USS Marlin (SS-205)
History of the USS Marlin Submarine
The USS Marlin (SS-205) was ordered for the U.S. Navy before World War II. Her keel was laid down at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire on May 23, 1940. She was launched on January 29, 1941 and commissioned on August 1, 1941 under the command of Lieutenant George A. Sharp.
The USS Marlin began her career in service of the Atlantic Fleet out of New London. On March 21, 1942, she sailed for Casco Bay, Maine to join Task Group 27.1 and provide antisubmarine warfare training to new escort vehicles. From there, she returned to New London, Connecticut on April 18, and she operated in Long Island Sound in New York until the end of the year.
Returning to Casco Bay with Task Group 27.1 on January 7, 1943, the USS Marlin provided her training services again until January 16. After that, she moved on to patrol and train ships off Portsmouth, New Hampshire and New London for the next two and a half years. During this training period, she was making a submerged practice approach on the destroyer USS Chaffee on July 26, 1944. She collided with the submarine chaser USS SC-642, causing slight damage to both ships. In September 1944, she traveled with the submarine rescue ship USS Chetco, returning to New London on September 10.
The USS Marlin left New London on October 20, 1945 sailing for Boston, Massachusetts via Bridgeport, Connecticut. After undergoing inactivation overhaul, she was decommissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on November 9, 1945. The submarine was sold for scrap on March 29, 1946 to the Boston Metal Company of Baltimore, Maryland.
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
