USS Shaw DD-373

USS Shaw (DD-373) was a Mahan-class destroyer. Her keel was laid down on 1 October 1934 at the United States Navy Yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and she was launched on 28 October 1935 and commissioned on 18 September 1936 under the command of Lt. Cmdr. E. A. Mitchell. Although she suffered substantial damage during the raid on Pearl Harbor, she survived and went on to participate in 11 major combat operations in the Pacific.

Pre-War Service

Shaw's early months at sea were difficult. She remained at Philadelphia until April 1937, when she crossed the Atlantic on her shakedown cruise. She returned to Philadelphia on 18 June, but it took another year of yard work to correct all the mechanical defects before she was able to pass her trials in June 1938. Shaw conducted training exercises in the Atlantic for the remainder of the year, then moved to the Pacific coast and underwent an overhaul at Mare Island near San Francisco for the first four months of 1939.

Shaw remained on the West Coast until April 1940, when she sailed for Hawaii and battle simulation exercises. She remained in the Hawaiian area until November, when she returned to the west coast for another overhaul.

Shaw returned to Hawaii, carrying out routine operations in those waters until November, when she entered the Navy Yard at Pearl Harbor for repairs.

Shaw Struck at Sea

On 7 December, Shaw was still dry-docked. During the raid, she took three hits: two bombs through the forward machine gun platform and one through the port wing of the bridge. Fires spread through the ship. After an hour and a half, all firefighting facilities were exhausted and the captain gave the order to abandon ship. Five minutes later, Shaw's forward magazine exploded.

It was two months before Shaw was made seaworthy enough to return to San Francisco for full restoration. On 9 February 1942, Shaw sailed for the States, where full repairs were carried out for the next five months. Shaw, once more "shipshape and Bristol fashion," returned to Pearl Harbor at the end of August 1942.

For the next two months, Shaw escorted convoys between the west coast and Hawaii. In mid-October, she was ordered west to the Solomons for the invasion of Guadalcanal.

The South Pacific

After two days of harrowing combat operations and a rescue mission, Shaw headed for the New Hebrides on 28 October 1942. Her mission for the next two months was to escort and defend troop and supply convoys to Guadalcanal.

On 10 January 1943, while entering Noumea harbor in New Caledonia, the Shaw grounded on a reef. She was freed five days later, but extensive damage to her hull put her out of commission for the next nine months; after temporary patching, she was dispatched to the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard for repairs.

On 18 October, Shaw was back in action as a unit of the 7th Amphibious Force, operating in and around New Guinea.

On 2 December, Shaw sustained casualties and damage when attacked by two "Val" dive-bombers. Thirty-six crewmen were injured, three of whom later died. Shaw returned to Cape Sudest, New Guinea, the next day to transfer her dead and wounded to shore facilities there, then continued on to Milne Bay for temporary repairs. Permanent repairs were completed at Hunter's Point, San Francisco, on 1 May 1944.

Shaw returned to Pearl Harbor on the 10 May to rejoined the 5th Fleet, then sailed to take part in the assault on Saipan. After that objective had been secured, Shaw returned to the Marshalls. On July 18, Shaw got underway to return to the Mariana Islands with the Guam assault force. During the action that followed, she performed escort and patrol duties.

Following a tender repair availability at Eniwetok Atoll, Shaw rejoined the 7th Amphibious Force on 20 October. Convoy escort duties between the Philippines and New Guinea kept vessel and crew busy until the invasion of Luzon in January 1945.

In April, Shaw was again damaged on an uncharted pinnacle. This proved to be the end of the war for Shaw; she arrived in San Francisco in May, but repairs and alterations took her into August, by which time the Empire of Japan had surrendered to the Allies. Like an aging salmon, she returned to the place where she had been born 10 years earlier. Decommissioned on 2 October 1945, the USS Shaw was scrapped in July 1946.

Asbestos Risks

On board each American navy craft through both world wars, the substance known as asbestos was commonly utilized for insulating compartments and for fireproofing. Though essentially all compartments of a ship like the Shaw offered a significant level of asbestos risk, the boiler room and mechanical sections usually were the spaces where seamen or dockworkers were likely to be endangered by asbestos dust. Whenever the craft took damage, whether in battle, by catastrophic storms, or accidentally, it frequently exposed asbestos-contaminated compartments to the air or subjected them to fire or water. This meant increased danger of having major asbestos contact.

The highest level of danger to human health relating to asbestos happens in circumstances where items containing the mineral become damaged and breakable, because when the asbestos strands are released into the surrounding air, the material can then be breathed in by people nearby. Even modest levels of asbestos intake are thoroughly associated with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer and many other life-threatening medical problems.

Navy personnel exposed to this substance should therefore promptly notify their medical professionals, since asbestos-caused disorders are puzzling to accurately diagnose. To learn more about the diagnostic process, available treatment options and financial assistance to help pay for medical costs, please fill in the form on this page to receive a comprehensive packet in the mail.

It is a sad fact that in addition to the normal hazards associated with enemy encounters, those who sailed on board the Shaw were, as were people on the other vessels of the same era, frequently subjected to asbestos fiber inhalation. This was especially the case since the ship suffered heavy combat damage and underwent extensive refits and repair jobs. On top of the significant battle damage and redesign work, the men who served on board the Shaw were often endangered by asbestos in the conduct of their everyday duty. In addition, asbestos exposure was commonplace for maintenance workers such as machinists and carpenters who repaired the vessel whenever she spent time at a shipyard.

Given what we now know about the consequences of asbestos inhalation, the troops who sailed and toiled aboard this vessel at any time in their career, and those assigned to her sisters in the fleet, should become well-informed about the risks posed by their past exposure to this deadly fiber, particularly considering the Shaw's record.

Sources:

Destroyers Index