USS Parche (SS-384)
History of the USS Parche Submarine
The USS Parche (SS-384) was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire on April 9, 1943. She was launched on July 24, 1943 and commissioned on November 20, 1943 under the command of Commander Lawson P. Ramage.
The USS Parche arrived at Pearl Harbor on March 6, 1944. She departed on March 29 for her first war patrol of Luzon Strait. Her wolf pack attacked a large convoy on April 29, and she sank one ship. In early May, her torpedoes sank the Japanese merchant cargo ships Shoryu Maru and Taiyoku Maru. This patrol ended on May 23 at Midway.
Her second war patrol began on June 17, and the USS Parche returned to Luzon Strait with another wolf pack. Seven days later, she sank a Japanese guardboat with gunfire. On July 29, she sank the cargo ship Manko Maru, the merchant tanker Koei Maru, damaged the merchant tanker Ogura Maru No. 1, the cargo ship Fuso Maru, and shared a kill with the USS Steelhead to sink the cargo ship Yoshino Maru. The submarine returned to Pearl Harbor on August 16.
On September 10, the USS Parche sailed for her third war patrol in the Philippines and Luzon Strait. This long but uneventful patrol ended on December 2 at Midway without having made any contact with the enemy.
Refitting lasted through the Christmas season, and the USS Parche departed for her fourth war patrol on December 30, this time in the waters off the Ryukyu Islands. She sank the Japanese army cargo ship Okinoyama Maru on February 7, 1945. Her patrol ended at Pearl Harbor 13 days later.
The USS Parche headed for her fifth war patrol in the Japanese home waters on March 19. Her torpedoes sank the Japanese minesweeper W-3 on April 9 and the auxiliary minesweeper Togo Maru two days later. Two days after that, she sank another auxiliary minesweeper, the Misago Maru No. 1, and the enemy guardboat Kosho Maru. The submarine ended her patrol on April 30 at Midway.
On May 25, the USS Parche sailed out for her sixth and final war patrol off Honshu, initially performing lifeguard duty. She sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Hizen Maru on June 21 and two small vessels the following day. Her gunfire sank three more small vessels on June 23. Three days later, she sank the auxiliary gunboat Kamitsu Maru and the merchant cargo ship Eikan Maru. This very successful patrol ended on July 28 at Pearl Harbor.
After World War II, the USS Parche served as a target ship for Operation Crossroads, the atomic tests at Bikini Atoll. She survived both the aerial bomb and the underwater bomb, and she underwent decontamination before heading to Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California. The submarine was decommissioned on December 10, 1946, and she was reclassified as an auxiliary submarine, AGSS-384, on December 1, 1962 to serve as a Naval Reserve Training Submarine. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on November 8, 1969 and sold for scrap on June 18, 1970. The USS Parche received five battle stars and two Presidential Unit Citations 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
