USS Tucson (CL-98)
History of the USS Tucson Cruiser
The USS Tucson (CL-98) was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation in California on December 23, 1942. She was launched on September 3, 1944 and commissioned on February 3, 1945 under the command of Captain Arthur D. Ayrault.
USS Tucson arrived at Pearl Harbor on May 13, 1945. After conducting some additional training there, she proceeded to Leyte, arriving there on June 16. She joined Task Group 38.3, which was built around five American carriers, including the USS Essex. On July 1, the cruiser joined her task group in the month-long attacks on the Japanese home islands. She supported the strikes on Tokyo, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kobe, Nagoya, and shipping in the Inland Sea.
When the Japanese surrendered, the USS Tucson covered occupation forces as they moved into Japan. She departed for home on September 20, calling on Okinawa and Pearl Harbor before arriving at San Francisco, California on October 5. The cruiser celebrated Navy Day at San Pedro, California.
From there, USS Tucson took up service as an antiaircraft gunnery training ship for the Pacific Fleet Training Command. She put in for overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington on September 6, 1946. After that, she conducted fleet exercises and searched for survivors from the wreckage of the SS Fort Dearborn northwest of Hawaii.
The USS Tucson returned to San Diego, California for local operations on March 27, 1947. In July, she got underway for a Far East deployment that brought her to Yokosuka, Shanghai, and Tsingtao before she returned home on November 6.
Upon her return home, USS Tucson was decommissioned on June 11, 1949. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on June 1, 1966 and sold for scrap on February 24, 1971. The cruiser received one battle star 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
