Aircraft carriers were first used by the U.S. Navy in the early part of the 20th century. During World War II, these ships saw use on a large scale in order to provide air support for convoys and amphibious invasions. The U.S. Navy’s aircraft carriers helped to end the reign of the battleship as the key component of a naval fleet and bring an end to combat in the Pacific.

Following the end of World War II, aircraft carriers have continued to play a crucial role in the U.S. Naval fleet. These ships have seen action in several major U.S. combat operations since then, including the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and the current war in Iraq.

Many of the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carriers contained asbestos parts or insulation. Veterans who were exposed to asbestos during their time in the military may be at an increased risk of developing mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, pleural diseases or other serious diseases.

Here is a partial list of naval aircraft carriers which may have been contaminated with asbestos:

• USS Abraham Lincoln

• USS Admiralty Islands

• USS America

• USS Antietam

• USS Antietam CV 36-1

• USS Badoeng Strait

• USS Bairoko

• USS Bataan

• USS Belleau Wood

• USS Bennington

• USS Block Island

• USS Bogue

• USS Bon Homme Richard

• USS Bonhomme Richard

• USS Boxer

• USS Bunker

• USS Bunker Hill

• USS Cabot

• USS Card

• USS Carl Vinson

• USS Constellation

• USS Coral Sea

• USS Corregidor

• USS Cowpens

• USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

• USS Enterprise

• USS Essex

• USS Fanshaw Bay

• USS Forrestal

• USS Franklin

• USS Franklin D. Roosevelt

• USS George H. W. Bush

• USS George Washington

• USS Hancock

• USS Harry S. Truman

• USS Hornet

• USS Hornet CV 12

• USS Hornet CV 8

• USS Independence

• USS Independence CVL 22

• USS Intrepid

• USS Iwo Jima

• USS John C. Stennis

• USS John F. Kennedy

• USS Juneau CL-119

• USS Kalinin Bay

• USS Kearsarge

• USS Kitty Hawk

• USS Kitty Hawk AKV-1

• USS Kitty Hawk CV-63

• USS Kwajalein

• USS Lake Champlain

• USS Langley

• USS Lexington

• USS Leyte

• USS Liscome Bay

• USS Makin Island

• USS Marcus Island

• USS Midway

• USS Monterey

• USS Nassau

• USS Nimitz

• USS Oriskany

• USS Petrof Bay

• USS Philippine Sea

• USS Princeton

• USS Puget Sound

• USS Randolph

• USS Ranger

• USS Reprisal

• USS Ronald Reagan

• USS Sable IX

• USS Saipan

• USS San Jacinto

• USS Saratoga

• USS Shangri La

• USS Shangri-la

• USS Sicily

• USS Steamer Bay

• USS Tarawa

• USS Theodore Roosevelt

• USS Ticonderoga

• USS Valley Forge

• USS Wasp

• USS Wright

• USS Yorktown