USS Moray (SS-300)
History of the USS Moray Submarine
The USS Moray (SS-300) was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down by the Cramp Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 21, 1943. She was launched on May 14, 1944 and commissioned on January 26, 1945 under the command of Commander Frank L. Barrows.
The USS Moray conducted her shakedown training off New London, Connecticut and Newport, Rhode Island. She then sailed for Balboa in the Panama Canal Zone in the company of the USS Carp and the destroyer USS Gillette, arriving there on April 25. From there, they sailed to Pearl Harbor, arriving on May 21 to complete some final training.
On June 7, the USS Moray sailed for Saipan, where she arrived 13 days later. Her first war patrol began on June 27 in the company of a large wolf pack that included the USS Angler, USS Carp, USS Cero, USS Lapon, and USS Sea Poacher. They patrolled off the coast of Tokyo, providing lifeguarding services during the first week of July.
The USS Moray took on a special mission from July 7 to 9, serving as a picket boat off Honshu to prepare for the upcoming Third Fleet bombardment. She then returned to lifeguard duty, as most Japanese shipping had been destroyed by this point in the war. On July 10, though, she and the USS Kingfish attacked a small convoy off the coast of Honshu. Her torpedoes sank the merchant whaler Fumi Maru No. 6 during the exchange. Six days later, her patrol area was shifted to the Kuril Islands. The submarine put in at Midway on August 6, just nine days before the Japanese capitulation.
After World War II ended, the USS Moray headed back home to the West Coast. She arrived at San Francisco, California on September 11 and proceeded to Mare Island Navy Yard for inactivation overhaul. The submarine was decommissioned on April 12, 1946, and she entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet the following January. On December 1, 1962, the submarine was redesignated as an Auxiliary Research Submarine, AGSS-300. She was removed from the Naval Vessel Register on April 1, 1967 and sunk as a target on June 18, 1970 off the coast of San Clemente, California. The USS Moray was awarded 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
