USS Bumper (SS-333)
History of the USS Bumper Submarine
The USS Bumper (SS-333) was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Connecticut on November 4, 1943. She was launched on August 6, 1944 and commissioned on December 9, 1944 under the command of Commander J.W. Williams, Jr.
The USS Bumper arrived at Pearl Harbor on April 1, 1945. Her first patrol of the South China Sea began on April 22. This rather uneventful patrol ended at Subic Bay on June 14 without having made any enemy contacts.
On July 10, the USS Bumper sailed for her second and final war patrol, this time in the Gulf of Siam. She sank a Japanese sailing vessel on July 15 with her gunfire. Four days later, her torpedoes sank the fleet tanker Kyoei Maru No. 3. She sank the enemy guardboat Kyoraku Maru No. 3 the following day. On August 5, she sank three more small vessels with her gunfire. This patrol ended at Fremantle on August 15, the same day as the Japanese capitulation.
After World War II, the USS Bumper headed for Subic Bay. She served there with the unit Submarines Philippine Sea Frontier until February 1946. The submarine then headed to California for repair work before heading to Pearl Harbor in service with Submarine Squadron 5.
In December 1946, the USS Bumper sailed for a simulated war patrol of the Western Pacific. While in the area, she also participated with the Northern Training Group Western Pacific before returning to Pearl Harbor on March 29, 1947. The submarine went in for overhaul at California from January until June 1948. After that, she conducted another simulated war patrol of the Western Pacific, returning home on September 29, 1949.
The USS Bumper remained based in Pearl Harbor until February 7, 1950. She then operated along the East Coast until she was decommissioned on September 16, 1950. Two months later, on November 16, the submarine was transferred to the Turkish Navy and recommissioned as the TCG Canakkale. She served with the Turkish Navy until they decommissioned her on August 11, 1976. The submarine earned one battle star 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
