USS Dale (DD-4)

The USS Dale (DD-4) was a Bainbridge-class destroyer used by the United States and represents the first-generation destroyers used by the Navy between 1900 and 1920. She was named for Captain Richard Dale (1756-1826), who served in the U.S. Navy from 1777 until 1801.

Construction

Although the Dale was the fourth of thirteen Bainbridge-class destroyers ordered by the U.S. Navy during the Spanish-American War, she was actually the first one to hit the water. She was built by the William R. Trigg Company of Richmond, Virginia and launched in July 1900; the lead ship of the class, USS Bainbridge (DD-1), was not launched until over a year later. The Dale was commissioned in February 1903 under the command of Lieutenant H.I. Cone.

At the time, the destroyer –originally designated as a "torpedo-boat destroyer" – was a fairly new innovation in naval warfare. These vessels were fast and maneuverable, yet able to carry heavy weapons. They were developed in response to small, self-propelled attack vessels, or "torpedo boats," that first saw service during the American Civil War. The original purpose of the destroyer was to patrol the harbor where a larger fleet might be anchored in order to guard against attacks from these small but deadly boats.

With the launch of the IJN Kotaka in 1885 – the first "modern" steel destroyer – the role of this type of warship was expanded to include the escort of flotillas of heavier, less-maneuverable combat vessels, and later, merchant convoys. This was the basic role of the destroyer through the First World War.

Naval History

The second U.S. naval vessel to bear the name, Dale was initially assigned to the North Atlantic Fleet's First Torpedo Flotilla out of Norfolk, Virginia, in 1903. In December of that year, the Flotilla was ordered to the Far East. For the next several years, Dale sailed with her flotilla out of the Cavite Naval Base in the Philippines; in addition to regular drills and Fleet Problems (battle exercises) in the South China Sea, Dale also served to carry mail and passengers between Manila and ports in Japan and along the Asian coast.

The U.S. officially entered World War I against Germany in April of 1917; however, Dale remained on duty at the entrance of Manila Bay until August of that year. She was then ordered, along with her sister ships Bainbridge and Barry, to the Mediterranean, where she and the others took up station at Gibraltar. Until the end of the war, Dale served escort duties for merchant convoys in and out of the Mediterranean.

Dale was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in July 1919 and sold six months later to Joseph Hitner for conversion into a bulk freighter.

Asbestos Risk on the USS Dale (DD-4)

Although asbestos was not widely used in ship construction until the 1930s, the steam engines that powered these earlier vessels employed asbestos gaskets and insulation, all of which had to be replaced during frequent scheduled maintenance periods. This work exposed sailors and shipfitters alike to high levels of asbestos fibers, which have been strongly linked to the development of mesothelioma.

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Sources

Haislip, Harvey USN (Ret.) A Memory of Ships. U.S. Naval Institute (Sept. 1977)

NA. "Dale [2]." Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/d1/dale-ii.htm Retrieved 26 November 2010.