USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) — Asbestos Aboard the Midway-Class Carrier

USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) — known affectionately to her crew as “Rosie” — was a Midway-class aircraft carrier commissioned in October 1945 at the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn. One of three Midway-class carriers built at the end of WWII, FDR was distinguished by her armored flight deck design and served as a conventional carrier through Korean War patrols and Mediterranean and Atlantic deployments into the 1970s before decommissioning in 1977. The ship was homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Florida for most of her career. FDR’s 1945 construction used asbestos insulation throughout her steam plant, engineering systems, and interior spaces consistent with WWII-era naval construction standards.

Steam Plant and Engineering Asbestos

FDR’s Midway-class steam propulsion system incorporated asbestos throughout:

• Boiler plant — FDR’s twelve boilers used asbestos boiler lagging on external surfaces, asbestos refractory brick in furnace combustion chambers, and asbestos packing and sealing materials at boiler access doors, manholes, and valve packing throughout the firerooms. BT ratings on FDR’s boiler plant maintained the most extensive asbestos-containing equipment aboard ship
• Main steam piping — the main steam system distribution from FDR’s six firerooms to the enginerooms and auxiliary steam loads used asbestos magnesia pipe covering throughout the hot steam piping in the engineering spaces. The pipe covering in the firerooms and enginerooms — deteriorating under operational conditions — released asbestos fiber into the engineering spaces during normal operations and maintenance
• Ship’s service turbine generators — the steam-driven ship’s service generators used asbestos-containing turbine casing and steam chest insulation materials in the WWII-era construction

Armored Deck Midway-Class Construction

FDR’s Midway-class construction differed from Essex-class in armoring but not in asbestos use:

• The Midway class was distinguished from the Essex class by an armored flight deck and larger displacement — characteristics that required more extensive engineering plant to drive the heavier ship. The larger boiler plant and steam distribution system meant a proportionally larger quantity of asbestos-insulated steam system components throughout FDR’s engineering spaces

Interior Construction Asbestos

FDR’s 1945 interior construction used asbestos-containing materials:

• Crew berthing — berthing compartments for FDR’s complement of over 4,000 personnel used asbestos-containing deck tile and overhead insulation throughout the WWII-era construction
• Modifications and upgrades — FDR underwent numerous modifications and upgrades through her service life, with modification work in the 1950s and 1960s potentially involving asbestos-containing materials in the construction of new equipment spaces and system modifications

VA Claims for USS FDR Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Midway-class aircraft carriers. Engineering ratings and crew members who served aboard USS Franklin D. Roosevelt 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.