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Did you serve aboard the USS Scamp? This submarine carried asbestos in nearly every compartment. Here is where it was, and who is responsible. The USS Scamp, hull number SSN-588, was a Skipjack-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, built by Mare Island Naval Shipyard and commissioned in 1961. She served through the Cold War Pacific Fleet until 1988. Public naval references list this equipment aboard the USS Scamp, SSN-588 — insulated and sealed with asbestos. Each shipyard overhaul and major repair meant asbestos insulation was torn out and replaced — peak-exposure work for the yard workers and the crew aboard. Exposure was worst in the engineering spaces, where the snipes worked — but asbestos lined the whole boat, 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 Scamp from makers such as Westinghouse allegedly contained asbestos. If you served aboard the USS Scamp 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 Scamp (SSN-588) is a documented U.S. Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine — one of the six boats of the Skipjack class, built at Mare Island Naval Shipyard and in commission from 1961 to 1988. 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.
Like her sister boats, Scamp spent extended periods in the yard — Mare Island in January 1965 and June 1966, and a long overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard from November 1969 into January 1971. Shipyard overhaul is when asbestos lagging was torn out and replaced, and it is the period of heaviest exposure for both yard workers and the crew aboard.
Equipment Reference
| Equipment | Manufacturer | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| S5W reactor | Westinghouse | 1 | Per Wikipedia infobox propulsion section |
| Steam turbines | Westinghouse | 2 | 15,000 shp (11 MW), per Wikipedia infobox propulsion section |
Source: this equipment reference was extracted from public Wikipedia/DANFS records for USS Scamp (SSN-588). 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.
Related boats
Scamp’s sister boats in the Skipjack class carried the same S5W reactor plant and Westinghouse steam turbines:
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 Scamp
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.
