USS Sigourney DD-643

USS Sigourney (DD-643) was a Fletcher-class destroyer built for the United States Navy during the Second World War. The Fletcher-class was the first of the fourth-generation of "modern" steel destroyers, and so successful that the two subsequent classes were based on the same fundamental design. The last operational Fletcher-class destroyer served until 2001, nearly 60 years after the first one was laid down.

Sigourney was a product of the Bath Iron Works Corporation of Bath, Maine, launched on 24 April 1943, and commissioned on 29 June 1943.

World War II

Following her initial shakedown, Sigourney sailed for the Pacific in mid-September 1943. She arrived in the New Hebrides five weeks later and began preparations for the invasion of Cape Torokina in the Solomon Islands. Sigourney escorted the transports of the assault phase to the landing area and then participated in the preliminary bombardment of the landing beaches on 1 November 1943.

On 10 December, Sigourney was damaged when she ran aground off the coast of Bougainville. After repairs, Sigourney continued operations in the Solomons until May 1944. She then sailed for the amphibious assault on Saipan and Tinian in the Marianas Islands. Sigourney arrived off Saipan and remained in the area until 20 August.

Sigourney's next mission was the Palau Islands operation. During the last half of September, the destroyer worked with the aircraft carriers launching attacks in support of the amphibious assaults. Sigourney got underway for Leyte, Philippines, in October. She was active in the Philippines campaign until the end of April 1945. In early May, she returned to the States for maintenance and repairs, which took until the end of the war. In 1946, she was decommissioned and put into the Atlantic Reserve Fleet for the next five years.

1951 to 1960

Sigourney was reactivated in September 1951 at Charleston, South Carolina. Stationed out of Norfolk, Virginia, she conducted local operations until October, when she entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for an overhaul. The work lasted until January 1953. After a few months of crew refresher training and routine operations, Sigourney began a combined seven-month Far East tour and round-the-world cruise. While in Korea, the vessel operated with the U.N. Blockading and Escort Force.

Sigourney took her time getting home, paying diplomatic calls on several ports and taking a midshipman cruise in the western Mediterranean before returning to her home port in August 1954. She underwent another overhaul from October 1954 until January 1955.

On 1 January 1959, Sigourney was stationed out of Philadelphia, and she became part of the Reserve Training Fleet. On 1 May 1960, she was decommissioned and rejoined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, berthed at Philadelphia.

Sigourney was stricken 1 December 1974. She was sold in July 1975 and broken up for scrap.

Asbestos Risks

Through two world wars, every U.S. Navy ship routinely installed the substance known as asbestos for insulating pipes and as fireproofing. A vessel's boiler room and mechanical compartments generally were the sections where sailors or a civilian worker was apt to be endangered by air contaminated with asbestos, but nearly all areas of a ship such as the Sigourney posed a measurable level of asbestos exposure. When the warship was damaged in battle, by Mother Nature, or by accident, it usually uncovered asbestos-laden materials to the open air or subjected them to fire or water; this meant even more risk of having major asbestos exposure.

The worst risk to human health when dealing with asbestos occurs in situations where fibers are exposed, tiny asbestos microfibers are released into the surrounding air, and the material is inhaled by those nearby. Historically, asbestos risk is known to be strongly associated with malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, cancer of the lungs, and many other major medical disorders.

Those with a history of exposure to this mineral, therefore, should definitely inform their doctors, as many asbestos-related problems can be tricky 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 in the form on this page to receive a comprehensive packet in the mail.

Like sailors on other vessels of the same era, the sailors who fought on board the Sigourney were, on top of the expected hazards of war, at risk for asbestos exposure even though the ship experienced relatively minor damage in battle and required mostly routine reworkings and patch jobs. In spite of the lack of serious damage and repair activity, the men who worked aboard the Sigourney were still endangered by asbestos in the ordinary course of their service, as were maintenance workers such as machinists and mechanics who serviced this vessel when she spent time in port.

Based on our increased understanding of the consequences of asbestos exposure, servicemen who lived and toiled on board this naval vessel at any time in their career, as well as those who served on other Navy ships, must be thoroughly informed about the dangers posed by their wartime exposure to asbestos fibers.

Sources:

Destroyers Index