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The USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8) was the seventh ship in the Charles F. Adams class of guided-missile destroyers and the first ship in the Navy to bear the name. Her keel was laid down on 4 April 1958 by Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Bay City, Michigan, and launched on 28 July 1959. The ship was named after Lynde Dupuy McCormick, a four-star admiral in the United States Navy who was the first supreme allied commander of all NATO forces in the Atlantic.
The USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8) was sponsored by Mrs. Lillian McCormick, wife of Admiral McCormick, and commissioned at Boston on 3 June 1961, with Commander Ernest S. Cornwall Jr. serving as her first Commanding Officer.
Technical Features of the USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8)
Class and type: Charles F. Adams-class destroyer
Launch date: 28 July 1959
Commissioning date: 3 June 1962
Decommissioning date: October 1961
Displacement: approx. 4,500 tons
Length: 437 feet (133.2 meters)
Draft: 20 feet (6.1 meters)
Beam: 47 feet (133.2 meters)
Speed: 31 + knots
Complement: 354 (24 officers, 330 enlisted)
Propulsion: 2 x General Electric steam turbines providing 70,000 shp (52 MW); 2 shafts; 4 x Babcock & Wilcox 1,275 psi (8,790 kPa) boilers
Armament: two Mk 42 5-inch/54 caliber guns, Mk 46 torpedoes from two Mk-32 triple mounts, one Mk 16 ASROC Missile Launcher, one Mk 11 Mod.0 Missile Launcher for Standard (MR), and Harpoon Missiles.
History of the USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8)
Upon completion of sea trials on 23 August 1961, the USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8) departed from Boston and proceeded to join the Pacific Fleet. She then transited the Panama Canal en route to her new homeport of San Diego, California, where she arrived on 16 September 1961. She satisfactorily completed ASROC and TARTAR Ship Qualification Tests and successfully concluded Shakedown training on 8 December 1961.
Early in 1962, the USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8) tested her missiles and antisubmarine weaponry in the Pacific missile range. Exercises and experiments continued in preparation for deployment to the western Pacific, for which she sailed on 19 November 1962. Between November 1962 and June 1963, the ship deployed for the first time with the US Seventh Fleet. Returning to San Diego on 15 June 1963, she proceeded to Sacramento to help initiate its new deepwater port. All-encompassing training preparation followed overhaul and modification at Hunters Point in 1964, increasing her anti-air warfare capabilities. After returning to San Diego on February 6, 1965, she spent the rest of the year conducting coastal drills, a successful competitive pull, rockets, and a summer cruise to Hawaii's training trades.
In March 1968, the USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8) was ordered to the Sea of Japan as part of the USS Kearsarge battle group while a plan was considered about trying to retrieve the USS Pueblo AGER-2 that was taken by the North Korean forces in international waters. One month later, the USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8) headed back to San Diego to complete her 67/68 deployment. In July 1985, after an intensive operational period, including five deployments in seven years, extensive industrial work, and local operations, the ship sailed for the Persian Gulf to work for the Commander, of the Middle East Force. Her efforts ensured the rights of free passage for US-flagged merchant vessels during the Iran-Iraq conflict. In 1988, her fifteenth Western Pacific/Indian Ocean deployment found the USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8) back in combat action. She served as an escort for the first battleship patrol ever to enter the Persian Gulf. She was decommissioned at her homeport of San Diego on 1 October 1991.
Asbestos Risks on the USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8)
An overwhelming majority of the veterans who served in the U.S. Navy between the 1930s to the mid-1970s entered into contact with asbestos. a popular material used in hundreds of applications in military settings, particularly aboard navy ships. This fibrous mineral was extensively used in the military equipment carried aboard and also found in the materials required for building the vessels. The toxic substance was present everywhere, starting with pipes and turbine rooms to mess halls and sleeping quarters. One could have possibly been exposed to asbestos, either by being a part of the crew serving in the Navy but also by being implicated in some way in the process of building or dismantling ships; both processes involved the release of asbestos fibers into the air and exposure to harmful airborne asbestos can cause lung diseases and cancer.
The USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8) was one of many navy ships built at a time when the use of asbestos was abundant and affordable. Most of the equipment of the vessel was made of mixtures containing large amounts of asbestos, from boilers to gaskets, valves, pipes, and many others. These components had to be regularly inspected and repaired, leading to the inevitable disturbance of asbestos fibers.
Anyone who served onboard the USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8) should monitor their health carefully and consult a doctor if they experience symptoms such as shortness of breath, dry cough or wheezing, chest pain, or tightness.
Have You Been Exposed to Asbestos on the USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8)
If you are a veteran and have worked in the U.S. Navy, then you might have been exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos and have an increased risk of developing asbestos-related conditions. Our team will promptly connect you with the most suitable professionals if you are seeking financial compensation for your asbestos-related malignant disease. We can also assist in getting in contact with your former colleagues.