USS Hamilton (DD-141)
The USS Hamilton (DD-141) served in the US Navy for over two-and-a-half decades in the early 20th century, and earned nine battle stars for her service in World War II. She was named for Lieutenant Archibald Hamilton who served as Secretary of the Navy and fought in the War of 1812. Hamilton was built as a Wickes-class destroyer.
Construction
Hamilton was laid down in California by the Mare Island Navy Yard in June 1918, launched in January 1919, and commissioned in November with Lieutenant Commander R.G. Goman in command. Carrying a crew of 103, Hamilton was 314 feet, five inches long and was armed with four 4-inch rapid-fire guns, two anti-aircraft guns, and twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes.
Naval History
Hamilton was assigned to battle practice along the California coast, and in the summer of 1920 participated in torpedo and smoke screen operations in Hawaii and across the Pacific, until being decommissioned at San Diego in July 1922. Re-commissioned in January 1930, Hamilton served in San Diego and on the east coast beginning in January 1933 from Newport, Rhode Island. She served with the Scouting Force and was then converted into a minesweeper in June 1941 and reclassified DMS-18.
When the United States entered World War II, Hamilton escorted coastal convoys from New York to the Panama Canal Zone. Hamilton attacked German U-boats in the Caribbean and off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and rescued 39 survivors of the torpedoed Gannet off Bermuda. In October, 1942, Hamilton deployed to North Africa and conducted anti-submarine operations and minesweeping and escort duty.
Hamilton returned to the United States in December and served with coastal convoys from Iceland to the Caribbean. In December 1943, she was deployed to the Pacific and operated in the Marshall Islands and was the only ship in her unit, assigned to prepare for the D-day invasion, to survive the war. Hamilton participated in the Saipan invasion and the Battle of the Philippine Sea as well as in the struggle for Guam.
Hamilton conducted sweeping operations prior to the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and operated in the preparations for the invasion of Lingayan Gulf, escaping damage from Japanese kamikaze planes. She continued this duty at Iwo Jima, in February 1945, and reported no casualties, but aided Gamble following a bomb strike. In March, Hamilton returned to Pearl Harbor and was put into drydock at Richmond, California and reclassified as miscellaneous auxiliary ship AC-111 in May.
Hamilton conducted experimental minesweeping out of Santa Barbara, California, and was decommissioned in October 1945, two weeks before the Japanese surrendered. In November 1946, she was sold for scrap to Hugo Neu of New York City.
Asbestos Risk on the USS Hamilton (DD-141)
Using asbestos insulation in the construction of all ships was required by the US Congress in the early 1930s, after a fire at sea on a luxury liner killed more than 100 people. Hamilton, like most Navy ships of the time, installed asbestos insulation in large amounts, particularly in ship's boilers and engineering compartments, as well as to insulate compartments in the other sections of the vessel.
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Sources
Haze Gray & Underway. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. DD-141 (http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd141txt.htm) Retrieved 22 December 2010
NavSource Naval History, USS Hamilton (DD-141).
(http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/141.htm) Retrieved 22 December 2010
