Escort carriers — designated CVE and known informally as “jeep carriers” or “baby flattops” — were small aircraft carriers built in large numbers during World War II for convoy protection, anti-submarine warfare, and aircraft transport. Built quickly and often on merchant hull frames, escort carriers packed steam-propulsion machinery, aviation fuel systems, and aircraft servicing operations into compact hulls — concentrating asbestos-containing materials in confined, heavily trafficked spaces.

More than 100 escort carriers were commissioned during the war. Veterans who served aboard CVEs — whether in the engineering plant, on the hangar deck, or in aviation support — were exposed to asbestos-containing materials that permeated these vessels from keel to flight deck.

Asbestos Materials Aboard Escort Carriers

Boiler and engine room insulation. Escort carriers used steam-turbine or reciprocating steam propulsion (Casablanca-class CVEs used reciprocating engines; Bogue and Commencement Bay classes used turbines). Boilers, steam drums, and propulsion machinery were wrapped in asbestos block and blanket insulation. The rapid wartime construction schedule meant heavy, unrefined application of asbestos insulation throughout the engineering spaces.

Steam and fuel piping. Steam lines and aviation fuel transfer piping ran throughout the vessel wrapped in asbestos lagging. Escort carriers moved and pumped large volumes of aviation gasoline, and the associated pump and valve systems used asbestos gaskets and packing at every connection.

Hangar deck and flight deck fire protection. Aircraft carriers of all sizes carried extensive fire-suppression systems because of the aviation fuel and ordnance aboard. Escort carrier hangar decks used asbestos-containing fire curtains, fire-retardant bulkhead insulation, and asbestos board panels as fire boundaries. Aviation and damage-control personnel worked directly around these materials.

Catapult and arresting gear machinery. The hydraulic catapult and arresting gear systems used asbestos-containing components and were serviced by aviation boatswain’s mates who worked in the machinery spaces below the flight deck.

Electrical distribution. Switchgear panels and cable runs throughout escort carriers used asbestos board backing and asbestos-insulated wiring, disturbed by electrician’s mates during maintenance.

Berthing and messing spaces. With crews of 800 to 900 packed into small hulls, escort carrier living spaces were densely occupied. Overhead and bulkhead insulation containing asbestos deteriorated over the vessel’s service life, depositing fiber into the crew’s daily environment.

Escort Carrier Classes with Documented Asbestos Construction

Casablanca class (CVE-55 through CVE-104). Fifty escort carriers built by Kaiser Shipyards in 1943–1944 — the most numerous class of aircraft carrier ever built. Reciprocating steam engines with fully asbestos-insulated engineering plants. Frequently cited in asbestos litigation involving engineering-rating plaintiffs.

Bogue class (CVE-9 and others). Turbine-powered escort carriers built on merchant hull designs. Served in both the Atlantic anti-submarine campaign and Pacific aircraft-ferry operations.

Commencement Bay class (CVE-105 through CVE-127). The largest and most capable escort carriers, several of which served into the 1950s and were later reactivated. Steam-turbine propulsion with extensive asbestos insulation. Their longer service lives meant more decades of insulation deterioration and maintenance-related exposure.

Sangamon class (CVE-26 through CVE-29). Converted from fleet oilers, these escort carriers retained tanker-scale fuel systems with associated asbestos-insulated piping and pumps.

Boilermen (BT), machinist’s mates (MM), watertenders (WT), and enginemen (EN) working in escort carrier engineering spaces had the highest concentrated exposure. Aviation boatswain’s mates (ABE, ABH) working the catapult, arresting gear, and fueling systems had elevated exposure. Electrician’s mates (EM) and interior communications electricians (IC) were exposed throughout the vessel’s electrical systems. Because escort carrier crews were densely packed into small hulls, even aviation and deck ratings experienced significant secondary exposure from deteriorating berthing-space insulation.

Civil Litigation and Trust Fund Claims

The asbestos-containing materials aboard escort carriers were supplied by manufacturers — including Babcock & Wilcox, Combustion Engineering, Foster Wheeler, Johns-Manville, and Owens-Illinois — that have established asbestos bankruptcy trust funds. Veterans diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease after serving aboard an escort carrier may be eligible to file claims against multiple trusts, in addition to pursuing VA disability benefits.

If you were diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease after exposure aboard an escort carrier or other Navy vessel, O’Brien Law Firm offers a free, confidential case evaluation.

(314) 237-6461 — Free Case Evaluation

References to asbestos-containing materials aboard escort carriers are drawn from publicly filed U.S. Navy asbestos litigation records. This does not constitute legal or medical advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by use of this site.