USS Kraken SS 370

The USS Kraken SS 370 was a Balao-class submarine that was launched on April 30^th, 1944 from the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. out of Manitowoc, Wisconsin and was sponsored by a Mrs. John Z. Anderson who was the wife of Congressman Anderson of California. The newly constructed submarine was officially commissioned on September 8^th, 1944 under the leadership of Commander Thomas H. Henry. Following her intense shakedown trials out of the Great Lakes, the sub was placed into dry dock and towed down the Mississippi River to Algiers, Louisiana on September 27^th where she was then placed into the open Pacific Ocean on October 4^th. Ten days passed and the Kraken then transited the Panama Canal and continued her final training exercises until she departed west on November 4^th heading towards her final destination of Pearl Harbor where she arrived on November 21^st.

The Kraken departed her home port of Pearl Harbor and set out on her first war patrol reaching Saipan on December 23^rd and moving onward to Indochina on the following morning where she was ordered to maintain lifeguard duty in support of her 3^rd Fleet air strikes against the islands. While she was there she was able to rescue a down pilot from the USS Lexington that had been stranded in the violent ocean after being shot down but she found no generic targets and sailed back to Fremantle, Australia for refitting and refueling arriving on February 14^th, 1945.

The Kraken departed on her second war patrol on March 15^th where she carried out similar orders regarding lifeguard duty while in the South China Seas supporting aircraft carrier strikes against Saigon and Singapore, she returned to Subic Bay, Philippines on April 26^th. The Kraken’s third war patrol began on May 19^th, 1945 and was considerably more dramatic. During her voyage towards the Gulf of Siam she encountered an eight ship convoy, where she engaged and sunk two ships successfully. The USS Kraken SS 370 was officially decommissioned on October 24^th, 1954 and sold to Spain. She was awarded one battle star for her service during World War II.

Crewmembers of the USS Kraken SS 370 took great honor in the help they provided to their fellow soldiers during service. The danger they faced was not limited to enemy fire and the USS Kraken SS 370 was like many submarines of its era were constructed with toxic materials and one of them was asbestos. Many had no idea of the harmful health consequences of asbestos exposures during this time and many were endangered because of this. Asbestos was used in piping as well as many insulation systems aboard most naval vessels of this time. If any veteran crewmembers worked around these materials, it is important to be aware of the possible respiratory dangers that asbestos exposure can cause such as the development of the deadly cancer, mesothelioma. Anyone who has in fact come into contact with these substances should see their medical physician immediately to possibly begin mesothelioma treatment.

Last modified: December 28, 2010.