USS Constellation (CVA-64) — Equipment Manifest & Asbestos Exposure Record

USS Constellation (CVA-64) — popularly known as “Connie” — was a Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier that served the U.S. Navy from her commissioning on 27 October 1961 through decommissioning on 7 August 2003. The second carrier to bear the name, she was built at New York Naval Shipyard (Brooklyn) and served during the Cold War, Vietnam War, the Iranian hostage crisis, the Gulf War, and operations following 9/11 — 42 years of continuous service.

The 55-entry equipment manifest below is sourced from the 1957 BUSHIPS Equipment Specifications and Manufacturers documentation specific to the Constellation — created during her construction phase to identify the machinery and manufacturers selected for her engineering plant. This is primary-source asbestos-exposure evidence at the highest tier.

Equipment Manifest

Documented Asbestos Products — Litigation Record

The following manufacturers and products are specifically documented in publicly filed asbestos litigation involving USS Constellation (CVA-64):

Boilers — Foster Wheeler: Eight Foster Wheeler D-type main propulsion boilers installed aboard Constellation. Boilers were covered in asbestos-containing insulation and sealed with asbestos-containing gaskets and packing. Component parts included handhold plates, manhole plates, braided rope, and insulation; preformed asbestos pipe-covering insulation used on associated drums. First boiler drums shipped approximately October 1957; keel laid 14 September 1957 at New York Naval Shipyard.

Condensers and air ejectors — Foster Wheeler: Main condensers and air ejectors provided by Foster Wheeler (four condensers). Associated piping insulated with asbestos-containing materials.

Pumps:

• Warren Pumps — condenser condensate pumps (1500 kW and 600 kW), steam-driven; steam turbine component insulated with asbestos-containing insulation; pumps sealed with asbestos-containing gaskets and packing
• Byron Jackson — 16 main feed pumps (two per boiler), turbine-driven; supplied with asbestos packing; replacement packing identified as John Crane 101M Babbitt foil packing
• Aurora Pumps — 38 Aurora pumps aboard Constellation; packing and gasket material containing asbestos; gasket brand identified as Victorite

Insulation products — worker testimony: Worker testimony identifies the following asbestos products used aboard Constellation:

• Asbestos block, asbestos brick, asbestos cement
• Asbestos tape, asbestos millboard
• Asbestos pipe covering, asbestos cloth

December 22, 1958 — Kitty Hawk Class High Temperature Pipe Insulation Forum (New York Naval Shipyard, USS Constellation CVA-64): industry attendees, Navy representatives, and equipment suppliers documented asbestos insulation specifications for the Kitty Hawk-class carriers including Constellation.

Documented crew — ratings and service periods:

• Pipefitter / Machinist (Machinists Union member) — served approximately March 1973 through approximately 1978, docked for repairs/overhauls at North Island, San Diego; exposure through asbestos-containing dust release during maintenance work

Asbestos Exposure Aboard Constellation

Constellation’s engineering plant — General Electric main turbines, Foster-Wheeler main boilers and condensers with air ejectors, Worthington high/medium/low pressure air compressors, Babcock & Wilcox refractory systems — was built to mid-1950s BUSHIPS specifications that called for extensive asbestos-containing insulation:

• Pipe lagging and thermal insulation on main steam, feed-water, fuel-oil, JP-5 aviation fuel, and condensate piping throughout four machinery spaces
• Boiler block insulation, refractory brick, and burner-front insulation on the eight Foster-Wheeler main boilers
• Asbestos gaskets and braided packing in valves, flanges, pumps, condensers, turbine glands, and air-system manifolds
• Insulation jackets on main propulsion turbines, reduction gears, ship-service turbine generators, and forced-draft blowers
• Vinyl asbestos floor tile and Marinite paneling throughout berthing, mess, ready rooms, hangar bay, and office spaces

Constellation’s air-wing operations (Worthington H.P./M.P./L.P. compressor systems) meant her crew also worked around aviation-service air systems that used asbestos-gasketed manifolds and high-pressure connections.

VA Benefits for Constellation Veterans

The 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. Constellation’s BUSHIPS-sourced equipment manifest is direct documentary evidence of the asbestos-containing materials her crew worked around for 42 years.

Speak with an asbestos attorney with Navy veterans experience →

Equipment manifest derived from 1957 BUSHIPS Equipment Specifications and Manufacturers documentation specific to USS Constellation (CVA-64). Manufacturer attribution links to documented asbestos-product histories on AsbestosIndex.com where available.

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.