USS King (DD-242)
The USS King (DD-242) served in the US Navy for more than more than two decades in the early 20th century, and earned one battle star for her service in World War II. She was named for Commander Frank Ragan King who served in World War I. King was constructed as a Clemson-class ship.
Construction
King was laid down in Camden, New Jersey by the New York Shipbuilding Company in April 1919, launched in October 1920, and commissioned in December with Lieutenant Commander R.C. Smith in command. Measuring 314 feet, five inches long, King carried a crew of 114 and was armed with four 4-inch rapid-fire guns, one three-inch anti-aircraft gun, and twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes.
Naval History
King departed Hampton Roads, Virginia for the Mediterranean in October 1921. During this deployment, King transported 300 Greek refugees from Turkey to Mitylene, Greece, and also served as a station ship in the Crimean Crisis. She continued operating in Turkish waters until June 1923, and then returned to the United States and participated in fleet exercises and reserve training along the east coast and Caribbean until 1920. During the civil war in Nicaragua, King patrolled in the waters off the country in the spring of 1927. She was decommissioned in March 1931 at Philadelphia.
Re-commissioned in June 1932, King joined the Pacific Scouting Force and was out of commission at San Diego for one year, but was reactivated in September 1939 with Lieutenant Commander E.E. Berthold in command. King was assigned to the Caribbean Neutrality Patrol and then patrolled off the east coast before returning to the west coast in the fall of 1940. Prior to the United States entering into World War II, King conducted patrols and exercises off San Francisco, which she continued to do until joining the escort group for President Fillmore to the Aleutian Islands.
King fought with Task Group 8.6 and participated in the bombardment of Kiska in August 1942, and operated in the Aleutians before returning to San Francisco in December 1943. For the rest of World War II, King conducted patrols and screening duties on the west coast and was decommissioned at Philadelphia in October 1945. She was sold for scrap to Boston Metals Company in September 1946.
Asbestos Risk on the USS King (DD-242)
Installing asbestos in the construction of all ships was required by the US Congress in the early 1930s, after a deadly fire aboard a luxury liner killed 137 passengers and crew. King, like most Navy ships at the time, made use of asbestos-containing materials frequently in engines and engineering compartments, and to insulate compartments in other parts of the vessel. When an asbestos-based product is damaged it becomes friable, which means that individual fibers can break off and enter the air, and then can be inhaled or ingested by ship's crew and dockworkers, potentially leading to the development of mesothelioma.
Currently the survival rate for mesothelioma is very low - but palliative approaches including mesothelioma surgery provide hope and may extend life expectancy. As malignant mesothelioma is not a common condition, many clinics and clinicians do not have expertise in the treatment of mesothelioma. If you or someone in your family has contracted pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma, a mesothelioma attorney can counsel you about your legal rights.
In addition, our mesothelioma information package contains up-to-date information about legal resources and medical options, as well as a list of clinical trials nationwide. Just submit the form on this page and we will mail you the packet at no cost to you.
Sources
Haze Gray & Underway. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. DD-242. (http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd242txt.htm) Retrieved 30 December 2010.
NavSource Naval History, USS King (DD-242).
(http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/242.htm) Retrieved 30 December 2010.
