The USS Bache (DD-470) was a Fletcher-class destroyer that served during World War II, the Cold War, and Vietnam. Though the ship earned eight battle stars for her Pacific theater service and two campaign stars for Vietnam operations, the pride felt by crewmembers was offset by concerns about asbestos. Many who served on the Bache were later diagnosed with mesothelioma and other serious illnesses from the toxic material found throughout the ship.
About the USS Bache
The Ship’s Namesake
First laid down in 1941, the destroyer was named in honor of Commander George Mifflin Bache Jr., a distinguished naval officer whose lineage traced back to Benjamin Franklin. Though his father was lost at sea during a storm, he pursued a naval career, participating in crucial operations during the Civil War. After the war, he continued naval service until he retired in 1875. He settled in Washington, married, and raised three daughters before his unexpected death from heart failure.[1]
Construction and Service History
The Bache was built at Bethlehem Steel Company’s Staten Island yard and launched in July 1942. She was sponsored by Miss Louise F. Bache, one of Commander Bache’s daughters. Commissioned in November 1942 under Commander John N. Opie III, the 2,050-ton destroyer was outfitted with the standard Fletcher-class armament of five 5-inch guns, multiple anti-aircraft weapons, ten torpedo tubes, and depth charge equipment.[1]
After shakedown training in the waters off the New England coast, the Bache quickly entered the Battle of the Atlantic, escorting Convoy ON 54 across the mid-Atlantic in late 1942 and early 1943. This was her very first voyage, but the crew claimed she engaged a suspected U-boat with depth charges.
Pacific Theater Operations
In February 1943, Bache escorted British carrier HMS Victorious to the Pacific, then spent the next two years continuously involved in combat operations. Her first major engagement came during the Aleutian campaign, where she screened the battleships Mississippi and New Mexico during the assault on Attu in May 1943. The ship was under constant threat from submarines, and the situation was made more dangerous by the constant fog. Still, she engaged multiple contacts with depth charges and protected the bombardment ships she’d been assigned to.[1]
During the chaotic “Battle of the Pips” in July 1943, the Bache was part of a nighttime engagement where American forces fired over 1,000 rounds at phantom radar contacts near Kiska. It turned out that no enemy ships had been present, making clear how primitive early radar was and the challenges of using it in warfare in those days.
Later, the Bache joined the Southwest Pacific campaign, participating in the amphibious assaults that were a key part of General MacArthur’s island-hopping strategy. She provided crucial fire support during landings at Cape Gloucester in 1943 and Los Negros and numerous New Guinea operations in 1944.
The Philippines and Leyte Gulf
The Bache’s reputation was sealed in October 1944, during the Philippines campaign and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. As part of the Northern Attack Force, she provided fire support for the initial Leyte landings, effectively shelling and destroying Japanese positions and airfields.[1]
During the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Bache played another crucial role in the last battleship engagement in naval history. As part of Destroyer Squadron 24, she launched torpedoes at the advancing Japanese Southern Force before engaging and successfully hitting an enemy vessel with a strike that made it burst into flames. The battle is said to have essentially ended the abilities of the Japanese surface fleet.
Commander Robert C. Morton received the Navy Cross for his leadership during this battle and was credited for having made a significant contribution to the Allied victory.
Kamikaze Encounters and Damage
As the war in the Pacific grew more intense, the Bache faced Japan’s new threat: kamikaze attacks. In May 1945, she served as a radar picket ship during the Okinawa campaign. This was one of the most dangerous assignments in the Navy, and in May, a Japanese fighter plane crashed through her rigging, causing minor damage. Though she survived this attack, her luck ran out ten days later when the Bache detected multiple enemy aircraft headed in her direction. Despite Combat Air Patrol intervention and anti-aircraft fire, a kamikaze dive bomber broke through and struck the ship on the starboard side, its bomb exploding on impact. The attack killed 41 of the Bache’s crew members, wounded 32 others, and left the destroyer dead in the water. The explosion destroyed the No. 2 stack, wrecked the forward engine room, and started fires throughout the ship.[1]
Damage control efforts by Lieutenant Harold S. Taylor and others saved the ship, though the extensive repairs she needed kept her out of action for the rest of the war. The crew’s courage under the harrowing situation earned them multiple Bronze Stars.
Cold War Service and Ship Modernization
After the war, the Bache was placed in reserve, but Cold War threats in 1951 led to her being recommissioned as an anti-submarine destroyer. Her extensive modernization included new sonar and anti-submarine weapons. As part of the Atlantic Fleet’s submarine-hunting force, she participated in NATO exercises and Mediterranean deployments throughout the 1950s, as well as several dramatic rescue operations. Most notably, her crew saved survivors from the Mormackite in October 1954. The ore carrier had sunk in a nor’easter off the coast of Virginia, and the Bache rushed to the scene and rescued eight survivors from the Atlantic. This incident is a good example of the type of activities that destroyers were used for during peacetime.[1]
During the 1956 Suez Crisis, the Bache was deployed to the Indian Ocean as part of American forces there to evacuate civilians and demonstrate resolve. During this cruise, she covered 30,000 miles, including goodwill visits throughout Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean.
Vietnam War Service
In 1962, the Bache was reclassified back to a destroyer. In 1965, she was deployed to Vietnam for her final combat tour. Operating off the coast, she provided crucial naval gunfire support for Allied ground forces, earning the Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation for her January 1966 operations. [1]
The Bache’s Last Deployment
The Bache’s career ended during a 1968 Mediterranean deployment, when tragedy struck. In February, the ship was approaching Rhodes, Greece, when hurricane-force winds dragged the anchored destroyer onto the rocks. Despite all efforts to prevent a grounding, the crew had to abandon ship. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but the ship suffered catastrophic hull damage from bow to stern, crushed bottom plating, and her machinery had been torn from its foundations. The ship was declared a total loss, ending her 25 years of service.[1]
Asbestos Aboard the USS Bache
While it’s now widely known that asbestos is a harmful, cancer-causing substance, before that information became public, it was routinely used in U.S. Navy ship construction, including on the USS Bache. From her initial build through the overhauls, repairs, and retrofits done over the years, asbestos was a core component of the ship’s construction and insulation systems.
