USS Besugo (SS-321)
History of the USS Besugo Submarine
The USS Besugo (SS-321) was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Connecticut on May 27, 1943. She was launched on February 27, 1944 and commissioned on June 19, 1944 under the command of Commander T.L. Wogan.
The USS Besugo arrived at Pearl Harbor on September 7, 1944. Her first war patrol off the Bungo Suido began on September 26. She damaged an unidentified enemy patrol craft on October 6 with gunfire. Ten days later, she attacked and damaged the Japanese destroyer Suzutsuki. On October 24, her torpedoes caused heavy damage to the Kaibokan No. 132. The submarine encountered enemy ships on October 29, but was unable to attack before her patrol ended at Saipan on November 5.
On November 10, the USS Besugo headed out for her next patrol of the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. Twelve days later, she sank the Japanese landing ship T 151 and claimed unconfirmed sinkings of an oiler and a lighter or barge. Her patrol ended on December 4 at Fremantle.
Christmas Eve marked the beginning of the USS Besugo’s next patrol of the South China Sea and the Gulf of Siam. She sank the Japanese fleet tanker Nichei Maru on January 6, 1945 and the merchant tanker Sarawak Maru on January 24. The submarine also sank the Kaibokan No. 144 on February 2 before returning to Fremantle on February 15.
The USS Besugo left to patrol the Java Sea and Sunda Sea on March 24. She sank the enemy minesweeper W 12 on April 12, requiring her to return to Fremantle for minor repairs and a new load of torpedoes. The submarine moved on to sink the German submarine U-183 on April 23 and the Japanese guardboat Otome Maru five days later. She sailed to Subic Bay on May 20.
After refitting at Subic Bay, the USS Besugo began her next war patrol on June 13 in the South China Sea. This uneventful patrol ended on July 27, and she sailed from Fremantle to San Diego, California on August 29 for overhaul.
Following her post-war overhaul, the USS Besugo operated out of Guam until May 6, 1946. She was then transferred to Pearl Harbor for the next eight years, making two deployments to the Far East during the Korean War before shifting again to San Diego in August 1954. The submarine was decommissioned on March 21, 1958. She was then reclassified as an Auxiliary Research Submarine, AGSS-321, in 1962 before being recommissioned on June 15, 1965.
The USS Besugo underwent conversion as a Fleet Snorkel Submarine in early 1966 before she was decommissioned and loaned to the Italian Navy on March 31, 1966. The submarine was returned to the U.S. Navy and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on November 15, 1975. She was sold for scrap on April 16, 1976. The sub earned four battle stars for her service in World War II and one in the Korean War.
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
