Aviation Ordnancemen — AOs — were responsible for loading, handling, fueling-arming, and maintaining aviation ordnance aboard aircraft carriers and at naval air stations throughout the Cold War Navy. AO billets on carriers placed these personnel in the below-deck weapons handling spaces, ordnance elevators, bomb assembly rooms, and weapons magazines of aircraft carriers — the below-deck spaces of carriers built before the mid-1970s asbestos phase-down with asbestos in structural insulation, overhead insulation, and mechanical system insulation throughout the ship.

Below-Deck Weapons Handling and Asbestos

AOs worked throughout the carrier’s below-deck weapons handling spaces:

  • Weapons magazines — below-waterline weapons magazines storing bombs, missiles, and aviation ammunition used asbestos-insulated fire protection systems and asbestos in the magazine’s overhead and structural insulation. AOs staged and moved ordnance through these spaces throughout carrier air operations
  • Ordnance assembly areas — bomb assembly and weapons preparation spaces in the carrier’s below-deck areas where AOs assembled and inspected ordnance prior to loading had asbestos insulation in the overhead, bulkheads, and mechanical systems of the compartments
  • Ordnance elevators — weapons elevators moving ordnance from below-deck magazines to the hangar deck and flight deck had asbestos insulation in their elevator shafts and mechanical spaces. AOs spent significant time in elevator alcoves and staging areas adjacent to the elevator shafts

Hangar Deck and Flight Deck Environments

AOs also worked on the carrier’s hangar deck and flight deck during ordnance loading operations:

  • Hangar deck ordnance staging — ordnance staged on the hangar deck for loading onto aircraft was handled by AOs in the hangar bay environment, where asbestos-insulated overhead systems and structural asbestos throughout the carrier’s hangar bay structure contributed to ambient asbestos fiber in the air
  • Catapult machinery spaces — ordnance loading operations required coordination with catapult crews, and AO personnel in flight deck ordnance loading positions were present in proximity to catapult machinery spaces with asbestos insulation in steam catapult piping and machinery

AOs assigned to shore-based naval air stations worked in NAS ordnance handling facilities — ordnance storage igloos, weapons maintenance shops, and ordnance handling buildings — that used asbestos-containing construction materials in WWII-era and postwar NAS building construction.

VA Claims for AO Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Navy vessels and at naval installations. Aviation Ordnancemen who served in weapons handling billets aboard aircraft carriers built before the mid-1970s asbestos phase-down and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.