The USS Tuscaloosa (LST-1187) was a tank landing ship designed for the specific purpose of facilitating offloading of United States amphibious forces. The ship was constructed and launched in 1969 and largely served during the Vietnam War. Many of the ship’s components were made using asbestos, and this led to dangerous exposure for those who served onboard the ship as well as those involved in building and repairing it. Many of those U.S. Navy veterans have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma.
About the USS Tuscaloosa (LST-1187)
The USS Tuscaloosa LST-1187 was built at a time when the Navy was still using asbestos in hundreds of components that went into its ships. Veterans who served on the Tuscaloosa were at risk of asbestos exposure and were later diagnosed with serious illnesses, including mesothelioma.
The tank landing ship Tuscaloosa was the second U.S. Navy ship to be named after the city of Tuscaloosa – the first was a New Orleans-class cruiser built in 1934 that spent most of its career in the Atlantic and Caribbean, participating in European wartime operations.
The Newport-class tank landing ships included twenty ships that replaced the traditional bow door design LST. Two derrick arms support a thirty-ton, 112-foot bow ramp for unloading tanks and other vehicles ashore, and amphibious vehicles could be launched from the tank deck via the ship’s stern gate. The ship’s flight deck could accommodate most Navy helicopter types.[1]
The Tuscaloosa was laid down on November 23, 1968, at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, California, and launched on September 6, 1969. She was sponsored by Mrs. Thomas F. Connolly and commissioned on October 24, 1970, under the command of Commodore Harry W. Kinsley Jr.
The vessel was 522 feet long, displaced 5,190 tons at capacity, and could travel 2,500 nautical miles with a complement of 14 officers and 241 enlisted men. She was powered by 6 Alco diesel engines, which were known to be contaminated with asbestos during that time.[2] The ship’s engine rooms also contained other equipment that exposed personnel to asbestos, including Alva Laval pumps and other equipment that included asbestos packing and gaskets.[3]
The USS Tuscaloosa in Vietnam
The USS Tuscaloosa was built for use in the western Pacific for the Vietnam War. After she was launched, she spent a year off the coast of California as a test ship evaluating the John C. Calhoun’s sensors and training out of her home port of San Diego as she prepared for deployment. She left California on May 18, 1971, carrying a cargo of Quonset hut components and a tank-deck load of LVTs, tanks, and heavy construction vehicles.[4]
After delivering this load in Okinawa, she proceeded via the Philippines to South Vietnam, where she took on a cargo of Marine Corps equipment and returned to San Diego. A few months later, she returned to the Western Pacific for a seven-month deployment with Amphibious Squadron 5. She conducted exercises and operations in the Philippines and off of Okinawa with the Marines, taking part in amphibious exercises and collided with a Japanese patrol craft in 1972 before resuming her voyage to Okinawa to carry Marines to Yokosuka. After repairs to her bow doors, she returned to the Philippines, loaded a cargo of generators, and delivered them to South Vietnam.[4]
Tuscaloosa continued conducting amphibious exercises before arriving at the Tonkin Gulf. She supported Thailand contingency operations, transporting Marine Corps equipment and Navy construction battalion tools, then returned to the United States after ten months of operations.[4]
The ship engaged in local operations and exercises off the California coast until mid-1973 and was then deployed to the Western Pacific again to provide material to communities in the Philippines. Starting in 1974, she began participating in exercises with the Korean Navy before returning via Pearl Harbor to the United States. She then underwent a major overhaul at the Todd Shipyards in Seattle, Washington. She participated in a rescue of a U.S. Navy ship in danger of sinking after a collision with another vessel, then returned to operating along the California coast before being deployed to the Western Pacific again in the company of two Korean minecraft and the Barbour County.[4]
When the Tuscaloosa arrived in Okinawa, the situation in Vietnam was deteriorating, and the crew quickly offloaded her cargo and proceeded to Subic Bay to take on 280 service members who had been unable to return to their ships during the evacuation of Saigon. She then escorted 26 former South Vietnamese Navy ships to the Philippines and delivered over 200 pallets of food and medical supplies per day while also sending salvage and repair parties to ships needing repairs to remain afloat. She soon left for the Gulf of Thailand but was turned back as the evacuation of the area had been completed. She continued routine operations before returning to the United States in 1975, completed one more deployment to the Western Pacific, then underwent overhaul in San Diego. She continued operating in the Pacific Fleet until 1979.[4]
The Tuscaloosa earned four battle stars and a Meritorious Unit Commendation during her service in Vietnam. She returned to the Philippines with Marines from Alpha Company in 1989 I response to the coup attempt there. The ship was decommissioned on February 18, 1994.
