The USS Mount Hood (AE-11) was a Mount Hood-class ammunition ship, C2-S-AJ1 type, which was laid down on September 28, 1943, as SS Marco Polo. It was renamed Mount Hood in order to avoid confusion with another ship that had the same name. The vessel was launched on November 28, 1943, and commissioned on July 1, 1944, under Comdr. Harold A. Turner's command. Soon after the commissioning, on November 10, 1944, the USS Mount Hood exploded twice, killed everyone on board, and damaged 22 ships that happened to be around. Except for 13 men who headed to shore just before the explosion, no one survived on the ship. After the disaster, the USS Mount Hood was struck from the Naval Register on December 11, 1944. During the building, maintenance, repair, or demolition of ships, as well as through day-to-day service on vessels, crewmembers inadvertently released crumbled asbestos fibers into the air. The poor ventilation of ships resulted in higher concentrations of inhalable asbestos fibers. If you think you were exposed to asbestos while serving aboard the USS Mount Hood, and developed asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma, or asbestosis, you may be entitled to substantial compensation.
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