USS Midway (CV-41)

The USS Midway (CV-41), the lead ship of the Midway class, was the first aircraft carrier to be commissioned after the end of World War II. She was built by the Newport News Shipbuilding Company in 1943 at Newport News, Virginia. The Midway had a revolutionary hull design that provided the best maneuverability achieved for an aircraft carrier.

The U.S. Navy’s Sixth Fleet
Launched in early 1945 with a crew of more than 4,100 enlisted men and officers, the USS Midway carried up to 100 aircraft.  She was deployed with the Sixth Fleet, and served in:

 the Vietnam War
 Operation Frequent Wind
 Operation Desert Storm
 and much more

Overhaul and Modernization
In 1955, the USS Midway was overhauled at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Washington. In 1966, she underwent an extensive modernization process at the San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard. Today, the USS Midway is a museum ship in San Diego, California.

The USS Midway and Toxic Asbestos
The U.S. Navy was having aircraft carriers and other ships built at an amazing pace in the early 1940s. The rush to build the fleet for the WWII effort resulted in a 17-fold increase in the number of Navy vessels from 1939 to 1945: 394 vessels to 6,768. This rush to construct and commission Navy ships left aside most — if not all — precautions for protecting shipyard workers and Navy personnel from the dangers of asbestos.

Millions of People Exposed to Asbestos
Over four million men and women worked in the shipyards during the late 1930s and 1940s, and thousands of men and women served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and in peacetime. All of these individuals were at risk of being exposed to a toxic level of asbestos, the mineral that was eventually confirmed to be a carcinogen.

Hundreds of Asbestos-Containing Materials in Navy Vessels
Asbestos was used in Navy ships in:

 brake shoes
 gaskets
 insulation for pipes, wires, walls, turbines, boilers
 more than 200 other products

Contact an Asbestos Lawyer
If you’re concerned about your possible asbestos exposure in your Navy or shipbuilding career, contact an asbestos law firm near you today.