USS Evans (DD-78)
The USS Evans (DD-78) was the first of three destroyers named in honor of Rear Admiral Robley Dunglison Evans, who commanded the Great White Fleet on its worldwide cruise in 1907 and 1908. Built as a Wickes-class destroyer, she went on to fly the flags of four nations until she was decommissioned for good in 1944.
Construction
The Evans was built at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. She was completed on October 30, 1918 and commissioned on Armistice Day. Wickes-class ships were meant to create a superior naval force, one that was “second to none”, and could reach speeds of 35 knots.
Naval History
Under her first commander, Frank H. Sadler, Evans trained in the Azores then cruised off the shores of Europe and Central America before reaching her first home port, San Diego, on November 14, 1919. She patrolled the eastern Pacific from Astoria, Oregon to Valparaiso, Chile, for 2 years before her first decommissioning in 1922.
Evans was recommissioned on April 1, 1930 and briefly patrolled the waters around San Diego, and was then used primarily as a training vessel for the naval reserve out of New York City. She was used for training in Alaskan and Hawaiian waters until being decommissioned again in 1937.
Brought back for a third time on September 30, 1939, Evans came to Key West as part of the neutrality patrol in the Antilles and the Caribbean. She performed this service for a year before being decommissioned and transferred to the Royal Navy at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on October 23, 1940 as part of the Lend-Lease program.
Evans, renamed the Mansfield, was loaned to the Royal Norwegian Navy from 1940 to 1942 and saw action in World War II as part of both the Royal Navy and the RNN. In 1943 she was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy and conducted patrols out of St John’s and Halifax. After her honorable war service she was decommissioned for the final time on June 22, 1944. She was broken up for scrap in 1945 after the United States Navy declined to take her back for parts.
Asbestos Risk on the USS Evans (DD-78)
The Evans used asbestos extensively around engines and engineering spaces, and to insulate pipes and compartments throughout the vessel. The abundance of asbestos products used aboard the Evans put her crew at significant risk of exposure to airborne asbestos fibers. These microscopic fibers become lodged in the mesothelial layer, a paper-thin body of cells that surrounds and buffers the body's interior organs. Over time, inflammation from the fibers can lead to serious illnesses like mesothelioma.
Veterans from the USS Evans and the shipbuilders that built and repaired her may have a legal right to compensation if they later suffered an asbestos disease. A qualified mesothelioma lawyer can aid you in deciding your best course of action. Learn more about the disease and your legal options in our free mesothelioma guide. Just complete the form on this page and we'll send you your this valuable information right away.
Sources
NavSource Naval History, USS Evans (DD-78),
http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/078.htm Retrieved 16 December 2010
DD-78
http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd78txt.htm Retrieved 16 December 2010
USN Ships – USS Evans [Destroyer #78, later DD-78](http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-e/dd78.htm Retrieved 16 December, 2010. Page made 4 May 2003.
USS Evans DD-78 – As USS Evans
http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/USS_Evans_DD-78_-_As_USS_iEvansi/id/5554063 Retrieved 16 December 2010
USS Evans DD-78
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Evans_%28DD-78%29 Retrieved 16 December 2010
