Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, located on Corpus Christi Bay in South Texas, has served as a primary naval aviation training base since its establishment in 1941 — training tens of thousands of naval aviators and naval flight officers throughout World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam era, and the Cold War. The station hosted primary and intermediate flight training, advanced helicopter training, and served as a Naval Air Depot (NADEP) facility during the WWII period. The station’s WWII-era building infrastructure and the asbestos-containing components of training aircraft exposed maintenance personnel throughout the Cold War.

WWII-Era Building Infrastructure

NAS Corpus Christi was built rapidly during 1941-1942 to accommodate the wartime pilot training expansion, resulting in a large base constructed with wartime building materials:

  • WWII-era barracks, hangars, and administrative buildings built in 1941-1942 used asbestos-containing materials throughout their construction — asbestos floor tile, asbestos-containing ceiling tile, and asbestos in building mechanical systems
  • Base steam heating and mechanical systems in older Corpus Christi buildings used asbestos-insulated pipe in the base heating distribution systems serving the large training base building complex
  • Older hangar construction — the original WWII hangars at NAS Corpus Christi used asbestos-containing overhead construction materials and structural steel fireproofing in the large hangar bays
  • Base renovation and maintenance on the older building stock throughout the Cold War involved disturbance of asbestos-containing materials in floors, ceilings, and mechanical systems

Training Aircraft Component Asbestos

Aviation maintenance personnel at NAS Corpus Christi performing maintenance on training aircraft encountered asbestos in aircraft components:

  • T-28 Trojan and T-34 Mentor training aircraft used for primary and basic flight training had asbestos-containing brake assemblies on their landing gear, serviced by Aviation Structural Mechanics during brake inspections and replacements
  • TH-57 SeaRanger and other training helicopters at the helicopter training program used asbestos-containing brake materials and some asbestos in rotor head components

Students in aviation maintenance ratings who completed training at NATTC (Naval Air Technical Training Center) satellite facilities at Corpus Christi learned aircraft maintenance procedures on training aircraft with asbestos-containing components, receiving their initial asbestos exposure during training before assignment to fleet squadrons.

VA Claims for NAS Corpus Christi Veterans

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