Naval Air Station Miramar, located in the northern San Diego area of California and known popularly as “Fighter Town USA,” served as the United States Navy’s primary West Coast fighter aviation base throughout the Cold War. NAS Miramar operated Navy fleet fighter squadrons equipped with the F-8 Crusader, F-4 Phantom II, and F-14 Tomcat — the Navy’s frontline carrier fighter aircraft of successive Cold War generations — and was home to the Naval Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) that trained the Navy’s most skilled fighter pilots. NAS Miramar was established as a Navy facility in the 1940s and expanded extensively during the Cold War to support the growing Pacific Fleet carrier air wings homeporting F-14 Tomcat and F-4 Phantom fighter squadrons at San Diego. The station’s aircraft maintenance hangars, flight line facilities, administrative buildings, and enlisted residential facilities were constructed using military construction materials that incorporated asbestos-containing building materials consistent with the Cold War construction period. Naval aviators, aviation maintenance ratings, and support personnel stationed at NAS Miramar accumulated background asbestos exposure from the installation’s asbestos-containing construction throughout their Miramar duty assignments.

NAS Miramar Facility Asbestos

Naval Air Station Miramar’s construction incorporated asbestos throughout:

  • Fighter aircraft maintenance hangars — the large aircraft maintenance hangars at NAS Miramar where aviation mechanics maintained F-14 Tomcat, F-4 Phantom, and F-8 Crusader fighters were constructed using military hangar construction specifications incorporating asbestos-containing building materials in the hangar overhead, structural construction, and support areas. Aviation mechanics performing fighter aircraft maintenance in Miramar hangars accumulated background asbestos exposure from the hangar construction materials during maintenance operations
  • TOPGUN and fighter weapons school facilities — the training facilities, ground school buildings, and briefing rooms used by the Naval Fighter Weapons School at NAS Miramar were constructed using military construction specifications incorporating asbestos-containing building materials. TOPGUN instructors and student pilots working in the fighter weapons school facilities accumulated background asbestos exposure from the facility construction
  • Enlisted barracks — the enlisted barracks at NAS Miramar constructed during the WWII establishment and Cold War expansion used military construction with asbestos-containing floor tile, ceiling materials, and pipe insulation. Naval aviation personnel living in Miramar barracks accumulated background asbestos exposure from the residential facility construction
  • Flight line support facilities — the flight line support buildings, aircraft refueling facilities, and line shack facilities at NAS Miramar were constructed with asbestos-containing building materials consistent with Cold War military construction specifications

Fighter Aircraft Construction Asbestos

Fighter aircraft maintained at NAS Miramar incorporated aircraft construction asbestos:

  • F-14 Tomcat and F-4 Phantom brake maintenance — Aviation Structural Mechanics maintaining the wheel brake assemblies of F-14 Tomcat and F-4 Phantom aircraft at NAS Miramar encountered asbestos-containing aircraft brake lining materials during brake inspection and replacement operations consistent with the Cold War-era aircraft construction specifications. The high-energy braking demands of Navy carrier-capable fighters required brake systems designed for high stopping power, with asbestos brake lining materials providing the thermal resistance needed for carrier aircraft braking applications

VA Claims for NAS Miramar Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure at naval shore installations. Navy personnel who served at Naval Air Station Miramar and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.