How Was Asbestos Used on the USS Tuscaloosa?
Because asbestos added durability, fireproofing, insulation, and strength, the U.S. Navy used the mineral extensively in its ships. A decade after the Tuscaloosa was built, it became public knowledge that the material was carcinogenic, but by that time, hundreds of Navy veterans had been exposed to the toxic material in the ship’s boiler room, engine room, and other locations. It wasn’t until decades later that they began being diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other diseases, and because the latency period for mesothelioma is fifty to sixty years – and the ship sailed less than fifty years ago – many of those service members are still at risk.
Nearly all Navy ships built in the late 1960s and early 1970s were built using asbestos, and the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, where the Tuscaloosa was built, has a history of using the carcinogenic material. Among the components and shipboard locations where asbestos was used were:
- Engines, turbines, boilers, and pipes: These critical parts were heavily insulated with asbestos to retain heat and minimize risks of burns or fires.
- Piping systems: Asbestos insulation was applied to pipes throughout the ships to enhance safety and efficiency.
- Other uses: The material was found in adhesives, gaskets, seals, valves, firefighting equipment, gunner’s gloves, flooring, and more.
Who Was at Most Risk for Asbestos Exposure Onboard the USS Tuscaloosa?
There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos, but shipboard exposure was extremely dangerous because so many of those who were exposed to the fibers breathed them while they were in small spaces with poor ventilation. Once asbestos particles are inhaled or ingested, they are very hard to expel, and the fibers become embedded in cells and lead to damage that can ultimately lead to malignant mesothelioma and other diseases.
The environment on a ship led to much of the asbestos material deteriorating quickly, and it is when the material breaks down and releases fibers that people are put at risk. While those working in boiler rooms and engine rooms where the material was used as insulation were at the greatest risk, those who worked to maintain and repair the ship were also exposed regularly. Many of them have already been diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases.
- John Wineland served in the Navy in 1974. He served aboard the USS Tuscaloosa in the engine room. He died of malignant mesothelioma, and his family filed suit against multiple defendants involved in building and outfitting the ship, including Carrier Corporation. The lawsuit cited Mr. Wineland’s two-and-a-half years of service on the Tuscaloosa and his responsibility for operating and maintaining the vessel’s auxiliary equipment, including its refrigeration and air conditioning plants built by Carrier.
Compensation for Those Exposed to Asbestos on the Tuscaloosa
If you are a Navy veteran who served aboard the USS Tuscaloosa LST-1187, you may be at risk for being diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease. Even if you feel fine, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the symptoms of malignant mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer. You should also notify your physician or healthcare professional about your history of asbestos exposure so that they can begin monitoring your health.
If you’ve been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, you may be eligible to file a claim with the Veterans Administration. The VA offers several types of benefits and compensation for disabled Navy veterans, including:
- Veterans with asbestos illnesses are entitled to free care at any of the high-quality VA medical centers, including those that specialize in treating malignant mesothelioma. You can also seek treatment at a non-VA specialty center.
- Mesothelioma has a 100% disability rating, which means that veterans diagnosed with the rare, asbestos-related disease may be entitled to maximum disability compensation.
Preparing the required documentation can be complicated, but an experienced veterans’ advocate or asbestos lawyer can guide you through the process.
In addition to benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans exposed to asbestos onboard the Tuscaloosa and diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit seeking compensation from the asbestos companies that supplied the military with the contaminated materials.
An experienced mesothelioma lawyer can help you identify the companies responsible for your illness, as well as any that have established asbestos trust funds after having been forced into bankruptcy by their asbestos liabilities.
If you or a loved one served in the Navy and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you have options. To learn more about the healthcare, benefits, and compensation available to you, reach out to an experienced mesothelioma attorney.
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