The USS Sims (DE-154/APD-50) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort laid down on September 7, 1942, and launched on February 6, the next year. It was commissioned on April 24, 1943, under Lt. Comdr. Charles G. Raible’s command with the hull number DE-154 and served in the U.S. Navy for 3 years until it was decommissioned on April 24, 1946. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 213 men on board and had its main missions in Bermuda, Northern Ireland, Boston, Norfolk, San Diego, the Philippines, Okinawa, and Ulithi. After decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Naval Register on June 1, 1960. One year later, on April 14, 1961, the USS Sims was sold for scrapping. Used as insulation and in many of the necessary ship parts, asbestos became an integral part of the shipbuilding industry, prior to 1980. Breathing high levels of asbestos fibers can lead to an increased risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma, which is a cancer of the lining of the chest and the abdominal cavity, and asbestosis, in which the lungs become scarred with fibrous tissue.
760-621-6147
