Naval Air Station Pensacola, established in 1914 on a peninsula in Pensacola Bay, Florida, is the oldest US naval air station and the home of Navy primary aviation training — known as the “Cradle of Naval Aviation.” NAS Pensacola hosts Naval Aviation Schools Command and has trained virtually every naval aviator and naval flight officer commissioned since WWI. The station is also home to the Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron. The station’s facilities span multiple construction eras — from WWI-era brick buildings on the historic main campus through WWII-era hangar and training facility construction and Cold War-era facility upgrades. NAS Pensacola processed hundreds of thousands of naval aviator candidates, aviation ratings students, and aviation support personnel through its training programs over the course of the twentieth century. The WWII-era and Cold War construction at NAS Pensacola used military construction materials including asbestos-containing products throughout the hangars, technical training facilities, and support buildings where Navy and Marine Corps personnel trained.

Historic Campus and WWII Construction and Asbestos

NAS Pensacola’s multi-era construction incorporated asbestos throughout:

  • WWII-era aviation training hangars — the large training hangars built during the WWII expansion of NAS Pensacola used wartime military construction with asbestos-containing roofing, asbestos floor tile in the hangar deck areas, and asbestos pipe insulation in the hangar mechanical systems. Student Naval Aviator candidates and aviation maintenance personnel working in these training hangars accumulated asbestos exposure from the WWII-era hangar construction
  • Technical training school buildings — the naval aviation technical training school buildings at Pensacola — including the Naval Aviation Schools Command facilities housing aviation electronics, aviation mechanics, and aviation ordnance training programs — used Cold War military construction with asbestos-containing building materials in the technical school facility construction. Aviation rating students and instructors in the technical training buildings accumulated asbestos exposure from the school facility construction
  • Aircraft maintenance and support facilities — the aircraft maintenance shops, engine test facilities, and aviation support buildings used Cold War military construction with asbestos floor tile, asbestos ceiling products, and asbestos pipe insulation in the maintenance facility mechanical systems

Flight Training Infrastructure and Asbestos

NAS Pensacola’s flight training support infrastructure incorporated asbestos:

  • Line shacks and flight operations buildings — the flight operations buildings, line shacks, and preflight briefing facilities supporting primary flight training operations at Pensacola used Cold War military construction with asbestos-containing building materials in the flight operations support facility construction

VA Claims for NAS Pensacola Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure at naval air stations. Navy and Marine Corps personnel who served at NAS Pensacola and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.