USS Nautilus (SS-168)
History of the USS Nautilus Submarine
The USS Nautilus (SS-168) was originally named the USS V-6 (SF-9). She was ordered for the U.S. Navy after World War I. Her keel was laid down at the Mare Island Navy Yard in California on August 2, 1927. She was launched on March 15, 1930 and commissioned on July 1, 1930 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Doyle, Jr.
The USS V-6 conducted special submergence tests out of New London, Connecticut until March 1931. On February 19, 1931, she was renamed the USS Nautilus. She received her new hull designation, SS-168, on July 1 of the same year. The submarine headed to Pearl Harbor, where she served as the flagship of Submarine Division 12. She was then reassigned to Submarine Division 13 from 1935 until 1938 in San Diego, California before shifting her homeport back to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii for training and fleet exercises.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the USS Nautilus had been at Mare Island Naval Shipyard for modernization for several months. When her modernization was complete, the submarine arrived at Pearl Harbor on April 28, 1942. Her first war patrol began on May 24 in defense of Midway. On June 4, during the battle of Midway, she dodged enemy depth charges to torpedo the Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga, although the torpedo failed to explode.
Three days later, after provisioning at Midway, the USS Nautilus departed to patrol the area off Honshu. On June 25, she her torpedoes sank the Japanese destroyer Yamakaze. Two days later, she sank the auxiliary minesweeper Musashi Maru, but she was damaged by depth patrols the following day. Forced to end her patrol early, she arrived at Pearl Harbor on July 11.
On August 8, the USS Nautilus sailed with the USS Argonaut for her second war patrol. The two submarines transported Marine commandos to Makin, arriving to land on August 16. Unfortunately, their rubber rafts were swamped and their outboard motors drowned. Enemy snipers began picking away at the Marines, and the submarines recovered all but 30 of the troops. They returned to Pearl Harbor on August 26.
The USS Nautilus began her third war patrol on September 15, heading for the waters surrounding the Japanese home islands. Two weeks later, on September 29, she sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Tamon Maru No. 6. On October 1, her torpedoes sank another merchant cargo ship, the Tosei Maru. The submarine was damaged by a depth charge attack 11 days later, but she was able to continue her patrol. She sank the merchant cargo ship Kenun Maru on October 24 and a sampan the following day. Her patrol ended on Halloween at Midway, and she proceeded to Pearl Harbor for repairs.
After repair work was done, the USS Nautilus departed Pearl Harbor on December 13 for her fourth war patrol in the Solomon Islands. On January 1, 1943, she helped evacuate 32 civilians from Teop Island. Eight days later, she sank the Japanese troop transport Yoshinogawa Maru. Her torpedoes damaged the destroyer Akizuki on January 19. The submarine put in at Brisbane in February to disembark her passengers before heading to Pearl Harbor.
From Pearl Harbor, the USS Nautilus sailed for Dutch Harbor, Alaska, arriving on April 27. For her fifth war patrol, she loaded 109 scouts on May 1, landing them at Attu to retake the island 10 days later. She ended her patrol on May 25 to undergo refitting at Mare Island Navy Yard in California before returning to Pearl Harbor.
The USS Nautilus conducted her sixth war patrol from September 16 until October 17. During this time, she conducted photographic reconnaissance of the Gilbert Islands. Her seventh war patrol began on November 8, and she patrolled the waters of the Gilbert Islands during the American troop landings. On November 19, just one day before the landings at Tarawa, the submarine was damaged by friendly fire from the USS Santa Fe and the USS Ringgold. She was able to remain on patrol, and two days later, she landed a Marine reconnaissance company on Abemama. This patrol ended on December 4 at Pearl Harbor.
On January 27, 1944, the USS Nautilus began her eighth war patrol in the Philippine Sea. She sank the Japanese troop transport America Maru on March 6. Her patrol ended at Pearl Harbor on March 21.
The USS Nautilus sailed for Brisbane on April 26. Operating out of Australia for her ninth war patrol, she transported supplies to the Philippines and evacuated refugees on her return trip. On June 14, she sank a Japanese sampan. She sank another sampan on June 25.
The USS Nautilus completed a total of 14 war patrols. Her final war patrols included more transport missions to and from the Philippines with troops, supplies, and evacuees. On Halloween 1944, during her thirteenth patrol, she helped scuttle the USS Darter with her gunfire, which had run aground on a reef and could not be torpedoed.
After her last patrol ended at Darwin on January 30, 1945, the USS Nautilus headed to Philadelphia for inactivation overhaul. She was decommissioned on June 30, 1945, struck from the Naval Vessel Register on July 25, and sold for scrap on November 16 of the same year. The submarine earned 14 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation 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
