USS Obannon (DD-450) — Class Equipment Pattern & Asbestos Exposure Record

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Did you serve aboard the USS Obannon? This destroyer carried asbestos in nearly every compartment. Here is where it was, and who is responsible. The USS Obannon, hull number DD-450, was a destroyer. Public naval references list this equipment aboard the USS Obannon, DD-450 — insulated and sealed with asbestos. Exposure was worst in the engineering spaces, where the snipes worked — but asbestos lined the whole ship, so all hands were exposed. The companies that made the asbestos equipment aboard — not the Navy — are who asbestos claims are brought against. According to asbestos litigation records, the equipment aboard the USS Obannon from makers such as Babcock and Wilcox, General Electric, Westinghouse, and Worthington allegedly contained asbestos. If you served aboard the USS Obannon and were later diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you may have a legal claim against the companies that made the asbestos products used aboard your ship. This is educational information from an independent publisher — not a law firm — and is not legal advice.

USS Obannon (DD-450) is a fletcher-class destroyer in the U.S. asbestos litigation record. The equipment manifest below is a class-pattern reference assembled from manufacturer and machinery entries documented across 21 sister ships of the same class. Ship-specific BUSHIPS documentation for USS Obannon (DD-450) herself has not yet been published; this pattern reflects what was standard for vessels of this class.

Class Equipment Pattern

Equipment Manifest — USS Obannon (DD-450). 21 machinery/equipment entries identified through ship-specific BUSHIPS documentation. Manufacturers in bold link to documented asbestos-product history on AsbestosIndex.com.

Equipment	Manufacturer	Notes
Boiler	Babcock & Wilcox	Documented across 4 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Boilers	Babcock & Wilcox	Documented across 4 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Emergency Feed Pump	Warren	Documented across 3 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Main Propulsion Turbines	General Electric	Documented across 3 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Turbine	General Electric	Documented across 3 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Auxiliary Condensers	Foster Wheeler	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Cast Steel Gate Valve	Chapman	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Emergency Feed Pumps	Warren	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Emergency Generator Diesel Engine	General Motors	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Fire & Bilge Pump	Warren	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Forced Draft Blowers	Westinghouse	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Forced Draft Blowers Turbine Driven	Westinghouse	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Fuel Oil Booster Pump	DeLaval	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Generator	General Electric	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Generators	General Electric	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Hp Air Compressor Turbine Driven	Worthington	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Lp Air Compressor Motor Driven	Worthington	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Main Condensers	Foster Wheeler	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Main Feed Pump	Worthington	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Main Feed Pumps	Worthington	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer
Ships Service Generator Turbines	General Electric	Documented across 2 sister-ship records of the Fletcher-class destroyer

Note: this manifest is a class-level pattern derived from sister-ship BUSHIPS records and public asbestos litigation documents. Individual ship-specific variations may exist. Where ship-specific documentation becomes available for USS Obannon (DD-450), this page will be updated to reflect her unique equipment profile.

Fletcher-Class destroyer — Class Background

Ship-specific service history is not available for this vessel in public records. The class-level information below applies to all ships in her class. Source: Wikipedia — Fletcher-Class destroyer

The Fletcher class was a class of 175 destroyers built by the United States during World War II, designed in 1939 to address dissatisfaction with earlier destroyer types and commissioned between 1942 and 1944. These ships featured five 5-inch guns and ten 21-inch torpedo tubes, performed every assigned destroyer mission from antisubmarine to surface warfare, and served almost exclusively in the Pacific Theater during World War II, where they sank 29 Japanese submarines. After the war, some Fletcher-class destroyers continued service into the Korean War and Vietnam War, while others were sold to former adversary nations including Italy, Germany, and Japan.

Class Overview

Total Ships in Class: 175
Construction Era: 1942-1944
Service Era: World War II through Vietnam War

Class Mission & Role

General-purpose destroyers designed to perform antisubmarine warfare, antiaircraft defense, surface combat, and fleet support across long-range Pacific operations.

Primary Builders

Multiple U.S. shipyards across the country

Class Combat Operations

World War II Pacific Theater
Korean War
Vietnam War

Asbestos Materials in this Class

The article does not document specific asbestos use in Fletcher-class destroyers. However, standard pre-1980 U.S. Navy construction included asbestos in pipe lagging, boiler insulation, gaskets, and habitability spaces.

The asbestos-containing products documented on U.S. Navy vessels and at shipyards are catalogued by manufacturer on AsbestosIndex. These records cross-reference which companies supplied which materials and to which facilities.

