USS Rathburne DD-113

USS Rathburne (DD-113) was a Wickes-class destroyer of a type that was generally outdated by the time of World War II. Many of these aging vessels were still serviceable, however, and the design was versatile; many older Wickes-class destroyers were converted to other uses.

Rathburne was laid down on 12 July 1917 by William Cramp and Sons Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and launched 27 December 1917. She was commissioned in June 1918, making her one of the few to see actual service during the First World War.

Early Record

During the final months of World War I, Rathburne escorted coastal convoys from the mid-Atlantic seaboard to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the Azores. Completing her last convoy at New York on 27 November, she remained there until 1919. In August she was transferred to the Pacific Fleet. The first half of 1920 was spent undergoing an overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. Designated DD-113 in July, she patrolled the Pacific Northwest coast from Washington to Alaska for the next several months.

In July, she headed to the Far East and remained there until 1922. She was decommissioned in February 1923 and was berthed with the reserve fleet at San Francisco. Recommissioned almost exactly seven years later, Rathburne stayed close to home, primarily engaging in routine patrols and battle simulations known as "Fleet Problems."

In 1935, she was transferred to the West Coast Sound Training Squadron based out of San Diego and for the next nine years was used primarily as a training vessel.

Ramsay Sees Action at Last

The USS Ramsay came late to the party in the Pacific, continuing her training functions well into 1944. On 25 April of that year, she was ordered to Puget Sound for conversion to a high-speed transport. Reclassified APD-25 on 20 May, she returned to San Diego for amphibious training, then proceeded to Pearl Harbor. During late July and early August, she trained with underwater demolition teams (UDT), forerunners of today's Navy SEALs. On 10 August, UDT 10 reported aboard, and on the 12th, Rathburne sailed for the combat zone.

After training in the Solomons, Rathburne sailed for the Palaus to begin her first combat operations, consisting of pre-invasion bombardment and minesweeping operations. Once these islands had been secured, Rathburne sailed to New Guinea for preparations in advance of the Philippines campaign.

By 3 February 1945, after several harrowing months of combat in the Philippines, Rathburne sailed for Saipan. On the 22nd, she departed the area and prepared for duty off Okinawa.

Rathburne arrived at Kerama Retto, a former IJN base captured by U.S. forces, on 18 April 1945. The following day, she took up escort duty.

On the evening of April 27th, Rathburne was on patrol off Hagushi. Around 10 p.m., her radar picked up an enemy plane on the port quarter; it was almost two miles away but was closing fast.

Despite Rathburne's evasive action, the kamikaze suicide pilot crashed the port bow on the waterline. Three compartments were flooded, sound gear was put out of commission, and fires broke out on the forecastle - but amazingly, there were no casualties. Damage control parties soon extinguished the fires and contained the flooding. Rathburne, slowed to five knots, made for Kerama Retto.

Two weeks later, temporary repairs enabled Rathburne to return to San Diego. Arriving on 18 June, she was reconverted to a destroyer and reclassified DD-113.

When the war ended in mid-August, Rathburne was ordered to the east coast for inactivation. She arrived in Philadelphia on 16 October and was decommissioned two weeks later. The aged USS Rathburne was sold for scrap to the Northern Metals Company of Philadelphia the following November.

Asbestos Risks

On every U.S. Navy vessel through the 1960s, the mineral asbestos was widely installed for compartment insulation and for fire control. While nearly all parts of the Rathburne presented a measurable level of asbestos risk, a ship's engines and mechanical spaces were the sections where seamen or shipyard workers were most likely to be endangered by asbestos dust. Increased danger of undergoing extensive asbestos exposure occurred if a warship took damage, whether in battle or through misfortune, because that often uncovered asbestos-contaminated components to the air or subjected them to fire or water.

When dealing with asbestos, the worst danger to human health happens where fibers deteriorate and become friable, tiny asbestos microfibers escape into the air, and the particles are then inhaled by workers close to the asbestos. Numerous studies have shown that serious medical conditions such as asbestosis, lung cancer and several types of mesothelioma are linked to significant asbestos ingestion.

Therefore, workers who were exposed to this substance should definitely notify their health care providers, as most asbestos-caused disorders are puzzling to diagnose because the symptoms can be mistaken for those of other illnesses. 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.

It is one of the unfortunate realities of World War II that along with the expected dangers associated with war, servicemen who fought on board the Rathburne were, as with servicemen on other ships of the same type, constantly imperiled by asbestos exposure. This was especially true because the destroyer saw heavy combat damage and underwent extensive renovations and patch jobs. In addition to the major combat damage and retrofit work, those who worked on the Rathburne were often endangered by asbestos fibers in the daily execution of their service. This danger also existed for maintenance workers such as welders and carpenters who serviced the ship when she was at a shipyard.

In light of our increased understanding of the outcome of asbestos inhalation, those who lived and labored aboard this destroyer at any point in their career, as well as those who served on other American ships, must educate themselves about the dangers posed by service-related exposure to asbestos, especially considering the Rathburne's record.

Sources:

Destroyers Index