Clemson and Wickes Class Destroyers (DD) — Asbestos in WWI-Era Four-Stack Destroyers

Clemson class (156 ships) and Wickes class (111 ships) destroyers — commonly known as “four-stackers” for their four distinctive funnels — were mass-produced WWI-era destroyers commissioned 1917–1922 that remained in US Navy service through WWII in patrol, convoy escort, training, and submarine chaser roles. Built at Bethlehem Steel, Bath Iron Works, Newport News, and numerous other wartime yards, these ships were powered by four or six Yarrow, Normand, or White-Forster boilers driving two sets of Parsons or Westinghouse geared turbines. Fifty Clemson and Wickes class destroyers were transferred to Britain and Canada under the 1940 destroyers-for-bases agreement. The ships remaining in US service served throughout WWII in second-line roles.

WWI-Era Steam Plant and Aging Asbestos

Clemson and Wickes class destroyers used aging WWI-era steam plants with original asbestos insulation:

• Main boiler insulation — the four to six boilers in these four-stack destroyers used asbestos block insulation on boiler casings and asbestos-containing refractory in firebox construction from the original 1917–1922 commissioning. By the start of WWII, these boiler insulation systems were twenty or more years old — aging asbestos insulation that had become increasingly deteriorated and friable over the intervening years, creating more aggressive asbestos fiber release than newer insulation. Boiler Tenders maintaining these aging boilers worked in the crowded engineering spaces of these 314-foot destroyers in direct proximity to deteriorating asbestos insulation
• Main steam system pipe insulation — the main steam piping in these destroyers used asbestos pipe covering from the original WWI-era construction. The aging pipe covering in 1941–1945 service was well past its design life and in a deteriorated, increasingly friable condition that elevated asbestos fiber release during proximity and contact
• Turbine and reduction gear insulation — the main propulsion turbines used asbestos-containing thermal insulation that, like the rest of the ship’s steam plant insulation, had aged significantly by WWII service

WWII Service in Second-Line Roles

Clemson and Wickes class destroyers served throughout WWII in various roles:

• These aging destroyers served in WWII as destroyer minesweepers (DMS), fast minesweepers (AM), seaplane tenders (AVD), high-speed transports (APD), and in training and patrol roles where their aging steam plants and original WWII-era construction materials — including deteriorated asbestos insulation — were present throughout their extended WWII operational lives

VA Claims for Four-Stack Destroyer Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Navy destroyers. Engineering ratings and crew members who served aboard Clemson or Wickes class four-stack destroyers during WWII service in any hull designation and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.

Source notes: equipment-manifest entries (where shown) are sourced from public-record BUSHIPS (Bureau of Ships) documentation, NARA archives, and the public asbestos litigation record. Manufacturer attributions link to documented asbestos-product histories on AsbestosIndex.com where available. Nothing on this page constitutes medical or legal advice.