A Busy First Year

Pogy was laid down in1941 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company of Wisconsin, but not commissioned until 1943. She was transported down the Mississippi on a river barge to New Orleans, Louisiana, where she was re-commissioned before fitting out. After Pogy completed her training and trial runs, she sailed on her maiden voyage to Pearl Harbor, where she began a war patrol area in the waters off eastern Honsh?. After almost a month, she sighted a five ship convoy and attacked, sinking the ex-gunboat Keishin Maru, and damaging a freighter. This was followed by the destruction of a large sampan the next day, and another sinking of a 100 ton sampan and a small freighter later that week. On USS Pogy’s next call to duty in the Pulap Islands, she damaged an enemy freighter with one hit, before sinking the 7,497 ton Mongamigawa Maru. After a refit, she returned to the same area and sunk the freighter Maebashi Maru. While sailing to another patrol mission in the Palau Islands, Pogy fired three torpedoes, sinking a 6,081-ton submarine tender and one freighter while evading 22 depth charges. The final month of that year saw Pogy sinking the transport vessel Fukkai Maru, which resulted in its escort attacking Pogy with 27 depth charges in a counter-attack. Pogy thus incurred damage which forced her to return to Midway. While on her fifth war patrol in February of 1944, USS Pogy spotted a convoy in Bashi Channel, off Formosa, and attacked. The Japanese destroyer Minekaze and passenger cargo ship Malta Maru were sunk, and another freighter was damaged. Pogy’s next success took place in the Tropic of Cancer, where she sunk the Taijin Maru and the Nanyo Maru. Shortly thereafter, she blew the bottom out of another freighter in the area of Nansei Islands. Directed next to the coast of southeast Japan, USS Pogy sank a Japanese submarine, attacked two freighters, and destroyed a sampan before taking five prisoners and sinking a trawler.

A Fighter to the End

By June of 1944, Pogy needed an overhaul, and returned to Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco. In the fall, she was ready for her next task, which was to travel to the Nansei Shoto south of Japan before returning for patrol duty in the Bonin and Volcano Islands. Her next order found her south of Tokyo Bay, where she was accidentally bombed by a B-24 Liberator and suffered considerable damage. However, Pogy was still able to rescue ten Army aviators from a downed B-29 before a refit. On her last war patrol, Pogy sank a large freighter, damaged a 10,000 ton tanker, and destroyed the freighter Kotohirasan Maru before ceasefire. Pogy was placed out of commission and assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet the following year, until struck from the Navy List. USS Pogy was sold for scrap in 1959.

Pogy definitely displayed her fighting abilities to the very end, carrying out missions even after being damaged-on more than one occasion. Her resilience and determination obviously served her well during the war effort, but the repeated structural damage may have caused more problems than were obvious to the crew and repair staff.

Many ships of this time relied upon a heavy use of asbestos as added insulation and protection against heat and flames. It was considered ideal for the small and awkward spaces of vessels, and its lightweight, flexible properties provided additional insurance against the dreaded possibly of uncontrollable fires. However, even though such an incident could have tragic consequences due to limited escape and resources, asbestos itself posed a risk to anyone exposed to it. If the asbestos sealant became damaged during attack, collision, or even the wear and tear of several overhauls, it could have torn and allowed tiny fibers to escape into the ship’s air system.

Circulating around the vessel, the fibers could thus have been inadvertently inhaled or swallowed by anyone. It has been found that they have remained in human tissues for decades. This long-term irritation, is some individuals, has been known to result in serious medical conditions, including disease and malignancies. That is why it is imperative that any former crew member of the USS Pogy see their doctor at the first sign of any unusual physical symptom before calling us for more information.