The USS Argonaut (SS-475) had a brief role in World War II and then many further years of admirable service in the U.S. Navy. As a Tench-class submarine carrying a crew of about 80 men, the second USS Argonaut was launched in October 1944 after her construction at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine.
The Argonaut’s Short WWII Service
In 1945, the Argonaut docked at Pearl Harbor for repairs, and later sank a 25-ton Japanese junk — her only combat action during WWII, since August 1945 brought the end of the war. The USS Argonaut received a battle star for her WWII service.
Overhauls, Sixth Fleet
After an overhaul back in Maine, the Argonaut was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. A major conversion of the Argonaut took place in 1952 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. A 1960 overhaul was performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and the Argonaut began her latest service supporting antisubmarine warfare training operations out of Norfolk.
Many Ports of Call
The next, 1962-3 overhaul took place at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and the Argonaut then joined the Sixth Fleet. Her many ports of call included:
 Gibraltar
 Crete
 Greece
 Turkey
 France
 Italy
 Norway
 Germany
 Scotland
 Spain
 Malta
Final Days in the Royal Canadian Navy
In 1968, the Argonaut was drydocked in New London, Connecticut. It was later sold to Canada and used in the Royal Canadian Navy, as Rainbow (SS-75) until her decommissioning at the end of 1974.Â
The USS Argonaut’s Asbestos Components
The Argonaut’s construction at the Portsmouth Naval Yard almost certainly involved a good deal of asbestos, a mineral that was very widely used in Navy vessels of that era. Asbestos was known to be an excellent insulation material and friction retardant; it had been used for decades in ship construction by the time the Argonaut was built in the 1940s.
If you helped construct, repair, or overhaul the Argonaut, or if you (or your family member) served aboard the Argonaut in the U.S. or Canadian navies, contact as asbestos law firm to get answers to your legal questions and concerns about asbestos diseases.
