USS Schenck DD-159

USS Schenck (DD-159) was a Wickes-class destroyer, built for the United States Navy for World War I. She was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey, on 26 March 1918, launched on 23 April 1919, and commissioned on 30 October 1919.

Although the Wickes-class was an elegant looking vessel, she was slow and lacked firepower compared to more modern destroyers that had been developed by the outbreak of World War II, during which most of these vessels saw action. Nonetheless, the design was versatile enough to allow upgrades that gave these aging destroyers a new lease on life; they were used extensively as convoy escorts, minesweepers, and transports throughout the war.

Early Service

Schenck was initially attached to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, operating between New York and Chesapeake Bay. Between July and September 1920, she patrolled the Gulf of Mexico and participated in fleet exercises in the Caribbean. Her initial service was brief, however; she was decommissioned in July 1922 after only three years of active duty.

Schenck was recommissioned on 1 May 1930 and trained naval reservists during the summer. After participating in battle simulations in the Caribbean and off Hawaii in 1931, she was posted to the Far East to monitor the actions of the Japanese Empire in China.

Between June 1932 and May 1935, Schenck operated in the Pacific and Caribbean, engaging in further battle-readiness exercises (known as "Fleet Problems"). Between May 1935 and the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Schenck operated along the eastern seaboard as a training vessel out of Norfolk.

World War II

On 9 September 1939, Schenck commenced Neutrality Patrol duty off the east coast and the Caribbean, monitoring the movement of Axis shipping.

On 15 September 1941, Schenck was posted to Naval Station Argentia off the coast of Newfoundland for duty escorting the convoys carrying vital war materiel to Great Britain. She remained on the convoy route between Argentia and Iceland until April 1943, fighting German U-boats and the stormy North Atlantic itself. The weather took an especially heavy toll, frequently causing minor structural damage to the aging vessel. On 13 March 1943, a gale caused her to drag anchor, resulting in a collision with the SS Exterminator in an Icelandic port. Schenck was then sent to the Boston Navy Yard for repairs.

Following yard repairs, Schenck resumed convoy escort duties on 28 April 1943 escorting convoys between east coast ports, the Caribbean, and North Africa.

Schenck returned to Chesapeake Bay with a convoy on 26 October 1943. After overhaul and crew training, she joined a hunter-killer group. She then joined a task group conducting patrols against enemy submarines near the Azores between 24 November 1943 and 2 January 1944.

In February and March 1944, Schenck made one more round-trip convoy voyage from the east coast to Morocco. After this, she operated primarily along the east coast in a variety of capacities that ranged from escort duties to training exercises and antisubmarine patrols.

Fate

Schenck was decommissioned at the Boston Naval Shipyard on 17 May 1946 and sold for scrap to the Boston Metals Company in Baltimore in Maryland six months later.

Asbestos Risks

The substance known as asbestos was routinely employed for pipe insulation and as fire control on every American navy ship during the first two-thirds of the 20th century. While essentially all compartments of a ship like the Schenck presented a measurable level of asbestos risk, crewmen or repair personnel were most likely to inhale strands of asbestos when near a ship's engines and engineering sections. If a craft took damage, whether in combat, from severe weather, or by accident, it usually uncovered asbestos-laden compartments to the open air or subjected them to flames or water. This resulted in additional danger of experiencing extensive asbestos inhalation.

The worst risk of exposure associated with asbestos happens when strands become damaged and friable, because when tiny asbestos strands can enter the air, the particles may then be inhaled by people near the hazard. Studies have shown that major health ailments such as asbestosis, lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma are the result of even modest levels of asbestos ingestion.

Since asbestos-induced problems can be puzzling to accurately diagnose, those who worked around this mineral should make a point to tell their primary physicians about this history. 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.

In addition to the inherent dangers associated with enemy encounters, men who fought on board the Schenck were, like sailors on the other ships of her type, frequently at risk for asbestos inhalation. This was especially the case because the ship took heavy damage at sea and went through numerous and extensive renovations and patch jobs. On top of the significant damage and refit activity, the men who served aboard the Schenck were also exposed to asbestos in the daily execution of their duty, as were port-based workers such as machinists and carpenters who repaired the ship whenever she spent time dry-docked.

Considering the Schenck's record, and in light of our increased understanding of the result of asbestos exposure, it is imperative that those who at any time in their career lived or worked on board this destroyer, and those assigned to similar ships, understand the serious dangers posed by wartime exposure to asbestos fibers.

Sources:

Destroyers Index