USS Kraken SS-370

The USS Kraken was a United States Navy Balao-class submarine named for a mythical Norwegian sea monster. The vessel's contribution to World War II earned the USS Kraken one Battle Star. The USS Kraken was 312 feet in length, and carried a complement of 81 sailors. The submarine's armament consisted of 10 21-inch torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, one 5-inch / 25 caliber deck gun, and four machine guns. She was able to endure 48 hours at two knots per hour when submerged to 400 feet, as well as 75 days on patrol. Her top speeds were 20 knots surfaced and nine knots submerged. The USS Kraken was propelled by four V16 diesel engines driving electrical generators, two 126-cell batteries, four high-speed electric motors with reduction gears, and two propellers. This equipment gave Kraken a range of 11,000 nautical miles if surfaced when traveling at 10 knots.

Service During World War II

The USS Kraken's keel was laid down in Wisconsin by Manitowoc Shipbuilding, and the vessel launched on the last day of April in 1944. Her commissioning took place six months later, and her shakedown was completed within a few weeks. She embarked on her maiden voyage that fall, reaching Lockport, Illinois, to enter a floating dry-dock on the first leg of the journey. The USS Kraken then traversed the Mississippi River towards Louisiana, subsequently traveling through Algiers and then the Panama Canal. She stayed in the Gulf of Panama for a month to receive additional preparatory exercises and training before traveling to Pearl Harbor.

On December 12, 1944 the USS Kraken left Hawaii on a war patrol, and stopped briefly at Saipan before reaching Indochina on Christmas Eve. She remained there for the next two months and supported 3rd Fleet carrier strikes through lifeguard duty. In the course of this mission she rescued a Lexington aviator from hazardous waves and managed to avoid a strafing enemy plane. After a short rest in Fremantle, Australia, the USS Kraken followed orders to continue lifeguard duty in the South China Sea in March. Her new task was to support aircraft carriers in their Singapore and Saigon Subic Bay strikes. In May, the USS Kraken had new responsibilities in the Gulf of Siam and Java Sea. In June she bombarded the seaport of Merak and sank a small enemy coaster. A few days later she sank an oil tanker while chasing eight enemy vessels and damaged other Japanese ships. The next month the USS Kraken was in the Java Sea when the war ended, and the vessel subsequently returned to Subic Bay, before heading to Pearl Harbor. She then sailed into the waters off San Francisco on September 22.

Service in the Spanish Navy

The USS Kraken took part in an honor escort for Admiral William Halsey's passage under the Golden Gate Bridge before she was taken out of commission. She joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet in May 1946, where she remained until 1958. At that time, she received an activation overhaul and was given a Fleet Snorkel conversion at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. The USS Kraken was readied for a transfer to the Spanish Navy. In late 1959, the USS Kraken was commissioned and renamed SPS Almirante García de los Reyes, but was referred to as A. G. de los Reyes. (Two years later her designation was changed to S-31, and her nickname became "treinta y único"-"thirty only-one"-since she was Spain's only submarine at that time.) With a new crew, the former USS Kraken transited the Panama Canal to Cartagena, where she served Spain for 14 years. After Spain purchased the vessel, she was again decommissioned and struck from the US Naval Register. However, the next year, she was once more re-commissioned to fill in for another Spanish vessel. Her final decommission did not occur until 1981, and she was scrapped the following year.

Though crew members of the USS Kraken evaded enemy fire, they faced the same dangers as those on other ships such as the danger of exposure to asbestos. At the time the USS Kraken was operational, asbestos was heavily utilized in construction of submarines since it was considered an excellent fire retardant. If asbestos-contaminated materials and equipment aboard a submarine were damaged during daily operations, toxic fibers may have been released into the air where they could be inhaled or ingested into the body. Overtime this can cause inflammation or infection and the long-term irritation may be responsible for serious diseases or even malignancies. If you served onboard the USS Kraken or worked in a shipyard and have developed an asbestos-related illness, you may wish to learn more about treatment and legal options. Click here to receive a complimentary packet from Asbestos.com with comprehensive information about asbestos-related illnesses.

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