The USS Pennsylvania BB38, a battleship built by the Newport News Shipbuilding Company and launched in 1915, was at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked by the Japanese in 1941. The Pennsylvania, sometimes referred to as the “sister ship” of the better-known USS Arizona, suffered some damage that day but survived to fight for the rest of the war.
Fired More Rounds Than Any Other Ship
At Pearl Harbor, 24 of the Pennsylvania’s 915 enlisted men and officers were killed as she was in dry dock. The ship was taken to San Francisco for repairs, and the Pennsylvania eventually fired more rounds than any other ship in the Navy’s history, in battles and campaigns such as:
the Gilbert Islands
the Aleutian Islands campaign
the Battle of Surigao Strait
After the war, the USS Pennsylvania was decommissioned and eventually sunk. Her surviving crew still holds reunions.
Asbestos on the USS Pennsylvania
Like all Navy ships and commercial vessels built before the 1970s, the USS Pennsylvania probably contained many components constructed wholly or partly of asbestos. Although for the majority of the 20th century asbestos had seemed to be an ideal fire-resistant material — particularly useful aboard ships — it was eventually confirmed that asbestos causes cancer and other serious diseases.
When the Pennsylvania was constructed in Newport News, Virginia, the shipyard workers and shipbuilders would have been exposed to many forms of asbestos. When manipulated, asbestos releases tiny fibers that can become lodged in the lungs of humans nearby. The men who served aboard the Pennsylvania were probably also exposed to toxic asbestos.
Mesothelioma, Lung Cancers, Asbestosis
Asbestos fibers inside the body can produce diseases that take many years to manifest. Thus, thousands of Navy veterans — such as those who worked on or served on the USS Pennsylvania — are being diagnosed decades after their exposure to asbestos with life-threatening diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancers, and asbestosis.
Veterans of the USS Pennsylvania BB38
If you or your family member helped maintain or served aboard the USS Pennsylvania BB38, you should learn more about both asbestos diseases and your legal rights. Contact a mesothelioma attorney today to discuss your concerns.
