Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
-
[1]DANFS, Amberjack (SS-219) - verbatim transcription via losthistory.net (live NHHC entry not located this pass) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 15 May 1941 at Groton by Electric Boat Co.; launched 6 March 1942 (sponsor Mrs. Randall Jacobs); commissioned 19 June 1942, Lt. Comdr. John Archibald Bole, Jr. Three war patrols in the Solomons/Bismarck/New Ireland area; credited with sinking the passenger-cargo ship Shirogane Maru on her first patrol and a 5,000-ton freighter in a night surface action on her third. Last transmission received 14 February 1943 (forced down by two destroyers; had taken an enemy aviator prisoner). Reported presumed lost 22 March 1943; stricken 21 June 1943 per DANFS. No conclusive explanation for her loss was ever found; postwar analysis of Japanese records provided clues but no positive confirmation. Three battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1941-1943
- Population
- EB construction trades (1941-42); crew (1942-1943); all hands lost Feb 1943
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. Cause of loss unresolved in DANFS; NavSource gives 'sunk on 3rd patrol by depth charging, 16 February 1943, off Rabaul' and a different stricken date (30 March 1945) - both variants in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amberjack-ss219-01
-
[2]United States Submarine Losses in World War II (Navy Department) - Amberjack (SS-219) section (verbatim transcription via ibiblio HyperWar) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- SubLosses narrative, Amberjack section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy's official submarine-loss history records Amberjack's last patrol in detail: third patrol from Brisbane 26 January 1943 in the Solomons area; radio reports of 3-4 February (contact with an enemy submarine, a schooner sunk by gunfire, a 5,000-ton freighter sunk in a night surface attack in which Chief Pharmacist's Mate Arthur C. Beeman was killed); ordered 13 February to hunt the Rabaul-Buka-Shortland area; last transmission 14 February; presumed lost when she failed to make her routine arrival report by 10 March.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943 (loss); 1946 (publication)
- Population
- Crew lost Feb 1943 (documentation only - no exposure claim made)
- Limitations
- Official loss-accounting only; no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amberjack-ss219-02
-
[3]Existence of USS Amberjack (SS-522), Tench class, documented in public naval records (NavSource data block for SS-522) [other_primary]
- Locator
- name-collision note (SS-219 vs SS-522)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NAME-NAME note for downstream litigation sweeps: 'USS Amberjack' also names SS-522, a Tench-class submarine launched 1944 and in service 1946-1973 (Atlantic Fleet, later Brazilian submarine Ceara). Asbestos-era litigation naming 'USS Amberjack' is more likely to concern SS-522; any hit must be resolved by date and context before attribution to SS-219.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1973 (other hull)
- Limitations
- Identity/context note only - documents the second namesake so 'USS Amberjack' references are not misattributed to SS-219.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amberjack-ss219-03
-
[4]Gato-class profile (ships-worktrees class-f/gato-class.class.json) + NavSource spec block (propulsion: diesel-electric, no boilers) [other_primary]
- Locator
- class-f/gato-class.class.json row ev-gato-class-07; NavSource SS-219 spec block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a diesel-electric fleet submarine of the Gato class: the boats have no boilers or steam plant - era-consistent asbestos-relevant applications are diesel-exhaust lagging, engine gaskets and packing, acoustic/thermal hull insulation, galley and refrigeration insulation, and electrical/battery materials. All construction and documented Navy-yard periods on this hull fall inside the Navy's peak asbestos-use era. This hull was built 1941-42 and lost in February 1943 - her entire material history (construction and in-port refits at Brisbane) predates the Navy's substitution era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1941-1943
- Population
- EB construction trades (1941-42); crew (1942-1943)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - does not establish that any asbestos-containing material is or was installed aboard this hull, and does not establish quantity, individual exposure, or present-day presence. No hull-specific insulation survey or material list was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amberjack-ss219-04
-
[5]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - meaning every construction, overhaul, and repair event on this hull (built 1941-42) predates the substitution era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amberjack-ss219-05
-
[6]Batch-31 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; official loss history; NavSource; site-scoped CourtListener index sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-amberjack-ss219-01 through -06
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for SS-219: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming THIS hull was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener API search was rate-limit throttled on 2026-09-18 (HTTP 429; site search interface and feeds also blocked); site-scoped web searches of courtlistener.com for 'USS Amberjack'/'SS-219' returned no qualifying asbestos case for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - all hands were lost in 1943 and the wreck has not been located. CourtListener API sweep could not be completed under rate limiting. 'USS Amberjack' hits require SS-219/SS-522 resolution before attribution. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amberjack-ss219-06