There were several reasons why the war department chose to include asbestos in so many shipboard applications. What was most important was its excellent ability to block heat and slow the spread of fire, but it also insulated against electrical current, and the fact that it was light, cost-effective, and widely available at the time made it an even more attractive choice.
Shipbuilders followed the official Navy specifications and included asbestos-containing products without hesitation, but asbestos manufacturers and suppliers were getting reports about the increasing evidence of the mineral’s dangers. Faced with the decision whether to alert the public about what they’d learned or continue making profits from lucrative military and commercial contracts, they chose to keep the information quiet and even ramped up their marketing efforts to increase their sales.
Asbestos permeated nearly every section of the USS Bache, but some areas contained significantly more asbestos materials than others. These included:
- Engine Rooms and Machinery Spaces: These compartments housed the systems that were central to all the ship’s functions, including turbines, boilers, and pumps. These vital pieces of equipment were blanketed in asbestos insulation so they could withstand extreme temperatures.
- Fire Safety Infrastructure: Firefighting gear, heat shields, protective clothing, and emergency response equipment all utilized asbestos for its flame-resistance.
- Plumbing and Electrical Systems: The Bache had an extensive network of steam lines, exhaust systems, power cables, and water pipes, and nearly all of the equipment was either wrapped in or sprayed with asbestos insulation to retain heat and protect personnel from burns.
- Crew Living Areas: Asbestos materials were present in ceiling tiles, wall panels, floor coverings, and noise-dampening insulation throughout the sleeping areas and the ship’s mess.
Health Effects Tied to Asbestos Exposure
Through her 25 years of service, thousands of sailors and officers were assigned to the USS Bache, and every one of them faced the potential of asbestos exposure in their daily routines. The toxic fibers moved through the ship’s air systems and were carried on the clothes and bodies of crew members who worked directly with the substance. Additionally, disturbances caused by normal wear, repairs, vibrations from onboard weaponry, and even simple maintenance could dislodge asbestos particles into the air.
Once inhaled or ingested, asbestos’s microscopic fibers can reach deep into the lung lining and other organs within the chest or abdominal cavity. Their sharp ends make them nearly impossible to remove, and unlike other foreign bodies, asbestos does not break down over time. Their presence causes persistent inflammation, which can ultimately damage cells and mutate DNA.
These effects take place slowly. It can take 20 to 50 years before asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma or asbestosis begin to show symptoms, and by the time those symptoms appear, treatment options can be limited due to the disease’s progression.
Who Was Most Vulnerable to Asbestos on the USS Bache?
Every sailor onboard the USS Bache was exposed to some level of asbestos, but certain roles carried a much higher risk. Engine room personnel and boiler workers who operated and maintained propulsion systems faced constant exposure, as did damage control teams who made emergency repairs in high-risk areas. Maintenance crews regularly disturbed asbestos coatings while scraping, sanding, or replacing ship components, and this also sent dangerous fibers into the poorly ventilated air.
In addition, the ship underwent several major refurbishments, including the comprehensive FRAM I upgrade that was ordered for most destroyers. While the retrofit extended the ship’s useful life and enhanced its abilities, it also increased exposure risks—not just for those aboard, but also for shipyard workers who handled asbestos-containing equipment during these projects.
Although the ship was in operation for nearly three decades, the impact of asbestos exposure continues to affect those who served aboard her. Diseases caused by asbestos, including lung cancer and pleural plaques, have such long latency periods that, while some have already been diagnosed, others may still be at risk.
Your Resources and Legal Rights After Asbestos Exposure on the USS Bache
Sailors and shipyard employees who were exposed to asbestos during their years working on the USS Bache may be eligible for benefits and compensation if they develop service-related health conditions like mesothelioma. These individuals can seek support from the Department of Veterans Affairs. They may also have legal grounds for filing claims against the asbestos trust funds or for filing lawsuits against manufacturers of hazardous materials.
Filing VA Claims
The VA offers a wide range of benefits for veterans suffering from asbestos-related illnesses, including access to cutting-edge treatment centers and disability compensation for service-connected conditions. A confirmed diagnosis tied to military service can result in a 100% disability rating for mesothelioma, ensuring the veteran and their dependents receive full benefits.
Lawsuits, Death Claims, and Trust Fund Compensation
In addition to VA assistance, affected individuals—or their families—can pursue financial compensation through legal action. Litigation against companies that knowingly provided asbestos-laced products to the military can result in substantial settlements or court awards.
Many companies went bankrupt due to the substantial asbestos liabilities they’d already incurred, with many more pending. When these companies filed for bankruptcy protection, they were required to establish asbestos trust funds specifically for their asbestos victims. These trusts typically provide quicker and less contentious payouts, though they generally provide smaller amounts than lawsuit awards.
Why Contact a Mesothelioma Attorney?
If you served aboard the USS Bache and are concerned about your risk of future health issues, consult your doctor about asbestos screening. If you receive a diagnosis of mesothelioma or another related disease, it’s important to speak with a legal expert who specializes in asbestos exposure cases.
An experienced asbestos attorney can examine your service timeline, identify likely sources of exposure, and assist in filing claims with the relevant trust funds as well as the VA. They can also initiate personal injury lawsuits or wrongful death claims where appropriate, ensuring that you and your family receive the full measure of support, compensation, and justice available under the law.
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