USS Ericsson DD-440

The USS Ericsson (DD-440) was a Gleaves-class destroyer named for the designer and builder of the U.S. Navy's first metal war ship, the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor. She was a product of the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Kearny, New Jersey, built in 1940 and commissioned in March 1941 under the command of Lieutenant Commander G. E. Sage.

Shakedown was brief and the USS Ericsson reported to the NOB at Norfolk, Virginia for duty on 2 May 1941. Her first several months were spent training Naval reservists, testing shipboard equipment, and participating in war game simulations. Starting in the fall, the Ericsson began operating as a convoy escort and patrol vessel in the North Atlantic. Then in May 1942, her escort duties took her farther away, from the Panama Canal to Scotland. In October, she sailed for North Africa to support Operation Torch, shelling enemy positions onshore and furnishing cover for transport vessels.

Ericsson returned to the United States in November and underwent an overhaul at the NB in Charleston, South Carolina. This was followed by routine patrols in the Caribbean and screening convoys. Starting in May 1943, Ericsson made a number of convoy runs to Morocco and was posted to the Mediterranean in February 1944. Escorting convoys and carrying personnel between North Africa and Italy, she provided offshore bombardment during the landings at Anzio.

Ericsson remained in the Mediterranean until mid-November, when she sailed for New York. Arriving on the 30 November, she spent several months in the yard undergoing an overhaul and refit.

After one last convoy run to Algeria in April 1945 and a successful hunt for a German submarine prowling off the coast of New England on the return trip, Ericsson sailed to the Pacific. By the time her crew was trained and the ship arrived in Saipan, the war had been over for three weeks. She remained in Asia as an escort during the early weeks of the occupation, then sailed home on 14 October 1945.

The USS Ericsson arrived in Charleston on 5 December 1945 and was decommissioned four months later. She never sailed again and was sunk for target practice in November 1970.

Asbestos Risks

In every American Navy vessel utilized throughout World War I and World War II, the substance known as asbestos was commonly utilized for pipe insulation and as a fireproofing material. While nearly every section of destroyers like the USS Ericsson contained some level of asbestos, the ship's engines and mechanical spaces were usually the areas where someone aboard a vessel were in the most danger of inhaling asbestos fibers. Additional danger of undergoing extensive asbestos contact occurred when a vessel was damage, whether in combat or through daily operations, since such events often uncovered asbestos-contaminated compartments, allowing asbestos fibers to enter the air where anyone nearby could inhale or ingest them into the body.

Those who lived and worked aboard the USS Ericsson were not the only ones placed at risk of asbestos exposure. Repair personnel, such as pipe fitters and electricians, who maintained destroyers when they were in port for service and those who worked on the construction of ships and vessels were also frequently exposed to asbestos.

Asbestos exposure can lead to the development of mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Mesothelioma develops when asbestos fibers enter the body and become lodged in organs and cavities, causing inflammation or infection. If you served aboard the USS Ericsson or have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and wish to learn more about your treatment and legal options, please click here and Asbestos.com will send you a complimentary comprehensive packet about the cancer.

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Destroyers Index