USS Thomas E. Fraser (DD-736)
The USS Thomas E. Fraser (DD-736) remained on the Navy list for more than two and a half decades in the mid-20th century. She was named for Commander Thomas Edward Fraser who was killed during a Japanese attack on Walke in World War II. Thomas E. Fraser was commissioned as an Allen M. Sumner class destroyer.
Construction
Thomas E. Fraser was laid down at Bath, Maine by the Bath Iron Works Corporation in January 1944, launched in June, and commissioned in August with Commander Ronald Joseph Woodaman in command. Carrying a crew of 336, Thomas E. Fraser had a cruising speed of 36.5 knots and was armed with ten 21-inch torpedo tubes, eleven 20-millimeter anti-aircraft guns, six five-inch anti-aircraft guns, and twelve 40-millimeter anti-aircraft guns.
Naval History
Thomas E. Fraser arrived on the west coast in December 1944 and was then deployed to Pearl Harbor for exercises in the Hawaiian Islands. The destroyer screened Task Group 51.11 to the Marianas in late January 1945, and then to Iwo Jima, where she conducted an anti-submarine sweep prior to the invasion, and then fired on enemy installations throughout the operation. Remaining near Iwo Jima into March, Thomas E. Fraser sailed to Ulithi for upkeep and provisioning.
Thomas E. Fraser operated in the Ryukyus before following minesweepers to assaults on Okinawa Gunto and then Okinawa Island, where she patrolled and battled enemy forces before and during the invasion at the end of March and early April 1945. After escorting hospital ship Comfort to Guam, Thomas E. Fraser returned to Okinawa and served as a transport screen and radar picket ship there until late May. Thomas E. Fraser was then fitted with fighter-director equipment at Kerama Retto and then served radar picket and hydrographic survey duties between Kerama Retto and Sakishima Gunto in June.
Thomas E. Fraser operated off Japan until October and arrived at San Diego in December, moving on to Norfolk where she arrived in January 1946. The destroyer-minelayer spent much of the year at Charleston Naval Shipyard in South Carolina for overhaul and on reserve training duty. Between 1947 and 1951, Thomas E. Fraser was deployed to the Mediterranean and Caribbean on various occasions and in February 1955 operated off Key West during a mine test program. She was decommissioned at Portsmouth, New Hampshire in June 1955, struck from the Navy list in November 1970, and sold for scrap in 1974.
Asbestos Risk on the USS Thomas E. Fraser (DD-736)
Fireproof asbestos insulation was used aboard most maritime vessels until the late 1970s. Use of the fibrous mineral was restricted once its considerable dangers were clearly understood. Sailors on Thomas E. Fraser had high levels of asbestos exposure, particularly those employed in the engine room, where asbestos products were used most frequently. Asbestos was also wrapped around steam conduits, installed in boilers and pumps, and was integral to many turbines and generators.
Shipyard workers and maintenance crews that built and repaired Thomas E. Fraser were also at risk. Asbestos dust was circulated when damaged and worn asbestos parts were repaired. Welders, boilermakers, pipefitters and electricians often had the greatest risk, as their work required daily exposure to asbestos-containing systems. There are usually legal options for Navy veterans and civilian workers suffering from asbestos-related ailments.
Sources
Haze Gray & Underway. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. DD-736.
http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd736txt.htm) Retrieved 11 February 2011.
NavSource Naval History. USS Thomas E. Fraser (DD-736).
http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/736.htm) Retrieved 11 February 2011.
