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Did you serve aboard the USS Reasoner? This frigate carried asbestos in nearly every compartment. Here is where it was, and who is responsible. The USS Reasoner, hull number FF-1063, was a frigate, built by Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company and commissioned in 1971. She served through Southeast Asia — Operation End Sweep. Public naval references list this equipment aboard the USS Reasoner, FF-1063 — insulated and sealed with asbestos. Exposure was worst in the engineering spaces, where the snipes worked — but asbestos lined the whole ship, so all hands were exposed. The companies that made the asbestos equipment aboard — not the Navy — are who asbestos claims are brought against. According to asbestos litigation records, the equipment aboard the USS Reasoner from makers such as Combustion Engineering (C-E), and Westinghouse allegedly contained asbestos. If you served aboard the USS Reasoner and were later diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you may have a legal claim against the companies that made the asbestos products used aboard your ship. This is educational information from an independent publisher — not a law firm — and is not legal advice.
USS Reasoner (FF-1063) is a documented U.S. Navy frigate. The equipment reference below was extracted from the publicly-available Wikipedia article on this vessel, which cites the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) — the U.S. Navy’s official ship-history publication maintained by the Naval History and Heritage Command.
Equipment Reference
| Equipment | Manufacturer | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boilers (1,200 psi) | Combustion Engineering (C-E) | 2 | 1,200 psi superheated boilers; primary steam source for propulsion turbine |
| Geared steam turbine | Westinghouse | 1 | 35,000 SHP; drives single propeller shaft; speed 27+ knots |
| 5"/54 caliber gun (Mk-42) | United States Navy / Naval Ordnance | 1 | Forward gun mount; standard Knox-class main battery |
| ASROC/Harpoon launcher (Mk-16, 8-cell) | Naval Ordnance | 1 | Capable of launching RUR-5 ASROC and UUM-44 SUBROC anti-submarine rockets and RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles |
| Phalanx CIWS (20mm close-in weapon system) | General Dynamics | 1 | Replaced BPDMS Sea Sparrow launcher in later service; radar-guided rotary cannon |
| Mk-46 torpedo launch tubes (single) | Naval Ordnance | 4 | Lightweight torpedo launchers for Mark 46 anti-submarine torpedoes |
| AN/SPS-40 air search radar | Hazeltine Corporation | 1 | Long-range 2D air search radar |
| AN/SPS-67 surface search radar | Sperry Marine | 1 | Surface search and navigation radar |
| AN/SQS-26 hull-mounted sonar | Sangamo Electric / Raytheon | 1 | Low-frequency active/passive bow-mounted sonar; primary ASW detection system |
| AN/SQR-18 towed array sonar | Raytheon | 1 | TACTAS passive towed array sonar for long-range submarine detection |
| Mk68 gun fire control system | Naval Ordnance Systems | 1 | Fire control radar and director for 5-inch gun |
| AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare system | Raytheon | 1 | Electronic support measures and active jamming suite |
| SH-2F Seasprite helicopter (LAMPS I) | Kaman Aerospace | 1 | Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS I) helicopter for ASW and surface search; replaced DASH drone |
Source: this equipment reference was extracted from public Wikipedia/DANFS records for USS Reasoner (FF-1063). These are secondary-source records — not primary BUSHIPS design documents. For litigation purposes, this data is a starting point; a ship-specific BUSHIPS Material Inspection Report or commissioning book would provide gold-standard verification.
The asbestos-containing products documented on U.S. Navy vessels and at shipyards are catalogued by manufacturer on AsbestosIndex. These records cross-reference which companies supplied which materials and to which facilities.
Navy Ratings Most Exposed to Asbestos Aboard Reasoner
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the public asbestos litigation record document that the following Navy ratings worked routinely in spaces where ACM was installed, maintained, ripped out, and replaced:
VA Disability Claims for Asbestos-Related Disease
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs evaluates asbestos claims individually. A veteran generally needs medical evidence of a current asbestos-related disease, service evidence supporting in-service asbestos exposure, and a medical opinion connecting the two. Ship assignments, Navy ratings, and equipment records can help document the exposure history but do not create automatic service connection.
Approved claims may provide monthly disability compensation and related benefits. Survivors may separately qualify for Dependency & Indemnity Compensation when the applicable requirements are met. Civil lawsuits and asbestos-trust claims use different standards; claimants should obtain individualized advice about how the processes interact.
How to file a VA disability claim: VA claims are filed directly with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — not with a law firm. Start at VA.gov › Hazardous Materials Exposure, call 1‑800‑827‑1000, or get free help filing from a Veterans Service Organization: DAV, VFW, or American Legion.
VA Claims Guide on This Site › Compare: VA vs. Civil Lawsuit
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.
