USS Barracuda (SS-163)
History of the USS Barracuda Submarine
The USS Barracuda (SS-163) was originally named the USS V-1. She was ordered for the U.S. Navy after World War I. Her keel was laid down at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire on October 20, 1921. She was launched on July 17, 1924 and commissioned on October 1, 1924 under the command of Lieutenant Commander S. Picking.
The USS V-1 joined Submarine Division 20, commissioned for surface running only for engine trials. She spent her first few years along the East Coast and in the Caribbean. The submarine shifted to San Diego, California with her squadron on November 8, 1927, where she conducted routine operations along the West Coast and in Hawaii. She was renamed the USS Barracuda on March 1, 1931, receiving her hull designation (SS-163) on July 1.
The USS Barracuda operated with Submarine Division 12 from January 1933 until October 28, 1936, when she left San Diego to take part in the Gravimetric Survey Expedition in the Caribbean. The submarine was decommissioned on May 14, 1937.
When she was recommissioned on September 5, 1940, the USS Barracuda joined Submarine Division 9. After sailing from Portsmouth, New Hampshire to the Caribbean between March and April 1941, she joined Submarine Division 71 in New England. The submarine sailed with the Pacific Fleet in the Pacific Patrol Area from November 17 to December 15, 1941, when she rejoined the Atlantic Fleet. From then until September 7, 1942, she conducted war patrols southwest of Panama as part of Submarine Division 31, never making enemy contact.
On September 7, 1942, the USS Barracuda put in for repairs in the Panama Canal Zone before heading to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for overhaul. When the work was complete, she operated out of New London, Connecticut for training problems with Submarine Divisions 13 and 31 until February 1945. The submarine was decommissioned on March 3, 1945. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on March 10, 1945 and sold for scrap on November 16, 1945.
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
