USS Hulburt (DD-342)
The USS Hulburt (DD-342) served in the U.S. Navy for two and a half decades in the early 20th century. She was named for Lieutenant Henry Lewis Hulburt who served in World War I. Hulburt was built as a Clemson-class destroyer.
Construction
Hulburt was laid down in Portsmouth, Virginia at the Norfolk Navy Yard in November 1918, launched in June 1919, and commissioned in October 1920 with Lieutenant S.A. Maher in command. Carrying a crew of 114, Hulburt was 314 feet, five inches long and armed with four 4-inch rapid-fire guns, one three-inch anti-aircraft gun, and twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes.
Naval History
Hulburt participated in ordnance tests on old American and German ships in June 1921, and was deployed for duty to the Asiatic Station in June 1922. During this deployment, Hulburt patrolled off China and the Philippines, protected Americans during the Chinese Civil War, and conducted fleet exercises. In 1929, Hulburt sailed for San Diego and served as a plane guard for aircraft carriers. She was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in October 1934.
Hulburt underwent conversion to a seaplane tender, and was re-commissioned as AVP-6 in August 1940 at New York Navy Yard. She began servicing Patrol Wing 1 on the west coast and was stationed as the headquarters ship for the seaplane wing at Pearl Harbor, beginning in May 1941. During the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack, Hulburt was moored at the Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor and opened fire on enemy planes. She also aided in the rescue effort afterward and then helped set up base for patrol bombers out of Hilo.
Hulburt tended seaplanes that served on reconnaissance missions and bombing raids of the Midway Islands, and also landed marines on Seguam Island in August 1942. In June 1943, Hulburt was assigned to fueling and providing communications services to seaplanes and torpedo boats at Attu. She was grounded by a storm in Massacre Bay, damaged, and received temporary repairs at Dutch Harbor.
Hulburt was overhauled at Seattle, Washington in August, and was assigned to escort duty out of San Diego in January 1944. She operated as a plane guard and escort for the rest of World War II, and was decommissioned at Philadelphia in November 1945. Hulburt was sold for scrap to Ship Shape, Inc. in October 1946.
Asbestos Risk on the USS Hulburt (DD-342)
Hulburt contained asbestos insulation and fireproofing in her engine and boiler rooms. She may have also deployed asbestos in other heat- and fire-sensitive areas. The greatest risk was airborne asbestos fibers, which would break off from damaged and worn asbestos parts on the ship. Because those fibers were easily distributed throughout the ship, most sailors on Hulburt had some exposure to the mineral. Breathing air contaminated with asbestos can cause mesothelioma.
Sources
Haze Gray & Underway. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. DD-342.
http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd342txt.htm
NavSource Naval History, USS Hulburt (DD-342).
http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/342.htm
