USS Jallao (SS-368) Submarine Boat Insignia

USS Jallao (SS-368) Battle Insignia
The USS Jallao (SS-368) was named after a fierce predatory fish, of the Haemulidae family, common to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. They may be found in tropical fresh, brackish or salt waters where they are bottom feeders. They are distinguished by their ability to produce a distinctive sound by grinding their teeth and are therefore sometimes referred to as "grunts".

The Jallao's battle insignia was a stylized greenish Jallao fish, wearing the distinctive white "Dixie Cup" sailor cap of the U.S. Navy and striking a fierce pose at it aggressively gestures with a torpedo - the distinctive arsenal of submarines. The boat's name and hull number clearly identify the vessel, with the "O" in Jallao violating the outer border of the plaque. The Jallao is rising from a sea which is sewn with undersea mines, another weapon of submariners.

Submarines are by nature stealth weapons. Built for undersea warfare, they lack a quarterdeck where nautical formalities and ceremonies take place. They often surface only at night to recharge their batteries while they cruise on the surface and are consequently rarely adorned with decorative features. The Jallao, however, did paint a variation of this battle insignia on her conning tower. Plaques like this example were often made by the shipbuilders and were generally used aboard in common crew areas or for dockside ceremonies.

Battle insignia like this were a common, if unofficial, attribution for U.S. submarines in WWII. Over the course of the war, artists, both amateur and professional, made unofficial combat insignia. Used as morale-builders, they were immediately popular. Disney was perhaps the most famous of the commercial artists creating distinctive insignias for both the Flying Tigers, serving in China, and the Eagle Squadron, serving with the Royal Air Force before the U.S. entered the war. Often these insignias became the basis for patches, plaques, "Brag Rags" (flags) and other ephemera associated with units, aircraft, ships and boats.

The USS Jallao was launched 12 March 1944 and commissioned on 8 July 1944. After her sea trials she reported for duty with the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in September 1944. After additional training she departed on her maiden war patrol on 9 October 1944 and joined a US Navy "wolf-pack" nicknamed "Clarey's Crushers" in the fall of 1944. The Jallao participated in the Battle for Leyte Gulf and the Battle of Cape Engano. In the aftermath of the latter engagement the Jallao sank the Japanese light cruiser Tama. Her successful first war patrol concluded at Majuro, the US Navy's large forward base in the Marshall Islands, on 10 December 1944.

The Jallao's second war patrol began 6 January 1945, but the decimated Japanese merchant fleet presented few targets, making the patrol tedious and uneventful. While attacking a convoy on 5 March, a Japanese escort vessel tried to ram the Jallao, damaging her periscope, and she put in to Midway for repairs on 26 March 1944.

Sailing for her third war patrol on 20 April 1945 the Jallao was assigned to aircraft crew rescue duty off the Japanese-occupied Marcus Island where she braved shore battery fire to eventually rescue five aviators and transport then to Saipan. Her third patrol ended at Pearl Harbor on 13 June 1945.

The Jallao underwent training while sailing to Guam. She departed on her final fourth war patrol on 31 July 1945 during which she sank the 6,000 ton freighter Timako Maru on 11 August 1945. When hostilities ceased the Jallao sailed for San Francisco via Guam, arriving there on 28 September 1945. She was decommissioned and placed in the US Pacific Reserve Fleet on 30 September 1946.

This plaque was kept aboard after she was recommissioned (1953-1974) until her U.S. Navy decommissioning and eventual sale to the Royal Spanish Navy - where she saw another decade of service as the SPS Narciso Monturiol (S-35).

The insignia on this plaque was used as the basis for numerous variations; some round, others rectangular during both of the USS Jallao's U.S. Naval incarnations.

Provenance:
• Likely made at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, Manitowoc, WI, 1943/44
• Used aboard the USS Jallao, 1944/45.
• Kept aboard as a memento of WWII service until decommissioning, 1974.
• Retained by Seaman John Bayley as a memento until 1990s.
• Acquired by purchase by The War Museum of New York City, 1990s
• Sold via Bonham's of New York City, NY to Zaricor Flag Collection, 2013.


Sources:

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USS Jallao, Wikipedia, 18 April 2013, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Jallao_(SS-368)

USS Jallao SS368, 18 April 2013, from: http://www.ussjallao.com/

USS Jallao (SS-368) - Submarine Photo Index, 18 April 2013, from: http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08368.htm

Haemulidae, Wikipedia, 18 April 20143, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haemulidae

Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC) Archives, 2013.

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
Bonhams

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	8.5
Length of Fly	8.5

Frame
Is it framed?	no

Crest/Emblem
Description of Crest/Emblem	Unofficial insignia of the USS Jallao

Nationality
Nation Represented	United States

Fabric
Fabric	Metal
Comments on Fabric	Cast aluminum

Attachment
Method of Attachment	None

Applica
Applique Sides	3-D Artifact

Documentation
Documents	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Drawings	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.

Condition
Condition	Good
Damage	Used
Displayable	no

Date
Date	1944-1945