USS Massachusetts BB 59

The USS Massachusetts BB 59 is a South Dakota-class battleship that was launched from the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts on September 23^rd 1941 and given the nickname “Big Mamie” due to her sheer size. She embarked on her first mission to rendezvous with Western Naval Task Force in the Atlantic to participate in the invasion of Northern Africa serving as flagship for Admiral H. Kent Hewitt.

Off the coast of Casablanca while supporting Operation Torch, she was fired upon by the French battleship Jean Bart and returned fire marking the first ever time that 16 inch shells were fired in the European theater of war. After the cease-fire had been settled with the French, the USS Massachusetts steamed back to the United States for repairs and to prepare for deployment to the Pacific. The Massachusetts finally arrived to the South Pacific on March 4^th, 1943 and she spent the next few months protecting convoy lanes and supporting various operations around the Solomon Islands. She joined with an aircraft carrier group striking the Gilbert Islands and the surrounding area, during which she shelled Japanese positions on Nauru and guarded carriers assaulting Tarawa in January 1944.

Moving quickly across the Pacific, they covered U. S. forces landing on Kwajalein while bombarding enemy forces bunkered there on February 1^st. She assisted in striking Japanese strongholds at Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. She offered her guns to assist the invasion of Hollandia on April 22^nd which landed 60,000 U. S. troops on the island. On October 22^nd during the Battle for Leyte Gulf, she and her group sank four Japanese carriers off Cape Engano before steaming to participate in the invasion of Minduro.

The USS Massachusetts BB 59 helped protect carriers during raids on Honshu and bombarded the island of Iwo Jima in preparation for its invasion by U. S. forces. She was decommissioned on March 27^th, 1947. During World War II, there were no United States Navy sailors or Marines killed in action while aboard the USS Massachusetts. She received eleven battle stars for service in World War II and thanks to veterans and citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts she was petitioned to be preserved and sent to Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts where she rests today as a memorial and a museum.

The crewmembers of the USS Massachusetts BB 59 were undoubtedly faced with all kinds of dangerous perils, although the threats from violent weather and enemy attacks weren’t the only problems they faced. Inside the insulation ducts of these submarines and ships, specifically the piping involved with insulation was deadly asbestos fibers that could have easily been inhaled by its crew. These airborne asbestos particles are extremely dangerous have been proven to be linked to mesothelioma cancer. Any crewmembers that may be concerned with having been exposed to this deadly asbestos while serving aboard the USS Massachusetts BB 59 should carefully monitor their respiratory due this link between mesothelioma cancer and asbestos fibers, and any veteran who is diagnosed with this deadly disease should speak with an oncologist regarding mesothelioma treatment.

Last modified: December 09 2009.