USS Wasp (CV-18) — Equipment Manifest & Asbestos Exposure Record

USS Wasp (CV-18) was a Essex-class aircraft carrier that served the U.S. Navy from 1943 through 1972 — a 29-year service life that places her squarely within the heaviest period of asbestos use in U.S. Navy ship construction. Across her service, Wasp’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 Wasp. 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

Documented Asbestos Products — Litigation Record

The following manufacturers and products are specifically documented in publicly filed asbestos litigation and Bureau of Ships records involving USS Wasp (CV-18):

Valves — deposition testimony: Publicly filed deposition testimony directly addresses valves aboard USS Wasp CV-18. A crew member who served aboard Wasp beginning in June 1960 testified about valve maintenance in the engineering spaces — including whether specific valve manufacturers’ products were installed aboard the ship. Cross-examination in the public record addresses Crane Co. and other major valve manufacturers in the context of Wasp specifically.

Electrical installation and corrosion inspections: Bureau of Ships correspondence documents electrical installation inspections, corrosion assessments, and equipment adequacy reviews specific to USS Wasp (CVA-18) — records that establish the condition and construction of the engineering and habitability spaces during the 1960s operating period.

Hangar deck, catapult, and fueling systems: Bureau of Ships subject-matter correspondence covers hangar deck specifications, catapult specifications, and fueling system specifications for USS Wasp (CVA-18). These spaces involved asbestos-containing fire-resistant materials, insulation, and gasket/packing systems.

Homeports and overhaul:

• Brooklyn Navy Yard — publicly filed testimony documents a crew member reporting to USS Wasp CV-18 at Brooklyn Navy Yard (pre-deployment overhaul period)
• Treasure Island (San Francisco) — shipyard reference in the litigation corpus

Essex-class shared documentation: As an Essex-class vessel, Wasp shares class-wide documentation of 250+ tons of amosite and chrysotile thermal insulation, eight Babcock & Wilcox main boilers, Griscom-Russell distilling plants, De Laval oil purifiers, and Crane Co. steam valves — all with documented asbestos insulation, gaskets, and packing.

Documented crew:

• Engineering officer or enlisted — came aboard USS Wasp (CVA-18) June 1960; publicly filed testimony addresses valve and equipment maintenance in engineering spaces

Asbestos-Containing Materials Aboard Wasp

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 Wasp 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. The documented Wasp 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.

Speak with an asbestos attorney with Navy veterans experience →

Equipment manifest derived from public-record BUSHIPS documentation specific to USS Wasp (CV-18). Manufacturer attribution links to documented asbestos-product histories on AsbestosIndex.com where available. Editorial review applied per site standards.