The USS Hull (DD-945) was a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer laid down in 1956, launched in 1957, and commissioned in 1958. The ship conducted the first of her fifteen deployments to serve with the Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific, including six Vietnam War deployments, serving as plane guard for carriers in the Tonkin Gulf, carrying out Naval Gunfire Support missions, and patrolling on search and rescue duties. She underwent a major overhaul between 1974 and 1975, receiving a Mark 71 mounting for her 1976-77 and 1978 deployments to the Western Pacific. However, the MCLWG project prototype gun was removed from the destroyer during a 1979-80 overhaul, and she returned to using five-inch gun mounts that were typical of her class. In 1981, the vessel served again in Asian waters and began her final deployment a year later as part of the battle group centered on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise. The USS Hull was decommissioned and stricken from the Register in 1983. Asbestos was widely used in shipbuilding in the 1950s, during the building years of the USS Hull. Consequently, the ship contained asbestos in many of its components and equipment, endangering the health of its crewmembers even decades after they left the service.
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