USS Blackfin (SS-322)
History of the USS Blackfin Submarine
The USS Blackfin (SS-322) was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Connecticut on June 10, 1943. She was launched on March 12, 1944 and commissioned on July 4, 1944 under the command of Lieutenant Commander George Hays Laird, Jr.
The USS Blackfin arrived at Pearl Harbor on September 11, 1944. She left for her first war patrol of the Philippines on September 30. On November 1, she sank the Japanese transport Unkai Maru No. 12 and the auxiliary vessel Caroline Maru. Her patrol ended on December 4 at Fremantle.
Having spent the Christmas season in Australia, the USS Blackfin began her patrol of the South China Sea on January 2, 1945. She torpedoed and sank the enemy destroyer Shigure on January 24, ending her patrol at Subic Bay on February 15. Her next patrol of the South China Sea lasted from March 6 until April 9, terminated early due to damage caused by a depth charge attack on March 28.
After repair work was complete, the USS Blackfin left to patrol the waters off Singapore on May 7, another patrol that ended early when defects were discovered. She arrived at Pearl Harbor for repairs on June 6, remaining there until July 17. The submarine then sailed for Saipan via Midway, arriving on August 7. Her final patrol of the Yellow Sea began on August 11, ending on September 5 at Guam after she destroyed 61 floating mines when the fighting ended.
Following World War II, the USS Blackfin joined Submarine Squadron 1 in San Diego, California. For the next few years, she operated mostly near Hawaii and the Marianas, though she took part in Operation Iceberg in the Arctic Circle in the summer of 1946. The submarine was decommissioned on November 19, 1948.
The USS Blackfin underwent conversion to a GUPPY IA submarine in November 1950. She was recommissioned on May 15, 1961 and operated out of San Diego with the Submarine Force of the Pacific Fleet until March 8, 1954. At this time, she was transferred to Pearl Harbor, making two deployments to the Far East and conducting local operations.
The USS Blackfin was decommissioned and removed from the Naval Vessel Register on September 15, 1972. She appeared in two films, Move Over Darling and Ice Station Zebra, before she was sunk as a target on May 13, 1973. The submarine earned three 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
