USS Barney (DD-956)

The USS Barney (DD-956/DDG-6) was a Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer. Her original designation was DD-956, but prior to construction it was decided to build her as a guided missile destroyer. The Barney was laid down at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey on 10 August 1959. She was launched on 10 December 1960 and commissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 11 August 1962.

The Early Years

After outfitting, Barney got underway on 27 September 1963 for qualification tests, after which she reported to her first home port of Naval Station Norfolk on 8 December. Her actual shakedown trials took place between 1 January and 20 February 1964. Following a ten-week maintenance period at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, she began normal operations out of Norfolk with the 2nd Fleet.

In the fall of 1963, Barney got underway for the Mediterranean Sea and a five-month cruise with the 6th Fleet. During that deployment, she made port visits and conducted training operations with units of the 6th Fleet and with ships of Allied navies. The warship returned to Norfolk in March 1964.

Over the next two years, Barney participated in NATO exercises and returned to the Mediterranean for a second tour of duty between 15 February and 12 July 1965. This was followed by local operations and a two-month stint with the Fleet Sonar School in January 1966. She entered the Norfolk Navy Yard on 1 March of that year for her first regular overhaul.

In mid-February 1967, the Barney got underway for the Far East and her only Vietnam deployment. During this tour, she functioned as air traffic controller in the Gulf of Tonkin and shelled targets along the coast. Barney also visited Hong Kong and ports in the Philippine Islands and Japan. The Barney returned to Norfolk on 19 September 1967 and began a post- deployment leave and upkeep period.

The Barney finished the decade with operations in the Caribbean and a Mediterranean deployment in 1969. On 1 December of that year she entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard to begin regular overhaul.

1970s

The Barney completed repairs in June 1970. After post-repair trials, she departed Norfolk on 7 July for crew refresher training in the West Indies. On 23 September, Barney reported for duty in the Mediterranean with the USS John F. Kennedy carrier group. She returned to Norfolk on the 15 December 1970. After a year of local operations, she returned to the Mediterranean in December 1971, remaining until 29 June 1972. On 8 November of that year, she entered the yard and her main propulsion plant was converted for the use of Navy distillate fuel.

Barney's fuel conversion lasted until early in the spring of 1973. That year took the vessel to northern Europe, including the Baltic where she conducted surveillance of Soviet naval operations. She returned to port on 17 December, remaining there until 10 April 1974. The next day, she reported to the Philadelphia Naval Yard for an overhaul. The Barney completed her overhaul on 24 February 1975, returning Norfolk on the 26th. She spent the rest of the year operating out of Norfolk.

On 7 July 1976, the Barney got underway for the Mediterranean. For the next six months, she made diplomatic port visits and participated in exercises with other units of the 6th Fleet as well as units of other NATO naval forces. She returned to Norfolk on 7 February 1977. After two weeks of leave and upkeep, Barney went into the dry dock at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for repairs to her sonar dome. After those repairs were completed on 14 April, she resumed normal operations out of Norfolk into February of 1978.

The Barney made two more deployments to the Mediterranean in 1978-79 and in 1980-81. In 1983, she was sent to the Indian Ocean with the 7th Fleet as the geo-political situation in that part of the world began to deteriorate in the wake of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the war between Iran and Iraq. In 1985, Barney was deployed to the Persian Gulf in order to maintain a U.S. presence in that region.

Fate

The USS Barney was decommissioned on 17 December 1990. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 20 November 1992 and sold for scrap on 15 April 1994. That contract was canceled on 1 October 1996 when the original buyer went bankrupt. The hulk was resold on 10 February 1999. She was finally dismantled by Metro Machine at the Philadelphia Naval Yard in 2005-06.

Asbestos Risks

The fibrous mineral asbestos was routinely employed for compartment insulation and as fire control in every U.S. Navy ship through the 1960s. Each ship's engines and mechanical sections usually were the workspaces where seamen or a shipyard workers were prone to be in danger of inhaling airborne asbestos fibers, but essentially all compartments of the Barney posed a measurable level of asbestos exposure.

When the warship took damage, whether in battle, by catastrophic storms, or through misfortune, it usually uncovered asbestos-contaminated components to the air, allowing them to become airborne. If these microscopic fibers were inhaled, the risk of contracting an asbestos-related disease became a concern. However, most sailors and shipyard workers were unaware they were inhaling asbestos fibers.

If you have contracted an asbestos-related condition such as mesothelioma as a result of being exposed to asbestos, you may be entitled to compensation to help pay for treatment options and cover lost income. For more information about this and asbestos exposure, please fill out the request form on this page to receive a complimentary packet.

Sources

Destroyers Index