USS Reuben James DD-245

USS Reuben James (DD-245) was a four-stack Clemson-class destroyer. Although built for the First World War, she was the first United States Navy ship sunk in World War II - six weeks before the United States had officially entered the conflict. These flush-deck destroyers were the most numerous type of naval vessels until the construction of 175 Fletcher-class destroyers in the early 1940s.

Reuben James was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey, launched on 4 October 1919, and commissioned on 24 September 1920.

Initial Service History

Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, Reuben James' initial assignments were primarily humanitarian in nature. These missions took her to the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Baltic seas, delivering relief to refugees left in the aftermath of the First World War and the collapse of the empires that had existed prior to that conflict. In the mid- to late 1920s, she operated in the Caribbean off the coast of Central America, protecting American business interests as peasant rebellions broke out in that region. Reuben James was also among the vessels involved in the development of naval air power.

She was decommissioned at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1931, but returned to active duty a little over a year later, patrolling Cuban waters during the Batista coup. In 1934, she was posted to San Diego for five years, during which she was involved in further development of naval aviation and the use of aircraft carriers. Reuben James rejoined the Atlantic Fleet in January 1939.

World War II

When was broke out in Europe in September 1939, Reuben James joined the Neutrality Patrol, protecting the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea approaches to U.S. ports and monitoring the activities of German shipping in those waters. In March 1941, Reuben James joined the convoy escort force established to protect convoy ships carrying war materiel to Great Britain. U.S. ships such as Reuben James would escort the vessels as far as Iceland, where they would be turned over to destroyers of the Royal Navy.

Reuben James sailed from Naval Station Argentia, Newfoundland, on 23 October 1941 with four other destroyers to escort an eastbound convoy. She positioned herself between an ammunition ship in the convoy and the known position of a "wolf pack" of German U-boats.

Around 5:30 a.m. on 31 October, Reuben James was torpedoed by U-552 off the coast of Iceland. She was hit forward by a torpedo, and her entire bow was blown off when a magazine exploded. The bow sank immediately; the aft section remained afloat for five minutes before going down, taking 115 crewmen to the bottom of the North Atlantic.

The ship was immortalized in a song by Wood Guthrie, entitled "The Sinking of the Reuben James."

Asbestos Risks

During the first two-thirds of the 20th century, every American navy destroyer commonly employed asbestos for compartment insulation and as fireproofing. A seamen or a technician was likely to be endangered by particles of asbestos when assigned duties near the vessel's engines and engineering spaces; nevertheless, essentially every section of the Reuben James offered a significant level of asbestos contamination. When the craft was damaged, whether due to enemy fire, by severe weather, or accidentally, it often uncovered asbestos-containing compartments to the open air or subjected them to fire or flooding, which meant additional danger of undergoing extensive asbestos inhalation.

The most serious danger of harmful exposure with asbestos happens when strands deteriorate and become easily broken (or "friable"), because when tiny asbestos fibers are released into the surrounding air, the particles can then be inhaled by workers nearby. A history of asbestos risk has been definitively linked with peritoneal mesothelioma, asbestosis, cancer of the lungs and other dangerous health ailments.

All those who were exposed to this mineral should therefore make a point to tell their health care providers, since asbestos-induced disorders can be difficult to 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.

As with servicemen on the other craft of this class, those who sailed on board the Reuben James were, in addition to the inherent hazards of war, imperiled by asbestos fiber exposure, especially because the ship endured catastrophic battle damage and required extensive refits and overhauls over her long life. On top of the large-scale damage and repair activity, troops who lived and worked aboard the Reuben James were often subject to inhalation of asbestos fibers in the daily execution of their duties. The chance of encountering asbestos was also high for maintenance workers such as welders and carpenters who repaired the craft whenever she was dry-docked.

In light of our increased understanding of the outcome of prolonged contact with asbestos, servicemen who fought and labored aboard this destroyer at any time in their career, as well as those who served on similar ships, need to become well-informed about the hazards raised by their wartime exposure to this deadly mineral, particularly considering the vessel's history.

Sources:

Destroyers Index