USS Greene (DD-266)
The USS Greene (DD-266) served in the U.S. Navy for over two and a half decades in the early 20th century. She was named for Commander Samuel Dana Greene who served in the Civil War. Greene was a member of the Clemson class of destroyers.
Construction
Greene was laid down at Quincy, Massachusetts by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in June 1918, launched in November, and commissioned in May 1919 with Commander R.A. Theobald in command. Carrying a crew of 114, Greene was armed with four 4-inch rapid-fire guns, one three-inch anti-aircraft gun, and twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes.
Naval History
Greene departed Newport, Rhode Island for Brest, France in June 1919, and sailed to San Diego, California after arriving in New York at the end of July. She was decommissioned in March 1920, but remained a part of the Reserve Destroyer Force until September 1921. The destroyer was decommissioned at San Francisco in June 1922, reactivated in June 1940, and re-designated AVD-13 in April 1941. Following conversion, Greene moved to Puerto Rico and Bermuda to conduct training and seaplane tender duties.
Greene operated as a seaplane tender at Natal and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, until the summer of 1942, and then performed convoy duty in the South Atlantic. In February 1943, Greene began operation as an escort between Newfoundland and Ireland, and helped Bogue carry out attacks on German submarines that spring. During this deployment, Greene shared in the success of sinking German submarine U-217 in June 1943, and received the Presidential Unit Citation for this duty.
Greene escorted a troop convoy from Norfolk, Virginia to the United Kingdom in the fall of 1943, and then served as an escort for aircraft carriers. In January 1944, she arrived at Charleston, South Carolina and was converted to high-speed transport APD-36 in February. Greene deployed to Algeria in April and participated in the invasion of Southern France, landing American and Canadian troops there in August.
Greene was assigned to escort duty in the Mediterranean until December 1944, and sailed for Ulithi from Norfolk in January 1945 to conduct escort duties. In April, Greene served as an escort for aircraft carriers to Okinawa, and then continued as an escort between Okinawa, Saipan, and the Philippines. She also evacuated ex-prisoners of war from Nagasaki following the atomic bomb explosion. Greene was wrecked in October by a typhoon and damaged beyond repair, was decommissioned in November, and struck from the Navy list in December 1945.
Asbestos Risk on the USS Greene (DD-266)
No matter what a sailor’s assignment was, service on Greene meant some exposure to asbestos. The engineering and power plant areas on Greene deployed asbestos-containing materials extensively to insulate conduits, to protect ship's boilers, and to cover parts of the ship's engines and steam turbines. Steam ducts sheathed in asbestos insulation ran into nearly every area of the vessel.
Asbestos products damaged in combat or wrecked by weather as happened aboard Greene become even more dangerous, as they are made friable. Exposure to friable asbestos has been conclusively linked to the development of mesothelioma. While daily exposure to asbestos dust leads to the greatest chance of injury, no level of exposure is without some risk.
Sources
Haze Gray & Underway. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. DD-266.
(http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd266txt.htm) Retrieved 12 January 2011.
NavSource Naval History, USS Greene (DD-266)
(http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/266.htm) Retrieved 12 January 2011.
