USS Paddle (SS-263)
History of the USS Paddle Submarine
The USS Paddle (SS-263) was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Connecticut on May 1, 1942. She was launched on December 30, 1942 and commissioned on March 29, 1943 under the command of Lieutenant Commander R. H. Rice.
The USS Paddle arrived at Pearl Harbor on July 5, 1943. When she was not on war patrol she helped train destroyers at Pearl Harbor in antisubmarine warfare. Her first war patrol began on July 20 in the waters south of Japan. On August 13, her torpedoes damaged the Japanese troop transport Hidaka Maru, and she was forced to dive to avoid the resulting 13-hour depth charge attack. Ten days later, she sank the merchant cargo ship Ataka Maru. She returned to Pearl Harbor on July 12.
On October 17, the USS Paddle sailed for her second war patrol off the coast of Nauru. While there, she provided weather reporting for the carrier task force covering the troop landings at Tarawa. When she returned to Pearl Harbor on November 9, she was then sent on to Mare Island Navy Yard in California for overhaul and engine repairs.
After her overhaul was completed, she began her third war patrol on March 19, 1944 in the area south of the Philippines. She sank the enemy ships Mito Maru and Hino Maru No. 1 on April 16 with her torpedoes. Her patrol ended on May 12 at Fremantle.
The USS Paddle departed Fremantle on June 5 for her fourth war patrol. She provided reconnaissance to guard against a Japanese sortie during the American invasion of Saipan. On June 30, she was damaged by aerial bombs and had to make quick repairs. The submarine moved on to sink the Japanese freighter Hokaze on July 6 before putting in at Fremantle on July 29.
Her fifth war patrol lasted from August 22 until September 25 in the Sulu Sea. The USS Paddle sank the Japanese troop transport Shinyo Maru and damaged the tanker Eiyo Maru No. 2 on September 7. The damaged ship was later beached beyond repair. The Shinyo Maru, unfortunately, was not marked as a POW carrier. The Japanese killed all but 83 of the over 750 Allied prisoners of war onboard as the ship sank.
The USS Paddle sailed for her sixth war patrol on October 3. During this time, she provided lifeguarding services off Balikpapan. Six days into her patrol, she sank a Japanese sailing vessel with her gunfire, one of three small vessels she would destroy during this period. The submarine returned to Fremantle on November 1.
On November 25, the USS Paddle headed for her seventh war patrol in the South China Sea. She and the USS Hammerhead shared the kill when they sank the Japanese merchant tanker Shoei Maru on December 8. This patrol ended on January 18, 1945 at Pearl Harbor.
From Pearl Harbor, the USS Paddle was sent to San Francisco, California for overhaul. When the work was completed, she began her eighth and final war patrol on May 15 in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. On June 8, she sank two small Japanese vessels. Her gunfire sank another small vessel on June 27. She then sank five more small vessels on July 2. With enemy shipping scarce, the submarine also destroyed a number of floating mines with her gunfire before heading to Guam on July 18.
The USS Paddle sailed to conduct lifeguard duty off Honshu on August 13, but when the war ended two days later, she headed home to Staten Island via Midway. She was decommissioned on February 1, 1946. The submarine was briefly recommissioned from August 31, 1956 until January 18, 1957 in preparation for her transfer to the Brazilian Navy under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program. She served Brazil as the Riachuelo (S-15) until she was sunk as a target and struck from the United States Naval Vessel Register on June 30, 1968. The USS Paddle earned eight 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
