The USS Atule SS-403 was named for the atule, a fish found in the Indo-Pacific region. A Balao-class submarine, the Atule carried 70 enlisted men and ten officers through four patrols in World War II and many further years of service in the U.S. Navy.
Built by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine, the Atule was launched in the spring of 1944. She earned four battle stars for her WWII service at a wide variety of locations.
Post-War, Operation Nanook
In 1946, the Atule underwent an overhaul at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine. She then participated in Operation Nanook, assisting the establishment of both Arctic-region weather stations and naval operations in polar regions.
Another overhaul for the Atule was done at Philadelphia in early 1947, and the Atule was then mothballed for three years. Reactivation and conversion to a GUPPY IA type submarine was performed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine.
NATO Training Exercises
The Atule next participated in many Fleet and NATO training exercises, and along the way spent five years in New London, Conn. for repairs and upkeep. Further service was followed by a six-month overhaul at the Charleston Naval Shipyard in 1961.
Sold to Peru
After a final overhaul at Charleston, South Carolina in 1967, the Atule served until her 1970 decommissioning. She was sold to Peru in 1974.
Asbestos Parts in the USS Atule
In light of the era in which the Atule was built, the sub almost certainly contained asbestos parts. The crew aboard the Atule and other Navy submarines could well have been exposed to a toxic level of asbestos as part of their military service.
The small, enclosed and poorly ventilated spaces in which a sub crew works, eats, and sleeps are an “ideal” environment for asbestos exposure. The inhalation of asbestos fibers is the cause of asbestos diseases such as:
asbestosis
lung cancer
mesothelioma, a cancer of the tissue lining of the chest cavity
If you or your family member served aboard or worked on the Atule, contact an asbestos lawyer in your area.
