USS Brownson DD-518

The Fletcher-class destroyers were vessels commonly used by the U.S. Navy during World War II. Many well into the Vietnam era and even into the 1990s with the fleets of other nations. The last operational Fletcher-class destroyer was decommissioned in 2001 and turned into a museum ship almost 60 years after the first one launched.

The USS Brownson (DD-518) was not the first Fletcher-type destroyer, and it differed from those built previously in that it was built with a "square" bridge, allowing for better visibility. Her keel was laid at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Staten Island yard on 15 February 1942 and the completed vessel launched in September. Lieutenant Commander J. B. Mayer took command of the vessel upon her commissioning in February 1943.

Her first six months were spent in the Atlantic, patrolling the coast for U-boats and escorting convoys. She was then ordered to the Pacific, arriving in California on 28 July and before proceeding to Alaska, where she continued with the same duties, patrolling for enemy subs and escorting convoys to the Aleutians and eastern Russian ports.

On 29 November, she was ordered to Pearl Harbor and was then ordered to the Bismarck Archipelago off the northeast coast of New Guinea. At around 2:45 in the afternoon on the day after Christmas 1943, a Japanese Aichi-D3A dropped two bombs, causing the ship to explode and begin to sink. Orders to abandon ship came within minutes, and the Brownson went under at 3 p.m., tragically taking 108 crewmen to the bottom with her.

Asbestos Risks

On board every American naval craft through two world wars, asbestos, a fibrous mineral, was routinely employed for insulating compartments and as fireproofing mechanism. A ship's boilers and engineering spaces were typically the areas of a vessel where crew members were most likely to inhale asbestos fibers. However, essentially every section of a ship such as the USS Brownson presented some risk of asbestos exposure. An increased risk of asbestos exposure occurred if a ship was damaged during battle or daily operations, causing asbestos fibers to break off into the air where they could be inhaled or ingested by anyone nearby.

Exposure to asbestos can cause the development of mesothelioma, asbestosis, tumors and other dangerous health conditions. Since most asbestos-related diseases can be difficult to diagnose since the symptoms can be mistaken for symptoms of less-serious illnesses, those who worked around this mineral may wish to alert their doctor of their past history of asbestos exposure.

Asbestos exposure can cause the development of mesothelioma, a rare cancer, when fibers are inhaled or ingested into the body where they can become lodged in organs and cavities. This can lead to inflammation and infection and the development of the cancer. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or served aboard the USS Brownson and wish to learn more about symptoms, the diagnostic process, treatment and legal options, please click here and Asbestos.com will send you a complimentary comprehensive packet.

Sources:

Destroyers Index