USS Ericsson (DD-440)
The USS Ericsson (DD-440) was commissioned by the U.S. Navy for a half a decade in the early 20th century. She was named for John Ericsson, a Swedish engineer and inventor who designed the USS Monitor for the American Civil War. Ericsson was built as a Gleaves-class vessel.
Construction
Ericsson was laid down at Kearny, New Jersey by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in March 1940, launched in November, and commissioned in March 1941 with Lieutenant Commander G.E. Sage in command. Carrying a crew of 208, Ericsson was armed with four five-inch anti-aircraft guns, six one-half inch machine guns, and ten 21-inch torpedo tubes.
Naval History
Ericsson arrived at Norfolk, Virginia in May 1941 and began patrol duty on the east coast and around Bermuda. During this service, she also trained naval reserves and participated in battle practice, and then served as a convoy escort to Newfoundland and Iceland. Following the entry of the United States into World War II, Ericsson began patrols off Newfoundland. Ericsson rescued survivors of SS Dagrose in January 1942 and also survivors of Coast Guard cutter Hamilton.
In May, Ericsson conducted a convoy mission to the Panama Canal Zone, and escorted convoys on the east coast and in the Caribbean through the summer. Ericsson was deployed to the Mediterranean in October for the invasion of North Africa and provided fire support for troops as well as screened transports.
Ericsson was overhauled at Charleston, South Carolina after returning to the United States in November 1943, and then escorted convoys in the Caribbean and later to Casablanca from the east coast. In February 1944 Ericsson began six months of service in the Mediterranean and operated between African and Italian ports. Ericsson operated with a task group, comprised mostly of British vessels, during the invasion of southern France in August 1944. She also patrolled the French coast for German submarines, and continued patrol and escort duty in the Mediterranean until November.
Ericsson returned to Boston during an escort mission in April, hunted and sank U-853 off Block Island, and then was deployed to the Pacific, arriving at Saipan in September 1945. She conducted convoy escorts in Japan and the Philippines, before arriving at Charleston in December 1945 and decommissioned in March 1946. After many years in the decommissioned reserve, Ericsson was stricken from the Navy list in June 1970 and sunk as a target vessel in November 1970.
Asbestos Risk on the USS Ericsson (DD-440)
Asbestos has been installed in the construction of both merchant and naval ships such as the USS Ericsson ever since the 1930s. Asbestos-containing material was used widely aboard ships and at shore installations by the Navy extensively before its known link to mesothelioma cancer was made public. On board the Ericsson asbestos-containing material was installed in almost every compartment, primarily as insulation wrapped around steam pipes. It was also used on heavy equipment such as boilers, pumps and generators to provide protection from extreme heat and fire. This meant that nearly every member of the ship's crew would have been potentially exposed to ACMs (asbestos-containing materials) no matter what their assigned duties were. If a crewman was assigned to the engineering section, however, the extent of his exposure would have likely been higher than average.
The inhalation and ingestion of asbestos is strongly linked to the development of malignant mesothelioma as well as a number of other asbestos diseases including asbestosis and lung cancer.
Sources
Haze Gray & Underway. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. DD-440.
(http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd440txt.htm) Retrieved 14 January 2011.
(http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/440.htm) Retrieved 14 January 2011.
