Aircraft carriers play a critical role during wartime. The men and women of our armed forces who served on the aircraft carriers that were built in the early to mid twentieth century may have been exposed to asbestos. At one time, asbestos was a favored material with superior heat-resistant properties used extensively for fireproofing, insulating and soundproofing.
It was eventually discovered, however, that asbestos was linked to dangerous respiratory diseases including mesothelioma. Unfortunately, this put many people, including veterans at risk for developing the disease. Veterans exposed to asbestos while serving in the armed forces may be interested in finding out more about how mesothelioma affects veterans or where to get medical support. Fortunately there are leading mesothelioma clinics in the country where treatment can be obtained as well as veteran medical centers that cater exclusively to our service men and women. For more information please also consult our mesothelioma treatment guide.
If you served on one of the aircraft carriers listed below, you may have been exposed to asbestos.
| Name |
Commissioned |
Class |
Status |
| USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) |
1989 |
Nimitz |
Active |
| USS America (CV-66) |
1965 |
Kitty Hawk |
Scuttled |
| USS Antietam (CV-36) |
1945 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Bataan (CVL-29) |
1943 |
Independence |
Scrapped |
| USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) |
1943 |
Independence |
Scrapped |
| USS Bennington (CV-20) |
1944 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Bon Homme Richard (CV-31) |
1944 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Boxer (CV-21) |
1945 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) |
1943 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Cabot (CVL-28) |
1943 |
Independence |
Scrapped |
| USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) |
1981 |
Nimitz |
Active |
| USS Constellation (CV-64) |
1961 |
Kitty Hawk |
To be scuttled |
| USS Coral Sea (CVB-43) |
1947 |
Midway |
Scrapped |
| USS Cowpens (CVL-25) |
1943 |
Independence |
Scrapped |
| USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) |
1977 |
Nimitz |
Active |
| USS Enterprise (CV-6) |
1938 |
Yorktown |
Scrapped |
| USS Enterprise (CVN-65) |
1961 |
Enterprise |
Active |
| USS Essex (CV-9) |
1942 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Forrestal (CV-59) |
1955 |
Forrestal |
To be scuttled |
| USS Franklin (CV-13) |
1944 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42) |
1945 |
Midway |
Scrapped |
| USS George HW Bush (CVN-77) |
2009 |
Nimitz |
Active |
| USS George Washington (CVN-73) |
1992 |
Nimitz |
Active |
| USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) |
2015 |
Ford |
Keel laid |
| USS Hancock (CV-19) |
1944 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Harry S Truman (CVN-75) |
1998 |
Nimitz |
Active |
| USS Hornet (CV-8) |
1941 |
Yorktown |
Sunk |
| USS Hornet (CV-12) |
1943 |
Essex |
Museum |
| USS Independence (CVL-22) |
1943 |
Independence |
Scuttled |
| USS Independence (CV-62) |
1959 |
Forrestal |
To be scuttled |
| USS Intrepid (CV-11) |
1943 |
Essex |
Museum |
| USS Iwo Jima (CV-46) |
Cancelled |
Essex |
Cancelled |
| USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) |
1995 |
Nimitz |
Active |
| USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) |
1968 |
Kennedy |
Decommissioned |
| USS Kearsarge (CV-33) |
1946 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) |
1961 |
Kitty Hawk |
Decommissioned |
| USS Lake Champlain (CV-39) |
1945 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Langley (CV-1) |
1922 |
Langley |
Sunk |
| USS Langley (CVL-27) |
1943 |
Independence |
Scrapped |
| USS Lexington (CV-2) |
1927 |
Lexington |
Sunk |
| USS Lexington (CV-16) |
1943 |
Essex |
Museum |
| USS Leyte (CV-32) |
1946 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Midway (CVB-41) |
1945 |
Midway |
Museum |
| USS Monterey (CVL-26) |
1943 |
Independence |
Scrapped |
| USS Nimitz (CVN-68) |
1975 |
Nimitz |
Active |
| USS Oriskany (CV-34) |
1950 |
Essex |
Scuttled |
| USS Philippine Sea (CV-47) |
1946 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Princeton (CVL-23) |
1943 |
Independence |
Sunk |
| USS Princeton (CV-37) |
1945 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Randolph (CV-15) |
1944 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Ranger (CV-4) |
1934 |
Ranger |
Scrapped |
| USS Ranger (CV-61) |
1957 |
Forrestal |
On donation hold |
| USS Reprisal (CV-35) |
Cancelled |
Essex |
Cancelled |
| USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) |
2003 |
Nimitz |
Active |
| USS Saipan (CVL-48) |
1946 |
Saipan |
Scrapped |
| USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) |
1943 |
Independence |
Scrapped |
| USS Saratoga (CV-3) |
1927 |
Lexington |
Sunk |
| USS Saratoga (CV-60) |
1956 |
Forrestal |
Decommissioned |
| USS Shangri-la (CV-38) |
1944 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Tarawa (CV-40) |
1945 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) |
1986 |
Nimitz |
Active |
| USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) |
1944 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Valley Forge (CV-45) |
1946 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Wasp (CV-7) |
1940 |
Wasp |
Sunk |
| USS Wasp (CV-18) |
1943 |
Essex |
Scrapped |
| USS Wright (CVL-49) |
1946 |
Saipan |
Scrapped |
| USS Yorktown (CV-5) |
1937 |
Yorktown |
Sunk |
| USS Yorktown (CV-10)) |
1943 |
Essex |
Museum |
Author: Linda Molinari
Editor in Chief, Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance
Read about Linda
Sources
Sources
"List of Aircraft Carriers of the United States Navy." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_carriers_of_the_United_States_Navy (accessed 9 September 2010).
