USS Piranha (SS-389)
History of the USS Piranha Submarine
The USS Piranha (SS-389) was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire on June 21, 1943. She was launched on October 27, 1943 and commissioned on February 5, 1944 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Harold E. Ruble.
The USS Piranha arrived at Pearl Harbor on May 18, 1944. Her first war patrol began near Luzon on June 14 in the company of a small wolf pack. She sank her first Japanese tanker, the Nichiran Maru, on July 14, and she sank the troop transport Seattle Maru four days later. The submarine ended her patrol on August 8 at Majuro.
On August 30, the USS Piranha departed Majuro for her second war patrol. She spent the first part of her patrol providing offensive reconnaissance during the invasion of Peleliu. After Peleliu had been secured, she moved on to patrol the area north of the Philippines. She ended her patrol on October 23 at Pearl Harbor.
After refitting, the USS Piranha sailed for her third war patrol on November 13 in the East China Sea. Her torpedoes damaged the Japanese auxiliary netlayer Shinto Maru No. 2 on January 8, 1945. She ended her patrol at Guam five days later.
The USS Piranha began her fourth war patrol on February 11. She spent the early part of her patrol providing lifeguard services during the air strikes on Formosa before moving on to patrol the shipping lanes from Formosa to Hong Kong. On February 27, she sank a Japanese sampan with her gunfire. The submarine bombarded Pratas Island on March 26. Her patrol ended on April 21 at Midway.
Her fifth war patrol began on May 17, and the USS Piranha headed for the waters off Honshu. She performed lifeguard duty and bombarded Marcus Island until the end of the month. Her torpedoes sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Eiso Maru on June 16. She sank another small vessel with her gunfire the following day. Four days later, the submarine damaged the merchant cargo ship Shirogane Maru with her gunfire. The submarine damaged the corvette Kaibokan No. 196 the following day and sank two small vessels with her gunfire the day after that. Her patrol ended on July 10 at Pearl Harbor.
The USS Piranha sailed for her sixth war patrol on August 14. It lasted only 14 hours before the Japanese capitulated and she was ordered back to Pearl Harbor. From there, she headed back to San Francisco, where she was decommissioned on May 31, 1946. Redesignated as an auxiliary submarine, AGSS-389, on November 6, 1962, she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on March 1, 1967 and sold for scrap on August 11, 1970. The submarine was awarded five 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
