USS HALIBUT
A Story Of Three Ships

by Ed Brooks ©2000

The first Submarine Halibut entered the war in the Pacific August 1942. Ironically, her first war patrols were in defense of the Aleutian Islands. Not far from where her Cold War namesake operated during the 60's and 70's. USS Halibut SS-232 sent 12 Imperial Japanese ships to the bottom of the Pacific from 1942 to 1944. In November 1944, while operating near the Philippines the SS-232 was depth-charged and received severe hull damage. She was later determined to be non-repairable and taken out of service at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The SS-232 had only two commanding officers the last of whom was Lcdr I. J. Galantin.
In the 1950s, a young Captain I. J. Galantin was serving in the Pentagon when plans were made to build a new Guided Missile carrying submarine at Mare Island Naval Shipyard; near Vallejo, CA. As fate would have it Capt. Galantin was working in the section of the Pentagon responsible for deciding many of the design aspects of new submarines being built during that period of time. The first part of the process was deciding what each new submarine would be named. Capt. Galantin's section held the list of submarines that achieved battle honors in WWII. USS Halibut (SS-232) was on that list. As the design was being finalized for a guided missile submarine to be constructed at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, the Navy had decided to make it a diesel engine powered submarine. Capt. Galantin worked diligently to have the ship equipped with a nuclear reactor propulsion system - and succeeded. The keel of the guided missile submarine USS Halibut SSGN-587 was layed at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in 1957. Captain Galantin was there to see his Halibut reborn in the form of the US Navy's only nuclear powered, guided missile submarine. Adm. I. J. Galantin, US Navy (retired) has maintained contact with and support of veterans of both the SS-232 and the SSGN/SSN-587.
As all of us know, the last Halibut served with honors during the Cold War era. The first iteration (SSGN-587) made seven deterrent patrols carrying Regulus Missiles to the Soviet's shore. Then as Polaris submarines replaced the Regulus carrying boats, she was taken out of service and reconfigured to continue vital missions in the North Pacific, ultimately helping to bring an end to the Cold War. The reconfigured Halibut (SSN-587) was again taken out of service and decommissioned in June, 1976 .
No one has been able to qualify or quantify the finite elements that make a submarine proud and successful in service to her country. The pride and commitment of her succeeding crews usually starts with those attitudes in the commissioning crew and is passed on as the original crew is incrementally relieved. In Halibut's case, we can assume it started even before that with the WWII skippers and crews of the SS-232. All submariners share a good deal of pride and honor for having served in the Navy's Submarine Service. Veterans of the Halibut should take extra pride in the fact that the link goes back to 1942 and the accomplishments and sacrifices of the crews assigned to the first Halibut.

In the US Submarine Service - Pride Runs Deep!

COMMANDING OFFICERS
USS HALIBUT SS(G)N/SSN 587

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