USS Capps
The USS Capps was a Fletcher-class destroyer ship launched in 1942. Built by the Gulf Shipbuilding Co. of Chickasaw, Alabama, the vessel was commissioned by the Navy in late June of 1943 and named Lieutenant Commander B.E.S. Trippensee in command. Following commission, Capps immediately joined the Atlantic fleet. Capps left New York on September 7th 1943 and began a tour of combat that would witness both theatres of axis/allied combat. After arriving in Scotland the next week, the Capps began training with British forces for a tour into the Arctic Circle during which the Capps would begin the first raids on German shipping Norway.
The Capps would return to Scotland completely unscathed by German airfire and the mission was considered a rousing success as coal and other munitions were cut off from the German controlled port, which was burned to the ground. Following this successful operation Capps and other destroyer formations were rushed to Gibraltar, where they assisted in the escort of aircraft carriers back to Scotland. In November 1943, Capps was sent to New Orleans via Boston to begin preparation for entry into the Pacific conflict. Once in New Orleans, she joined a convoy of battleships bound for Pearl Harbor, where she arrived in January of 1944. She participated in escort and bombardments of the Marshall Islands before being sent back to San Francisco for a boiler repair. The vessel would return to Pearl Harbor in June and continue patrols and escorts of other patrol ships. Later in the war, Capps would be an integral vessel in the pre invasion bombardment of Iwo Jima.
The history of the USS Capps is an important cog in the history of WWII naval warfare. The men who manned the Capps were the backbone of the success of this great naval vessel and their honor should be preserved above all else.
It is a sad truth however, that many of these men were endangered by the circumstances they were in. Some of these circumstances were more obvious than others. The threat of Japanese bombings seemed clear but threats from within the hull of their own ship were not as manifest. One of these more unknown threats was the exposure of hazardous materials, which onboard ships there were man. Among the more prominent dangerous materials aboard vessels such as the Capps was asbestos. Asbestos was used in boilers and insulation fixtures, meaning those that worked on the Capps' boiler likely encountered the asbestos and were possibly exposed to harmful levels. If you worked on or aboard ships of this era and encountered these types of fixtures frequently consult a physician to ensure that you do not develop adverse respiratory symptoms, which can be as dangerous as the cancer, mesothelioma.
Last modified: January 23 2008.
