USS Sea Owl SS-405

The USS Sea Owl, a Navy Submarine named for a lumpfish, earned a total of five Battle Stars for her service during World War II. She carried a complement of 80 sea men, and reached speeds of nine knots when submerged and 20 on the surface. Sea Owl could endure 75 days of patrol duty and 48 hours underwater when traveling at two knots per hour. She was armed with (24) torpedoes, one five-inch 25 caliber deck gun, and four machine guns. Her propulsion was from four 10-cylinder opposed piston diesel engines driving electrical generators, two126-cell batteries, two electric motors and two propellers.

War Contributions

After being commissioned in 1944, Sea Owl's maiden voyage was to the East China Sea where she joined a coordinated attack group. Within less than a month off Wake Island, she was responsible for sinking a Japanese destroyer escort and a RO-35 Japanese submarine. Sea Owl was then ordered to also patrol the Yellow Sea, both offensively as well as a lifeguard. She conducted her next attack in another 19 days, when her torpedo hit one Japanese destroyer. That same week, USS Sea Owl attacked a four-mast schooner filled with rice, sinking it and capturing two prisoners of war. Soon thereafter, she succeeded in picking up six downed aviators. A short break back home followed this very eventful first deployment.

Life after War

When Sea Owl received her next orders, she found that she had been assigned to the Atlantic Fleet as a unit of Submarine Squadron 6. Therefore, from 1947, Sea Owl's duties were to support the antisubmarine training which took place at Key West and Guantanamo Bay, in conjunction with an overhaul which lasted until 1948. The next year and a half found Sea Owl performing normal operations and taking part in fleet training exercises in the Caribbean Sea and around Panama. After another overhaul in 1949, she was reassigned to SubRon 8, with which she carried out regular duties in the Atlantic for the next two years. In 1951, Sea Owl underwent a conversion to Fleet Snorkel submarine, before again taking part in Atlantic Fleet exercises. After two years of these maneuvers, Sea Owl required another overhaul, which she received at the Charleston Naval Shipyard. She then returned to the Caribbean as a participant in Operation Springboard. This was followed by a deployment in the Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet, and in Operation Keystone, which allowed USS Sea Owl to sail to Turkey, Italy, France, Greece and Spain.

International Partnering

From 1954 to 1956, she trained reserve personnel and submarine school students, and until 1959, took part in the NATO Exercises "New Broom" and "Fishplay." This was followed by "New Broom XI" four years later, this time as a joint force with Canada. The following year brought another joint effort with British, Canadian and Dutch Navies for Exercise "Long Hook" and in "Canus Silex" with Canada. That same year, she continued this goodwill effort with Exercise "Master Stroke" and "Canus Slamex." During 1966, Sea Owl assisted the Submarine School and Operational Test and Evaluation Force, while again contributing to Operation Springboard in the Caribbean. It was during their 1967 tour that a sailor was discovered to have an active and advanced case of tuberculosis. It was found that no other sailor had acquired it, but the Sea Owl was thus used as a control group for clinical research by the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery's Tuberculosis Service. Two years later, USS Sea Owl was reclassified as an auxiliary submarine for her last deployment, and in late 1969, was decommissioned and struck from the Navy list. She was sold for scrapping in 1971.

The Sea Owl's crew was fortunate that they did not acquire tuberculosis; their cramped and isolated living quarters became the focal point of government-sponsored studies to determine how and why that condition was not spread in such a contained environment. The seriousness of this undertaking proved that there was high-level concern over the fact that the confined space and recycled air system may have generated a contamination among everyone on board. The same would apply to any irritant in the air, including asbestos fibers that may have escaped their sealant.

Asbestos was widely used at the time of Sea Owl's construction as an additional precaution against the spread of fire, since its flame, heat and electrical retardant properties were viewed as excellent insulation. Combined with its ability to fit into small and awkward spaces, and the fact it was literally lightweight, made asbestos ideal for warships. All of them needed to prevent against fires, since infernos could mean death for all onboard. However, asbestos posed a danger of its own in the establishment of diseases after a latency period of several decades. Only now are conditions becoming known, many of which are serious. That is why it's imperative that any former sailor from the USS Sea Owl visit their doctor if they begin establishing unusual physical symptoms. For additional information, please fill out the form on this page to receive a comprehensive packet in the mail.

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