USS Permit (SS-178)
History of the USS Permit Submarine
The USS Permit (SS-178) was ordered for the U.S. Navy between World War I and World War II. Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Connecticut on June 6, 1935. She was launched on October 5, 1936 and commissioned on March 17, 1937 under the command of Lieutenant Charles O. Humphreys.
The USS Permit spent her first few months operating out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She departed Portsmouth on November 29, 1937 to join the Pacific Fleet, operating out of San Diego, California with Submarine Squadron 6. The submarine spent most of the next two years cruising the Eastern Pacific from California to Alaska to Hawaii. She then headed to the Philippines in October 1939, where she would conduct peace time cruises for the two years leading up to the U.S. entry into World War II.
After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the USS Permit sailed for her first war patrol from December 11 until December 20, 1941 off the coast of Luzon. Her second war patrol of the Luzon area was similarly brief, lasting from December 22 until December 27.
On December 28, the USS Permit sailed for her third war patrol, this time in the southern Philippines. She took with her members of Admiral Thomas C. Hart’s staff, evacuating them to the Netherlands Submarine Base in Java, where she ended her patrol on February 6, 1942.
Her fourth war patrol began on February 22, and the USS Permit patrolled the area surrounding the Philippines. On March 13, she sank the disabled torpedo boat USS PT-32 with her gunfire. Three days later, she successfully delivered ammunition to Corregidor and evacuated 40 men, most of whom were cryptanalysts. As she was also carrying the seven crew members of the USS PT-32, her skipper was reprimanded for endangering the submarine with overcrowding when she ended her patrol at Fremantle on March 18.
After repairing damage done by enemy destroyers, the USS Permit conducted her fifth war patrol off Celebes from May 5 until June 11. Her sixth war patrol was just as uneventful, lasting from July 12 until August 30. From there, she headed to Mare Island Navy Yard in California via Pearl Harbor for overhaul.
Once her overhaul was complete, the USS Permit headed out for her seventh patrol off Honshu on February 5, 1943. She sank the Japanese merchant ship Hisashima Maru on March 8 before ending her patrol eight days later at Midway.
The USS Permit sailed for her eighth patrol on April 6, monitoring the shipping lanes between Truk and the Marianas. That same day, her torpedoes damaged the Japanese transport ship Tokai Maru. She ended her patrol on May 25 at Pearl Harbor.
On June 20, the USS Permit departed for her ninth war patrol in the Sea of Japan. Her torpedoes sank the Japanese merchant ship Banshu Maru No. 33 on July 6 and the Showa Maru the following day. Two days after that, she mistakenly sank the Soviet oceanographic vessel Seiner No. 20. When she realized her mistake, she rescued the passengers before the vessel went down, delivering them later to Akutan, Alaska. Her patrol ended at Pearl Harbor on July 27.
The USS Permit began her tenth war patrol on August 23. She was ordered to take photographic reconnaissance of the Marshall Islands. On September 9, she torpedoed the Japanese merchant ship Tateyama Maru. Three days later, her torpedoes damaged the aircraft transport Fujikawa Maru. The submarine also damaged the fleet tanker Shiretoko the following day. She ended her patrol on September 24 at Pearl Harbor.
The USS Permit conducted her eleventh war patrol from January to March 1944, which ended without making any enemy contacts. Her twelfth patrol lasted from May 7 until June 1, providing lifeguard duty in support of the carrier strikes on Truk.
On June 30, the USS Permit commenced her thirteenth war patrol. It ended on August 13 at Brisbane without making any enemy contacts. Her fourteenth war patrol lasted from September 21 until November 11, performing lifeguard duties off Truk. She ended this final patrol on November 11 at Pearl Harbor.
From there, the USS Permit headed back to the United States on January 29, 1945. She sailed to Philadelphia Navy Yard in Pennsylvania for overhaul before becoming a training ship at Submarine Base New London in Connecticut. The submarine was decommissioned on November 15, 1945, struck from the Naval Vessel Register on July 26, 1956, and sold for scrap on June 28, 1958. She was awarded 10 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
