Forrestal Class Aircraft Carrier (CV-59) — Asbestos in the First Supercarrier Class

The Forrestal class aircraft carriers — four ships commissioned between 1955 and 1959, hull numbers CV-59 through CV-62 — represented the United States Navy’s first purpose-designed supercarrier class, incorporating the angled flight deck, enclosed hurricane bow, and deck-edge elevator configuration that established the standard for subsequent US carrier designs. The four ships — USS Forrestal (CV-59), USS Saratoga (CV-60), USS Ranger (CV-61), and USS Independence (CV-62) — were each powered by eight Babcock & Wilcox high-pressure boilers driving four sets of steam turbines producing 280,000 shaft horsepower on four shafts. The Forrestal class served as frontline Cold War carriers through Vietnam War combat deployments and sustained Atlantic and Mediterranean operations, with USS Forrestal (CV-59) suffering one of the worst fire disasters in US Navy history on July 29, 1967 on Yankee Station, killing 134 sailors. The four-ship class served through the 1980s and 1990s — with Forrestal decommissioning in 1993, Saratoga in 1994, Ranger in 1993, and Independence in 1998 — accumulating Cold War service spanning more than three decades. The eight-boiler steam propulsion plant throughout the Forrestal class was insulated with asbestos-containing materials consistent with mid-1950s naval construction, creating sustained asbestos exposure for Boiler Tenders and Machinist’s Mates through the class’s Cold War service.

Forrestal Class Eight-Boiler Steam Plant Asbestos

The Forrestal class steam plant incorporated extensive asbestos throughout:

• Babcock & Wilcox boiler casing insulation — the eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers in each Forrestal class carrier’s four boiler rooms were insulated with asbestos block insulation on boiler casing exterior surfaces and asbestos pipe covering on boiler steam drum connections and superheater outlets. Boiler Tenders maintaining the boilers during Vietnam War combat deployments, Cold War Mediterranean and Atlantic deployments, and the extended peacetime service of the class worked in continuous proximity to the asbestos boiler casing insulation throughout each engineering watch rotation in the carrier’s boiler rooms
• Main turbine and high-pressure steam system insulation — the main propulsion turbines and the main steam distribution piping systems in Forrestal class engine rooms were insulated with asbestos block on turbine casings and asbestos lagging on main steam piping. Machinist’s Mates tending the turbines and maintaining the main steam system in Forrestal class engine rooms worked in the asbestos-insulated turbine and machinery spaces throughout their propulsion plant watch standing
• Supercarrier scale and asbestos surface area — the Forrestal class introduced the supercarrier hull size to the US Navy — significantly larger than the Essex class — with the eight-boiler plant distributed across the larger hull’s engineering spaces. The larger-scale engineering plant incorporated proportionally greater asbestos insulation surface area in the boiler rooms and engine rooms compared to the smaller Essex class

USS Forrestal 1967 Fire and Engineering Asbestos

The 1967 Forrestal fire demonstrated the fire environment where asbestos insulation was present:

• 1967 Yankee Station fire and engineering response — the catastrophic July 29, 1967 fire aboard USS Forrestal on Yankee Station — the worst US naval vessel fire since WWII — destroyed the ship’s aft flight deck and killed 134 sailors. The engineering crew who responded to the fire and maintained power and damage control throughout the casualty worked in the asbestos-insulated engineering plant during the casualty response, with the fire and subsequent salvage and repair operations at Subic Bay naval shipyard involving direct contact with asbestos-containing materials in the fire-damaged and undamaged portions of the carrier

VA Claims for Forrestal Class Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Navy aircraft carriers. Boiler Tenders, Machinist’s Mates, and crew members who served aboard Forrestal class aircraft carriers (CV-59 through CV-62) 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.