Naval Air Station Brunswick, located in Brunswick, Maine, served as the Atlantic Fleet’s primary anti-submarine warfare (ASW) patrol aviation base throughout the Cold War, home to Patrol (VP) squadrons flying P-2 Neptune and P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft monitoring Soviet submarine activity in the North Atlantic. The station’s location on Maine’s coast provided direct access to the North Atlantic patrol areas where VP squadron aircraft conducted long-range ASW surveillance missions. Personnel at NAS Brunswick performed maintenance on patrol aircraft with asbestos-containing components and occupied older base facilities constructed with asbestos-containing materials.

Patrol Aircraft Component Asbestos

Aviation maintenance personnel at NAS Brunswick performed organizational and intermediate maintenance on P-2 Neptune and P-3 Orion aircraft with asbestos-containing components:

  • P-3 Orion aircraft brakes — the P-3’s large landing gear brake assemblies used asbestos friction material in brake puck assemblies serviced by Aviation Structural Mechanics (AM/AME) during landing gear maintenance and brake replacements
  • Allison T56 engine gaskets — the P-3’s four Allison T56 turboprop engines used asbestos-containing gaskets on high-temperature engine sections serviced by Aviation Machinist’s Mates (AD) during scheduled engine inspections and component maintenance
  • P-2 Neptune reciprocating engine gaskets — the earlier P-2 Neptune’s Wright R-3350 radial engines used asbestos cylinder head gaskets and exhaust manifold gaskets serviced during engine overhaul and cylinder maintenance
  • Acoustic system maintenance spaces — the P-3’s dedicated acoustic sensor and sonobuoy handling spaces were built within the aircraft using standard aircraft construction materials of the early 1960s production period

Older Station Building Infrastructure

NAS Brunswick was established in 1943 as a WWII anti-submarine patrol base, and its building inventory includes WWII-era hangars and facilities:

  • WWII-era hangar construction built in 1943-1944 used asbestos-containing overhead construction and structural steel fireproofing in the hangar bays
  • Base heating and mechanical systems in older Brunswick buildings used asbestos-insulated pipe in steam heating distribution throughout the WWII-era building stock
  • Maintenance shop buildings with asbestos-containing building materials in the mechanical rooms and utility infrastructure

Cold War ASW Patrol Mission

NAS Brunswick VP squadrons flew continuous patrol coverage of the North Atlantic throughout the Cold War — one of the highest-utilization maritime patrol environments in the Navy. The high flight-hour rates of Atlantic ASW patrol operations generated correspondingly high brake and engine component maintenance rates, increasing the frequency of asbestos-involving maintenance tasks at the Brunswick maintenance facilities.

VA Claims for NAS Brunswick Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure at naval air stations. Veterans who served at NAS Brunswick in aviation maintenance ratings before the early 1980s asbestos phase-down and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.