The contract to build her was awarded to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, and her keel was laid down on 15 June 1945, but work on her construction was discontinued in January 1946.

Her unfinished hulk remained on the ways until August 1947, when construction resumed, now including GUPPY II enhancements to the basic Tench-class design.

Volador completed her builder's trials on 20 January 1949, left Portsmouth three days later, and stopped at Newport, Rhode Island, and New London, Connecticut, before sailing for the Gulf of Mexico on 5 February.

En route, the Korean War broke out, and the submarine spent two months training in Hawaiian waters before returning to San Diego for operations on the West Coast that lasted into the summer of 1951.

From 16 November to 9 December, Volador participated in hunter/killer operations en route to Okinawa from Japan in company with Task Group (TG) 96.7.

She then spent three months in the Juan de Fuca Strait and the Puget Sound area before entering the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in October.

On 22 August 1953, Volador began a period of special operations, departing Pearl Harbor for an Alaskan training cruise which kept her in northern waters until October 1953.

Returning to San Diego, California, Volador rendered services and conducted type training there until May 1954, when she entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for overhaul.

Departing San Diego on 3 January 1955 for her second tour of duty in the Western Pacific (WestPac), Volador proceeded to Yokosuka, Japan, via Pearl Harbor.

Upon arrival at Yokosuka on 26 January 1955, she conducted type training and furnished ASW services to a destroyer division and elements of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force until 1 March 1955.

Visiting Subic Bay, Hong Kong, and Pearl Harbor while en route, Volador returned to San Diego, California, on 1 July.

Volador was welcomed by a gathering of about 500 citizens, plus the local high school band, and was presented a plaque in a simple ceremony on board.

Completing overhaul in October 1959, the submarine returned to San Diego, California, for local operations until leaving for WestPac in late December.

Upon her return, she was placed in commission, in reserve, while undergoing FRAM Mk 1 conversion to a GUPPY III configuration at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard.

A 15-foot (5 m) hull section was installed in addition to a large amount of new electronic, fire control, and sonar equipment, making Volador one of the most modern diesel-electric submarines in the Fleet.

Volador resumed operations on 3 January 1966 after a short period of holiday routine in San Diego alongside the submarine tender Nereus.

The greater part of January was spent conducting weapons system accuracy trials at the Dabob Bay and Carr Inlet facilities in the Puget Sound area.

On 7 March 1966, Volador left port for a week of type training in the local operating areas during which time sound trials were conducted to investigate the problem of noisy propellers.

Following an eight-day upkeep period for voyage repairs, Volador departed Yokosuka on 14 June to provide ASW services to ships and aircraft of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

She arrived back at Yokosuka, Japan, on 24 January to learn that her deployment was being indefinitely extended because of mobilization response to the capture of "environmental research ship" Pueblo by the North Koreans.

The next two months were spent in upkeep and training before heading to the Pacific northwest for a quality assurance system test of the Mk 48 Astor torpedo.

After the firings, while en route to home waters, a stop was made at Monterey, California, on 20 May and 21 May to provide familiarization cruises for students of the Naval Postgraduate School, local members of the Navy League, and city leaders.

Volador left Hong Kong for two weeks of operations and liberty in Yokosuka, Japan, before returning to San Diego, California, on 12 February 1970.

On 17 January 1970 she was involved in a collision with the Japanese freighter MIYAHIME MARU at the entrance to Tokyo bay, with both suffering minor damage.

Upon completion of this exercise on 12 May, Volador visited Piraeus, Greece; Augusta Bay, Sicily; Palma, Majorca; Villefranche, France; Gibraltar; Naples, Italy; and Málaga, Spain; and returned to Rota on 19 July for turnover.

The United States Department of the Navy's Naval Historical Center maintains that Pickerel became Primo Longobordo and Volador became Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia.