Naval Air Station Sigonella, located at the US naval installation on the island of Sicily in southern Italy near the city of Catania, served as the United States Navy’s primary aviation logistics and support hub in the Mediterranean throughout the Cold War. NAS Sigonella supported Sixth Fleet maritime patrol aviation operations, fleet logistics aviation, and served as the primary Mediterranean forward operating location for the Navy’s P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft flying ASW patrols across the Mediterranean Sea. The station served as a major logistics and support node for US naval operations throughout the Mediterranean, providing maintenance, refueling, and crew rest facilities for aircraft transiting the Mediterranean theater. The installation’s Cold War construction used military construction materials that incorporated asbestos-containing building materials throughout its aircraft maintenance hangars, support facilities, administrative buildings, and residential facilities. Naval personnel stationed at NAS Sigonella accumulated background asbestos exposure from the installation’s asbestos-containing construction throughout their Sigonella duty assignments.

NAS Sigonella Facility Asbestos

Naval Air Station Sigonella’s Cold War construction incorporated asbestos throughout:

  • Maritime patrol aircraft maintenance hangars — the aircraft maintenance hangars at NAS Sigonella used for P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft maintenance were constructed using military hangar construction specifications incorporating asbestos-containing building materials in the hangar structural construction, overhead, and maintenance areas. Aviation ratings performing maritime patrol aircraft maintenance in Sigonella hangars accumulated background asbestos exposure from the hangar construction materials
  • Aviation maintenance and logistics support buildings — the avionics maintenance shops, aircraft engine maintenance facilities, and logistics support buildings at NAS Sigonella were constructed with asbestos-containing building materials consistent with Cold War military construction specifications. Aviation maintenance ratings and logistics support personnel working in Sigonella maintenance facilities accumulated background asbestos exposure from the facility construction
  • Enlisted barracks and residential facilities — the enlisted barracks and family housing at NAS Sigonella constructed during Cold War development used military construction with asbestos-containing floor tile, ceiling materials, and pipe insulation. Naval personnel living in Sigonella residential facilities accumulated background asbestos exposure from the residential facility construction
  • Operations and administrative buildings — the flight operations building, air traffic control facilities, and administrative buildings at NAS Sigonella incorporated asbestos-containing construction materials consistent with Cold War military construction specifications

Mediterranean Aviation Operations Asbestos

P-3 Orion and logistics aircraft at Sigonella incorporated aircraft construction asbestos:

  • P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft — the Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft operating from NAS Sigonella on Mediterranean ASW patrols incorporated aircraft brake lining materials and electrical wiring insulation consistent with the aircraft construction specifications of the Cold War production period. Aviation mechanics maintaining P-3 aircraft at Sigonella accumulated aircraft maintenance-related asbestos exposure during brake service and airframe maintenance

VA Claims for NAS Sigonella 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 Sigonella and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.