USS Pampanito (SS-383)
History of the USS Pampanito Submarine
The USS Pampanito (SS-383) was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire on March 15, 1943. She was launched on July 12, 1943 and commissioned on November 6, 1943 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Charles B. Jackson, Jr.
The USS Pampanito arrived at Pearl Harbor on Valentine’s Day 1944. Her first war patrol began on March 15 in the Mariana Islands, providing lifeguard duty south of Yap. She scored two hits on an enemy ship, but she was damaged by depths charges on April 7. The submarine ended her patrol on May 8 at Pearl Harbor.
After repairs and refitting, the USS Pampanito headed out for her second war patrol from June 3 to July 23. A Japanese submarine fired two torpedoes at her on June 23,; thankfully, both missed. On July 6, she damaged a Japanese gunboat before putting in at Midway 11 days later.
On August 17, the USS Pampanito sailed with a small wolf pack to the South China Sea. She sank the Japanese transport Kachidoki Maru and the tanker Zuiho Maru on September 12, also causing damage to a third ship that she didn’t know was carrying prisoners of war. Three days later, the submarine returned to the area of attack and was able to rescue 73 surviving British and Australian POWs. She disembarked the survivors at Saipan before ending her patrol at Pearl Harbor on September 28.
Her fourth war patrol began on October 28, and the USS Pampanito joined a wolf pack off Formosa and the southeastern coast of China. Her torpedoes sank the Japanese depot ship Bannshu Maru and the merchant cargo ship Shinko Maru No. 1 on November 18. On December 3, she damaged the enemy tanker Seishin Maru. This patrol ended on December 30 at Fremantle.
The USS Pampanito spent the New Year in Australia before sailing to the Gulf of Siam for her fifth war patrol on January 23, 1945. On February 6, her torpedoes sank the Japanese merchant tanker Engen Maru. Two days later, she sank the auxiliary gunboat Eifuku Maru before putting in at Subic Bay on February 12.
In the company of another wolf pack, the USS Pampanito spent an uneventful sixth patrol in the Gulf of Siam from February 25 until April 24. After putting in at Pearl Harbor, she was ordered to Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in California for overhaul. When the work was completed, she headed back to Pearl Harbor on August 1. After the war ended two weeks later, she was sent back to San Francisco, California.
The USS Pampanito was decommissioned on December 15, 1945. In April 1960, she was assigned as a training ship for naval reservists. The submarine was reclassified as AGSS-383 on November 6, 1962 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on December 20, 1971. She now serves as a museum ship at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, and was declared a National Historic Landmark on January 14, 1986. The USS Pampanito earned six 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
