USS Oriskany (CV-34) — Asbestos Aboard the "Mighty O"

USS Oriskany (CV-34) — known throughout the fleet as the “Mighty O” — was an Essex-class carrier commissioned in September 1950 at the New York Naval Shipyard and modernized under the SCB-125 (Angle Deck) program. Oriskany conducted three combat deployments to Vietnam (1965, 1966, and 1967), earning the distinction as one of the most decorated Vietnam-era carriers before being decommissioned in 1976. Oriskany became a memorial reef off Pensacola, Florida in 2006. As a ship built to WWII construction standards and modified in the mid-1950s, Oriskany used asbestos-containing materials throughout her engineering plant, steam system, and accommodation spaces, creating sustained asbestos exposure for her crew across her active service life.

1966 Fire and Asbestos Context

USS Oriskany is best known for the devastating fire of October 26, 1966:

• The Oriskany fire — caused by improper storage of Mk-24 illumination flares in a flare locker — killed 44 sailors and injured dozens more in the hangar bay conflagration at Yankee Station, Gulf of Tonkin. The fire and subsequent damage control efforts, including the use of firefighting systems and repair materials during post-fire repair, potentially disturbed asbestos-containing materials in the ship’s construction
• Oriskany’s post-fire repair at Subic Bay and subsequent return to combat operations involved repair work on the ship’s construction that would have included asbestos-containing materials consistent with the 1966-era repair standards

Engineering Plant Asbestos

Oriskany’s Essex-class propulsion plant used steam turbine propulsion with extensive asbestos insulation:

• Boiler plant insulation — Oriskany’s eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers used asbestos boiler lagging on the boiler exterior insulation, asbestos boiler brick in the furnace refractory, and asbestos rope used as door and access cover seals throughout the boiler plant. BT (Boiler Technician) ratings maintaining the boiler plant accumulated sustained asbestos exposure from boiler lagging and refractory maintenance
• Main steam system piping insulation — the main steam distribution piping connecting Oriskany’s boilers to the propulsion turbines and auxiliary steam consumers used asbestos pipe covering throughout the engineroom and fireroom steam distribution system. MM and BT ratings working in these engineering spaces encountered disturbed asbestos pipe covering insulation throughout their engineering watch duties
• Main propulsion turbines — Oriskany’s Westinghouse geared steam turbines used asbestos-containing materials in turbine casing insulation and in the steam chest and valve chest insulation of the main engine machinery

Ship’s Accommodation and Structural Asbestos

Oriskany’s WWII-era construction incorporated asbestos in interior construction:

• Crew berthing compartments — berthing compartments for Oriskany’s crew of approximately 3,000 used asbestos-containing deck tile and overhead insulation consistent with Essex-class construction standards
• Damage control materials — asbestos cloth and asbestos pipe lagging compounds were carried as repair materials in Oriskany’s damage control lockers for pipe repair and insulation repair during underway operations

VA Claims for USS Oriskany Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Essex-class aircraft carriers. BT, MM, and EM ratings who served aboard USS Oriskany 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.