USS Hutchins DD-476

USS Hutchins (DD-476), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was built at the Boston Navy Yard and launched on 20 February 1942. She was commissioned on 17 November of that year with Lieutenant Cmdr. B. W. Herron serving as her captain. Hutchins was to be one of six Fletcher-class destroyers built with a catapult for a floatplane, but this set-up turned out to be less efficient than normal carrier operations and was scratched.

Early War Record

Hutchins sailed from Boston on 17 March 1943 for San Diego, arriving on 11 April. After a quick convoy run to New Caledonia, Hutchins reported to Pearl Harbor on 30 May for armament alterations. During a test on 25 June, an electrical failure caused one of Hutchins' guns to fire into her own stack, killing nine crewmen and injuring 20. While undergoing repairs at Pearl Harbor, the ship was fitted with the latest Combat Information Center (CIC) technology for that time.

The ship returned to San Diego on 11 July 1943 for crew training, then escorted an amphibious group to the Aleutians. She took part in the occupation of Kiska in August as the Japanese gave up their foothold in the Aleutians, and she remained on patrol for another three months.

Hutchins left Alaska in November 1943 for the coast of New Guinea. She arrived at Milne Bay four weeks later to cover landings at Cape Gloucester. Designed to secure the important straits between New Britain and New Guinea, the landings began 26 December. In January 1944, Hutchins collided with another destroyer in the crowded assault area and was forced to put into port at Cairns, Australia, for bow repairs.

After a month of repairs, Hutchins left Cairns for joint operations with the British Royal Navy.

In April, Hutchins arrived at Hollandia (now Jayapura) to provide close gunfire support for the initial landings. Near the end of April, she was assigned to bombard Wake Island before returning to New Guinea, picking up the survivors of a crashed B-24 en route.

During August 1944 Hutchins was in port at Sydney, Australia. After a period in dry dock Hutchins went forth to take part in the preparations and early stages of the Philippines invasion.

Following the decisive Battle Leyte Gulf, Hutchins returned to carrier escort duty. She was damaged when she ran onto an uncharted hulk on 26 October and had to return to San Francisco for repairs, taking her out of action until late January of 1945.

In February, Hutchins steamed toward Saipan in the Marianas to join a carrier force for the Iwo Jima operation. Once the island was secured, she returned to Ulithi Atoll briefly before sailing in late March for the invasion of Okinawa. During the landings in early April, she was the target of numerous air attacks even as she continued fire support and rescued survivors from one of her stricken sisters, the USS Newcomb.

Her End

On 27 April, Hutchins was attacked by a Japanese suicide boat, which dropped a large explosive charge close aboard. Hutchins' hull was severely damaged, but no casualties were suffered and damage control parties were able to keep her afloat. The ship withdrew to the captured naval facility at Kerama Retto for temporary repairs, enabling her to get to Portland, Oregon. Nonetheless, for Hutchins, the war was over. She was towed to the Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington, in the fall of 1945 and was sold for scrap to Learner and Company of Oakland, California, in January 1948.

Asbestos Risks

During the first two-thirds of the 20th century, each Navy destroyer widely used the fibrous mineral asbestos for compartment insulation and for fireproofing. While ships' boiler room and mechanical sections were the spaces where crewmen or a civilian worker was likely to be exposed to air contaminated by asbestos, nearly all areas of the Hutchins posed at least some asbestos contamination. If the vessel took damage in combat or through misfortune, it almost inevitably uncovered asbestos-laden components to the air or subjected them to flames or flooding; this brought about even greater risk of being subjected to harmful levels of asbestos inhalation.

The most serious risk of exposure relating to asbestos occurs in circumstances where products made from the mineral deteriorate and become easily broken (or "friable"); when very small asbestos fibers enter the surrounding air, the particles can then be breathed in by people in the area. Scientists have shown that grave health conditions such as asbestosis, lung cancer and multiple forms of mesothelioma are associated with even low levels of asbestos exposure.

Navy personnel with a history of contact with this substance should definitely tell their medical professionals, since asbestos-induced conditions are difficult to accurately diagnose. To learn more about the diagnostic process, available treatment options and financial assistance to help pay for medical costs, please fill out this form to receive a comprehensive packet in the mail.

Like servicemen on the other ships of this class, the men who fought on board the Hutchins were, along with the expected hazards of combat, in danger of asbestos fiber inhalation, especially since the vessel absorbed heavy damage in battle and had comprehensive reworkings and overhauls. On top of the asbestos exposure caused by the large-scale damage and retrofit activity, the men who worked on the USS Hutchins were often exposed to the substance in the daily conduct of their service. This danger also existed for repair personnel such as welders and carpenters who maintained the vessel when the craft was dry-docked.

Considering the Hutchins's history, and in light of our increased understanding of the result of asbestos exposure, it is vital that the men who at any time in their career served and worked aboard this ship, and those assigned to similar ships, understand the health dangers posed by wartime exposure to this deadly mineral.

Sources:

Destroyers Index