USS Herbert (DD-160)
The USS Herbert (DD-160) served in the US Navy for more than two-and-a-half decades in the 20th century, and received six battle stars for her service in World War II. She was named for Hilary Abner Herbert, who was Secretary of the Navy under President Grover Cleveland. Herbert was built as a Wickes-class vessel.
Construction
Herbert was laid down in Camden, New Jersey by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in April 1918, launched in May 1919, and commissioned in November with Lieutenant Commander E.A. Logan in command. Carrying a crew of 101, Herbert 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
Herbert participated in training in the Caribbean until May 1920, and then conducted torpedo practice, anti-aircraft drills, and short-range battle practice exercises until being decommissioned at Philadelphia in June 1922. When reactivated in May 1930, Herbert joined the Scouting Fleet at Newport, Rhode Island, and conducted fleet practices on the east and west coasts of the United States. Herbert was deployed to Portugal from October 1939, when World War II began in Europe, until July 1940.
Herbert was overhauled and underwent sound school training at New London, Connecticut in October. When the United States entered World War II, Herbert began escort duty for convoys from Key West, Florida, to Halifax and Iceland. Herbert attacked several submarines during this deployment, and following an escort mission from Bermuda to Casablanca, and then was converted to a high-speed transport APD-22 at Charleston, South Carolina in November 1943.
Herbert arrived in San Diego and was deployed to New Guinea in March 1944, and landed troops for the invasion of Humboldt Bay, and also provided troop support for the Morotai and Leyte Gulf offensives. During continuing service in the Philippines, Herbert was continuously attacked by Japanese planes through 1944, and landed troops at Lingayen Gulf in January 1945.
Herbert performed escort duty to Iwo Jima and operated as a patrol and escort prior to the invasion of Okinawa, where kamikaze planes struck several surrounding ships. In September 1945, Herbert was decommissioned at San Diego, stricken from the Navy list in October, and sold for scrap to the Boston Metals Company in May 1946.
Asbestos Risk on the USS Herbert (DD-160)
The installation of asbestos-containing materials in the design of all ships was required by law in the US in the early 1930s, after a fire at sea aboard the SS Morro Castle resulted in enormous loss of life. Ships like Herbert deployed asbestos-containing materials heavily, particularly in boilers and engineering compartments, as well as in fireproofing in the other sections of the vessel.
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Sources
Haze Gray & Underway. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. DD-160. (http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd160txt.htm) Retrieved 24 December 2010.
NavSource Naval History, USS Herbert (DD-160).
(http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/160.htm) Retrieved 24 December 2010.
