USS Quillback SS 424
The USS Quillback SS 424 was a Tench-class submarine that was launched on October 1st, 1944 from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard out of Kittery, Maine and was sponsored by a Mrs. J. A. Tyree, Jr. The newly constructed submarine was officially commissioned on December 29th, 1944 under the command of Lieutenant Commander R. P. Nicholson. Following her shakedown training off the east coast she moved south passing Key West, Florida and transiting the Panama Canal in order to sail through the Pacific Ocean and head to her final destination of Pearl Harbor where she joined the Pacific Fleet in warfare exercises and operational training.
She departed Pearl Harbor embarking on her first war patrol on May 30th, 1945 where she patrolled the shores off of Kyushu. During this patrol she was able to destroy a small Japanese suicide watercraft as well as rescue a downed pilot from the waters just half of a mile off a heavily enemy occupied shore. When the Japanese Imperial Fleet Finally surrendered on August 15th, 1945 she was ordered to sail back to Guam where she was refitted and prepared for her second patrol where she would be assigned to peacetime duties and conducted observational missions until she was ordered back to New London, Connecticut as the newest appointed unit of the Submarine Squadron 2.
During the time from 1945 until 1951 the USS Quillback SS 424 ran countless operations with the Submarine School of the east coast and also assisted as an experimental unit of the Naval Underwater Sound Laboratory. In 1951, the Quillback departed the east coast heading out to the Mediterranean Sea joining the Sixth Fleet on a six month tour throughout the region. In April of 1952 she reported back to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for decommissioning and conversion. On February 27th, 1953 she was re-commissioned as a part of the Atlantic Fleet’s Submarine Force. She operated out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from 1956 to 1965 as a part of NATO with the Atlantic Fleet and the rest of her career operating within and around the Caribbean Sea. The USS Quillback SS 424 was decommissioned and struck from the naval registry on March 23rd, 1973. She received one battle star for World War II service.
During her time with the US Navy, the USS Quillback SS 424 carried her sailors across the seas and participated in many naval warfare operations throughout the Pacific and Atlantic. She also carried items that were made with asbestos. Asbestos is a dangerous material that can lead to respiratory diseases, most notably the asbestos cancer known as mesothelioma. Asbestos is made up of tiny fibers, so it can be easily inhaled where it can cause great harm and even death. The passengers and crew who spent time on the Quillback were put at risk of exposure to this toxic material. Any veteran sailor who sailed on the Quillback should be evaluated by a physician for asbestos-related illness.
Last modified: December 28, 2010.
