USS Shubrick (DD-268)
The USS Shubrick (DD-268) served in the U.S. Navy for over two decades in the 20th century, and then under the command of the Royal Navy. She was named for William Bradford Shubrick who served in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War and also commanded the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Shubrick was built to the specifications of the Clemson-class of destroyers.
Construction
Shubrick was laid down at Squantum, Massachusetts by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in June 1918, launched in December, and commissioned in July 1919 with Lieutenant Commander C.H. Boucher in command. Carrying a crew of 114, Shubrick was 314 feet, five inches in length and armed with four 4-inch rapid-fire guns, one three-inch anti-aircraft gun, and twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes. She was driven by geared turbines supporting a cruising speed of 35 knots.
Naval History
Shubrick sailed out of New York in October 1919, conveying currency and a diplomatic delegation to Haiti. Following this mission, Shubrick arrived at San Diego, California to join the reserve destroyers there. Shubrick was decommissioned in June 1922 and reactivated in December 1939 after World War II began in Europe.
Shubrick was overhauled at Mare Island from February to March 1940 and was deployed to the Caribbean until June. During this deployment, Shubrick became a member of the West Gulf Patrol in May, and then served as a training vessel for naval reservists in July and August. Shubrick operated in this capacity at Miami, Florida; Boston, Massachusetts; and New York.
After being repaired at New York and Norfolk, Virginia, Shubrick sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia in November 1940, where she was decommissioned from the U.S. Navy and commissioned by the Royal Navy under the name HMS Ripley. The former Shubrick was stuck from the Navy list in January 1941, but operated under British command as a convoy vessel in the North Atlantic. She was placed on reserve status in January 1944 and then taken apart for scrap at Sunderland, England in March 1945.
Asbestos Risk on the USS Shubrick (DD-268)
Significant innovations in the industrial economy in the late 1800s led to the proliferation of boilers, steam engines, and other heavy equipment that used asbestos products to mitigate the heat they produced. The mineral was often used to pack valves and protect pumps, and was wrapped around the pipes, boilers, and other high-temperature equipment. Because asbestos fiber is also resistant to fire, it became the primary material for fireproofing seafaring vessels beginning in the 1930s.
Vessels like Shubrick used asbestos in nearly every compartment. The greatest risk was to those working in engineering spaces and performing damage control and fighting fires, but no sailor was completely isolated from exposure. When inhaled, tiny asbestos particles can become stuck in the lungs and may, over time, cause the development of malignant mesothelioma. Legal solutions are available for Navy veterans coping with mesothelioma and other ailments caused by asbestos exposure.
Sources
Haze Gray & Underway. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. DD-268.
http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd268txt.htm) Retrieved 12 January 2011.
NavSource Naval History, USS Shubrick (DD-268).
http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/268.htm) Retrieved 12 January 2011.
