USS Midway (CV-41) — the Fighting Lady — was commissioned in September 1945 at Newport News Shipbuilding just after the end of World War II and served as the longest-serving U.S. aircraft carrier, remaining in commission for 47 years until 1992. Midway underwent several major modernizations that extended the ship through multiple aviation generations, operating in the Atlantic Fleet during the Cold War before transferring to the Pacific Fleet home-ported at Yokosuka, Japan — the only forward-deployed carrier — for the final decades of its service. The ship participated in Operation Desert Storm operations in January 1991. USS Midway was powered by twelve Babcock & Wilcox boilers generating steam for Westinghouse geared turbines producing 212,000 shaft horsepower on four propeller shafts. The twelve-boiler steam plant required a large Boiler Tender complement maintaining multiple boiler rooms, with the boiler casing insulation, turbine insulation, and steam distribution piping insulation throughout the ship incorporating asbestos-containing materials consistent with Navy construction and overhaul specifications from the mid-1940s through the ship’s operational life.
Twelve-Boiler Steam Plant Asbestos
Midway’s large steam plant incorporated extensive asbestos insulation:
- Babcock & Wilcox boiler casing insulation — the twelve Babcock & Wilcox boilers in Midway’s boiler rooms were insulated with asbestos block insulation on boiler casing exterior surfaces and asbestos cloth on boiler access components. With twelve boilers arranged in multiple boiler rooms, Boiler Tenders maintained a large asbestos-insulated boiler plant throughout underway steaming operations, accumulating asbestos exposure from the boiler casing insulation during each engineering watch rotation
- Westinghouse main turbine insulation — the Westinghouse geared steam turbines in Midway’s engine rooms were insulated with asbestos block on turbine casings and asbestos lagging on high-pressure steam admission piping. Machinist’s Mates tending the turbines and performing turbine maintenance worked in the asbestos-insulated turbine spaces
- Steam catapult systems — Midway’s steam catapult systems, rebuilt and upgraded through the ship’s modernizations, used high-pressure steam from the boiler plant with asbestos-containing pipe insulation on catapult steam distribution piping throughout the catapult systems
Modernization Periods and Asbestos Exposure
Midway’s major modernizations involved asbestos in repair and new construction:
- SCB-110 and SCB-101.66 modernizations — Midway underwent major modernizations in the 1950s and 1966-1970 that significantly rebuilt the ship’s flight deck geometry, island structure, and aviation systems. These modernization overhauls at San Francisco’s Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard involved shipyard workers installing asbestos pipe covering, asbestos insulation, and asbestos-containing building materials in the rebuilt and new construction areas. Navy personnel assigned to the ship during the modernization periods worked around or in the new construction areas where asbestos installation was underway
Forward Deployment and Pacific Operations
Midway’s Yokosuka forward deployment created asbestos exposure conditions:
- Continuous underway steaming — Midway’s forward-deployed status at Yokosuka, Japan for over a decade required the ship to maintain high operational tempo with frequent underway periods. Continuous boiler plant operation throughout the operational deployment cycle maintained the Boiler Tender complement in regular contact with the asbestos-insulated boiler plant throughout the forward deployment period
VA Claims for USS Midway 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 USS Midway (CV-41) and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.
The asbestos-containing products documented on U.S. Navy vessels and at shipyards are catalogued by manufacturer on AsbestosIndex. These records cross-reference which companies supplied which materials and to which facilities.
Navy Ratings Most Exposed to Asbestos Aboard Midway
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the public asbestos litigation record document that the following Navy ratings worked routinely in spaces where ACM was installed, maintained, ripped out, and replaced:
VA Presumptive Benefits — No Filing Deadline
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural disease as conditions presumed to be service-connected for Navy veterans with documented asbestos exposure under 38 CFR § 3.309(d). No statute of limitations applies to VA disability compensation claims.
Available benefits may include monthly disability compensation, Dependency & Indemnity Compensation (DIC) for surviving spouses, priority VA healthcare enrollment, and Special Monthly Compensation for severe cases. Parallel claims against the asbestos bankruptcy trust funds established by the manufacturers of these products do not reduce VA compensation.
How to file a VA disability claim: VA claims are filed directly with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — not with a law firm. Start at VA.gov › Hazardous Materials Exposure, call 1‑800‑827‑1000, or get free help filing from a Veterans Service Organization: DAV, VFW, or American Legion.
VA Claims Guide on This Site › Compare: VA vs. Civil Lawsuit
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.
