Belknap Class Guided Missile Cruiser (CG-26) — Asbestos in Cold War AAW Cruisers

The Belknap class guided missile cruisers — nine vessels commissioned between 1964 and 1967 (originally classified DLG-26 through DLG-34, reclassified CG-26 through CG-34 in 1975) — were an improved version of the Leahy class design, combining a single-arm Terrier missile launcher with a 5-inch/54-caliber gun for combined anti-air and surface warfare capability. Built at Bath Iron Works, Puget Sound, and San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard, Belknap class cruisers served as carrier battle group escorts and anti-air warfare (AAW) commanders throughout the Cold War. The class used Combustion Engineering 1,200 psi boilers with de Laval steam turbines for propulsion, with the high-pressure steam engineering plant requiring extensive asbestos insulation on boiler casings and steam distribution piping throughout the engineering spaces. USS Belknap (CG-26) was severely damaged in a 1975 collision with USS John F. Kennedy and subsequently rebuilt, with the rebuilding process further exposing repair workers to asbestos-containing materials from the damaged and reconstructed ship structure.

High-Pressure Steam Plant and Asbestos

Belknap class steam propulsion systems incorporated asbestos throughout:

• Combustion Engineering 1,200 psi boiler insulation — Belknap class cruisers used Combustion Engineering boilers operating at 1,200 psi with asbestos block insulation on boiler casings and asbestos pipe covering on high-pressure steam mains connecting boiler rooms to turbine rooms. Boiler Tender ratings maintaining these high-pressure steam plants accumulated significant asbestos exposure from the installed boiler insulation and from steam system maintenance operations in the confined boiler rooms
• De Laval steam turbine room systems — de Laval steam turbines and reduction gears driving Belknap class twin screws were served by high-pressure steam piping with asbestos pipe covering and asbestos gasket materials in steam line flange connections throughout the turbine engineering spaces
• Auxiliary steam system pipe insulation — auxiliary steam systems serving ship’s evaporators, heating systems, and steam-powered auxiliaries used asbestos pipe insulation on heat-producing steam distribution lines throughout the engineering and accommodation spaces

USS Belknap Collision Damage and Asbestos

The 1975 collision of USS Belknap with USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) created additional asbestos exposure:

• Fire and structural damage repair — the severe fire and structural damage to USS Belknap’s superstructure in the 1975 collision resulted in extensive shipyard repair work at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and subsequent reconstruction work that exposed shipyard repair workers and Belknap’s crew to asbestos-containing materials from the damaged ship structure and from the reconstruction materials used in the rebuilt superstructure

VA Claims for Belknap Class Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Navy cruisers. Engineering ratings who served aboard Belknap class guided missile cruisers and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.

Source notes: equipment-manifest entries (where shown) are sourced from public-record BUSHIPS (Bureau of Ships) documentation, NARA archives, and the public asbestos litigation record. Manufacturer attributions link to documented asbestos-product histories on AsbestosIndex.com where available. Nothing on this page constitutes medical or legal advice.