The USS Humboldt (AVP-21) was a United States Navy Barnegat-class small seaplane tender in commission from 1941 to 1947 that served in the Atlantic during World War II. It was laid down at the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts, on 6 September 1940; launched on 17 March 1941, sponsored by Mrs. William T. Tarrant, and commissioned on 7 October 1941 with Commander W. G. Tomkinson in command. The ship was briefly reclassified as a miscellaneous auxiliary and redesignated AG-121 during 1945. After the war, it was in commission in the United States Coast Guard as the cutter USCGC Humboldt (WAVP-372), later WHEC-372, from 1949 to 1969. Veterans of the United States Navy have spent countless hours aboard different kinds of ships that were built with asbestos. During the peak years of shipbuilding, from the turn of the century until the mid-1970s, Navy ships extensively utilized asbestos products and materials in their construction. As a result, all military personnel and crew members who lived or worked on these ships were exposed to the deadly material. Asbestos has been found in aircraft carriers, amphibious warships, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, escorts, frigates, minesweepers, submarines, and merchant marine ships.
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