USS Iowa (BB-61) — Asbestos in the Iowa Class Battleship

USS Iowa (BB-61), lead ship of the Iowa class commissioned February 22, 1943 at the New York Naval Shipyard (Brooklyn, New York), served as presidential transport (carrying President Roosevelt to the Tehran Conference in 1943), Atlantic theater operations against German capital ship threat, and Pacific campaign operations through WWII. Iowa was powered by eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers driving four General Electric geared turbines producing 212,000 shaft horsepower. Iowa served through WWII, was placed in reserve, and was reactivated for Korean War operations (1951–1958) before a second decommissioning. A final 1984–1990 reactivation added Tomahawk cruise missile capability before Iowa’s final decommissioning in 1990. Iowa is preserved as a museum ship at the Port of Los Angeles.

Iowa Class Steam Plant and Asbestos

USS Iowa’s eight-boiler WWII steam plant used asbestos throughout the engineering plant:

• Main boiler insulation — Iowa’s eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers in four fire rooms used asbestos block insulation on boiler casings and asbestos-containing refractory throughout the firebox construction. Boiler Technician ratings maintaining Iowa’s boilers worked in proximity to asbestos-insulated boiler surfaces throughout the ship’s active service periods
• Main steam piping insulation — the high-pressure main steam system running from Iowa’s boilers to four turbine sets covered the 887-foot battleship hull, all insulated with asbestos pipe covering from the 1943 construction. Engineering personnel in the machinery spaces were in continuous proximity to asbestos-insulated steam piping
• Turbine and reduction gear insulation — Iowa’s four main propulsion turbines and associated reduction gear used asbestos-containing insulation lagging throughout the machinery spaces
• Auxiliary machinery insulation — Iowa’s auxiliary steam systems — electrical generation, damage control, crew habitability — used asbestos-insulated steam distribution piping throughout the battleship

Multiple Service Periods

Iowa’s three active service periods extended asbestos exposure across decades:

• WWII service (1943–1949) — original commissioning and both Atlantic and Pacific WWII theater service with Iowa’s complete original WWII asbestos construction present throughout the battleship
• Korean War reactivation (1951–1958) — reactivation for Korean War operations with aging original asbestos insulation retained throughout the battleship’s engineering spaces
• 1984–1990 reactivation — final reactivation with Iowa’s original hull and interior substantially retained; asbestos-containing materials from the 1943 construction remained in non-modernized sections of the battleship through this service period

Interior Crew Spaces

Iowa’s interior used standard WWII-era building and shipbuilding products:

• The crew berthing spaces, mess decks, head compartments, and working spaces throughout Iowa’s interior used WWII construction products including asbestos deck tile, asbestos-containing overhead insulation, and period bulkhead materials throughout the battleship’s multiple service eras

VA Claims for USS Iowa Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Iowa class battleships. Engineering ratings and crew members who served aboard USS Iowa (BB-61) during any active service period and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.

Source notes: equipment-manifest entries (where shown) are sourced from public-record BUSHIPS (Bureau of Ships) documentation, NARA archives, and the public asbestos litigation record. Manufacturer attributions link to documented asbestos-product histories on AsbestosIndex.com where available. Nothing on this page constitutes medical or legal advice.