Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]DANFS, USS Bang (SS-385) - construction, wartime service, postwar service to ~1956; verbatim transcription via losthistory.net/hazegray (live NHHC DANFS page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: Launched 30 August 1943 by Portsmouth Navy Yard (sponsor Mrs. R. W. Neblett); commissioned 4 December 1943, Lt. Comdr. A. R. Gallaher. Six war patrols 29 March 1944-18 May 1945, South China and Philippine Seas; officially credited with eight Japanese merchant ships totaling 20,177 tons. Arrived Portsmouth Navy Yard 22 June 1945 for repairs, then New London; out of commission in reserve 12 February 1947. 'Converted to a Guppy type submarine,' recommissioned 4 October 1952. East-coast/Caribbean training; east of Iceland and off Scotland Aug-24 Sep 1953; 6th Fleet Mediterranean cruise Jan-11 Mar 1954; New London operations to December 1956. Six battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Construction trades 1943 (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. DANFS Vol. 1-era text ends ~December 1956; the 1951 recommissioning, the GUPPY IIA label, conversion yard, and Spanish-era events rest on NavSource/NVR/Wikipedia leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bang-ss385-01
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[2]Naval Vessel Register, SHIPSDETAIL SS-385 record (Wayback capture) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL SS 385
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL SS-385: stricken 11/01/1974; status changed 11/01/1974; disposed through Security Assistance Program (SAP), transferred, cash sale; custodian SPAIN; record last updated 12/17/2001.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1974 (status dates); capture ~2020
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Register-level status data only; NVR milestone fields for pre-digital-era hulls are largely blank - stricken date and SAP custodian are the substantive fields. NVR's 11/01/1974 strike conflicts with NavSource's 18 November 1974 (struck/sold date) - variant in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bang-ss385-02
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, submarine photo-archive entry (secondary archival compilation; disposition data consistent with Bauer & Roberts Register of Ships supplements) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource entry header block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource: laid down 30 April 1943 at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H.; decommissioned 12 February 1947; recommissioned 1 February 1951; decommissioned 15 May 1952 for 'Guppy IIA' conversion; recommissioned 4 October 1952; decommissioned 1 October 1972 and loaned to Spain under the Security Assistance Program, commissioned into the Spanish Navy as Cosme Garcia (S-34); simultaneously sold outright to Spain and struck from the Naval Register 18 November 1974; sold for scrapping by the Spanish government 30 September 1982.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1982
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not an official record; dates/items not corroborated by DANFS or NVR are flagged in this record's gaps. Used for laid-down date, the 1951-52 commission sequence, the 'Guppy IIA' label (DANFS says only 'Guppy type'), Spanish-era names/dates, and final disposition. Strike date 18 Nov 1974 conflicts with NVR 1 Nov 1974.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bang-ss385-03
-
[4]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (diesel-electric drive, no boilers); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 submarine machinery tables (shipscribe.com SDB1945v1); documented yard-period events above [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; BuShips SDB1945v1 pp. 266-270 submarine tables; balao-class profile ev-05
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-electric fleet boat built 1943 and maintained through Navy-yard availabilities at Portsmouth Navy Yard (new construction 1943; repairs Jun-Aug 1945) and a 1952 GUPPY conversion sits inside the Navy's peak asbestos-use era. Diesel-electric boats carried no boilers/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; the documented 1952 GUPPY yard period would have disturbed interior insulation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Portsmouth Navy Yard construction trades (1943, 1945 repairs, 1952 conversion); crew (1943-1972)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material list located for this hull. Names era-standard diesel-boat applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantities. GUPPY conversion yard not named in DANFS or NavSource (secondary sources say Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; unverified).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bang-ss385-04
-
[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; 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-bang-ss385-05
-
[6]Batch-28 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource; NVR; Google Scholar case-law sweep (partial - session CAPTCHA-blocked); CourtListener attempted (blocked); web_search litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bang-ss385-01 through -07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying asbestos case naming USS Bang (SS-385) was found. Google Scholar published-opinion sweep 2026-09-18: "USS Bang" returned zero published-opinion hits (completed before session CAPTCHA). Web search litigation sweep (substituted after Scholar and CourtListener both blocked): only law-firm/aggregator listicles name the hull - excluded sources, never cited; no court record or complaint located. CourtListener unavailable this session (v4 API HTTP 429 shared 125/day quota; web UI behind bot challenge).
- 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 and the hull-number query ("SS-385") did not complete before CAPTCHA; CourtListener's RECAP/docket layer was not searched - unresolved layer. Law-firm 'ships with asbestos' lists are marketing content, not records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bang-ss385-06