Naval Air Station Jacksonville, located on the south bank of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, was established in 1940 as the Navy’s southeast Florida aviation training center and became the primary Atlantic Fleet patrol aviation and anti-submarine warfare hub during the Cold War. NAS Jacksonville is home to VP (patrol) squadrons operating P-3 Orion and P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, VR (fleet logistics) squadrons, and fleet air wings controlling Atlantic Fleet patrol aviation. The station’s WWII-era construction and its role as a major aviation maintenance center created multiple asbestos exposure pathways for Navy personnel assigned to the station.

WWII-Era Building Infrastructure

NAS Jacksonville was established in 1940-1941 and the station’s building complex includes extensive WWII-era construction:

  • 1940s-era hangars and maintenance buildings — the large aircraft maintenance hangars built in the WWII era used structural steel construction with asbestos spray-on fireproofing on steel framing and asbestos-containing insulation in hangar mechanical systems. Aviation maintenance personnel working in these hangars throughout their assignments accumulated ambient asbestos exposure from the structural asbestos in hangar overhead and framing
  • WWII-era barracks and administrative buildings — the original station barracks and support buildings built in 1940-1943 used asbestos-containing floor tile, ceiling materials, and asbestos insulation in building mechanical systems serving the WWII-era construction
  • Base steam heating and utility systems — the steam heating distribution serving older NAS Jacksonville buildings used asbestos-insulated pipe in the base heating and utility distribution

P-3 Orion Aircraft Maintenance and Asbestos

Aviation maintenance personnel at NAS Jacksonville working on P-3 Orion aircraft accumulated asbestos exposure from the aircraft themselves and from the hangar environment:

  • P-3 Orion engine compartment insulation — the P-3 Orion’s four Allison T56 turboprop engines and engine nacelles used asbestos-containing thermal insulation in engine fire zones and hot section insulation in earlier-production aircraft. Aviation Machinist’s Mates and Aviation Structural Mechanics working inside engine nacelles during engine maintenance were in proximity to engine compartment asbestos insulation
  • Aircraft hydraulic system maintenance — P-3 aircraft hydraulic system components used asbestos-containing sealing materials in earlier production aircraft, maintained by hydraulic system ratings during depot and intermediate maintenance at NAS Jacksonville

Fleet Air Wing Administrative Operations

NAS Jacksonville served as the administrative headquarters for Atlantic Fleet patrol aviation wings, with large numbers of Navy administrative and support personnel assigned to staff billets in the station’s older administrative buildings.

VA Claims for NAS Jacksonville Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure at naval aviation installations. Veterans who served at NAS Jacksonville in WWII-era buildings or maintained older aircraft with asbestos-containing construction and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.