Naval Air Station Quonset Point, located at the tip of the Davisville peninsula in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, was commissioned in 1941 and served for thirty-three years as one of the Navy’s principal anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and carrier air group training stations on the East Coast. The station hosted carrier air groups working up for Atlantic Fleet deployments, patrol aviation squadrons flying North Atlantic convoy escort and ASW patrols, and the Naval Air Reserve. Quonset Point closed in 1974 under BRAC-era base consolidation. The station’s WWII-era construction and postwar expansion used asbestos-containing building materials throughout the extensive hangar and support facility complex. Naval personnel stationed at Quonset Point from 1941 through the 1974 closure accumulated asbestos exposure from the station’s building stock.

WWII Hangar Complex and Asbestos

Quonset Point’s large WWII hangar complex was a primary asbestos exposure source:

  • Carrier air group hangars — Quonset Point’s large hangars accommodating carrier air group aircraft used WWII-era construction with asbestos-containing roofing, asbestos fire-stop construction between hangar bays, and asbestos insulation board in the hangar superstructure. Aviation support ratings and aircraft maintenance personnel assigned to carrier air groups working up at Quonset Point worked continuously in these asbestos-containing hangars during pre-deployment workup cycles
  • ASW patrol aircraft maintenance facilities — the patrol aviation hangars and maintenance buildings housing TBF Avengers, PBY Catalinas, P2V Neptunes, and other ASW aircraft used WWII military construction with asbestos floor tile, asbestos ceiling materials, and asbestos-containing pipe insulation in the maintenance facility mechanical systems
  • Aircraft carrier aircraft department training facilities — the shore-based carrier aircraft department training buildings used to prepare carrier air department personnel before fleet deployment used WWII-era construction with asbestos-containing building materials throughout

Patrol Wing and ASW Operations Facilities

Quonset Point’s role as a patrol and ASW base created additional exposure pathways:

  • Anti-submarine warfare operations facilities — the ASW operations buildings, ready rooms, and briefing facilities supporting Quonset Point’s ASW patrol squadrons used WWII and postwar construction with asbestos-containing materials in the shore facility building stock where ASW crews spent extended time between patrol flights
  • Electronic maintenance buildings — the avionics and electronic warfare maintenance facilities supporting ASW aircraft at Quonset Point used military construction with asbestos-containing insulation and building products in the specialized electronics maintenance spaces

Barracks and Administrative Buildings

Quonset Point’s residential facility stock incorporated significant asbestos construction:

  • Enlisted barracks — the extensive barracks complex at Quonset Point used WWII military construction with asbestos floor tile, asbestos ceiling products, and asbestos pipe insulation throughout the residential facility mechanical systems. Enlisted personnel stationed at Quonset Point through the 1974 closure were in daily proximity to the asbestos-containing residential facility construction

VA Claims for NAS Quonset Point 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 Quonset Point during any period from the station’s 1941 commissioning through its 1974 closure and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.