Forrestal Class Aircraft Carriers (CV-59 through CV-62) — Asbestos in Cold War Supercarriers

The Forrestal class aircraft carriers — USS Forrestal (CV-59), USS Saratoga (CV-60), USS Ranger (CV-61), and USS Independence (CV-62) — were the first purpose-built supercarriers in the US Navy, designed from the keel up to operate jet aircraft with the angled flight deck, enclosed hurricane bow, and steam catapults that defined postwar carrier operations. Built between 1952 and 1959 at Newport News Shipbuilding (CV-59, CV-61, CV-62) and New York Naval Shipyard (CV-60), the Forrestal class used eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers in four firerooms generating 280,000 shaft horsepower through four Westinghouse steam turbine sets. Their massive scale meant asbestos insulation in quantities exceeding the Essex class across their engineering plants and vast interior spaces built for crews of 4,500 to 5,000.

Engineering Plant and Asbestos

The Forrestal class engineering plant — eight B&W boilers in four firerooms with four Westinghouse turbine sets in four engine rooms — operated at higher steam pressures than the WWII-era Essex class and required extensive asbestos insulation in every engineering space:

• Eight B&W boilers in four firerooms with asbestos block, sectional covering, and cement on boiler casings, steam drums, superheater sections, and uptake casings operating at elevated Cold War-era steam pressures
• Four Westinghouse steam turbine sets with asbestos block insulation on turbine casings, high-temperature exhaust connections, and gland steam piping throughout the engine rooms
• Main steam distribution piping throughout the carrier’s engineering spaces, covered with asbestos block insulation and lagging cloth at the expansion joints
• Auxiliary steam systems serving the carrier’s massive hotel load — aviation fuel heating, catapult steam supply, laundry, galley, and domestic water heating — using asbestos-insulated pipe throughout interior spaces
• Catapult steam systems feeding the four deck-edge steam catapults through high-pressure steam lines insulated with asbestos block lagging

Interior Construction and Aviation Spaces

Forrestal class carriers were built with asbestos-containing materials throughout their interior construction for 4,500+ man crews operating a 90-aircraft air wing:

• Crew berthing on multiple decks using asbestos floor tile, overhead lagging, and bulkhead insulation in berthing compartments throughout the hull
• Aviation maintenance shops on the hangar deck level with asbestos-containing overhead fireproofing on structural steel above the hangar bay deck
• Ordnance magazines with asbestos-containing construction in magazine bulkheads separating ordnance storage from machinery and living spaces
• Damage control spaces and fire station areas using asbestos-containing materials in compartment construction

USS Forrestal Fire (1967)

USS Forrestal (CV-59) experienced a catastrophic flight deck fire on July 29, 1967, during operations in the Gulf of Tonkin. The fire killed 134 sailors and injured 161 others. Damage control and firefighting operations during and after the fire involved crews working in spaces where asbestos insulation had been damaged or disturbed by fire, explosion, and firefighting water. Sailors assigned to Forrestal during the fire and the subsequent repair availability at Subic Bay Naval Shipyard were present in spaces where damaged asbestos-containing materials were disturbed during casualty control and repair.

Cold War Service and Operational Record

The Forrestal class served as the primary US Navy carrier force throughout the Cold War, conducting Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Pacific deployments through the 1970s and 1980s. USS Independence (CV-62) remained in service until 1998, more than four decades after her commissioning. Sailors who served aboard Forrestal class carriers throughout their active service periods were present in engineering spaces where original 1950s-era asbestos insulation aged and became increasingly friable.

VA Claims for Forrestal Class Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Navy carriers. Veterans who served aboard USS Forrestal (CV-59), USS Saratoga (CV-60), USS Ranger (CV-61), or USS Independence (CV-62) before the vessels’ final decommissioning and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits. DD-214 records identifying a Forrestal class hull number as a duty station document the qualifying ship assignment.

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.