Shipyard, deployment, and service events for this vessel documented in the public record — court filings, the ship’s deck logs, or the crew’s own cruise book (each entry cites its source). Dry-dockings, overhauls, and yard periods were when asbestos insulation was torn out and replaced, the peak-exposure work for the crew and yard workers aboard.
1960
Commissioned — The aircraft carrier was first commissioned and entered service.
1964
Overhaul — Underwent an overhaul in 1964, during which repair parts including a horizontal swing check valve were provided.
1973
Dry-docking — Dry-docked, per the ship's deck log.
1973
Yard period / shipyard — In the shipyard, per the ship's deck log.
1973
Mooring / movement — Moored/underway, per the ship's deck log.
1974
Mooring / movement — Moored/underway, per the ship's deck log.
Date not stated in the record
Watch-standing duty — Crew stood watch aboard the carrier, observing and assisting yard and civilian workers repairing and overhauling pumps and valves.
Date not stated in the record
Overhaul — Underwent an overhaul in dry dock during which boiler feed pumps and associated equipment were maintained, with gaskets and bonnets replaced and equipment torn down and cleaned.
Derived from publicly filed asbestos-litigation records, ship’s deck logs, and the crew’s own cruise books. Historical service events; this does not constitute legal or medical advice.
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US Navy 050517-N-0120R-127 The conventionally powered aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) sails past a small group of Japanese fishing vessels and heads toward Sagami BaySource: Wikimedia Commons — public domain (U.S. Navy photograph)
Service History
From the public Wikipedia / DANFS service-history record — source ›
USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), lead ship of her class, was laid down in 1956 and commissioned in April 1961 at Philadelphia. She served as a forward-deployed carrier in the Western Pacific during the Cold War and conducted sustained combat operations during the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1972, earning the Presidential Unit Citation and Navy Unit Meritorious Commendation. After 48 years of active service, including ten years as the forward-deployed carrier at Yokosuka, Japan, Kitty Hawk was decommissioned in May 2009 and subsequently scrapped in 2022.
Construction & Service Dates
Builder
New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey
Laid down
1956-12-27
Launched
1960-05-21
Commissioned
1961-04-29
Decommissioned
2009-05-12
Notable Tours / Service Eras
Cold War Pacific Fleet 1961-1965
Vietnam War Southeast Asia 1965-1972
Cold War Forward-Deployed Carrier Japan 1998-2008
Combat Actions
Vietnam War — North Vietnam bombing campaigns· 1965-1972 carrier strike operations
Tet Offensive operations· 1968 combat air support
Home Ports & Forward Bases
Norfolk VA — departure port 1961
San Francisco CA — home port 1962-1965
San Diego CA — home port 1965-2008
Yokosuka Japan — forward-deployed base 1998-2008
Drydock & Overhaul Periods
High Asbestos-Exposure Window
San Francisco Naval Shipyard· 1961 alterations
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard· 1965 overhaul
San Diego Naval Shipyard· 1966 overhaul
Long Beach Naval Shipyard· 1968 maintenance
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard· 1969 dry dock
Asbestos rip-out, insulation replacement, and gasket-packing work occurred during these yard periods. Sailors aboard during overhauls had peak exposure to airborne asbestos fiber.
Notable Incidents
16 January 1968 — C-1A Trader accident in Subic Bay, four personnel and aircraft lost
Fire incident while in port at Subic Bay during November 1967–June 1968 deployment; general quarters for 51 hours
12 October 1972 — race riot involving more than 200 sailors en route to Gulf of Tonkin
Final Disposition
scrapped in Brownsville, Texas — arrived May 2022
Read the video transcript
Did you serve aboard the USS Kitty Hawk? This aircraft carrier carried asbestos in nearly every compartment. Here is where it was, and who is responsible. The USS Kitty Hawk, hull number CV-63, was an aircraft carrier, built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation and commissioned in 1961. She served through Cold War Pacific Fleet, Vietnam War Southeast Asia, and Cold War Forward-Deployed Carrier Japan. Public naval references list this equipment aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, CV-63 — insulated and sealed with asbestos. Each shipyard overhaul and major repair meant asbestos insulation was torn out and replaced — peak-exposure work for the yard workers and the crew aboard. Exposure was worst in the engineering spaces, where the snipes worked — but asbestos lined the whole ship, so all hands were exposed. The companies that made the asbestos equipment aboard — not the Navy — are who asbestos claims are brought against. According to asbestos litigation records, the equipment aboard the USS Kitty Hawk from makers such as Copes-Vulcan, Edward Valves, Inc., FW, and Foster Wheeler allegedly contained asbestos. If you served aboard the USS Kitty Hawk and were later diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you may have a legal claim against the companies that made the asbestos products used aboard your ship. This is educational information from an independent publisher — not a law firm — and is not legal advice.
USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) was a Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier (lead ship) that served the U.S. Navy from 1961 through 2009 — a 48-year service life that places her squarely within the heaviest period of asbestos use in U.S. Navy ship construction. Across her service, Kitty Hawk’s crew worked daily in machinery spaces, engineering plant, and habitable compartments constructed with extensive asbestos-containing materials.
The equipment manifest below is drawn from BUSHIPS (Bureau of Ships) ship-specific documentation that identifies the machinery and equipment manufacturers installed aboard Kitty Hawk. Each entry is a documented item of equipment with verified manufacturer attribution — primary-source evidence for asbestos-exposure case development by Navy veterans and their families.
Equipment Manifest
Equipment Manifest — USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). 85 machinery/equipment entries identified through ship-specific BUSHIPS documentation. Manufacturers in bold link to documented asbestos-product history on AsbestosIndex.com.
The following asbestos-containing products and manufacturers are specifically documented in publicly filed asbestos litigation involving USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63):
Thermal insulation:
Approximately 150 tons (300,000 pounds) of amosite asbestos thermal insulation documented aboard Kitty Hawk alone
Johns Manville pipe covering insulation — identified by brand in Kitty Hawk cases
Unibestos insulation — identified by product name in Kitty Hawk cases
Kaylo 10 block insulation (Owens-Illinois / Owens Corning) — documented on boiler exterior, mud drum, and steam drum surfaces; handhold plugs (50–60 plugs per header, approximately 16–18 headers per boiler)
Gaskets and packing:
Garlock compressed asbestos gaskets and asbestos packing — identified by deponent who saw “Garlock” and “asbestos” on packaging labels and stamped into the gaskets themselves; gasket and packing work performed “a couple of times per week” during service 1974–1984
Leslie Controls valves — asbestos gaskets and packing; Yarway steam traps and valves — asbestos gaskets and packing
**Crane Co.
Documented work methods generating exposure:
Cutting Garlock gaskets with a knife and gasket cutter
Removing gaskets with a flat screwdriver and electric-powered wire wheel
Cutting packing with a knife; removing packing with a packing hook
Opening valve bonnets to replace gaskets and packing “a couple of times per week”
Documented worker (rating): Boiler plant machinery repairman (E-6); service period 1974–1984 aboard Kitty Hawk; work performed in boiler rooms, engine rooms, and mechanical spaces.
Note: Pre-1973 refractory materials contained asbestos. By 1982, asbestos materials were posted with notices following a yard overhaul.
Asbestos-Containing Materials Aboard Kitty Hawk
The standard asbestos-containing materials installed throughout U.S. Navy ships of this era are documented to have included:
Pipe lagging and thermal insulation on steam, feed-water, fuel-oil, condensate, and saltwater piping throughout machinery spaces
Boiler block insulation, refractory brick, and gun-blocks around the main boilers
Asbestos gaskets and braided packing in valves, flanges, pumps, condensers, heat exchangers, and turbine glands
Insulation jackets and removable lagging on turbines, reduction gears, and auxiliary machinery
Sheet asbestos and Marinite panels as fire-stops, bulkhead insulation, and overhead insulation
Vinyl asbestos floor tile (VAT) in passageways, berthing, mess decks, and habitable spaces
Asbestos rope, wick, and tape in glands, joints, and seal applications
Sailors in Boilerman, Machinist’s Mate, Engineman, Electrician’s Mate, Hull Maintenance Technician, Damage Controlman, and other engineering ratings worked routinely in spaces where these materials were installed, maintained, and overhauled.
VA Benefits for Kitty Hawk Veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural disease as conditions that may be service-connected for Navy veterans with documented asbestos exposure. The documented Kitty Hawk equipment manifest is direct evidence of the asbestos-containing materials her crew worked around.
Parallel claims against the asbestos bankruptcy trust funds established by the manufacturers of these products are also available, and do not reduce VA compensation.
Equipment manifest derived from public-record BUSHIPS documentation specific to USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). Manufacturer attribution links to documented asbestos-product histories on AsbestosIndex.com where available. Editorial review applied per site standards.
AsbestosIndex™Product & Manufacturer Reference
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.
Documented Asbestos-Exposure Environments — U.S. Navy Service
Public-domain U.S. Navy photographs illustrating the engineering spaces, ratings, and yard environments where asbestos materials were routinely encountered during normal duty.
All images are public domain (U.S. Government works). Specific photographs depict generic Navy engineering and yard environments — not the named vessel above. Asbestos materials shown or implied include pipe lagging, boiler insulation, steam-line covering, and gasket / packing materials standard on U.S. Navy vessels through the early 1980s.
Kitty CV-63 — Frequently Asked Questions
Are Kitty CV-63 veterans covered by Navy asbestos litigation records?
Yes. Kitty CV-63 is documented in the public U.S. Navy asbestos litigation record. U.S. Navy vessels of her service era were built to BUSHIPS specifications that required asbestos insulation throughout engineering spaces, on steam lines, around boilers and turbines, and in gasket and packing materials.
Which shipboard components on Kitty CV-63 contained asbestos?
Asbestos-containing materials documented aboard U.S. Navy vessels of Kitty CV-63's era include: boiler insulation and lagging, steam-line pipe insulation, turbine and reduction-gear casings, valve packing, gaskets, brake and clutch friction materials, electrical wire insulation, overhead pipe coverings in berthing and mess spaces, and Navy-issue boiler cement and refractory in fireboxes.
What ratings were exposed to asbestos serving on Kitty CV-63?
Navy ratings with the highest documented asbestos exposure include Machinist's Mate (MM), Boiler Technician (BT), Hull Maintenance Technician (HT), Engineman (EN), Electrician's Mate (EM), Interior Communications Electrician (IC), Damage Controlman (DC), and Pipefitter / Shipfitter. Officers in engineering departments also encountered asbestos in normal duty. Shipyard workers performing overhaul, repair, or refit work had concentrated exposure during yard periods.
What equipment manufacturers are documented on Kitty CV-63?
Documented equipment manufacturers aboard Kitty CV-63 include: Allis-Chalmers, American Co., Bailey, Bethlehem Steel, Buffalo, Buffalo Forge, Byron Jackson. These manufacturers supplied boilers, turbines, pumps, valves, electrical equipment, and insulation systems through BUSHIPS contracts during the asbestos era.
Do Kitty CV-63 veterans qualify for VA disability for mesothelioma?
Potentially. VA evaluates asbestos-related disability claims individually. Kitty CV-63 veterans generally need medical records showing the current disease, service records supporting in-service asbestos exposure, and a doctor's statement connecting the two. Veterans may file at VA.gov, call 1-800-827-1000, or seek free help from an accredited Veterans Service Organization such as DAV, VFW, or the American Legion.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this site. References to ships, shipyards, companies, products, and asbestos-containing materials are drawn from public VA records, NARA archives, EPA/OSHA databases, and public litigation records. All references reflect what has been documented or alleged in publicly filed records. Consult a licensed physician for medical guidance and a qualified attorney for legal advice regarding your specific situation.
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