USS Narwhal SS 167
The USS Narwhal SS 167 was a Narwhal-class submarine that was launched on December 17th, 1928 from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine and was sponsored by a Mrs. Charles F. Adams who was the wife of the Secretary of the Navy. The submarine was commissioned on May 15th, 1930 under the command of Lieutenant Commander John H. Brown, Jr. Following her shakedown cruise and additional trials and training to prepare the sub itself as well as her crew for the grueling and rigorous challenges they faced ahead of them, she was finally ready for true action and departed Annapolis, Maryland on August 11th and directed herself out into the open sea and headed towards the West Indies returning to Portsmouth on September 11th.
The Narwhal trained in the waters off the coast of New England until January 31st, 1931 before she sailed south transiting the Panama Canal and head west into the Pacific and arriving at San Diego, California on April 4th. On July 1st, she received the official hull number classification SS 167. After a brief overhaul, she departed Mare Island Naval Shipyard on February 2nd, 1932 and drove towards Hawaii to participate in Pacific Fleet exercises. She returned to San Diego on March 17th and patrol duty along the west coast, on July 12th, 1934 she Narwhal conducted various operations along with the Submarine Division 12. For the following three years she assigned to patrol duty from south of San Diego to north of Seattle and as far west as Pearl Harbor, which became her new home port of operations through 1941.
The USS Narwhal SS 167 was one of the five submarines that were docked at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked in the early morning of December 7th, 1941. Within minutes of the initial enemy strikes on Ford Island, the crews of the USS Narwhal was on deck firing away from their mounted guns and were credited with successfully knocking two Japanese enemy torpedo planes from the sky. Afterwards, she was repaired and ready for action now that the U. S. had been thrust into the war. The USS Narwhal SS 167 served her country well, and was finally laid to rest being decommissioned on April 23rd, 1945. She received 15 battle stars for World War II service.
The crewmembers of the USS Narwhal SS 167 were constantly in perilous danger during their tours of duty, but with much regret, the men who worked aboard the Narwhal were exposed to a danger they knew nothing about. The submarine was constructed, like many others of its time, with asbestos used for insulation around piping and duct systems. Hence forth, the crew who served aboard the submarine is at risk for severe lung conditions including a type of cancer called mesothelioma. Anyone with concerns about possible exposure to asbestos on the USS Narwhal SS 167 should consult with a medical physician for an evaluation and take the steps to begin mesothelioma treatment if it is needed.
Last modified: December 28, 2010.
