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Did you serve aboard the USS Breese? This destroyer carried asbestos in nearly every compartment. Here is where it was, and who is responsible. The USS Breese, hull number DM-18, was a destroyer, built by Newport News Shipbuilding and commissioned in 1919. She served through WWI Atlantic Fleet, Interwar Pacific Fleet, and Interwar Pacific Fleet. Public naval references list this equipment aboard the USS Breese, DM-18 — insulated and sealed with asbestos. Each shipyard overhaul and major repair meant asbestos insulation was torn out and replaced — peak-exposure work for the yard workers and the crew aboard. Exposure was worst in the engineering spaces, where the snipes worked — but asbestos lined the whole ship, so all hands were exposed. The companies that made the asbestos equipment aboard — not the Navy — are who asbestos claims are brought against. According to asbestos litigation records, the equipment aboard the USS Breese from makers such as Babcock and Wilcox, General Electric, Westinghouse, and Allis-Chalmers allegedly contained asbestos. If you served aboard the USS Breese and were later diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you may have a legal claim against the companies that made the asbestos products used aboard your ship. This is educational information from an independent publisher — not a law firm — and is not legal advice.
USS Breese (DD-122 / DM-18) was a Wickes-class destroyer converted to a destroyer minelayer in 1937 — Pacific Theater WWII service including being present at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 (credited with the first U.S. surface-vessel anti-submarine kill of WWII), and operations through Iwo Jima before decommissioning in 1946.
The 34-entry equipment manifest below is sourced from ship-specific BUSHIPS (Bureau of Ships) documentation identifying machinery and equipment installed aboard. Each entry is documented equipment with verified manufacturer attribution — primary-source material for asbestos-exposure case development by Navy veterans and surviving families.
Equipment Manifest
| Equipment | Manufacturer | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric Motor | General Electric | ||
| Pump | Worthington | ||
| Valve | Jenkins | ||
| Compressor | Ingersoll Rand | ||
| Generator | General Electric | ||
| Turbine | Westinghouse | ||
| Condenser | Foster Wheeler | ||
| Gyrocompass | Sperry | 1 | |
| Sonar Equipment | General Electric | 1 | |
| Turbine | General Electric | 2 | Main propulsion |
| Boiler | Babcock & Wilcox | 4 | |
| Electrical Generator | General Electric | ||
| Searchlight | General Electric | ||
| Mushroom Vent | U.S.S. Breese | Ship equipment | |
| Reduction Gear | Westinghouse | ||
| Condenser | Westinghouse | ||
| Reduction Gear | General Electric | 2 | |
| Condenser | General Electric | 2 | |
| Feed Pump | Worthington | ||
| Evaporator | Tripler | ||
| Air Compressor | General Electric | ||
| Electric Generator | General Electric | ||
| Motor | General Electric | ||
| Reduction Gear | Allis-Chalmers | 2 | |
| Steam Turbine | General Electric | 4 | |
| Boilers | Babcock & Wilcox | 4 | Water-tube type |
| Turbines | General Electric | 2 | Steam turbines for propulsion |
| Generators | General Electric | 3 | Electrical power generation |
| Condensers | General Electric | 2 | Steam condensers |
| Propellers | Navy Yard | 2 | Bronze propellers |
| Diesel Engine | Fairbanks Morse | 2 | |
| Steam Turbine | Westinghouse | 2 | |
| Air Compressor | Worthington | 2 | |
| Radio Equipment | Westinghouse |
Asbestos-Containing Materials Aboard Breese
The standard asbestos-containing materials installed throughout U.S. Navy destroyer minelayers of this era are documented to have included:
- Pipe lagging and thermal insulation on main steam, feed-water, fuel-oil, condensate, and saltwater piping throughout machinery spaces
- Boiler block insulation, refractory brick, and gun-blocks around the main boilers
- Asbestos gaskets and braided packing in valves, flanges, pumps, condensers, heat exchangers, and turbine glands
- Insulation jackets and removable lagging on main propulsion turbines, reduction gears, ship-service turbine generators, and forced-draft blowers
- Sheet asbestos and Marinite panels as fire-stops, bulkhead insulation, and overhead insulation
- Vinyl asbestos floor tile (VAT) in passageways, berthing, mess decks, and habitable compartments
- Asbestos rope, wick, and tape in gland-seal applications throughout the engineering plant
Sailors in Boilerman, Machinist’s Mate, Engineman, Electrician’s Mate, Hull Maintenance Technician, Damage Controlman, and other engineering ratings worked routinely in spaces where these materials were installed, maintained, ripped out, and replaced.
VA Benefits for Breese Veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural disease as conditions that may be service-connected for Navy veterans with documented asbestos exposure. The Breese equipment manifest is direct documentary evidence of the asbestos-containing materials her crew worked around throughout her service life.
Parallel claims against the asbestos bankruptcy trust funds established by the manufacturers of these products are also available, and do not reduce VA compensation.
Speak with an asbestos attorney with Navy veterans experience →
Equipment manifest derived from public-record BUSHIPS documentation specific to USS Breese (DM-18). Manufacturer attribution links to documented asbestos-product histories on AsbestosIndex.com where available. Editorial review applied per site standards.
