USS Pintado SS 387
The USS Pintado SS 387 was a Balao-class submarine that was launched on September 15th, 1943 from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine and was sponsored by Mrs. Antonio Prince. The submarine was commissioned on January 1st, 1944 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Bernard A. Clarey. The Pintado departed Portsmouth on February 17th heading for Newport, Rhode Island to engage in torpedo trials and then to New London, Connecticut for additional shakedown training.
She moved down south to Key West, Florida to participate in Fleet Sound School and conduct antisubmarine warfare tactics and experiments with torpedo developments. Following this intense operational training, she directed herself west in order to transit the Panama Canal and move out into the open ocean on March 31st where she then traveled through the Pacific reaching her intended destination and new home base of Pearl Harbor on April 23rd.
The USS Pintado SS 387 departed Pearl Harbor embarking on her first war patrol on May 16th stopping briefly at Midway to refuel before heading out to the waters just west of the Marianas Islands and the area south of Formosa. On May 31st, she received reports of a large enemy convoy that was in the area and began a long cat and mouse battle that last through the night. At the first light of dawn, she finally got herself into the perfect attack position and opened fire letting loose a six torpedo spread at overlapping targets. She successfully destroyed a forty thousand seven hundred sixteen ton enemy cargo ship and then dove quickly to avoid aggressive retaliation by the escorting destroyer that were closing in on her position.
While submerged she heard additional explosions that strongly suggested her overlapping torpedo fire had slammed into more than one target, but visual confirmation as never established so it wasn’t confirmed. Her second patrol found her coasting along in the South China Sea hunting additional enemy targets. She arrived back at Pearl Harbor on September 14th, 1944. From October of 1944 until August of 1945 she conducted a third, fourth, fifth and sixth war patrol successfully. The USS Pintado SS 387 was decommissioned on March 6th, 1946. She is credited with sinking eight enemy ships totaling forty two thousand nine hundred fifty six tons. Her conning tower is on display at the National Pacific War Museum.
Many brave sailors served aboard the USS Pintado SS 387. Unfortunately, the toxic substance asbestos also found a home on the submarine, within the pipes and insulation materials. Asbestos exposure has been proven to be the leading cause of mesothelioma, a deadly and rare form of asbestos cancer. The crewmen who sailed on the USS Pintado and the men who worked on her while she was docked were all subject to exposure. Any veteran crewmembers or repair personnel that may have come in contact these airborne asbestos fibers should closely monitor their respiratory health and consult their medical physician immediately.
Last modified: December 28, 2010.
