USS Barb (SS-220)
History of the USS Barb Submarine
The USS Barb (SS-220) was ordered for the U.S. Navy before the United States entered World War II. Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Connecticut on June 7, 1941. She was launched on April 2, 1942 and commissioned on July 8, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Commander John R. Waterman.
The USS Barb departed for her first war patrol in the autumn of 1942. She operated in European waters, playing a role in the invasion of Morocco in November, performing reconnaissance duties. Her next four war patrols in 1943 were also in the European theater, based out of Rosneath, Scotland, and she sailed to the Bay of Biscay, the Norwegian Sea, and the North Atlantic without damaging the enemy.
Her sixth patrol began in September 1943, and the USS Barb shifted to the Pacific theater. While sailing off the coast of China, she damaged two enemy ships before returning to California for overhaul. During the spring of 1944, she sank one ship and participated in shore bombardment. From May to July, she sank five Japanese ships and destroyed 20 other small vessels.
In August and September, the USS Barb joined a wolf pack for her ninth patrol in the waters between China and the Philippines. She sank three enemy ships, including the Japanese escort carrier Unyo, and she rescued 14 Allied POWs. Her next two patrols were also in the company of a wolf pack, cruising the East China Sea between October 1944 and February 1945. The submarine sank two enemy ships on the tenth patrol and four more on the patrol following that, also scoring an assist. One attack she made on January 22-23 damaged 30 enemy ships at anchor, earning the sub a Presidential Unit Citation and her commander the Medal of Honor.
After being overhauled at Mare Island, she returned to patrol northern Japan on June 8. During this patrol, she sank the Kaibokan No. 112 and a freighter, and her crew raided a shore facility to destroy a railroad train. The destruction of the train was the only ground combat operation to take place on the Japanese home islands.
After World War II, the USS Barb was decommissioned on February 12, 1947. She was recommissioned on December 3, 1951, operating out of Key West in the Atlantic Fleet. The submarine was decommissioned again from February 5 to August 3, 1954 as she underwent conversion in the Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program (GUPPY).
The USS Barb then served with the Atlantic Fleet until December 13, 1954, when she was decommissioned and loaned to the Italian Navy as part of the Mutual Defense Assistance Program. The submarine served the Italians as the Enrico Tazzoli (S-511) until she was sold for scrap and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on October 15, 1972. She earned eight battle stars, the Presidential Unit Citation, and the Navy Unit Commendation 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
