Kitty Hawk Class Aircraft Carriers (CV-63, CV-64, CV-66) — Asbestos in Vietnam-Era Supercarriers

The Kitty Hawk class aircraft carriers — USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), USS Constellation (CV-64), and USS America (CV-66) — were the follow-on supercarrier design to the Forrestal class, incorporating design refinements from Forrestal class operational experience. USS Kitty Hawk and USS Constellation were built at New York Shipbuilding Corporation (Camden, NJ) and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard respectively, while USS America was built at Newport News Shipbuilding. Commissioned between 1961 and 1965, the Kitty Hawk class used eight boilers in four firerooms driving four steam turbine sets at steam pressures exceeding 1,200 PSI in the improved propulsion plants of the class. Their large-scale engineering plants required asbestos insulation throughout, and all three hulls conducted extensive Vietnam and Cold War deployments during careers extending into the 1990s.

Steam Plant and Asbestos in Kitty Hawk Engineering Spaces

The Kitty Hawk class propulsion plant — eight boilers in four firerooms with four turbine sets producing approximately 280,000 shaft horsepower — required comprehensive asbestos insulation in the same categories as other large-deck carrier designs:

• Eight boilers in four firerooms with asbestos block, sectional covering, and cement insulation on boiler casings, steam drums, superheater sections, and uptake connections
• Four steam turbine sets in four engine rooms with asbestos block insulation on turbine casings, gland steam connections, and high-temperature exhaust piping
• Main steam and feedwater piping throughout the carrier’s engineering spaces covered with asbestos block lagging and expansion joint lagging cloth
• Catapult steam systems — four steam catapults served by high-pressure steam lines insulated with asbestos block throughout the catapult steam distribution runs
• Auxiliary steam systems serving hotel loads for 5,000-man crews in laundry, galley, domestic hot water, and space heating through asbestos-insulated pipe distribution

Interior Construction

The Kitty Hawk class carriers were built with asbestos-containing materials throughout their interior construction for crew complements of approximately 5,000 sailors and officers operating 90+ aircraft air wings:

• Crew berthing throughout the hull using asbestos floor tile, overhead lagging, and bulkhead insulation in compartments on multiple decks
• Aviation maintenance shops and work centers on the hangar deck level with asbestos-containing overhead construction
• Ordnance magazines and handling spaces with asbestos-containing bulkhead construction separating ordnance storage from machinery spaces

USS Constellation Fire During Construction (1960)

USS Constellation (CV-64) experienced a serious fire on December 19, 1960, while under construction at Brooklyn Navy Yard. The fire killed 50 workers and injured 150, and required significant reconstruction before the carrier’s commissioning in 1961. Workers involved in the reconstruction and completion work following the fire were exposed to asbestos-containing materials in the carrier’s construction.

Vietnam and Cold War Service

All three Kitty Hawk class carriers served multiple combat deployments to the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. USS Kitty Hawk and USS Constellation each made multiple WestPac/Vietnam deployments. USS America deployed to the Mediterranean and North Atlantic throughout the Cold War. The class remained in active service through the 1990s — USS Kitty Hawk remained in active service until 2009, one of the last conventionally powered carriers. Sailors who served aboard these vessels throughout their Vietnam-era and Cold War service were present in engineering spaces where original 1960s-era asbestos insulation had been aging for decades.

VA Claims for Kitty Hawk Class Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Navy carriers. Veterans who served aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), USS Constellation (CV-64), or USS America (CV-66) and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits. DD-214 records identifying CV-63, CV-64, or CV-66 as a duty station document the qualifying 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.