The USS Aspro SS-309 performed seven patrols in World War II, winning seven battle stars for her service. Built at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, the Aspro was launched in the spring of 1943. She was named for the aspro, a fish that lives in the Rhône River in Switzerland.
Rescued American Aviators
With a crew of 70 enlisted men and 10 officers, the Aspro was a Balao-class submarine that served extensively in South China Sea. In 1944, she was refit at Fremantle, Australia, and later worked on at Pearl Harbor. One of the Aspro’s most notable accomplishments was her rescue of four American aviators who’d been lost at sea.
A Movie Set, a Submarine Target
The Aspro spent three months undergoing a major overhaul at the Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard in California in 1945. Her post-war service included serving as a set for the 1959 movie Battle of the Coral Sea. After its final decommissioning, the Aspro was sunk by the submarine Pomodon off the coast of San Diego in 1962.
Asbestos Concerns Regarding the USS Aspro
The Portsmouth Navy Yard used asbestos in the construction of vessels, and in the vessels themselves. After the fires aboard the SS Morro Castle and the Titanic, the emphasis on preventing fires was the basis for extensive use of highly fire-resistant asbestos-containing products.
However, it was eventually proven that asbestos is toxic to the personnel who built and worked around asbestos-containing materials. Diseases such as
asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma have been diagnosed in thousands of individuals who helped build Navy ships or worked aboard them.
Identifying the Source of Asbestos Exposure
The
symptoms of these diseases often don’t show up until decades after the asbestos exposure. Navy vets and shipyard workers sometimes realize that their diseases were contracted in the 1940s (or later), but it can be difficult to trace and identify the sources of the asbestos exposure. The next steps are to determine the defendants who are responsible, and then obtain fair and full financial compensation for the damages incurred.
If you or your loved one served aboard the USS Aspro or helped build her, contact an asbestos law firm for help.