The USS Sea Devil (SS-400) was a distinguished Balao-class submarine that served with exceptional valor during World War II, then continued operational duties through the Cold War era. While the vessel’s combat success and training services have been praised, she was also a source of dangerous asbestos exposure for the sailors and shipyard workers who served on board her or who were responsible for maintaining and repairing her. These men faced significant health hazards that could lead to mesothelioma and other life-threatening conditions.
The Balao-Class Submarines
The USS Sea Devil was one of the renowned Balao-class fleet, which made significant technological advancements on its predecessor, the successful Gato-class vessels. These upgraded submarines incorporated enhanced Special Treatment Steel (STS) construction that enabled diving operations to depths of 300 feet, surpassing the earlier 250-foot limit. This deeper operational range provided tactical advantages in both combat situations and reconnaissance missions while maintaining the 11,000 nautical mile range that enabled extended Pacific operations.[1]
The structural improvements that enhanced combat effectiveness included a sophisticated double-hull construction, with a pressure-resistant inner hull encased within a streamlined outer shell. The space between these hulls accommodated additional fuel storage and ballast systems, extending operational endurance for prolonged deployments.
About the USS Sea Devil
Building and Launch
Named after the largest of all rays (Manta birostria), renowned for their power and endurance, the USS Sea Devil was constructed at Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine. Her keel was laid in November 1943, and she was launched in February 1944 under the sponsorship of Mrs. Sherman K. Kennedy. The submarine was commissioned in May 1944.[2]
Like all other Balao-class submarines, the Sea Devil’s overall length was 311 feet 6 inches, and she had a beam of 27 feet 3 inches. She carried a complement of 10 officers and 70 enlisted personnel, displaced 1,526 tons when surfaced, and could achieve surface speeds of 20 knots. Her armament consisted of ten 21-inch torpedo tubes capable of carrying 24 torpedoes supplemented by deck-mounted weapons, including a 5-inch/25 caliber gun and 40mm and 20mm defensive armaments.
World War II Combat Operations
Following shakedown training at New London, Connecticut, the Sea Devil departed for Pearl Harbor in July 1944, arriving in August to join Submarine Division 281. Her first combat patrol began in September 1944, targeting Japanese shipping lanes near major ports including Yokohama, Kobe, and Osaka. The submarine achieved her first combat success when she engaged with and destroyed Japanese submarine I-364 approximately 250 nautical miles east of the Boso Peninsula. Four torpedoes were fired, with two striking the target and sending the enemy vessel to the bottom.[2]
During her second patrol in the East China Sea, the Sea Devil encountered severe weather conditions that damaged her systems, but that didn’t prevent her from achieving some significant victories. In December 1944, she attacked a heavily defended convoy, sinking a troopship carrying approximately 2,000 soldiers, with no survivors. Minutes later, she destroyed another ship, this one carrying an estimated 300 Japanese soldiers, including professional baseball player Eiji Sawamura. In December, the Sea Devil successfully attacked a Japanese aircraft carrier, inflicting significant damage that kept the vessel in repair yards through the war’s end.
The Sea Devil’s third patrol took her to the Yellow Sea as part of a wolfpack including USS Tench, USS Guardfish, and USS Balao. In April 1945, she achieved one of her most successful engagements when, in a single convoy attack, she sank three cargo vessels and damaged other ships and escorts. During this same patrol, the vessel also conducted lifeguard operations, rescuing three of four downed U.S. Marine Corps pilots from a squadron that had been covering the movements of a Japanese battleship.
The Sea Devil’s fourth patrol, in June 1945, earned her crew the Navy Unit Commendation for exceptional performance. She sank a cargo ship and, days later, destroyed three Japanese trawlers using deck guns while also rescuing survivors.
Her final wartime patrol involved extensive lifeguard duties in the northern Ryukyu Islands, where she rescued additional downed airmen. When Japan surrendered in August 1945, the Sea Devil continued mine clearance operations until ordered to Subic Bay in September.
Postwar Service and Cold War Operations
The Sea Devil was decommissioned in September 1948 and remained in reserve until the Korean War prompted her reactivation. She was recommissioned in March 1951 and assigned to Submarine Division 71, Squadron 7, based at Pearl Harbor.
