USS MacLeish (DD-220)

The USS MacLeish (DD-220) served in the US Navy for more than twenty years in the early 20th century. She was named for Lieutenant Kenneth MacLeish, who served in the US Navy during World War I. MacLeish was laid down as a Clemson-class vessel.

Construction

MacLeish was laid down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by the William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company in August 1919, launched in December, and commissioned in August 1920 with Lieutenant Commander F.T. Berry in command. Carrying a crew of 114, MacLeish had a displacement of 1,215 tons and was armed with four 4-inch rapid-fire guns, one three-inch anti-aircraft gun, and twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes.

Naval History

MacLeish served briefly with the Pacific Fleet before sailing back to Philadelphia to join Naval Forces off Turkey, and then operated in the Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean until June 1924. In July, MacLeish returned to the United States, and then was deployed to Shanghai, China in June 1925 to protect Americans during a period of civil disorder. During this deployment, MacLeish also conducted patrols and training and, in March 1938, was placed in the reserve fleet at San Diego, California.

In September 1939, MacLeish was reactivated and then was assigned to fleet activities and patrol duty in the Caribbean in February 1940. MacLeish operated as a convoy escort from January 1941 until the spring of 1942 when she began coastal patrols, but completed several convoy escorts between Norfolk and Key West and between New York and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba by February 1943. Following this duty, MacLeish then served as an escort between the east coast and Casablanca.

MacLeish was overhauled in 1944 and operated as the flagship of TF 63 in the Mediterranean. Re-designated AG-87 in January 1945, MacLeish operated as a target ship for training submarines passing through the Panama Canal. She then conducted tow targets for naval aircraft in Rhode Island. MacLeish was decommissioned in March 1946 and sold for scrap to the Boston Metals Company in December.

Asbestos Risk on the USS MacLeish (DD-220)

The use of asbestos in the construction of oceangoing ships was mandated by law in the United States in the early 1930s, after a fire at sea aboard a cruise ship caused the deaths of 137 passengers and crew. Vessels like MacLeish utilized asbestos in large quantities, particularly in engines and engineering compartments, as well as to insulate steam pipes all over the ship. When asbestos-containing material becomes worn it can become friable, which means that the fibers can break off and escape into the atmosphere, and then can be breathed in by naval personnel or dockworkers, possibly causing mesothelioma.

Sadly, a mesothelioma prognosis is generally not optimistic - typically mesothelioma disease patients have a life expectancy of a few months to a few years once they are diagnosed. Because malignant mesothelioma is a relatively rare disease, not all clinics and doctors are able to deliver the highest quality mesothelioma treatment.

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Sources

Haze Gray & Underway. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. DD-220.
http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd220txt.htm Retrieved 28 December 2010.

NavSource Naval History, USS MacLeish (DD-220).
http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/220.htm Retrieved 28 December 2010.