USS Porpoise (SS-172)
History of the USS Porpoise Submarine
The USS Porpoise (SS-172) was ordered for the U.S. Navy between World War I and World War II. Her keel was laid down at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire on October 27, 1933. She was launched on June 20, 1935 and commissioned on August 15, 1935 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Stuart S. Murray.
The USS Porpoise spent her early career based out of San Diego, California, conducting training exercises and participating in fleet exercises like Fleet Problem XVIII. She went in for an extensive overhaul in late 1937 at Mare Island Navy Yard in California. On November 19, 1939, the submarine joined the Asiatic Fleet in Manila to participate in exercises with other fleet submarines.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the USS Porpoise was being overhauled in the Philippines, including extensive work to all four of her main engines. Her first war patrol began on December 22 in Lingayen Gulf and the South China Sea. It ended at Surabaya, Java on January 31, 1942 without making any enemy contacts.
Her second war patrol of the East Indies lasted from February 9 until March 30, another uneventful cruise that ended at Fremantle. She sailed on April 26 for her third war patrol in the Dutch East Indies, putting in at Pearl Harbor on June 17. From there, she was sent back to Mare Island Navy Yard for a major overhaul.
Once her overhaul was complete, the USS Porpoise returned to Pearl Harbor. She departed for her fourth war patrol on November 30 off the coast of Honshu. The submarine sank the Japanese transport Renzan Maru on January 1, 1943, her first kill. Her patrol ended 14 days later at Midway.
The USS Porpoise sailed for her fifth war patrol on February 6 in the Marshall Islands. On April 4, her torpedoes sank the Japanese merchant ship Koa Maru. She put in at Pearl Harbor 11 days later.
After refitting at Pearl Harbor, the USS Porpoise commenced her sixth and final war patrol on June 20 in the Marshall Islands. She sank the Japanese troop transport Mikage Maru No. 20 on July 19. Nine days later, she returned to Pearl Harbor. Leaky fuel oil tanks were a problem, and the arrival of newly built submarines allowed the USS Porpoise to sail home to New London, Connecticut, where she would serve as a training submarine.
The USS Porpoise served the Submarine School at New London for the remainder of her career, departing only briefly when she headed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for overhaul from May to June 1944. She was decommissioned on November 15, 1945 and taken out of reserve on May 8, 1947 to serve as a Naval Reserve Training Ship for the 8thNaval District in Houston, Texas. The submarine was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on August 13, 1956 and sold for scrap on May 14, 1957. She received 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
