USS Herring (SS-233)
History of the USS Herring Submarine
The USS Herring (SS-233) was ordered for the U.S. Navy before the United States entered World War II. Her keel was laid down at Portsmouth Navy Yard in New Hampshire on July 14, 1941. She was launched on January 5, 1942 and commissioned on May 4, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Raymond W. Johnson.
The USS Herring began her career by taking station off the coast of North Africa for Operation Torch. She arrived at her position off Casablanca on November 5, 1942. While there, she sank the Vichy-French merchant ship Ville du Havre on November 8. This first patrol ended on November 25 at Rosneath, Scotland. Her next four uneventful patrols were conducted out of Britain from December 16 until July 26, 1943.
Having no luck in the Atlantic, the USS Herring sailed for the Pacific via New London, Connecticut on August 9. After a few months of intensive training, her first Pacific war patrol began out of Pearl Harbor on November 15 in the waters of the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea. On December 14, her torpedoes sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Hakozaki Maru. She sank the aircraft transport Nagoya Maru on New Year’s Day 1944.
Her next few patrols were not quite as successful. On March 24, she attempted to attack a large enemy aircraft carrier, but she lost the opportunity when she was detected and had to conduct evasive maneuvers to avoid the resulting depth charge attack.
The USS Herring departed Pearl Harbor on May 16 for her eighth war patrol in the Kuril Islands. The submarine rendezvoused with the USS Barb on May 31, and she sank the Japanese frigate Ishigaki as well as the cargo ship Hokuyo Maru. The next day, her torpedoes sank the troop transport Iwaki Maru and the merchant cargo ship Hiburi Maru. Unfortunately, the USS Herring was also lost in the exchange, sunk by enemy shore batteries. The submarine earned five battle stars for her service in World War II, having sunk 19,959 tons of enemy shipping over the course of all her war patrols.
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
