The USS Billfish (SS-286) was very active in World War II. Built at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine as a Balao-class submarine, the Billfish was the first U.S. Navy vessel to be named for the billfish, a generic term for any fish with bill-shaped jaws.
Eight World War II Patrols
The Billfish was launched in 1942 and completed eight war patrols, sinking three freighters and five smaller vessels. She was eventually awarded seven battle stars for her WWII service at places such as the Makassar Strait. There, in November 1943, a Japanese destroyer hit the Billfish with a depth charge, severely damaging the sub and hurting many of the 80-man crew.
In a stunning show of bravery and resourcefulness, the crew, led by Lieutenant Charlie Rush, was able to evade the Japanese in a 12-hour attack. The Billfish was barely able to return to base.
Training and Maneuvers
In August 1945, the Billfish was ordered to the Atlantic Fleet. For the next nine months the Billfish was used for training and maneuvers, but she was soon decommissioned and towed to New London, Connecticut in late 1946.
Recommissioned after the end of WWII, the Billfish served as a training vessel out of the Boston Naval Shipyard for eight years. In 1971, after nearly 30 years of service to her country, the USS Billfish was struck from the Naval Vessel Register and sold for scrap.
The USS Billfish and Asbestos
Asbestos-containing materials were very widely used in U.S. Navy vessels, including submarines such as the Billfish. Indeed, submarines may well have provided the worst level of asbestos exposure, since by nature the subs have small, tightly enclosed spaces with unnatural ventilation where Navy personnel spent days or weeks below surface.
High levels of asbestos are toxic to human beings. The fibers of which asbestos is composed may be inhaled by personnel in the area, and these fibers are the cause of diseases such as lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma (a deadly cancer of the mesothelium, a tissue lining in the chest cavity).
If you or your loved one helped build, maintain or scrap the USS Billfish or served aboard her, see an asbestos lawyers about your legal rights.
