USS Bell (DD-95)

The USS Bell (DD-95) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the U.S. Navy during World War I. The Wickes class was conceived as “a fleet second to none” with the basic requirement a top speed of 35 knots. The first destroyer to bear this name, she was named after Henry Haywood Bell (1808-1868) who was an admiral in the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War.

Construction

The innovative design included fairly straight lines forward that had evolved from the proceeding Caldwell-class destroyers, but with a flush deck with four stacks. Greater speed and weight required that the destroyer accommodate 100 tons of engine and reduction gears. The design includes an even keel and near horizontal propeller shafts, in an attempt to minimize the increase in weight while decreasing cavitation.

In November 1917, Bell was laid down by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Fore River, Quincy, Massachusetts. Completed in five months, Bell was launched in April 1918, and commissioned in July 1918, with Lieutenant Commander D. L. Howard in command.

Naval History

Bell’s initial assignment was to escort convoys of troop ships across the North Atlantic from August through November 1918. In December, Bell was one of the escort ships guarding the George Washington carrying President Woodrow Wilson from New York to Brest, France. Bell resumed service with the Atlantic Fleet until June 1920, when she was placed in reserve and decommissioned at Portsmouth Navy Yard. She remained out of commission until August 1936. At this time she was declared in excess of the limits imposed by the London Naval Treaty of 1930 which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Subsequently, she was sold to the Union Shipbuilding Company of Baltimore for scrapping.

Asbestos Risk on the USS Bell (DD-95)

There is less information available on the asbestos risk of ships constructed before the early 1930s. It is known that the U.S. Navy began using asbestos insulation and fireproofing before such materials became commonplace on civilian craft. That means that Bell likely contained significant quantities of asbestos, particularly in her engineering spaces, and in systems that generated heat or fire. Most sailors serving aboard Bell likely suffered some exposure to asbestos, and may have developed asbestos cancer as a result.

Sources

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b4/bell-i.htm

Morison, Samuel Elliot (1962). History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Supplement and General Index. Little, Brown and Company.

Silverstone, Paul H. (1968). U.S. Warships of World War II. Doubleday and Company.