Pipe Covering & Block Insulation Thermal insulation applied to steam lines, valves, and equipment in engine rooms and fire rooms Marine Products Insulation, gaskets, and packing products specified for naval and commercial marine applications Boilers & Steam Equipment Boiler manufacturers and insulation products — central to the fire room exposure pathway Gaskets & Packing Sheet and ring gaskets used throughout piping flanges, valve bonnets, and pump housings Electrical Products Wire insulation, switchgear arc chutes, and panel liners used throughout electrical spaces Full Product Index Search all 200+ manufacturers and 1,500+ documented asbestos products on AsbestosIndex™

Navy Ratings Most Exposed to Asbestos Aboard Obannon

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the public asbestos litigation record document that the following Navy ratings worked routinely in spaces where ACM was installed, maintained, ripped out, and replaced:

Boilerman (BT) — boiler-room operations, refractory work, burner maintenance
Machinist’s Mate (MM) — main propulsion turbines, reduction gears, condensers, pumps
Engineman (EN) — auxiliary diesel and gasoline engines, gland packing
Electrician’s Mate (EM) — cable runs through asbestos-insulated chases, motor-generator sets
Hull Maintenance Technician (HT) / Pipefitter — piping system maintenance, gasket replacement, valve repacking
Damage Controlman (DC) — firefighting equipment, fire-stops, bulkhead penetrations
Fireman (FN) — engineering-plant tending across boiler and engine rooms

VA Disability Claims for Asbestos-Related Disease

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs evaluates asbestos claims individually. A veteran generally needs medical evidence of a current asbestos-related disease, service evidence supporting in-service asbestos exposure, and a medical opinion connecting the two. Ship assignments, Navy ratings, and equipment records can help document the exposure history but do not create automatic service connection.

Approved claims may provide monthly disability compensation and related benefits. Survivors may separately qualify for Dependency & Indemnity Compensation when the applicable requirements are met. Civil lawsuits and asbestos-trust claims use different standards; claimants should obtain individualized advice about how the processes interact.

How to file a VA disability claim: VA claims are filed directly with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — not with a law firm. Start at VA.gov › Hazardous Materials Exposure, call 1‑800‑827‑1000, or get free help filing from a Veterans Service Organization: DAV, VFW, or American Legion.

VA Claims Guide on This Site › Compare: VA vs. Civil Lawsuit

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.

Obannon DD-450 — Frequently Asked Questions

Are Obannon DD-450 veterans covered by Navy asbestos litigation records?

Yes. Obannon DD-450 is documented in the public U.S. Navy asbestos litigation record. U.S. Navy vessels of her service era were built to BUSHIPS specifications that required asbestos insulation throughout engineering spaces, on steam lines, around boilers and turbines, and in gasket and packing materials.

Which shipboard components on Obannon DD-450 contained asbestos?

Asbestos-containing materials documented aboard U.S. Navy vessels of Obannon DD-450's era include: boiler insulation and lagging, steam-line pipe insulation, turbine and reduction-gear casings, valve packing, gaskets, brake and clutch friction materials, electrical wire insulation, overhead pipe coverings in berthing and mess spaces, and Navy-issue boiler cement and refractory in fireboxes.

What ratings were exposed to asbestos serving on Obannon DD-450?

Navy ratings with the highest documented asbestos exposure include Machinist's Mate (MM), Boiler Technician (BT), Hull Maintenance Technician (HT), Engineman (EN), Electrician's Mate (EM), Interior Communications Electrician (IC), Damage Controlman (DC), and Pipefitter / Shipfitter. Officers in engineering departments also encountered asbestos in normal duty. Shipyard workers performing overhaul, repair, or refit work had concentrated exposure during yard periods.

What equipment manufacturers are documented on Obannon DD-450?

Documented equipment manufacturers aboard Obannon DD-450 include: Babcock & Wilcox, Chapman, DeLaval, Foster Wheeler, General Electric, General Motors, Warren. These manufacturers supplied boilers, turbines, pumps, valves, electrical equipment, and insulation systems through BUSHIPS contracts during the asbestos era.

Do Obannon DD-450 veterans qualify for VA disability for mesothelioma?

Potentially. VA evaluates asbestos-related disability claims individually. Obannon DD-450 veterans generally need medical records showing the current disease, service records supporting in-service asbestos exposure, and a doctor's statement connecting the two. Veterans may file at VA.gov, call 1-800-827-1000, or seek free help from an accredited Veterans Service Organization such as DAV, VFW, or the American Legion.