Sturgeon Class (SSN-637) Submarines — Asbestos in Cold War Fast-Attack Submarines

The Sturgeon class fast-attack submarines — 37 hulls (SSN-637 through SSN-687) built between 1963 and 1974 at Electric Boat (Groton, CT), Newport News Shipbuilding, Ingalls Shipbuilding, and Mare Island Naval Shipyard — were the primary US Navy hunter-killer submarine design of the Vietnam and early Cold War era. Built specifically for anti-submarine warfare in the deep ocean, the Sturgeon class used the Westinghouse S5W naval nuclear reactor (the same plant used in the Skipjack and Polaris SSBN boats) generating steam through a secondary circuit driving a single-shaft steam turbine arrangement. Their nuclear steam propulsion plants required asbestos insulation on secondary steam circuit components in engineering spaces characteristic of 1960s-era submarine construction.

Nuclear Steam Plant and Asbestos

The Sturgeon class S5W nuclear plant generates steam in the secondary circuit at temperatures and pressures requiring thermal insulation on steam-carrying components throughout the engineering space:

• Secondary steam piping from the steam generators to the main propulsion turbines, covered with asbestos block insulation and lagging in the cramped engineering spaces of the submarine
• Main propulsion turbine and reduction gear with asbestos block insulation on turbine casings and high-temperature steam connections
• Turbo-generator sets providing ship’s service electrical power, with asbestos insulation on operating turbine components
• Auxiliary steam equipment in the engineering spaces — steam traps, feedwater heaters, ejectors — with asbestos-insulated pipe and fittings

Cramped Submarine Engineering Spaces

The enclosed engineering space geometry of submarine construction concentrated insulation work in close proximity to personnel. Unlike surface ship engine rooms with multiple access routes, submarine engineering spaces required personnel to work immediately adjacent to insulated components during watch standing, maintenance, and repair. Machinist’s Mates who stood engineering watches in the Sturgeon class engine room were in sustained close proximity to asbestos-insulated steam components.

Class-Wide Construction Record

The Sturgeon class was built simultaneously at multiple yards — Electric Boat, Newport News, Ingalls (Pascagoula), and Mare Island — all of which used asbestos insulation in nuclear submarine construction throughout the 1963-1974 build period. The class-wide pattern of asbestos use in Sturgeon class submarines is consistent across all construction yards and applies to all 37 hulls of the class regardless of which shipyard constructed the individual vessel.

Cold War Operational Record

Sturgeon class submarines served as primary anti-submarine warfare platforms throughout the Cold War, conducting classified operations under the Arctic ice, in the North Atlantic, and in the Pacific against Soviet naval forces. The class remained in active service through the 1990s, with some hulls completing careers exceeding two decades. Sailors who served in the Sturgeon class engineering plant throughout its service life were present in engineering spaces where original 1960s-era asbestos insulation had been aging throughout the vessel’s operational life.

VA Claims for Sturgeon Class Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Navy submarines. Veterans who served in engineering billets aboard Sturgeon class submarines (SSN-637 through SSN-687) and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits. DD-214 records identifying a Sturgeon class hull number as a duty station document the qualifying assignment.

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.