USS New Mexico BB 40

The USS New Mexico BB 40 was a New Mexico-class battleship that was launched from the New York Navy Yard on April 13th, 1917. The ship was sponsored by Miss Margaret Cabeza de Baca who was the daughter of the late Governor of New Mexico, and commissioned May 20th, 1918 and commanded by Captain Ashley H. Robertson. On July 16th, 1919 she became the flagship of the newly-organized Pacific Fleet and for the next two decades she trained and ran exercises with the U. S. Atlantic Fleet as well as embarked on many honorary voyages to various nations.

As World War II approached, her base was Pearl Harbor from December 6th, 1940 until May 20th, 1941. Then she sailed to join the Atlantic Fleet at Norfolk on June 16th for duty on neutrality patrol. On December 10th, while headed to Hampton Roads en route to the west coast after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the New Mexico accidentally rammed and sank U.S. freighter Oregon south of the Nantucket Lightship. She arrived at Pearl Harbor and prepped for the assault on the Japanese occupied Aleutian Islands as well as participating with the invasion of the Gilbert Islands on November 20th 1943. She bombarded the shores of the Marshall Islands during the aggressive U. S. campaign during 1944, and took part in the pivotal Battle for the Philippine Sea that was decisively the largest blow to the Japanese Imperial Fleet during the war.

The USS New Mexico’s next operation was the invasion of Luzon where she fought under a sky full of would-be suicide planes against whom she was almost continually at general quarters. She fired pre-landing bombardment on January 6th, 1945 and on that day took a suicide hit on her bridge which killed her commanding officer, Captain Robert W. Fleming, British Lieutenant General Herbert Lumsden who was Winston Churchill's personal military representative to General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, and 29 others of her crew, with 87 injured. Her guns remained in action as she repaired damage, and she was still in action January as troops went ashore. She steamed home September 6th and was decommissioned at Boston on July 19th, 1946. The USS New Mexico BB 40 received six battle stars during her World War II service.

The crew of the USS New Mexico BB 40 felt the threats of many dangers, but violent weather and the risks of enemy attacks were not the only dangerous threats they faced. Asbestos was commonly used the construction of U. S. submarines and ships during that time period, and the crew were at risk of inhaling these deadly airborne asbestos fibers on a daily basis. Asbestos was usually utilized in the construction of insulation, more specifically the construction insulation dealing with piping and ducts. Crewmembers of the USS New Mexico BB 40 that may have been exposed to these deadly asbestos fibers should track their respiratory health closely, as mesothelioma, also known as asbestos cancer, has been directly linked to previous asbestos exposure.

Last modified: December 09 2009.