USS Taylor (DD-94)
The USS Taylor (DD-94) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the U.S. Navy during World War I. She was named in honor of Rear Admiral Henry Taylor.
Construction
In October 1917, Taylor was laid down at Mare Island Navy Yard. Completed in four months, Taylor was launched in February and commissioned June 1918, with Commander Charles T. Hutchins, Jr., in command.
Naval History
From the time she was commissioned through World War I and into the postwar phase, Taylor was a component of Division 12 of the Destroyer Force in the Atlantic Fleet. Eventually, by 1920, she was placed in reduced commission. In July, Taylor became DD-94 as the Navy implemented the alpha-numeric hull designation system. In October 1920, Taylor sailed under full commission and until the summer of 1922, she worked with Division 8, Flotilla 8, Squadron 3. That June, at Philadelphia, she was placed out of commission until May 1930, where under the command of Commander George B. Keester she was placed back in commission and allocated to Division 33, Squadron 7, Destroyer Squadrons, Scouting Fleet and worked out of Charleston, South Carolina, until November at which time she was placed in reduced commission again, transferred to Division 47, Squadron 16, Training Squadron and assigned to training reservists and transporting Reserve Officer Training Corps midshipmen on cruises.
Scouting Fleet became Scouting Force in April 1931, and Taylor remained with Division 28 until early 1934 when she joined Squadron 19. September 1934, Taylor began making the rounds in the West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico, guarding American concerns through Latin America’s erratic agitation. From the fall of 1935 until early 1937, Taylor was back with the Training Squadron before patrolling the unpredictable waters of the Caribbean.
In September 1938, Taylor was placed out of commission and offered for sale in July 1939. One year later, in July 1940, however, she was assigned for use in training damage control parties and was designated Damage Control Hulk No. 40. Sixty feet of Taylor’s bow was grafted onto Blakeley at Philadelphia that summer, after the latter lost her bow to a German torpedo. In this respect, part of her saw some action in World War II. The former Taylor served as a damage control hulk until the end of the war when she was sold for scrap in August 1945.
Asbestos Risk on the USS Taylor (DD-94)
Because asbestos-containing material was used in so many types of applications on board navy ships, just about every crewman had the potential to suffer from asbestos exposure. Many areas of Taylor were contaminated by asbestos fibers, particularly the engineering rooms as well as those compartments which contained pumps or valves. Shore-based personnel who worked on Taylor were also likely to have suffered from asbestos exposure particularly shipfitters, pipefitters and boilermakers.
Asbestos can trigger the development of mesothelioma by destroying the mesothelium when it is inhaled into the lungs. Pleural mesothelioma is just one of several ailments caused by asbestos. Since asbestos is the only origin of mesothelioma and asbestos-related conditions, there are many legal options for naval personnel and civilian workers who have contracted these conditions. Please fill out the form on this page to learn more about your rights.
Sources
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/t3/taylor-i.htm
