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Did you serve aboard the USS Iowa? This battleship carried asbestos in nearly every compartment. Here is where it was, and who is responsible. The USS Iowa, hull number BB-61, was a battleship, built by New York Naval Shipyard and commissioned in 1943. She served through WWII Atlantic Fleet, WWII Pacific Theater, and Korean War. Public naval references list this equipment aboard the USS Iowa, BB-61 — 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 Iowa from makers such as Babcock and Wilcox Company, Ingersoll-Rand, Buffalo Pumps Inc., and Buffalo Pumps, Inc. allegedly contained asbestos. If you served aboard the USS Iowa 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 Iowa (BB-61) was the lead ship of her class — the largest, fastest, and most modern battleships ever commissioned by the U.S. Navy. Commissioned 22 February 1943 and decommissioned 26 October 1990 (with reactivations across her service), she fought in the Pacific Theater of WWII (Marshall Islands, Saipan, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Tokyo Bay), the Korean War, and was reactivated for Cold War service in the 1980s where she demonstrated naval gunfire support before the 1989 Turret 2 explosion. The 15-entry manifest below documents key engineering-plant machinery installed during her 1943 construction at New York Naval Shipyard.
Equipment Manifest
| Equipment | Manufacturer | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boilers | Babcock & Wilcox Company | ||
| Emergency Feed Pumps | M.T. Davidson Co. | ||
| Bilge Pumps | M.T. Davidson Co. | ||
| Centrifugal Pumps | Buffalo Pumps, Inc. | ||
| Rotary Pumps for Fuel, Diesel and Lubricating Oils | Northern Pump Co. | ||
| Air Compressors | Gardner-Denver Co. | ||
| Air Compressors | Worthington Pump & Mach. Co. | ||
| Air Compressors | Hardie Tynes Mfg. Co. | ||
| Distilling Units | Foster-Wheeler Corp. | ||
| Forced Draft Blowers | B.F. Sturtevant Co. | ||
| Fuel Oil Service Pumps | Northern Pump Co. | ||
| Feed Water and Deaerating Equipment | Elliott Co. | ||
| Main and Auxiliary Feed Booster Pumps | Buffalo Pumps Inc. | August 8, 1940 | |
| Main Condenser Condensate Pumps | Buffalo Pumps Inc. | December 9, 1940 | |
| Boiler Feed Pumps | Ingersoll-Rand | December 9, 1940 |
Asbestos-Containing Materials Aboard Iowa
Iowa-class battleships were constructed during the heaviest period of asbestos use in U.S. Navy shipbuilding. Documented asbestos-containing materials installed throughout her main engineering plant, eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers, four General Electric turbine sets, and habitability spaces include:
- Pipe lagging and thermal insulation on main steam, feed-water, fuel-oil, condensate, and saltwater piping throughout four main machinery spaces and auxiliary machinery rooms
- Boiler block insulation, refractory brick, and gun-blocks around the eight Babcock & Wilcox high-pressure boilers
- Turret-level fire-control insulation in main-battery turret enclosures (1500-pound 16"/50 caliber Mark 7 guns)
- Asbestos gaskets and braided packing in valves, flanges, pumps, condensers, heat exchangers, and turbine glands across the entire engineering plant
- Insulation jackets and removable lagging on main propulsion turbines, reduction gears, ship-service turbine generators, forced-draft blowers, and auxiliary equipment
- Sheet asbestos and Marinite panels as fire-stops, bulkhead insulation, and overhead insulation in damage-control zones
- Vinyl asbestos floor tile (VAT) in passageways, berthing, mess decks, wardroom, and bridge 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, Turret Captain, and Gunner’s Mate ratings worked routinely in spaces where these materials were installed, maintained, ripped out, and replaced — including during the three major overhaul cycles (postwar, post-Korea, 1980s Cold War reactivation) where extensive asbestos rip-out work was performed.
VA Benefits for Iowa 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 Iowa equipment manifest is direct documentary evidence of the asbestos-containing materials her crew worked around throughout her three eras of service.
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 Iowa (BB-61). Manufacturer attribution links to documented asbestos-product histories on AsbestosIndex.com where available. Editorial review applied per site standards.
