USS Ammen (DD-35)
The USS Ammen (DD-35) served in the US Navy during the second decade of the 20th century, and was then loaned to the Coast Guard before being sold by the Navy in 1934. She was named for Rear Admiral Daniel Ammen who served with distinction during the Civil War. Ammen was built as a Paulding-class ship, a class modified from the Smith-class of destroyers and able to burn oil rather than coal.
Construction
The 742-ton Ammen was laid down in March 1910 by the New York Shipbuilding Company in Camden, New Jersey. Launched in September 1910, Ammen was commissioned in May 1911 with Lieutenant Lloyd W. Townsend in command. Ammen carried a crew of 86 and, at 293 feet, 10 inches long, was armed with five three-inch rapid-fire guns and three 18-inch torpedo tubes, and driven by direct drive turbines.
Naval History
Ammen was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet in 1911 and operated with the Torpedo Flotilla on the east coast of the United States. In 1914, Ammen conducted neutrality patrols and escort duty along the east coast while World War I began in Europe. Upon the United States’ entry into the war in April 1917, Ammen was assigned to a reconnaissance mission in the Bahamas, and then was fitted for overseas service at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She sailed for St. Nazaire, France in June as part of Division 9, Destroyer Force.
Ammen joined American naval forces in Queenstown, Ireland in July, and was assigned to escort duty between Ireland and France. During this deployment, Ammen also patrolled off the Irish coast for German submarines and aided vessels in distress. She returned to the United States in January 1919 and was decommissioned at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in December and transferred to the Coast Guard as part of the Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Force. Ammen was assigned to help suppress bootlegging during Prohibition until 1931.
In May 1931, Ammen was returned to the Navy, but remained inactive. Her name was dropped in July 1933, and the former Ammen was struck from the Navy list in July 1934 and sold for scrap to Michael Flynn, Inc., in Brooklyn, New York.
Asbestos Risk on the USS Ammen (DD-35)
Installing asbestos fireproofing in navy ships was common beginning in the early twentieth century. Many areas of navy ships contained equipment such as pumps, boilers and engines that needed to be able to withstand extreme heat and fire. Gaskets, asbestos cement and pipe insulation were common products used in the manufacture of this equipment.
Navy personnel responsible for the repair and maintenance of this equipment removed old asbestos parts and installed new asbestos replacement parts. If asbestos is damaged it can become "friable", which means that individual asbestos fibers can break off and escape into the surrounding air. At that point, those working with, or in the vicinity of, these airborne fibers are at risk of inhaling or ingesting them. When microscopic fibers invade the lungs it can cause an asbestos cancer known as mesothelioma.
If you served on the USS Ammen and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma you may be interested in receiving more information about the disease. Simply fill in the form on this page and we will send you an information guide free of charge.
Sources
NavSource Naval History, USS Ammen (DD-35).
http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/035.htm Retrieved 18 December 2010
Tin Can Sailors, USS Ammen (DD-35), Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
http://www.destroyers.org/DANFS/h-DD-35.htm Updated 1991. Retrieved 18 December 2010
