USS Cabezon (SS-334)
History of the USS Cabezon Submarine
The USS Cabezon (SS-334) 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 18, 1943. She was launched on August 27, 1944 and commissioned on December 30, 1944 under the command of Commander G.W. Lautrup.
The USS Cabezon trained at Key West and provided services for the Fleet Sound School for three weeks in February and March 1945. The submarine arrived at Pearl Harbor on March 15. She began her first and only World War II patrol on May 25 in the Sean of Okhotsk. On June 19, her torpedoes sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Zaosan Maru, her only kill during the war. Her patrol ended at Midway on July 11.
After refitting at Midway, the USS Cabezon headed to Saipan, where she would serve as a target ship for training exercises. She conducted training and local operations out of Subic Bay from September 7 until January 12, 1946. From there, she headed home to San Diego, California, arriving on February 6. She operated out of California until November 20, when her homeport was shifted to Pearl Harbor.
Over the next few years, the USS Cabezon participated in a number of training cruises and local operations. She made several cruises to the South Pacific, the North Pacific, and across the Arctic Circle. During this time, she was deployed twice to the Far East. Her second Far East deployment from April to September 1952 involved reconnaissance between Hokkaido, Japan and Sakhalin, USSR.
The USS Cabezon was decommissioned on October 24, 1953. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on May 15, 1970 and sold for scrap on December 28, 1971. The submarine was awarded with 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
