USS New Jersey (BB-62) — Asbestos Aboard the Iowa Class Battleship

USS New Jersey (BB-62), the second Iowa-class battleship, was commissioned in May 1943 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and served in combat operations during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War — the only battleship in commission during Vietnam — before reactivation during the Reagan-era naval buildup and service through 1991. New Jersey was powered by eight Babcock & Wilcox high-pressure boilers generating steam for four sets of General Electric geared turbines producing 212,000 shaft horsepower across four propeller shafts, giving the ship a designed speed of 33 knots. The eight-boiler steam plant, arranged in alternating boiler-engine room units, was insulated with asbestos block insulation on the boiler casings, asbestos lagging on the steam distribution piping, and asbestos-containing materials throughout the engineering spaces consistent with early 1940s Navy battleship construction specifications. New Jersey’s battleship engineering plant required a large Boiler Tender and Machinist’s Mate complement maintaining the eight boiler rooms and four engine rooms, with engineering ratings accumulating asbestos exposure from the asbestos-insulated boiler and turbine plant throughout each of the ship’s multiple service periods.

Iowa Class Eight-Boiler Steam Plant Asbestos

New Jersey’s battleship steam plant incorporated extensive asbestos insulation:

• Babcock & Wilcox boiler casing insulation — the eight Babcock & Wilcox 600 psi high-pressure boilers in New Jersey’s boiler rooms were insulated with asbestos block insulation on the boiler casing exterior surfaces and asbestos cloth on boiler access doors and inspection ports. Boiler Tenders standing watch and maintaining the boilers in the battleship’s boiler rooms worked in continuous proximity to the asbestos boiler casing insulation throughout engineering watch rotations, accumulating asbestos exposure from the asbestos insulated casing surfaces during each watch period
• General Electric main turbine insulation — the four sets of General Electric geared steam turbines in New Jersey’s engine rooms were insulated with asbestos block insulation on turbine casings and asbestos lagging on high-pressure steam admission piping and turbine extraction piping. Machinist’s Mates tending and maintaining the turbines in the engine rooms worked in the asbestos-insulated turbine spaces
• 16-inch gun turret training drive systems — the 16-inch main battery gun turrets and 5-inch secondary battery turrets used steam and hydraulic machinery for turret training and gun elevation operations, with the associated machinery and steam components incorporating asbestos-containing packing and gasket materials in valve and cylinder assemblies throughout the turret machinery

Reactivation Periods and Continued Asbestos Exposure

New Jersey’s multiple reactivation periods extended asbestos exposure:

• Korean War reactivation (1950–1957) — New Jersey’s reactivation for Korean War gunfire support operations brought the ship back to operational status with the original asbestos-insulated boiler and turbine plant from the WWII construction period intact. Boiler Tenders and engineering ratings serving during the Korean War reactivation period worked in the asbestos-insulated engineering spaces of the WWII-era steam plant
• Vietnam War reactivation (1968–1969) — New Jersey’s Vietnam-era reactivation for naval gunfire support operations off the Vietnamese coast deployed the ship with the steam plant re-activated after years in reserve, with asbestos insulation and gasket materials throughout the steam plant requiring maintenance by the engineering crew during the reactivation and deployment period
• Reagan-era reactivation (1982–1991) — New Jersey’s final reactivation during the Reagan naval buildup installed Tomahawk cruise missile systems and Harpoon missile systems while maintaining the WWII-era steam propulsion plant, with engineering ratings serving during the 1982–1991 period maintaining the asbestos-insulated boiler and turbine plant throughout the final service period

VA Claims for USS New Jersey Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Navy battleships. Boiler Tenders, Machinist’s Mates, and crew members who served aboard USS New Jersey (BB-62) 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.