USS Collett DD-730

The USS Collett (DD-730) was a Sumner-class destroyer, laid down at the Bath Iron Works in Maine in October 1943 and completed less than five-months later. She was built well enough that the U.S. Navy was able to commission her on 16 May 1944, ten weeks after her launch.

Her first captain was Commander James Collett, the brother of the officer for whom the ship was named. The Collett sailed from Pearl Harbor in mid-October 1944 and reached the naval base on Ulithi Atoll two weeks later. Her first assignment was to screen for the Fast Carrier Task Force, a spearhead group for virtually every operation in the Pacific. She first saw action at Luzon during the preliminary strikes on the Japanese-occupied Philippines. In February 1945, she was among the first ships to shell the Japanese homeland prior to covering the landings at Iwo Jima.

Collett was one of the first U.S. ships to enter Tokyo Bay following the Japanese surrender. She left Japan on 18 September 1945 and was overhauled and refitted at a west coast port in the United States. Unlike many other World War II-era vessels, the Collett was never deactivated, but continued to serve continuously for the next 15 years, including two tours of duty during the Korean conflict and extended service in the Far East during the early years of the Cold War.

Collett underwent a number of modernization upgrades between January and July 1960. She had only been out of the yard a few days when she collided with the USS Ammen off the coast of Long Beach, California, killing 11 of the Ammen's crewmen and injuring another 20 in addition to collapsing her own bow. Collett was able to reach the Naval yard at Long Beach, where she spent the next four months receiving a replacement bow. On 5 November 1960, Collett returned to routine duties.

In 1974 the government of Argentina purchased her with the intention of cannibalizing her for spare parts, but upon inspection she was found to be repairable. She was commissioned in the Armada de la Republica Argentina as the ARA Piedra Buena ("Surefooted"). She saw action against Britain's Royal Navy during the brief Falklands War of 1982 and continued to serve until February 1985.

Asbestos Risks

The mineral asbestos was commonly installed for pipe insulation and for fire control aboard every American navy vessel through World War I and World War II. A vessel's engines and engineering compartments usually were often the areas where those aboard destroyers like the USS Collett were most likely to come into contact with asbestos in the air, though practically all areas of a ship contained some level of asbestos.

When a ship was damaged in battle, or through daily operations, a greater risk of asbestos exposure occurred since fibers could break off into the air where anyone nearby could inhale or ingest them into the body. The fibers could then become lodged in organs or body cavities, causing inflammation or infection and, overtime, the development of an asbestos-related disease such as mesothelioma.

Veterans and those who worked on the construction or repairs of ships throughout World War I and World War II may have been exposed to asbestos regularly. Understanding symptoms associated with mesothelioma, a rare cancer caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure, can aid in early detection which may provide greater treatment options to those diagnosed. For a comprehensive packet about the cancer, please click here and Asbestos.com will mail a copy to the address provided.

Veterans with a history of exposure to asbestos may wish to notify their doctor of their exposure since diagnosis can be difficult. Symptoms of asbestos-related diseases often do not surface until decades after initial exposure to asbestos occurred.

Sources:

Destroyers Index