USS Hoe (SS-258)
History of the USS Hoe Submarine
The USS Hoe (SS-258) was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Connecticut on January 2, 1942. She was launched on September 17, 1942 and commissioned on December 16, 1942 under the command of Commander B. C. Folger.
The USS Hoe left Pearl Harbor for her first war patrol of the Mariana Islands on May 27, 1943. This uneventful patrol ended at Pearl Harbor on July 11. Her second patrol near Truk lasted from August 21 to October 18, and it also ended without any enemy kills, though she did help search for downed aviators near Wake Island in early October. She remained at Pearl Harbor for several months to receive extensive repairs to her main engines.
On January 26, 1944, the USS Hoe left Pearl Harbor for her third war patrol, this time in the area between Mindanao and Halmahera. Nearly one month later on February 25, she sank the fleet tanker Nissho Maru and damaged the fleet tanker Kyokuto Maru before pulling in at Fremantle on March 5.
After refitting, the USS Hoe began her next patrol of the South China Sea on April 4. Her torpedoes damaged the enemy escort Sado and the tanker Akane Maru on May 8. This patrol ended on June 2 at Fremantle. The submarine’s fifth patrol in the South China Sea lasted from June 29 until August 23, when she returned to Fremantle without any enemy surface contacts.
The USS Hoe departed for her sixth war patrol on September 15 with a small wolf pack, heading for the waters southwest of Lingayen Gulf. On October 7, her torpedoes sank the Japanese troop transport Makassar Maru. The next day, she sank another troop transport, the Kohoku Maru, and damaged the corvette Kaibokan No. 8. She ended her patrol on October 22 at Fremantle.
During her seventh war patrol, where she spent November 23 to January 3, 1945 in the Java Sea, she made no enemy kills. She sailed for her eighth and final war patrol from Fremantle to the South China Sea on February 8. The submarine collided with the USS Flounder underwater on February 23, and both submarines were lucky to escape without serious damage. Two days later, she sank the Japanese frigate Shonan. When she ended this patrol on March 6 at Pearl Harbor, she was sent to Mare Island Navy Yard in California for overhaul.
Once her repairs were completed on July 5, the USS Hoe headed back to the war zone. She was pulling in at Apra Harbor, Guam when the war ended. Now that she was no longer needed, she sailed for New London, Connecticut via Pearl Harbor and the Panama Canal. The submarine was decommissioned on August 7, 1946. She was taken out of reserve to serve as a Naval Reserve Training Ship on September 1956 until she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on May 1, 1960 and sold for scrap on September 10, 1960. The USS Hoe earned seven 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
