Other TopicsUSS Jallao SS-368
The USS Jallao was a United States Navy Balao-class submarine which was awarded four Battle Stars for her actions during World War II. A large part was due to her armament of 21-inch torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, 1 x 5-inch / 25 caliber deck gun, and four machine guns. She was manned by a complement of 81 sailors over her length of 312 feet, and propelled by 4 x V16 diesel engines driving electrical generators, 2 x 126-cell batteries, 4 x high-speed electric motors with reduction gears, and two propellers. Such equipment enabled Jallao to reach top speeds of 20 knots per hour while surfaced and 9 when submerged, and endure 48 hours (at 2 knots) if submerged to 400 feet, or 75 patrol days. It also gave her a range of 11,000 nautical miles surfaced at 10 knots.
Doing Her Duty-And More
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in Wisconsin launched Jallao in early 1944, and she was commissioned that July. After intense trials and preparations, her maiden voyage was to Chicago, where she entered a floating dry dock for towing down the Mississippi. From New Orleans, Jallao set sail for Pearl Harbor-via the Panama Canal-arriving in late September. She departed from Hawaii on October 9th for team patrol in a coordinated attack group. Ordered to waters between the Philippines and Japan, her job was to strike at damaged Japanese crafts returning homeward after the Battle off Cape Engaño. While there, USS Jallao was responsible for sinking the light cruiser Tama before she was directed to the Yellow Sea. During an attack in March of 1945, her periscope suffered damage, but she was back in action the following month, performing aircraft lifeguard duty near Marcus Island. In this mission, she rescued five aviators adrift in a raft while risking shore batteries. Jallao was then sent for additional training in the Marianas before embarking on a patrol in the Sea of Japan. On August 11, she sank Timoko Maru, four days before the cease fire.
A Satisfying Post-War Career
Back home in San Francisco by late September, she waited a year to be decommissioned and join the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Seven years after that, she was transferred to New London, Connecticut, where she underwent a GUPPY IIA conversion and subsequently recommissioned. She returned to California for shakedown off San Diego and then sailed to the Navy base at Norfolk, Virginia. As a member of Submarine Squadron 6, her new base was Halifax, Nova Scotia. She spent most of 1954 training with antisubmarine units from Canada and America, and Caribbean exercises and maneuvers followed in early 1955. She was transferred once again, back to New London, where she partnered with British submarine HMS Alderney. With this sister ship, she took part in Joint Exercise "New Broom IV" that August. Fall saw the USS Jallao deployed with the 6th Fleet and en route to the Mediterranean. Once there, her job was to train Italian Navy ships, which she did until January, 1956. On her way home, she traversed the Suez Canal, stopped in Africa, and crossed the South Atlantic to take part in took part in drills with Uruguayan and Brazilian destroyers. Once modernized, she was back at work in early 1957, when she was given tasks such as combined fleet exercises and coastal antisubmarine operations. This was followed by a summer in Boston, where she completed a midshipman training cruise, then a voyage to the North Atlantic for special NATO projects. During the next two years, Jallao trained, participated in antisubmarine exercises, and performed equipment development with the Submarine School. Her skills continued to be utilized in 1960, when she operated out of Bermuda; in 1961 she was employed near Scotland and Halifax. After another Mediterranean cruise in 1963, Jallao received more updates at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. She thus embarked on training cruises and equipment evaluations that lasted for two years. USS Jallao had a short deployment with the 6th Fleet again in 1965, before submarine warfare tactics and operations along the Atlantic shores and the Caribbean. She was decommissioned in June of 1974 and struck from the US Naval Register. But she was not yet retired; she was sold to the Spanish Navy and commissioned as SPS Narciso Monturiol. After 11 more years of good service, the former USS Jallao was decommissioned on December12, 1984, and scuttled off Cartagena the following year.
The USS Jallao had what could be described as a stellar career. She was blessed with an able crew and good fortune. Hopefully, her sailors were also lucky in terms of not incurring risk from any onboard asbestos exposure. This known fire retardant appeared to offer many benefits to ships-due to its lightweight and flexible nature-and submarines needed as much protection as possible. However, if asbestos sealant was damaged from repeated depth charge explosions, tiny fibers may have escaped and been inhaled or swallowed. Since asbestos can remain in bodies for decades and cause serious medical conditions and malignancies, it's important that all former sailors who served aboard the Jallao see their doctor at the first sign of unusual symptoms. We should also be contacted for additional information.
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