Wasp Class (LHD-1) Amphibious Assault Ships — Asbestos in Post-Tarawa Amphibious Carriers

The Wasp class (LHD-1) amphibious assault ships — USS Wasp (LHD-1) through USS Makin Island (LHD-8), built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi from 1985 to 2009 — are the Navy’s primary amphibious assault ships, combining the aviation capabilities of a carrier with the well deck and landing craft facilities of an amphibious assault ship. The Wasp class succeeded the Tarawa class (LHA-1) as the Navy’s large-deck amphibious vessel and operates with a crew of approximately 1,100 plus an embarked Marine Air-Ground Task Force.

Engineering Plant and Construction Timeline

The Wasp class construction period spans the transition from full asbestos use to post-phase-down specifications:

• USS Wasp (LHD-1), commissioned 1989, and USS Essex (LHD-2), commissioned 1992, represent the earliest hulls — built when the Navy’s asbestos phase-down was underway but not fully complete for all component categories. Some auxiliary steam and hotel steam system components in these early hulls may have been built under transitional specifications
• Mid-class hulls (LHD-3 through LHD-6) commissioned 1993-2001 were built under specifications that had substantially eliminated asbestos from new naval construction
• Later hulls (LHD-7 Iwo Jima and LHD-8 Makin Island) were built under fully post-asbestos specifications; LHD-8 uses electric drive propulsion, eliminating steam-plant exposure pathways entirely

Aviation Support and Engineering Spaces

Wasp class ships carry large engineering plants to support both propulsion and aviation fuel, ordnance, and aviation support operations:

• Main propulsion steam plant — LHD-1 through LHD-7 use steam turbine propulsion with boilers generating steam for propulsion and ship services; in earliest hulls, the auxiliary steam distribution system serving laundry, galley, and hotel heating loads used specifications transitional from the asbestos phase-down period
• Aviation fuel systems — the aviation fuel systems supporting Harrier and helicopter operations used piping and valve components with potential asbestos-containing gaskets and packing in the earliest hulls
• Well deck machinery — landing craft launch and recovery machinery in the well deck includes significant mechanical and hydraulic equipment maintained by Machinist’s Mates and Hull Technicians

Tarawa Class Comparison

Veterans comparing Wasp class and Tarawa class (LHA-1) assignments for asbestos exposure should note that Tarawa class ships — commissioned 1976-1980 — were built entirely during the period of full asbestos use in naval construction, with asbestos insulation in their steam plant engineering spaces. Tarawa class assignments carry the stronger asbestos exposure claim compared to mid- and late-production Wasp class hulls.

VA Claims for Wasp Class Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Navy amphibious vessels. Engineering ratings — Boiler Technicians, Machinist’s Mates, Hull Technicians — who served in engineering billets aboard the earliest Wasp class hulls or who have prior service aboard Tarawa class LHAs 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.