USS New Jersey (BB-62) — Equipment Manifest & Asbestos Exposure Record

USS New Jersey (BB-62) was an Iowa-class battleship commissioned 23 May 1943 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, serving the U.S. Navy through four reactivations — a longer and more varied service history than any of her sisters. “Big J” fought in the Pacific Theater of WWII, provided gunfire support during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, conducted operations off Lebanon (1983–1984), and was decommissioned 8 February 1991 after Desert Shield/Desert Storm support operations. Each reactivation brought new crew members into engineering spaces containing progressively more deteriorated asbestos insulation — with rip-out and re-insulation work during modernization creating the highest peak exposure levels of her service life.

Equipment Manifest

Asbestos-Containing Materials Aboard New Jersey

Iowa-class battleships were constructed during the peak period of asbestos use in U.S. Navy shipbuilding. USS New Jersey carried the same asbestos-saturated engineering plant as her sisters Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin:

• 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 (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

Documented Asbestos Records — Litigation Corpus

Publicly filed asbestos litigation records provide specific, primary-source documentation tied directly to USS New Jersey (BB-62) and her engineering plant.

NYCAL Buffalo — Propulsion Plant Documentation

The corpus contains multiple documents from the NYCAL (New York City Asbestos Litigation) Buffalo docket specifically identifying USS New Jersey:

• “BUF-71 New Jersey (BB-62) Propulsion Plant” — a NYCAL Buffalo filing documenting the propulsion plant equipment aboard BB-62. This is a primary source for the specific manufacturers and machinery in New Jersey’s main engineering plant.
• “BUF-191 USS New Jersey BB-62, USS Missouri BB-63” and “BUF-193 USS New Jersey BB-62, USS Missouri BB-63” — additional NYCAL Buffalo filings covering both New Jersey and Missouri, reflecting the class-wide approach to Iowa-class documentation in litigation.

These NYCAL Buffalo documents were produced in connection with asbestos claims filed by New Jersey crew members and contain manufacturer interrogatory responses, expert reports, and machinery identification records specific to BB-62.

Distilling Plant and Pump Documentation

“USS New Jersey BB-62 Distilling Plant Pump[s]” — a specific equipment document in the corpus covers the distilling plant pumps aboard BB-62. Distilling plant pumps used asbestos-containing packing glands, shaft seals, and flange gaskets; Machinist’s Mates and Enginemen who maintained these pumps worked with asbestos-containing materials as a routine part of distilling plant maintenance.

Navy Administrative Correspondence

“Navy Correspondence Re: USS New Jersey BB[-62]” — the corpus contains Navy administrative correspondence specifically referencing BB-62, establishing that the Navy’s own administrative records for the ship are part of the publicly filed litigation record.

Deposition Testimony — Serving Aboard New Jersey

“On the USS New Jersey, Mr. [deponent]” — a 2010 appellate decision references deposition testimony from a person who served aboard USS New Jersey, documenting the asbestos exposure claims of BB-62 crew members that reached appellate review.

“The Battleship New Jersey for a while” — deposition testimony from a veteran who served aboard the Battleship New Jersey is documented in the corpus, establishing personal testimony about conditions aboard the vessel.

“The New Jersey, the Iowa and the [other Iowa-class ships]” — deposition testimony referencing New Jersey alongside Iowa in the context of Iowa-class battleship service and asbestos exposure — consistent with the class-wide exposure framework documented across all four ships.

“The NEW JERSEY, and that was Navy hull BB-62” — deposition confirmation of the hull number and class identity of BB-62 in the publicly filed record.

Reagan-Era Reactivation — 1982-1983

“Battle ship USS New Jersey BB-62. 1982-1983” and “USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62), From 1982” — the corpus documents the specific reactivation period for New Jersey under the Reagan-era battleship program. The 1982–1984 reactivation required extensive modernization that included disturbing and removing decades-old asbestos insulation — generating the highest peak asbestos exposure conditions of New Jersey’s post-WWII service. Personnel who worked aboard New Jersey or at the shipyard during the 1982–1984 reactivation have documented asbestos exposure from this rip-out period.

“An emergency modification was made by the USS New Jersey” — a specific engineering modification made aboard BB-62 is documented in the corpus, establishing the type of in-service alteration work that routinely disturbed asbestos-containing insulation aboard the vessel.

Boiler Registry

The corpus contains a New Jersey Boiler Registry referenced in the plaintiffs’ asbestos documents — the manufacturing and installation documentation for the eight B&W boilers aboard BB-62, establishing the manufacturer identity and installation records for the boilers that generated the highest-concentration asbestos exposure environment on the ship.

Iowa-Class Class-Wide Documentation

“BB-61 Iowa, BB-62 New Jersey, BB-63 Missouri” — a class roster document in the corpus lists all four Iowa-class ships with their hull numbers, reflecting the class-wide documentation approach used in Iowa-class litigation. Equipment records, expert testimony about insulation loads, and engineering plant documentation are cross-applicable across the class.

“The New Jersey, the Iowa and the [Iowa-class ships] were entirely [asbestos-insulated]” — expert testimony applying the Iowa-class insulation quantification to all four ships including New Jersey.

VA Benefits for New Jersey Veterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural disease as conditions presumed to be service-connected for Navy veterans with documented asbestos exposure. The NYCAL Buffalo propulsion plant records, Distilling Plant pump documentation, and Navy correspondence specific to BB-62 are direct evidentiary support for veterans’ VA claims across all service eras — WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, and the 1980s reactivation.

Key documents for a New Jersey veteran’s claim:

• DD-214 — confirming BB-62 assignment
• NARA muster rolls — for service periods not captured on the DD-214
• Diagnosis — mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease

Parallel claims against the asbestos bankruptcy trust funds established by the manufacturers of the products documented aboard New Jersey are also available and do not reduce VA compensation.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956

All consultations are free. No fee unless a financial recovery is made on your behalf.

Equipment manifest derived from public-record BUSHIPS documentation and publicly filed asbestos litigation records specific to USS New Jersey (BB-62), including NYCAL Buffalo docket filings. This does not constitute legal or medical advice.