USS Davis (DD-937)
The USS Davis (DD-937) served in the U.S. Navy for over three decades in the mid-to-late-20th century. She was named for Commander George F. Davis who served in World War II and was killed during the Lingayen Gulf invasion. Davis was a member of the Forrest Sherman class of destroyers.
Construction
Davis was laid down at Quincy, Massachusetts by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation in September 1955, launched in March 1956, and commissioned in February 1957 with Commander George G. Ball in command. Carrying a crew of 324, Davis was 418 feet six inches long and armed with four three-inch rapid fire guns, two anti-submarine mortars, four 21-inch torpedo tubes, and six 12.75-inch anti-submarine torpedo tubes.
Naval History
Davis was assigned to Newport, Rhode Island as her home port in May 1957 following trials. The destroyer conducted a shakedown cruise off Cuba before sailing to European waters in July and August, then became the flagship for Commander, Destroyer Squadron 12. From November 1957 to April 1958, Davis operated with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, and underwent an overhaul at Boston from August to October.
Davis participated in Operation Springboard in the Caribbean in 1959 and remained in the area from June to November, and then again from January to May 1960. Service in the Mediterranean followed and Davis returned to the United States in February 1961. Following another 6th Fleet deployment, Davis participated in the Cuban Quarantine in 1962 and, in 1963, served with the ASW Tactical School in Norfolk, Virginia. Davis alternated between 6th Fleet deployments and anti-submarine exercises in the Atlantic.
Davis was deployed to the western Pacific in April 1966, where she operated during the Vietnam War until sailing for home in a round-the-world cruise in the summer. She served in the Middle East in 1967 and then resumed training and anti-submarine exercises off the east coast. Davis returned to Vietnam in 1968 and was decommissioned at Boston from October 1969 to October 1970.
Davis conducted training missions and equipment testing in the early 1970’s, which was interspersed with deployments to Africa and the Far East, including a Vietnam tour in 1972. The destroyer operated in the Middle East in 1977 and 1978 and again in 1981 and 1982, when she also operated with NATO forces in the Mediterranean. Decommissioned in December, Davis was struck from the Navy list in July 1990 and sold for scrap to NR Acquisitions in 1994.
Asbestos Risk on the USS Davis (DD-937)
Practically every crewman aboard the USS Davis may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials that have known links to an asbestos cancer known as mesothelioma. Sailors handling ship's machinery were more likely to have sustained exposure to concentrated amounts of asbestos as were crewmen working in fire suppression crews or doing damage control after an attack on the ship. Aboard the USS Davis asbestos insulation was installed in most sections, both in equipment and on steam pipes.
Repair and shipyard service members were also exposed to asbestos at dangerous levels. Family members of dockyard and shipyard personnel ran the risk of being exposed to asbestos-containing materials, through contamination of the work clothes worn at the job site by repair and maintenance personnel and brought back home at the end of the day.
Personnel working regularly with damaged asbestos insulation over an extensive time period are at much greater risk of developing malignant mesothelioma than sailors did not perform that kind of work. There is legal recourse available to those veterans who have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma while serving in the Navy. You may request more information about mesothelioma in veterans by filling out the form on this page.
Sources
Pizco.com. USS Davis DD-937, Ships History.
(http://ussdavisdd937.piczo.com/?g=41599809&cr=6) Retrieved 24 February 2011.
NavSource Naval History. Davis (DD-937).
(http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/937.htm) Retrieved 24 February 2011.
