USS Kingfish SS-234

The USS Kingfish was a United States Navy Gato-class submarine that earned nine Battle Stars for her service during World War II. At almost 312 feet long, she could operate for 48 hours underwater at two knots when submerged, or 75 days on patrol. The USS Kingfish could reach top speeds of 21 knots per hour on the surface, and nine knots submerged and could travel 11,000 nautical miles if surfaced, traveling at 10 knots. Such achievements were made possible by a propulsion system of ten 21-inch torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, one 3-inch / 50 caliber deck gun, and four machine guns. In addition to such equipment, the USS Kingfish carried a complement of 60 sailors and armament consisting of four 9-cylinder opposed piston diesel engines driving electrical generators, two126-cell batteries, four high-speed electric motors with reduction gears and two propellers.

World War II

The USS Kingfish's keel was laid down in 1941, and the vessel was launched and commissioned a year later. She left her home at the Portsmouth Navy Yard for shakedown off Connecticut, and in September1942, sailed on her maiden voyage to Japan. On war patrol close to shore, she successfully hit an enemy freighter with a torpedo amidst 18 hours of depth charges. Within weeks, she repeated her efforts, sinking Yomei Maru and Seiko Maru, in addition to attacking a freighter, but with unverifiable results. On her next mission, the USS Kingfish was ordered to the South China Sea, where she sank Hino Maru No. 3 and Choyo Maru in December. She was then responsible for sinking a trawler and setting another on fire.

After sailing to Formosa in February, the USS Kingfish sank a trawler near Bonin Islands before facing retaliatory enemy bombs and eventually damaging a freighter. She also sank a troop transport in March. A few weeks later, USS Kingfish was at the receiving end of an intense depth charge attack. Believing that she would need to be abandoned, the crew burned secret codes and information. However, when enemy ships saw a huge bubble rising to the surface, they thought she had sunk, and departed. The USS Kingfish then returned to Mare Island Navy Yard, where she had entire sections rebuilt.

Within three months, she was again operational and the vessel departed July 1 for the Babuyan Channel near Manila, before visiting the South China Sea once more. There, she followed orders to plant mines in enemy shipping lanes and land Allied personnel and equipment on Borneo. While performing these tasks, she managed to also damage a tanker and sink a gunboat and the cargo ship Sana Maru. Her luck and skill continued into the next year, when she sank Ryuei Maru, Bokuei Maru and Fushimi Maru No. 3. After an overhaul from depth charge attacks, the USS Kingfish traveled to Chichi Jima Retto in October, where she sank Ikutagawa Maru, Tokai Maru No. 4 and a landing craft transport. In January 1945, she sank freighter Yaei Maru and passenger-cargo ship Shibozono Maru before a refit at Guam. In March the USS Kingfish became part of a coordinated attack group and also rescued four downed British aviators. Next directed to Honshu, she sank two sampan picket boats and exploded drifting mines. She returned to Midway two hours before the war ended. The USS Kingfish reached Orange, Texas in time for Navy Day on October 25, before returning to New London to be decommissioned in November. Four months later, she was placed in reserve and eventually struck from the Navy List on March 1, 1960 and sold for scrap metal that October.

Asbestos Hazards

Though the USS Kingfish evaded the danger of enemy attacks, the vessel, like others constructed during World War II, likely contained asbestos, a toxic mineral that can lead to the development of serious illnesses such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. The danger of onboard fires was commonly known and asbestos was utilized for its innate resistance to heat and fire.With limited escape routes and resources, fire was to be avoided at all costs and asbestos was inexpensive, lightweight, and could be squeezed into the small and awkward spaces of submarines. Though the mineral may help prevent fire, it poses a serious risk to anyone exposed. Asbestos exposure often occurred on vessels when asbestos-contaminated materials and equipment was disturbed during daily operations, causing the toxic fibers to become airborne. Once in the air, crew members can inhale or ingest them into the body where they can cause inflammation or infection which can lead to the development of an asbestos-related disease. If you served aboard the USS Kingfish or worked on the construction of the vessel and have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness, you may have legal options to seek compensation from the companies that knowingly manufactured asbestos-contaminated products.

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