During the Korean conflict, the vessel provided antisubmarine warfare training services for Task Force 96 while maintaining readiness for hunter-killer operations supporting United Nations forces. She conducted operations from Yokosuka, Japan, and provided training services throughout the western Pacific.
Final Service Period
The Sea Devil was decommissioned again in February 1954, but returned to service in August 1957, assigned to Submarine Squadron 5 at San Diego. In July 1960, she was redesignated as an auxiliary submarine (AGSS-400) and continued training operations along the West Coast.
Her final decommissioning occurred in February 1964. After being stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in April, she was sunk as a target off Southern California in November.
Asbestos Contamination in Naval Vessels
When the Sea Devil was built and throughout the time that she was operating, the dangers of asbestos exposure were only known to the scientific community and the industries to which they provided information. Without this crucial information, the Navy made extensive use of the material throughout its fleet due to its exceptional heat resistance, fire retardation, and protection against corrosion. The military thought so highly of asbestos that its construction specifications mandated its use throughout the fleet, thinking that its inclusion bolstered vessel safety and operational effectiveness. This unfortunate practice, which exposed countless service members and shipyard workers to significant risk, continued until evidence of its health hazards emerged in the mid-1970s.
Naval vessels like the Sea Devil contained tons of asbestos spread through hundreds of components and systems. It created extensive exposure risk to crew members, maintenance personnel, and any shipyard workers involved in construction, repairs, and overhauls.
Submarine-Specific Asbestos Hazards
Submarines’ unique construction and purpose created a particularly high level of asbestos exposure. Factors contributing to the risk included:
Compact Living Spaces: Despite improvements in the Balao-class design, submarines remained extremely confined spaces. With asbestos having been applied extensively for fire prevention and temperature control in areas including crew quarters, mess areas, and recreational spaces, encountering it was unavoidable.
Recirculated Air Systems: Submarine ventilation systems continuously recirculated air within the vessels’ sealed compartments. This extended and intensified the level of danger, keeping asbestos particles airborne where personnel could inhale them constantly.
Weapons Areas: Torpedo compartments incorporated asbestos materials in sealing systems, insulation applications, and safety equipment installations.
Sound Dampening Requirements: Submarines’ stealth operations required advanced noise reduction capabilities for effective. Much of the acoustic insulation technology included in their structure depended heavily on asbestos-containing materials.
Health Consequences of Asbestos Exposure
Asbestos poses no immediate danger when properly contained and undisturbed, but it becomes extremely hazardous once it’s been damaged, begins deteriorating, or is disturbed by activities such as maintenance or repairs. When this occurs, the mineral releases microscopic fibers that float in the air and remain there for hours, where they can be inhaled or ingested without the individual knowing that it’s happened. Many of the serious health complications diagnosed in Navy veterans have been traced back to:
- Routine maintenance operations and emergency repairs
- Material deterioration from operational vibrations and aging
- Cutting, drilling, or other mechanical work involving asbestos materials
- Environmental degradation over extended periods
Asbestos-Related Health Conditions
Medical research has definitively established the link between asbestos exposure and several severe health conditions. Mesothelioma represents the most serious of these diseases – an aggressive and typically fatal cancer affecting the mesothelium, the protective membrane surrounding the lungs, abdomen, and heart. Approximately 3,500 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma annually, with virtually all cases traced to asbestos exposure and a disproportionate percentage affecting Navy veterans.
Mesothelioma presents unique treatment challenges due to its resistance to conventional cancer therapies. The disease’s extended latency period, with symptoms typically appearing 20 to 50 years after exposure, complicates early diagnosis and treatment. Early symptoms often mimic common respiratory conditions like the flu or bronchitis, which can further delay victims seeking medical attention. This allows the disease’s malignant tumors to progress.
The most common form of mesothelioma affects the chest cavity (pleural mesothelioma), while some patients develop the disease’s tumors in their abdominal cavity (peritoneal mesothelioma). Less frequently, the disease occurs in the heart cavity (pericardial mesothelioma) or the cavity surrounding the testes (testicular mesothelioma).
Veterans who served aboard the USS Sea Devil also face increased risks for:
Lung Cancer: Asbestos exposure significantly elevates lung cancer risk, particularly among individuals with smoking histories.
Asbestosis: A progressive lung disease characterized by tissue scarring from inhaled asbestos fibers and resulting in breathing difficulties and reduced lung function.
