USS Sumner (DD-333)
The USS Sumner (DD-333) served in the U.S. Navy during the third decade of the 20th century. She was named for Marine Corps Captain Allen Melancthon Sumner who served during World War I in the 81st company 6th Machine Gun Battalion. Sumner was built as a Clemson-class destroyer.
Construction
Sumner was laid down at San Francisco, California by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in August 1919, launched in November 1920, and commissioned in May 1921with Lieutenant Commander D.B Beary in command. Carrying a crew of 114, Sumner was 314 feet, five inches long, with a beam of 31 feet, eight inches and draught of nine feet 10 inches. Sumner was driven by geared turbines supporting a cruising speed of 35 knots, and was armed with four 4-inch rapid-fire guns, one three-inch anti-aircraft gun, and twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes.
Naval History
Sumner was assigned to Destroyer Division 49, Squadron 13 Flotilla 2 of the Pacific Fleet just days after being commissioned. She conducted routine training, maneuvers, and patrols for much of her service. In 1924, Sumner operated off of Vera Cruz, Mexico during the revolution there, to protect American lives and property, along with five other destroyers and Navy cruiser Omaha.
Sumner returned to duty on the west coast of the United States in April 1924, and joined the Battle Fleet and cruisers from the Scouting force on a mission from Pearl Harbor to Samoa, Australia, and New Zealand in July 1925. Following this deployment, Sumner returned to normal training duties and patrols on the west coast.
Sumner sailed to the Atlantic Ocean and up as far as Boston, Massachusetts for maneuvers in March 1927, and then returned to the Pacific in June. In 1928, Sumner also operated in Hawaii until she returned to San Diego, California in March 1930. Sumner was decommissioned in March, struck from the Navy list in November, and was then assigned to serve as a barracks ship for submarine crews. Sumner was then used by the Navy for structural strength tests, and was sold for scrap in 1934 under the terms of the London Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armaments.
Asbestos Risk on the USS Sumner (DD-333)
Because asbestos material was used throughout the vessel, just about every sailor may have suffered from asbestos exposure. Asbestos-containing material was installed widely aboard ships and at naval facilities by the Navy until it was banned in the 1970s. On civilian and naval craft such as Sumner, asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) were found all over the ship, in the engines, steam pipes, pumps, valves, and other shipboard machinery.
An exposed crewman's risk of developing mesothelioma goes up significantly if his or her work involved frequent contact with frayed or damaged asbestos. Aboard ship, engineers, firemen, and boilermen were at the highest risk; on shore, boilermakers and shipfitters had the highest level of exposure. Torn or frayed asbestos material is especially dangerous, and in combat asbestos fiber had a tendency to become airborne. Because of the fact that damaged parts of the ship were often heavily contaminated by asbestos fibers, personnel and dockyard workers performing repairs had much higher exposure to asbestos than those who had other assignments. There are legal remedies available to sailors who have developed malignant mesothelioma. Please fill out the form on this page to learn more.
Sources
Haze Gray & Underway. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. DD-333.
http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd333txt.htm Retrieved 6 January 2011.
NavSource Naval History, USS Sumner (DD-333).
http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/333.htm Retrieved 6 January 2011.
