USS Damato (DD-871)

The USS Damato (DD-871) was a Gearing-class destroyer that launched on 21 November 1945 from Bethlehem Steel's Staten Island shipyard. She was commissioned on 27 April 1946 with Commander I. S. Presler serving as the vessel's first captain.

Damato's first home port was Newport, Rhode Island though she was transferred to Norfolk, Virginia in December 1947. For the next two years, she engaged in routine operations out of Virginia, including a midshipman's cruise to Europe in 1948 and experimental cold-weather operations in Arctic waters in 1949.

During the fall of 1950, Damato completed her first deployment with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. During the summer of 1951, she joined in submarine hunter-killer operations in the South Atlantic, returning to the Mediterranean in the fall of 1951. Subsequent tours of duty took place during the summers of 1952, 1953 and 1954. The first two years of that period included participation in NATO exercises during the fall.

In the summer of 1955, Damato took a crew of Annapolis graduates on a midshipman training cruise to Scandinavia.

Late 1950s

Between October and December 1956, Damato was again deployed with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. The following summer featured another midshipman's cruise, this time to South America.

During her 1958 Mediterranean deployment, Damato patrolled off the coast of Lebanon and Israel, then passed through the Suez Canal to join the Middle East Force in the Persian Gulf. She returned to Norfolk for local operations in September.

During 1959 she served with Task Force Alpha, concentrating on the development of improved anti-submarine warfare techniques. She toured the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes that summer, calling at Montreal, Rochester and Toronto. Following this tour, she resumed east coast and Caribbean operations through 1962.

1960s

In January 1962, Damato was part of the recovery team for a Mercury orbital mission. That fall, when the U.S. and USSR faced off over the deployment of missiles in Cuba, Damato was part of the blockade and the operation that ultimately diffused the situation.

In March 1963, Damato began an 11-month overhaul under the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) mandate. The overhaul extended her service life and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities. She was equipped with ASROC (Anti-Submarine Rocket) weaponry and DASH (Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter) system.

Damato became the flagship of Destroyer Division 222 in August 1964. She served as part of the American Protective Force off the coast of the Dominican Republic in August 1965.

Damato reached her assigned station off the coast of Vietnam on 2 September 1967. She participated in Operation Sea Dragon. On the morning of 13 September, Damato was hit twice by enemy shells and after completing repairs at Subic Bay, Damato returned to duty.

Damato arrived back in Norfolk on 2 January 1968.

Final Years

Damato made two more deployments to the Mediterranean in 1969 and 1971. In September of 1971, Damato sailed to Northern Europe for a NATO cruise.

In January 1972, Damato took part in Operation Snowy Beach off the New England coast. After a training mission to the Caribbean, she reported to her new home port of Boston, Massachusetts, on July 1, 1972. Later that month, Damato sailed to Newport, Rhode Island for a five-month overhaul.

Following overhaul and crew refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay, Damato became a training ship for naval reservists.

In February 1974, Damato's home port was again changed to Newport, Rhode Island. Her last years of active duty consisted primarily of routine missions and training exercises along the eastern Atlantic seaboard. She underwent another overhaul between March and September 1977.

The USS Damato was decommissioned in December 1980. She was transferred to Pakistan, where she continued to serve under the name PNS Tippu Sultan until she was scrapped in 1994.

Asbestos Risks

On board every American Naval ship through the World War I and World War II era, asbestos, a fibrous mineral, was commonly installed for insulation and fire control since the mineral possesses a natural resistance to heat and fire. Though practically every part of destroyers such as the USS Damato presented a risk of asbestos exposure, a ship's engine room and engineering sections were generally the spaces where crewmen or dockworkers were in the greatest danger of inhaling asbestos fibers. Even greater risk of undergoing high levels of asbestos exposure resulted when a ship was damaged, often through battle or routine operations, since wear and tear to a vessel could cause asbestos-containing materials to release the toxic fibers into the air where anyone nearby could inhale or ingest them into the body.

Asbestos exposure can cause the development of serious asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma, a rare cancer that typically affects the lining of the lungs. Mesothelioma develops when asbestos fibers enter the body and become lodged in organs and body cavities, causing inflammation or infection. Patients with mesothelioma may not present symptoms of the cancer until 20 to 50 years after initial asbestos exposure occurred. Veterans comprise approximately 30 percent of mesothelioma patients and those who served during the middle of the 20th century continue to be diagnosed with the cancer today. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or served aboard the USS Damato and wish to learn more, please click here and Asbestos.com will send you a complimentary comprehensive packet.

In addition to those who served aboard ships and vessels, workers who repaired ships or worked on the construction of destroyers may also have been exposed to asbestos. If you served aboard a destroyer like the USS Damato or worked in a shipyard, you may wish to alert your doctor of your potential exposure to asbestos. Informing your doctor may lead to an earlier diagnosis should an asbestos-related disease be present, which may aid in greater treatment options to combat the illness.

Sources:

Destroyers Index