USS Jallao (SS-368)
History of the USS Jallao Submarine
The USS Jallao (SS-368) was ordered for the U. S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company of Wisconsin on September 29, 1943. She was launched on March 12, 1944 and commissioned on July 8, 1944 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Joseph B. Icenhower.
The USS Jallao arrived at Pearl Harbor on September 22, 1944. She sailed for her first war patrol of the Philippines on October 9 with the wolf pack known as Clarey’s Crushers. On October 25, her torpedoes sank the Japanese light cruiser Tama. Her patrol ended on December 10 at Majuro.
After spending the Christmas season at Majuro, the USS Jallao headed out for her next patrol of the Yellow Sea on January 6, 1945. This uneventful patrol ended on March 26 at Midway after an enemy escort rammed her and damaged her periscope. Her fourth patrol off Marcus Island and in the Japanese home waters began on April 20 and ended on June 13 at Pearl Harbor. During this time, she provided lifeguard services, rescuing five downed American aviators on May 9.
The USS Jallao spent over a month at Pearl Harbor for repairs and refitting. She departed for her fourth and final war patrol on July 31 in the Sea of Japan. Her torpedoes sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Teihoku Maru on August 11, just four days before the Japanese capitulation. The submarine ended her patrol at Guam before arriving home at San Francisco, California on September 28. She was decommissioned on September 30, 1946.
After undergoing conversion as a GUPPY IIA submarine, the USS Jallao was recommissioned on December 4, 1953. Her homeport had changed to New London, Connecticut during the conversion, and it shifted again to Norfolk, Virginia once she was back in commission.
The USS Jallao conducted training operations with Submarine Squadron 6 out of Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1954. She took part in fleet exercises in early 1955 before returning home to Norfolk on March 4. In July, her homeport was shifted to New London. The submarine was deployed to the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet on August 7 to take part in Joint Exercises New Broom IV. After training and fleet exercises were over, she sailed home via the Suez Canal, Africa, Uruguay, and Brazil before arriving at New London on April 16, 1956.
The next decade saw the USS Jallao participating in many more fleet exercises, training cruises, and development work at the Submarine School in New London. She spent time in the Caribbean, Canada, and the United Kingdom, also making a second deployment to the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet.
The USS Jallao was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on June 26, 1974. She was then transferred to the Spanish Navy under the Security Assistance Program, where she served as the SPS Narciso Monturiol (S-35) until she was decommissioned on December 12, 1984 and sunk as a target off Cartagena in 1985. The USS Jallao earned four battle stars for her service in World War II.
The use of asbestos was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th Century because of its resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of their asbestos exposure onboard ship and in the shipyards, seaman, shipyard workers and longshoreman are at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma
Sources include:
Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences, by John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed
