USS Boyle (DD-600)
The USS Boyle (DD-600) served in the U.S. Navy for nearly half a decade during the Second World War, and remained on the Navy list until the early 1970s. She was named for Thomas Boyle who served in the War of 1812. Boyle was commissioned as a Benson-class ship.
Construction
Boyle was laid down at Quincy, Massachusetts by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation in December 1941, launched in June, and commissioned in August with Lieutenant Commander E.S. Karpe in command. Supporting a crew complement of 208, Boyle was armed with six one-half inch machine guns, four five-inch anti-aircraft guns, and ten 21-inch torpedo tubes. Boyle was 348 feet four inches long and driven by Bethlehem turbines supporting a cruising speed of 35 knots.
Naval History
Boyle was deployed with the Atlantic Fleet in October 1942 for the invasion of North Africa, during which she participated in the troop landings at Fedhala, French Morocco and engagements with the Vichy French off Casablanca in November. Following this deployment, Boyle conducted patrols off the east coast and the Caribbean until February 1943, when she began convoy escorts to North Africa and Ireland. Boyle continued this service until April 1944, and also participated in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. During this deployment, she guided vessels during troop landings at Seoglitti.
Boyle was assigned to anti-submarine duty out of New York in April 1944, and then returned to the Mediterranean for patrols in the Gulf of Naples. The destroyer also aided in the bombardment of Formia and Anzio in May and the invasion of Southern France in August and September. Boyle then returned to New York, was stationed at Boston until December, and then provided fire support and escort service in the Mediterranean until April 1945. Following these duties, Boyle returned to the east coast and was deployed to the Pacific.
Boyle sailed from San Diego to Pearl Harbor and moved on to Wake Island for the bombardment there at the beginning of August. She arrived at Saipan afterward, and then commenced patrol duty at Okinawa in mid-August until September. Boyle operated in Japanese, Okinawan, and Chinese waters until November and sailed to Charleston, South Carolina in December. She was decommissioned and placed in reserve in March 1946, struck from the Navy list in 1971, and sunk off Florida in May 1973.
Asbestos Risk on the USS Boyle (DD-600)
Most servicemen sailing or working on the USS Boyle were at risk of suffering from asbestos exposure. Some crewmen, however, were at even greater risk as a result of the occupations they held, for example, those stationed in the engineering sections, working on heavy machinery, managing fire, or in damage control parties. Aboard Boyle, asbestos insulation was used in most compartments, both in the rooms and around steam pipes.
Dock and shipyard workers were also potentially exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos, as were their family members. This is because the clothes they wore home often contained asbestos fibers that were picked up during the workday. The danger with asbestos is that it is known to cause mesothelioma, a type of cancer that is often life-threatening.
Sources
Haze Gray & Underway. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. DD-600.
http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd600txt.htm
NavSource Naval History. USS Boyle (DD-600).
http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/600.htm
