USS Sennet (SS-408)
History of the USS Sennet Submarine
The USS Sennet (SS-408) was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire on March 8, 1944. She was launched on June 6, 1944 and commissioned on August 22, 1944 under the command of Commander George E. Porter.
The USS Sennet arrived at Pearl Harbor on December 16, 1944. She began her first war patrol of the Bonin Islands on January 5, 1945. On January 23, she sank the Japanese guardboat Kainan Maru No. 7 with her gunfire. Her patrol ended at Saipan eight days later.
After refitting, the USS Sennet departed Saipan on February 7 for her second war patrol off Honshu. She sank the Japanese guardboat Kotoshiro Maru No. 8 six days later but was damaged by gunfire in the exchange. On February 16, her torpedoes sank the minelayer Naryu; she was damaged in the resulting depth charge attack. The submarine ended her patrol on March 8 at Guam.
On April 3, the USS Sennet sailed for her third war patrol off Honshu. Her torpedoes sank the Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 97 and the merchant cargo ship Hagane Maru 16 days later. She moved on to sink the cable layer Hatsushima on April 28. On May 1, she damaged the corvette Kaibokan No. 50 with her torpedoes. She put in at Pearl Harbor on May 16.
The USS Sennet got underway for her fourth and final war patrol on July 1 in the Sea of Japan. On July28, she sank the Japanese merchant cargo ships Hagikawa Maru, Unkai Maru No. 15, and Hakuei Maru. Her torpedoes sank the merchant cargo ship Yuza Maru two days later. This last patrol ended at Saipan on August 9, six days before hostilities ended.
After World War II, the USS Sennet was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet out of New London, Connecticut. She was transferred to Submarine Squadron 6 at Balboa in June 1946. Several months later, she took part in the Antarctic Expedition Operation Highjump. The submarine operated out of Balboa under she was transferred to Key West in 1949 as a member of Submarine Squadron 12. She underwent Fleet Snorkel conversion in 1951.
The USS Sennet made her first Sixth Fleet deployment to the Mediterranean in November 1954. She spent the next few years involved in training, local operations, and fleet exercises. The submarine was transferred to Submarine Squadron 4 out of Charleston in August 1959, where she was based for the rest of her career.
The USS Sennet was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on December 2, 1968. She was sold for scrap on June 15, 1973. The submarine earned four 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