Additional Cancers: Various malignancies affecting the throat, reproductive organs, and other body systems have been linked to asbestos exposure.
Pleural Conditions: Asbestos exposure can cause pleural thickening, pleural plaques, and pleural effusions, all of which impair breathing and often precede a pleural mesothelioma diagnosis.
Were You Exposed to Asbestos on the USS Sea Devil?
If you served aboard the USS Sea Devil or were involved in her maintenance during port visits, you face an elevated risk of developing asbestos-related illnesses, including mesothelioma.
One of the primary challenges of the diseases linked to asbestos exposure is their prolonged latency period. It sometimes takes as long as fifty or sixty years after exposure for symptoms to appear, meaning individuals who served on the Sea Devil during her later operational years may only now be experiencing signs of illness.
Because decades pass between exposure and disease onset, many people eventually diagnosed don’t initially connect their health problems to events in their distant past. That’s why education about risk and proactive health management is so essential.
Begin by learning about the warning signs of asbestos-related conditions, and inform all of your healthcare providers about your exposure history so they can add it to your medical records. Early recognition of symptoms can make getting prompt medical attention more likely, and given the rarity of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related conditions compared to common respiratory or cardiac issues, many physicians may not immediately consider them in their diagnostic process unless they’re aware of a specific risk.
Symptoms to monitor include:
- Respiratory symptoms: persistent cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, or chest tightness
- Chest-related symptoms: pain in the chest or ribs, fluid accumulation around the lungs (pleural effusion)
- Abdominal symptoms: swelling or bloating, pain or discomfort, unexplained changes in bowel habits
- General symptoms: fatigue, unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite, night sweats
Should any of these symptoms appear, your physicians’ knowledge of your exposure history will influence whether they order diagnostic testing, arrange for specialist consultations, and more quickly reach an accurate diagnosis when your illness is in its earlier stages, when treatment options may be more effective.
Resources for USS Sea Devil Veterans with Mesothelioma
Veterans diagnosed with mesothelioma or other asbestos-related conditions face a grim future that makes prioritizing both their health and their family’s welfare especially important. To ensure your family’s financial security, it is important to explore available support and compensation after establishing a treatment plan.
Options include:
Department of Veterans Affairs Benefits
The VA offers comprehensive assistance for service members who develop illnesses from military asbestos exposure, including:
- Disability Compensation: Monthly payments for veterans whose health conditions are connected to military asbestos exposure, with payment amounts determined by the illness’s assigned disability ratings.
- Medical Care: Specialized treatment through VA medical facilities and support for care at external cancer treatment centers nationwide.
- Family Support: Comprehensive services for eligible veterans and families, including counseling and home healthcare programs.
Qualifying for these benefits requires completing a detailed claims process that establishes the connection between the condition and military service. Required documentation includes:
- Medical records confirming an asbestos-related diagnosis
- Evidence of military asbestos exposure
- Professional medical opinions linking the condition to service
Legal Compensation
Beyond VA benefits, USS Sea Devil veterans diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases have other opportunities to pursue financial compensation:
Civil Litigation: Veterans may be eligible to pursue personal injury lawsuits against manufacturers and suppliers of asbestos products used in naval vessels. These cases target private companies rather than the government, which is generally protected from liability beyond the VA services it provides. If Sea Devil veterans die from their asbestos-related disease, family members may be able to file wrongful death claims. Most cases are resolved through negotiated settlements rather than trials.
Asbestos Trust Funds: Many former asbestos manufacturers have established compensation trusts for victims. These are typically created through bankruptcy proceedings, though some companies have established compensation programs voluntarily.
Consultation with a Mesothelioma Attorney
Veterans who’d like more information about these options can learn more about them by contacting an experienced asbestos attorney. These specialized lawyers focus on asbestos claims and can explain all your options and provide guidance about the legal process.
Attorneys typically request the following information to build strong cases:
- Complete service records and ship assignments
- Detailed work responsibilities and locations aboard the vessel
- Documentation of maintenance, repair, or construction activities
- Witness testimony from fellow service members
- Complete medical documentation of diagnosis and treatment
Prompt contact with an attorney is essential for preserving your rights, as statutes of limitations restrict how long you have to file your claim. An experienced mesothelioma attorney will explain these requirements, help you set realistic expectations, and work to minimize the burden and stress on your family while maximizing the compensation you receive.
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