USS Moray SS 300
The USS Moray SS 300 was a Balao-class submarine that was originally launched on May 14th, 1944 from the Cramp Shipbuilding Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was sponsored by a Mrs. Styles Bridges who was the wife of the Senator of New Hampshire. The newly built submarine was officially commissioned on January 26th, 1945 under the leadership of Commander Frank L. Barrows. The submarine departed Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 31st, 1945 and headed for New London, Connecticut where she arrived on February 1st.
Following her intense shakedown trials and operational training off the coast of Newport, Rhode Island she departed New London on April 14th head down south to Balboa, Panama where she arrived on April 25th. She successfully transited the Panama Canal on May 5th and began heading west traveling through the Pacific moving towards her new home port of Pearl Harbor arriving on May 21st. She conducted some last minute final training off the Hawaiian coast and then sailed to the Marianas Islands on June 7th and arrived at Saipan on June 20th for refueling.
On June 27th the Moray departed Saipan and officially began her first war patrol where she was ordered to patrol the waters near Tokyo which she reached on July 1st. She began her patrol conducting lifeguard duty in support of the aircraft carrier strikes that were taking place on the Japanese home islands and from July 7th to the 9th the Moray was assigned a special mission where she was to serve as a picketboat just southeast of Honshu Island in the preparations for the 3rd Fleet bombardment of the island, she then continued lifeguard duties thereafter.
During the month of July of 1945, the Moray finally made enemy contact and saw some serious action when she and the USS Kingfish engaged and attacked a Japanese convoy off Kinkazan, Honshu on July 10th firing six torpedoes without any sightings of certified hits. The Moray terminated her war patrol and sailed to Midway where she arrived on August 6th, 1945. On September 1st she sailed from the deep Pacific to San Francisco where she arrived on September 11th. The USS Moray SS 300 was officially decommissioned on April 12th, 1946. The Moray was awarded one battle star for World War II service.
The USS Moray SS 300 and her crew experienced the hazards of asbestos that were not well known to the world just yet. It was used extensively as an insulator in the construction of the vessel, specifically within the internal piping of the submarine. Airborne asbestos fibers are extremely harmful if inhaled and the crewmembers were therefore exposed to these dangerous materials without their knowledge. Asbestos is now known to increase the risk of mesothelioma and respiratory problems in people who work near it. Crewmembers of the USS Moray SS 300 who may have been exposed to asbestos while serving aboard should visit with a respiratory doctor for thorough evaluation and medical consultation as well as to begin mesothelioma treatment if needed.
Last modified: December 28, 2010.
