USS Apogon (SS-308)
History of the USS Apogon Submarine
The USS Apogon (SS-308) was originally planned as the USS Abadejo. She was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down at Portsmouth Navy Yard in Maine on December 9, 1942. She was launched on March 10, 1943 and commissioned on July 16, 1943 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Walter Paul Schoeni.
The USS Apogon arrived at Pearl Harbor on October 11, 1943. Her first patrol began on November 3 in the waters between Truk and Kwajalein in support of Operation Galvanic to seize control of the Gilbert Islands. Though she attacked several Japanese ships, her only score was the sinking of the Japanese gunboat Daido Maru on December 4. The submarine put in at Midway for refitting on December 18 before sailing to Pearl Harbor for more repair work and training.
On January 15, 1944, the USS Apogon left Pearl Harbor to patrol the Mariana Islands. Her only attack came on February 1, where she claims to have sunk two Japanese ships, but she was never officially credited with either. She returned to Pearl Harbor for more refitting and training from March 9 until April 2. The submarine was headed for the waters south of the Japanese home islands, but an accidental machine gun discharge required her to transfer an injured crewman to Johnston Island before she could resume her patrol. She made no contact with enemy shipping before finishing her patrol on May 22 at Majuro.
Her next patrol began in June, sailing the waters between Formosa and the Philippines. The USS Apogon and her wolf pack encountered a Japanese convoy on July 12. As she positioned herself to attack, she was rammed by an enemy freighter, damaging her periscope and radar masts, and forcing her to head to Pearl Harbor via Midway for repairs.
The USS Apogon underwent repair and overhaul at Pearl Harbor until September 12, when she left to patrol the Kuril Islands. On September 23, she claimed to sink a Japanese patrol craft, but she was not officially credited with the kill. The submarine did sink the Hachirogata Maru four days later, rescuing two Japanese survivors. She headed back to Midway for refitting on October 28, which lasted until she headed back to the Kuril Islands on November 20. During this patrol, she damaged a Japanese tanker with a torpedo hit.
The USS Apogon headed to Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California via Pearl Harbor in early January 1945. Her overhaul lasted several months, and she returned to the war zone on May 28, patrolling the waters between the Kuril Islands and the Sea of Okhotsk. On June 18, she attacked a Japanese convoy and sank the transport Hakuai Maru. The submarine also damaged a submarine chaser on July 2 before her patrol ended at Midway on July 14. Her final patrol began on August 7 near Marcus Island, but she made no attacks because the Japanese surrendered the following week. She returned to San Diego, California on September 11.
After World War II, the USS Apogon was assigned as a target for Operation Crossroads, the nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll. She was sunk by the atomic bomb test Baker on July 1, 1946. Her name was removed from the Naval Vessel Register on February 25, 1947. The submarine earned six battle stars for her service in World War II.
The use of asbestos was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th Century because of its resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of their asbestos exposure onboard ship and in the shipyards, seaman, shipyard workers and longshoreman are at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma.
Sources include:
Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences, by John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed
