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Did you serve aboard the USS Maloy? This destroyer carried asbestos in nearly every compartment. Here is where it was, and who is responsible. The USS Maloy, hull number DE-791, was a destroyer, built by Consolidated Steel Corporation and commissioned in 1943. She served through WWII Atlantic Theater, and Cold War Atlantic Fleet. Public naval references list this equipment aboard the USS Maloy, DE-791 — 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 Maloy from makers such as Babcock and Wilcox, General Electric, Worthington, and Chapman allegedly contained asbestos. If you served aboard the USS Maloy 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 Maloy (DE-791) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort commissioned 13 December 1943 — Atlantic anti-submarine operations during WWII (including D-Day support), post-war experimental and oceanographic-research service, and Cold War operations through 1965.

The 13-entry equipment manifest below is sourced from ship-specific BUSHIPS (Bureau of Ships) documentation identifying machinery and equipment installed aboard. Each entry is documented equipment with verified manufacturer attribution — primary-source material for asbestos-exposure case development by Navy veterans and surviving families.

Equipment Manifest

Equipment Manifest — USS Maloy (DE-791). 13 machinery/equipment entries identified through ship-specific BUSHIPS documentation. Manufacturers in bold link to documented asbestos-product history on AsbestosIndex.com.
EquipmentManufacturerQtyNotes
TurbineGeneral Electric
Reduction GearGeneral Electric
PropellerStone Manganese Marine
GeneratorGeneral Electric
MotorGeneral Electric
BoilerBabcock & Wilcox
PumpWorthington
ValveChapman
GyrocompassSperry1
Magnetic CompassRitchie1
RadarGeneral Electric
SonarGeneral Electric
Sound Powered TelephoneStromberg-Carlson

Asbestos-Containing Materials Aboard Maloy

The standard asbestos-containing materials installed throughout U.S. Navy destroyer escorts of this era are documented to have included:

  • Pipe lagging and thermal insulation on main 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 main propulsion turbines, reduction gears, ship-service turbine generators, and forced-draft blowers
  • 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 compartments
  • Asbestos rope, wick, and tape in gland-seal applications throughout the engineering plant

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, ripped out, and replaced.

VA Benefits for Maloy 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 Maloy equipment manifest is direct documentary evidence of the asbestos-containing materials her crew worked around throughout her service life.

Parallel claims against the asbestos bankruptcy trust funds established by the manufacturers of these products are also available, and do not reduce VA compensation.

Speak with an asbestos attorney with Navy veterans experience →


Equipment manifest derived from public-record BUSHIPS documentation specific to USS Maloy (DE-791). Manufacturer attribution links to documented asbestos-product histories on AsbestosIndex.com where available. Editorial review applied per site standards.