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USS Kraken SS-370

The USS Kraken was a United States NavyBalao-class submarine named for a mythical Norwegian sea monster. The military version probably scared the enemy as well, and her contribution to World War II earned Kraken one Battle Star. Kraken stretched 312 feet in length, and carried a complement of 81 sailors, as well as an armament of 10 x 21-inch torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, 1 x 5-inch / 25 caliber deck gun, and four machine guns. She was able to endure 48 hours at 2 knots per hour when submerged to 400 feet, as well as 75 days on patrol. Her top speeds were 20. knots surfaced and 9 underwater. Kraken was 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. This equipment gave Kraken a range of 11,000 nautical miles if surfaced at 10 knots.

Ready and Willing to Do Battle

After her keel was laid down in Wisconsin by Manitowoc Shipbuilding, Kraken was launched on the last day of April in 1944. Her commissioning took place six months later, and her shakedown was completed within a few weeks. She was therefore able to embark that fall on her maiden voyage, and she set off for the first leg of it by reaching Lockport, Illinois, to enter a floating dry-dock. Kraken thus traversed the Mississippi River towards Louisiana, from which she stood out to sea. Her voyage took her through Algiers and then the Panama Canal. She stayed in the Gulf of Panama for a month to receive additional preparatory exercises and training before traveling to Pearl Harbor. On December 12, 1944 Kraken left Hawaii on a war patrol, and stopped briefly at Saipan before reaching Indochina on Christmas Eve. Those were her home waters for the next two months; she supported 3rd Fleet carrier strikes with her lifeguard duty. In the course of this mission she plucked a Lexington aviator out of hazardous waves and managed to avoid a strafing enemy plane. After a short rest in Fremantle, Australia, Kraken followed orders to continue lifeguard duty in the South China Sea in March. Her new task was to support aircraft carriers in their Singapore and Saigon Subic Bay strikes. In May, USS Kraken had new responsibilities in the Gulf of Siam and Java Sea. In June she set Merak on fire and sank a small enemy coaster; a few days later she sank an oil tanker while chasing eight enemy vessels and damaged other Japanese ships. The next month found Kraken in the Java Sea when the war ended, so she returned to Subic Bay, and then on to Pearl Harbor, before sailing into the waters off San Francisco on September 22nd.

In Demand

Kraken took part in an honor escort for Admiral William Halsey's passage under the Golden Gate Bridge before she was taken out of commission. She joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet in May of 1946, where she remained until 1958. At that time, she received an activation overhaul and given a Fleet Snorkel conversion at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard; USS Kraken was being readied for a transfer to the Spanish Navy. In late 1959, Kraken was commissioned and renamed SPS Almirante García de los Reyes, but was referred to as A. G. de los Reyes. (Two years later her designation was changed to S-31, and her nickname became "treinta y único"-"thirty only-one"-since she was Spain's only submarine at that time.) With a new crew, the former USS Kraken transited the Panama Canal to Cartagena, where she served Spain for 14 years. After Spain purchased her, she was again decommissioned and struck from the US Naval Register. However, the next year, she was once more recommissioned to fill in for another Spanish vessel. Her final decommission did not occur until 1981, and she was scrapped the following year.

There are some war vessels that seemed to have been in the right places at the right times, and USS Kraken was one of them. It also helped that she was manned by a clearly skillful and conscientious crew. They were fortunate that they did not incur mishaps or collisions, let alone tragic consequences. Yet her sailors faced the same peril as those on other ships, and one such danger may have been an exposure to asbestos. At that time, asbestos was heavily utilized in all manner of construction since it was considered an excellent fire retardant, and one thing no ship wanted to chance was an onboard fire. Sailors restricted by limited escape opportunities and resources must have feared fire almost as much as enemy ammunition, so the Navy probably did all it could to provide additional protection. Unfortunately, asbestos fibers may have been inhaled or swallowed by anyone if they seeped out of their sealant. This may have been possible if the sealant ripped, and it could have done so as a result of the ship's jarring due to repeated dives or nearby depth charge explosions. Asbestos could have remained in sailors' bodies these many years, and the long-term irritation may be responsible for serious disease or even malignancies Therefore, anyone who served onboard the USS Kraken should see their doctor at the first sign of unusual physical symptoms and then contact us for additional information.

Submarines Index

USS Albacore SS 218 USS Amberjack SS 219 USS Angler SS 240 USS Apogon SS 308 USS Archer-Fish SS 311 USS Argonaut-SM-1 USS Argonaut SS 475 USS Aspro SS 309 USS Atule SS 403 USS Balao SS 285 USS Bang SS 385 USS Barbel SS 316 USS Barbero SS 317 USS Barb SS 220 USS Barracuda SS 163 USS Bashaw SS 241 USS Bergall SS 320 USS Besugo SS 321 USS Billfish SS 286 USS Blackfin SS 322 USS Blackfish SS 221 USS Blenny SS 324 USS Blower SS 325 USS Blueback SS 326 USS Bluefish SS 222 USS Bluegill SS 242 USS Boarfish SS 327 USS Bonefish SS 223 USS Bonita SS 165 USS Bowfin SS 287 USS Bream SS 243 USS Brill SS 330 USS Bugara SS 331 USS Bullhead SS 332 USS Bumper SS 333 USS Burrfish SS 312 USS Cabezon SS 334 USS Carbonero SS 337 USS Hake SS 256 USS Hammerhead SS 364 USS Harder SS 257 USS Hardhead SS 365 USS Hawkbill SS 366

USS Herring SS 233 USS Hoe SS 258 USS Icefish SS 367 USS Jack SS 259 USS Jallao SS 368 USS Kete S 369 USS Kingfish SS 234 USS Kraken SS 370 USS Lagarto SS 371 USS Lizardfish SS 373 USS Loggerhead SS 374 USS Macabi SS 375 USS Mackerel 204 USS Manta SS 299 USS Mapiro SS 376 USS Marlin SS 205 USS Mingo SS 261 USS Moray SS 300 USS Muskallunge SS 262 USS Narwhal SS 263 USS Nautilus SS 168 USS Paddle SS 167 USS Pampanito SS 383 USS Parche SS 384 USS Pargo SS 264 USS Perch SS 176 USS Permit SS 178 USS Peto SS 265 USS Pickerel SS 177 USS Picuda SS 382 USS Pike SS 173 USS Pilotfish SS 386 USS Pintado SS 387 USS Pipefish SS 388 USS Piranha SS 389 USS Plaice SS 390 USS Plunger SS 179 USS Pogy SS 266 USS Pollack SS 180 USS Pomfret SS 391 USS Pompano SS 181 USS Pompon SS 267 USS Porpoise SS 172

USS Puffer SS 268 USS Queenfish SS 393 USS Quillback SS 424 USS Rasher SS 269 USS Raton SS 270 USS Ray SS 271 USS Razorback SS 394 USS Redfin SS 272 USS Redfish SS 395 USS Robalo SS 273 USS Rock SS 274 USS Ronquil SS 396 USS Runner SS 275 USS Runner SS 476 USS S-1 SS 105 USS S-20 SS 125 USS S-46 SS 157 USS Sailfish SS 192 USS Salmon SS 182 USS Sand Lance SS 381 USS Sargo SS 188 USS Saury SS 189 USS Sawfish SS 276 USS Scabbardfish SS 397 USS Scamp SS 277 USS Scorpion SS 278 USS Sculpin SS 191 USS Sea Cat SS 399 USS Sea Devil SS 400 USS Sea Dog SS 401 USS Seadragon SS 194 USS Sea Fox SS 402 USS Seahorse SS 304 USS Sealion SS 195 USS Seal SS 183 USS Sea Owl SS 405 USS Sea Poacher SS 406 USS Searaven SS 196 USS Sea Robin SS 407 USS Seawolf SS 197 USS Segundo SS 398 USS Sennet SS 408

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