USS Kingfish SS 234
The USS Kingfish SS 234 was a Gato-class submarine that was launched on March 2nd, 1942 from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine and was sponsored by a Mrs. Harry A. Stuart who was the wife of Rear Admiral Stuart. The submarine was commissioned on May 20th, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Vernon L. “Rebel” Lowrance. She finished her shakedown trials and training exercises and sailed south to transit the Panama Canal and ultimately head west out into the Pacific and onward to Pearl Harbor where she finally arrived on August 31st, 1942.
The Kingfish began her first war patrol on September 9th when she was ordered to patrol the waters off the coast of Japan. Within the first days after departing Pearl Harbor, she encountered her first enemy contact and sighted a three ship enemy convoy heading straight to her. She immediately opened fire letting loose a three torpedo spread at the last vessel of the group, she scored one hit and then engaged in an eighteen hour long battle that caused her to have to outmaneuver her enemy competition in order to avoid the countless depth charges being lobbed at her.
On October 1st she came across the Japanese freighter ship, the Yomei and fired a three torpedo spread taking down her opponent and sinking the enemy vessel to the bottom of the sea. On October 23rd, she came across the enemy craft Seiko Maru and initiated the same engagement procedures that heralded the same results. The enemy ship was successfully sunk and she arrived back at Midway Atoll on November 3rd. During the time from September of 1942 until August of 1945 she conducted a total of twelve successful war patrols while in service within the Pacific and she finished her final patrol two hours before the war ended.
The USS Kingfish SS 234 sailed to New London, Connecticut where she arrived on November 5th for the last time and was decommissioned and placed into reserve on March 9th, 1946. The USS Kingfish SS 234 was officially struck from the Naval Vessel Registry on March 1st, 1960. The Kingfish had made twelve war patrols and had been properly credited in sinking fourteen enemy ships totaling forty eight thousand eight hundred sixty six tons. She was awarded nine battle stars for her brave and honorable service during World War II.
The USS Kingfish SS 234 has seen many threats and her crewmembers served her well without being aware that they were facing danger from an unknown and destructive force. The USS Kingfish SS 234 was built during a time when asbestos was commonly used as an internal insulator of duct systems and piping. What we know now is that the crewmen who worked in contact with asbestos are at risk for a variety of respiratory problems including mesothelioma, a type of asbestos cancer. If you think you may have been exposed to asbestos aboard the USS Kingfish SS 234 you must consult a physician immediately.
Last modified: December 28, 2010.
