USS Plaice (SS-390)
History of the USS Plaice Submarine
The USS Plaice (SS-390) 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 28, 1943. She was launched on November 15, 1943 and commissioned on February 12, 1944 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Clyde B. Stevens.
The USS Plaice arrived at Pearl Harbor on May 13, 1944. Her first war patrol of the Bonin Islands began on June 3. She sank her first Japanese vessel on June 30, the auxiliary gunboat Hyakafuku Maru. On July 5, she sank the auxiliary netlayer Kogi Maru. Her torpedoes sank the submarine chaser Ch-50 on July 18. The submarine put in at Midway eight days later.
Her second patrol commenced on July 26, and the USS Plaice headed for the Ryukyu Islands. On September 7, she scored one hit on an auxiliary cruiser, and she fired four torpedoes at an enemy battleship on September 24. She sank the Japanese corvette Kaibokan No. 10 on September 27 with her torpedoes. The submarine ended her patrol on October 12 at Pearl Harbor.
On November 9, the USS Plaice sailed for her third war patrol in the Japanese home waters. Exactly one month later, her torpedoes damaged the Japanese escort destroyer Maki. The submarine arrived at Guam on December 20 without scoring any kills.
The USS Plaice got underway for her fourth war patrol in Luzon Strait on January 23, 1945. She traveled in the company of a large wolf pack that included the USS Archer-Fish, USS Batfish, USS Blackfish, USS Scabbardfish, and USS Sea Poacher, but the submarines encountered little action. Her patrol ended on March 23 at Midway.
After refitting at Midway, the USS Plaice sailed on April 26 for the Sea of Okhotsk. On May 13, she sank four sea trucks and two luggers. She damaged two small fishing vessels on May 18 with her gunfire. Her patrol ended on June 13 at Pearl Harbor.
The USS Plaice departed for her sixth war patrol of the East China Sea on July 18. Though she made no enemy contacts during this time, she rescued five downed naval aviators and transferred them to a Navy patrol bomber. After the Japanese capitulation, she put in at Midway on August 24.
Following World War II, the USS Plaice operated in the Pacific Ocean until she was decommissioned on November 1, 1947. She was recommissioned briefly from May 18 to September 7, 1963 in preparation for her transfer to the Brazilian Navy under the Military Assistance Program. She served Brazil as the Bahia (S-12) until she was placed out of service in 1972 and scrapped in 1973. The USS Plaice 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
