Charles F. Adams Class Guided Missile Destroyer (DDG-2) — Asbestos in the Cold War's First Mass-Produced DDG

The Charles F. Adams class guided missile destroyers — 23 ships commissioned between 1960 and 1964, hull numbers DDG-2 through DDG-24 — represented the US Navy’s first mass-produced guided missile destroyer class, combining the destroyer hull of the Forrest Sherman class with the Tartar guided missile system to produce a capable Cold War surface combatant for anti-aircraft warfare. The Adams class used four Babcock & Wilcox high-pressure boilers generating steam for two sets of turbines producing 70,000 shaft horsepower on two shafts. The ships served as the primary Cold War guided missile destroyer throughout the 1960s and into the late 1980s, with several hulls transferred to West Germany and Australia under military assistance programs. The four-boiler steam propulsion plant throughout the Adams class was insulated with asbestos-containing materials consistent with early 1960s naval construction at Bath Iron Works and other building yards, with Boiler Tenders and Machinist’s Mates maintaining the asbestos-insulated steam plant throughout the class’s Cold War service. The Tartar missile launcher systems and associated weapons electronics incorporated asbestos-containing electrical insulation materials in the weapons system electrical components.

Adams Class Four-Boiler Steam Plant Asbestos

The Adams class steam plant incorporated Cold War-era asbestos insulation:

• Babcock & Wilcox boiler casing insulation — the four high-pressure boilers in Adams class boiler rooms were insulated with asbestos block insulation on boiler casing exterior surfaces and asbestos pipe covering on boiler steam connections. Boiler Tenders maintaining the boilers during Cold War Atlantic and Mediterranean deployments worked in proximity to the asbestos boiler casing insulation throughout each engineering watch rotation in the Adams class boiler rooms
• Main turbine and steam system insulation — the Adams class main turbines and main steam piping were insulated with asbestos block and pipe covering throughout the engineering spaces. Machinist’s Mates tending the turbines in Adams class engine rooms worked in the asbestos-insulated turbine spaces during propulsion plant watch standing

Tartar Missile System Weapons Electronics Asbestos

Adams class Tartar weapons systems incorporated asbestos in electronics components:

• Tartar missile fire control system electrical insulation — the Tartar guided missile fire control system aboard Adams class destroyers incorporated electronic components with electrical wiring insulation materials in the weapons system electrical cabinets and associated missile control electronics. Gunner’s Mates and Electronics Technicians maintaining the Tartar fire control system encountered electrical insulation materials in the Tartar weapons electronics during maintenance and repair operations
• Missile magazine and launcher space construction — the Tartar missile magazine and single-arm launcher spaces aboard Adams class destroyers were constructed within the ship’s interior using asbestos-containing construction materials consistent with the ship’s overall early 1960s construction specifications

VA Claims for Adams Class Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Navy destroyers. Boiler Tenders, Machinist’s Mates, and crew members who served aboard Charles F. Adams class guided missile destroyers 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.