Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]DANFS, USS entry (SS-403) — construction, wartime/postwar service, disposition; verbatim transcription via losthistory.net/hazegray (live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 on retrieval attempts) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 25 November 1943 at Portsmouth Navy Yard; launched 6 March 1944 (sponsor Miss Elizabeth Louise Kauffman, daughter of Rear Admiral James Lawrence Kauffman); commissioned 21 June 1944, Comdr. John Howard Maurer. Four war patrols including 'Clarey's Crushers' wolfpack with Pintado and Jallao — sank 16,975-ton transport Asama Maru 1 November 1944 and Coast Defense Vessel No. 6 on 12 August 1945; four battle stars. Operation Nanook Arctic cruise July-August 1946 (reached 79 deg 11 min N in Kane Basin, a record for a submarine); inactivation at Philadelphia February 1947; out of commission 8 September 1947; reactivation and GUPPY 1-A conversion at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; recommissioned 8 March 1951, Lt. Comdr. Benjamin C. Byrnside, Jr.; SubRon 8 New London; Mediterranean tours 1952, 1957, 1960, 1964, 1968-69; overhauls at Portsmouth (November 1952 - April 1953), Philadelphia (February-August 1955, January-July 1958), Charleston (October 1960 - April 1961, July 1966 - January 1967), Norfolk Naval Shipyard (October 1963 - February 1964); Key West SubRon 12; UNITAS VI South America cruise August-December 1965; in commission in reserve 15 September 1969; redesignated AGSS-403 1 October 1969; decommissioned 6 April 1970; struck 15 August 1973; sold to Peru July 1974, renamed Pacocha (S-48).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1976
- Population
- Construction trades 1943-44 (Portsmouth Navy Yard); crew; yard trades at documented availabilities
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Yard-period asbestos disturbance is era inference, not a per-hull record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atule-ss403-01
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[2]NavSource Naval History, submarine photo-archive entry (secondary archival compilation; Bauer & Roberts Register of Ships-derived data; NARA-sourced photo captions) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource entry header block and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource/NVR-consistent: decommissioned 6 April 1970 at Philadelphia; struck 15 August 1973; sold to Peru 1 July 1974 under the Security Assistance Program; Peruvian service as Pacocha (S-48); sank following collision with Kiowa Maru off Callao 26 August 1988; raised July 1989 and cannibalized for spares — NavSource flags the Peruvian history as 'courtesy of wikipedia.org' (secondary).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-2003
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not an official record; items not corroborated by DANFS or NVR are flagged as secondary in this record's prose and gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atule-ss403-02
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[3]Naval Vessel Register, SHIPSDETAIL SS-403 record (Wayback capture; live nvr.navy.mil record set does not retain this hull) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL SS 403
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL SS-403: stricken 15 August 1973; disposed through Security Assistance Program (SAP), transferred to Peru; status changed 07/01/1974.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1973-1976 (status dates); capture ~2019
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Register-level status data only; NVR milestone fields for pre-digital-era hulls are largely blank — stricken date and SAP disposition are the substantive fields.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atule-ss403-03
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[4]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (diesel-electric drive, no boilers); NavSource as-built spec block (Fairbanks-Morse diesels, Elliott motors, batteries); Balao class profile ev-materials rows; documented yard-period events in this record [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource as-built spec block; balao-class.class.json materials rows
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-electric fleet boat built 1943-44 at Portsmouth Navy Yard sits inside the Navy's peak asbestos-use era. Diesel-electric boats carried no boilers or steam plant: era-consistent asbestos applications are diesel exhaust lagging, engine gaskets and packing, acoustic/thermal hull insulation, galley/refrigeration insulation, and battery/electrical materials. Documented post-construction yard period(s) for this hull: Portsmouth Navy Yard new construction 1943-44 and GUPPY 1-A conversion 1950-51; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard inactivation 1947 and overhauls 1955, 1958; Charleston Naval Shipyard overhauls 1960-61, 1966-67; Norfolk Naval Shipyard overhaul 1963-64 — interior insulation would have been disturbed during conversion/overhaul work.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1970
- Population
- Portsmouth Navy Yard construction trades (1943-44) and GUPPY conversion trades (1950-51); Philadelphia, Charleston, Norfolk NSY yard trades; crew (1944-1970)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only — no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or abatement record located for this hull. Names era-standard diesel-boat applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantities.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atule-ss403-04
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[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; standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas — covering this hull's service-era insulation and yard-period events.
- 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-atule-ss403-05
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[6]Batch-29 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcriptions; NavSource; NVR (where extant); Google Scholar case-law sweep; CourtListener attempted [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atule-ss403-01 through sl-uss-atule-ss403-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying asbestos case naming this hull was found. Google Scholar case-law sweep (this session): exact-name "USS Atule" and hull-number "SS-403" queries returned no matching published opinions — no qualifying asbestos opinion. CourtListener sweeps attempted but blocked (UI bot-challenge HTTP 202/403; API HTTP 429 shared quota).
- 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. Scholar covers published opinions only — RECAP/docket-level text was not searched (CourtListener blocked this session); unresolved sweep limitation logged in the ledger.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atule-ss403-06