Leahy Class Guided Missile Cruiser (CG-16) — Asbestos in Cold War Double-End Missile Cruisers

The Leahy class guided missile cruisers — nine vessels commissioned between 1962 and 1964 (originally classified as DLG-16 through DLG-24, reclassified as CG-16 through CG-24 in 1975) — were the Navy’s first ships designed from the keel up as double-ended missile cruisers, with Terrier surface-to-air missile launchers both fore and aft providing 360-degree fleet air defense capability. Built at Bath Iron Works, Puget Sound Bridge and Dry Dock, and Todd Pacific Shipyards, the Leahy class served as carrier battle group air defense ships throughout the Cold War. The class used Babcock & Wilcox 1,200 psi boilers and de Laval steam turbines for propulsion, with the high-pressure steam plant incorporating extensive asbestos insulation throughout the boiler rooms and turbine spaces. Leahy class Cold War construction incorporated asbestos-containing building materials throughout the crew berthing, weapons systems spaces, and working spaces of these 7,800-ton cruisers.

High-Pressure Steam Plant and Asbestos

Leahy class steam propulsion systems incorporated asbestos throughout:

• Babcock & Wilcox 1,200 psi boiler insulation — Leahy class cruisers used Babcock & Wilcox boilers operating at 1,200 psi with asbestos block insulation on boiler casings and asbestos pipe covering on the high-pressure steam mains connecting the boiler rooms to the turbine rooms. Boiler Tender ratings maintaining the high-pressure boilers in the confined boiler rooms of these Cold War missile cruisers accumulated asbestos exposure from the installed boiler and steam system insulation throughout service
• De Laval steam turbine engineering spaces — de Laval steam turbines and reduction gears driving Leahy class twin screws were served by high-pressure steam distribution piping with asbestos pipe covering and asbestos gasket materials in steam line connections throughout the turbine rooms
• Steam catapult and evaporator systems — auxiliary steam systems serving the ship’s evaporators, heating systems, and steam-powered auxiliaries used asbestos pipe insulation throughout the auxiliary steam distribution systems in the engineering and accommodation spaces

Missile Weapons Systems Spaces and Asbestos

Leahy class weapons system spaces incorporated asbestos:

• Terrier missile magazine and handling spaces — the Terrier missile magazine and handling spaces aboard Leahy class cruisers were constructed with asbestos-containing insulation in the magazine spaces consistent with Navy magazine construction specifications for spaces housing missile ordnance, with weapons handling ratings working in these asbestos-containing magazine environments

VA Claims for Leahy Class Veterans

VA evaluates asbestos-related disability claims on a case-by-case basis. Veterans generally need evidence of in-service asbestos exposure, a current asbestos-related diagnosis, and a medical link between them. Engineering ratings and weapons system personnel who served aboard Leahy 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.