantle, Western Australia, on 20 February as escorts for Holland and Black Hawk.

The submarine was then depth charged by escorts but eluded them and patrolled off Cape Mandar (in West Sulawesi) in the Makassar Strait.

On 22 April a destroyer's searchlight blinked to Sturgeon, and she went deep to avoid the subsequent two-hour depth charge attack.

A landing party under Lieutenant Chester W. Nimitz, Jr. entered the cove and examined it by searchlight but found only a deserted lean-to.

On 25 June she caught up with a nine-ship convoy before daylight and fired three torpedoes at the largest ship and heard explosions.

After 60 years the sole surviving Japanese sailor described the "death cries" of trapped Australians going down with the ship while others sung Auld Lang Syne.

On 11 September she began patrolling west of Bougainville to intercept enemy shipping between Rabaul, Buka, and Faisi.

Sturgeon moved south of Tetepare Island and patrolled there until she returned to Brisbane on 25 October for repairs and refit.

The submarine was forced to go deep to avoid a depth charge attack and was unable to regain contact with the convoy.

Two days later, she made a fruitless attack on two freighters, and the submarine returned to Pearl Harbor, via Midway, for refit.

Sturgeon finally came to periscope depth and trailed the convoy until the next morning when she made an end-around run and fired four torpedoes at a freighter.

This sinking had a sizeable influence on the battle of Okinawa, as the ship was carrying 5,600 troops of the 44th Independent Mixed Brigade that were on their way to the island.

[6] On 3 July Sturgeon sighted a nine-ship convoy accompanied by air cover and numerous small escorts.

Sturgeon was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 April 1948 and sold to Interstate Metals Corporation of New York City on 12 June 1948 for scrap.