USS Hake SS 256

The USS Hake SS 256 was a Gato-class submarine that was launched on July 17^th, 1942 from the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut and was sponsored by a Mrs. F. J. Fletcher who was the wife of Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. The submarine was officially commissioned on October 30^th, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Commander J. C. Broach. Following her shakedown trials along the east coast of the U. S. she was finally ready to take action.

She joined the Atlantic Fleet and began her first maiden war patrol on April 3^rd, 1943 departing New London and heading out into the North Atlantic upon her orders to carry out her first mission of seeking and destroying German submarines, although she never made any enemy contacts on her voyage and she arrived at Helenburgh, Scotland where she terminated her first patrol on April 29^th, 1943.

She headed out on her second patrol on May 27^th, 1943 off the coast of Azores where she was placed on antisubmarine duty but after encounter few if any enemy submarines on their radar, she reversed her course and returned to New London on July 17^th. Her third, fourth, fifth and sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth war patrols found her newly assigned to the Pacific Fleet where she was mainly based out of Pearl Harbor during the time between December of 1943 until August of 1945.

Following her departure from Fremantle, Australia on March 18^th, 1944 to get underway on her fourth war patrol in the South China Sea near Singapore, the Hake encountered her first target on March 27^th off of southwest Borneo and it was literally a submarine’s dream, it was an unescorted enemy tanker. She immediately took an engaging position and fired two torpedoes at the ship, the Yamamizu Maru, and sent her to the bottom of the sea.

The USS Hake SS 256 was officially decommissioned on July 13^th, 1946 and placed into the reserve fleet. She was taken out of reserve on October 15^th, 1956 to serve as a Reserve Training Ship for the 4^th Naval District at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The USS Hake SS 256 was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on April 19^th, 1968. She was awarded seven battle stars for her honorable service during World War II.

The USS Hake SS 256 and her crew fought brave in their fight for their countries freedoms, but they were in danger even aboard their safe submarine, unknowingly. Asbestos fibers were used to build the submarine, mainly within the submarines insulation dealing with piping. While at one time asbestos was a commonly used building material, it’s been discovered to be toxic since then. Exposure to asbestos can lead to diseases such as mesothelioma, a form of asbestos cancer. For this reason any crewmembers who served aboard the USS Hake SS 256 who believe they may have been exposed to any materials made from asbestos should seek medical counsel right away and take the proper steps to receive treatment.

Last modified: December 09 2009.