USS McDougal DD-358

The USS McDougal (DD-358) was a destroyer of the Porter class and was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey on 18 December 1933. She was launched on 17 July 1936 and was alternately designated as AG-129.

History of Service

Until the middle of 1937, the McDougal operated directly under the Chief of Naval Operations. After this duty, she left for the Pacific with the Scouting Force and the Battle Force. Operating from her home port of San Diego, the McDougal served as the flagship for Destroyer Squadron 9.

In the spring of 1941, the McDougal returned along with her division to the east coast of the U.S. From 5 August to 7 August, she escorted the Augusta, which was carrying President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Newfoundland. Roosevelt was meeting Winston Churchill for the first time and would discuss principles of peace and the Axis Powers, a meeting that would become known as the Atlantic Charter meeting, which took place aboard the HMS Prince of Wales.

After the 12 August Atlantic Charter meeting, American ships sailed alongside their British counterparts and departed from the Naval Station Argentia. The McDougal served as a screen for the Augusta until they reached Maine's coast, whereupon she returned to duty along the Atlantic coast.

In early December, while the McDougal was acting as a convoy escort in the South Atlantic, news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor reached her. At the time, she was in heavy seas off the Cape of Good Hope. After returning to Trinidad on 30 December, she once again left for patrol duty off the coast of South America on 18 January 1942. She served between Caribbean and Brazilian ports as patrol and escort for a number of months and was overhauled in South Carolina throughout July and August. Following this overhaul, she sailed for the Panama Canal, which she finally reached on 31 August 1942.

In early September, as a newly assigned member of the Southeast Pacific Force, the McDougal was assigned patrol duty off the western coast of Latin America. For the next two years, she patrolled the southeast Pacific and surrounding areas, including areas as far separated as Nicaragua, the Galapagos, and the Straits of Magellan, returning only once to New York on 4 September 1944.

Over the course of September 1944 to March 1945, the McDougal made four round trips between the U.S. and England. On 5 March 1945, she arrived in New York along with a number of UC-57 ships and went on to Charleston to be overhauled.

From 11 to 15 September 1945, the McDougal traveled to Casco Bay to support the U.S. Atlantic Fleet's Operational Development Force. Beginning two days later, she was reclassified as an AG-126 and went on to improve navy radar and gunnery by participating in a number of experimental operations. She traveled to Newport, to Norfolk, and to Boston in the remaining months of 1945, the last of which she arrived at on 15 December. She subsequently began operating again out of Norfolk on 29 March 1946.

The Retirement of the McDougal

The McDougal arrived in New York on 16 June 1946 and was decommissioned at Tompkinsville, Staten Island on 24 June. She was first assigned to duty as a training ship for the Naval Reserve Force and was placed back in service on 13 January 1947. On 8 March 1949, she was again removed from service and was sold to H. H. Bunchner Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 2 August. The McDougal was stricken from the naval register on 15 August and on 22 September 1949, she was removed from naval custody to be broken for scrap.

Asbestos Risks

Practically all compartments of a ship such as the USS McDougal posed a significant level of asbestos exposure, but a vessel's engine room and engineering compartments were usually the sections where a crewman or maintenance worker was likely to be in danger of inhaling airborne asbestos. Increased risk of undergoing harmful levels of asbestos exposure occurred whenever a craft was in conflict.

Inhaling airborne asbestos fibers has been known to cause the development of several asbestos-related diseases, including lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma. Those who have been diagnosed with one of these conditions may have options for compensation as many have received financial assistance to help pay for medical expenses. For more information about compensation, asbestos exposure and treatment options, please fill out the request form on this page to receive a complimentary packet.

Sources:

Destroyers Index