USS Bergall (SS-320)

Evidence

6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).

1. [1]NavSource Submarine Photo Archive, USS Bergall (SS-320) data block (navsource.net/archives/08/08320.htm via search text) [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net/archives/08/08320.htm data block (search-text capture)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource data block (search-text capture) records: laid down 13 May 1943 at Electric Boat; launched 16 February 1944; commissioned 12 June 1944; arrived Izmir, Turkey 15 October 1958 and decommissioned two days later (17 October 1958); transferred (lease) to Turkey under the Military Assistance Program; TCG Turgutreis (S-342); made a return visit to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in 1974; struck from the U.S. Naval Vessel Register 1 February 1973; permanently transferred (cash sale) to the Turkish government 15 February 1973; participated in Turkish Cyprus operations 1974; sold for scrapping April 2000.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1943-2000

   Population

   EB construction trades (1943-44); crew (1944-1958); Philadelphia NSY conversion trades (1951); Turkish dockyard personnel (1958-1983)

   Limitations

   Structured volunteer-compiled historical data, not a federal primary source - used for the chronology chain and labeled accordingly. Turkish-service details (1983 decommission, hulk use to 1996, April 2000 scrapping) come from secondary sources including the ussbergall.org veteran timeline - authoritative Turkish records not located. Direct navsource.net fetch is Mod_Security-blocked; content captured via search-result text.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bergall-ss320-01

2. [2]USS Bergall veterans' association timeline (ussbergall.org) - Turkish-transfer and scrapping dates [other_primary]

   Locator

   ussbergall.org/timeline.html

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The veterans' association timeline records: assigned to Key West 14 July 1958 for Turkey transfer preparations; departed for Izmir 26 September 1958; arrived 15 October 1958; decommissioned from the U.S. Navy and delivered to the Turkish Navy 17 October 1958 as TCG Turgutreis (S-342); 15 February 1973 returned to USN (end of lease) and sold the same day (title transfer); April 2000 hull sold to MYS Steel Company in Turkey for scrapping.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1958-2000

   Limitations

   Veterans' association record - authoritative-adjacent for reunion-unit chronology but not a government source; corroborates NavSource. The 1973 'returned to USN and sold same day' description matches the lease-then-sale structure. No asbestos or material content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bergall-ss320-02

3. [3]Balao-class profile (ships-worktrees class-f/balao-class.class.json) - class-level propulsion and asbestos-relevant pathway context [other_primary]

   Locator

   class-f/balao-class.class.json (house class profile)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Balao-class context: diesel-electric fleet submarines with no boilers or steam plant; era-consistent asbestos pathways for the class include diesel-exhaust lagging, engine gaskets and packing, acoustic/thermal hull insulation, galley and refrigeration materials, and battery/electrical materials. Construction (1943-44, Electric Boat) and the Fleet Snorkel conversion begun at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in 1951 fall inside the Navy's peak asbestos-use era; Turkish refits through 1983 are era-analogous.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1943-1983 (era)

   Population

   Balao-class construction and conversion-yard trades; Turkish dockyard trades (era context)

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - does not name this hull and does not establish that any particular asbestos-containing material was installed aboard SS-320 or retained through the Turkish transfer. Hull scrapped 2000; no survey possible.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bergall-ss320-03

4. [4]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 - covering Bergall's construction (1943-44) and the 1951 Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Fleet Snorkel conversion.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1979

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review

   Limitations

   Program-level documentation for the U.S. Navy only; Turkish dockyard practice is era-analogous but outside GAO's scope. 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-bergall-ss320-04

5. [5]CourtListener API v4 (2026-09-18): sweeps for "USS Bergall" / "Bergall" and "SS-320" could not be executed - anonymous quota exhausted (HTTP 429) [court_record]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-bergall-ss320-06 through sl-uss-bergall-ss320-07

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   CourtListener litigation sweep NOT COMPLETED for this hull: the shared anonymous API quota (125 requests/day) was exhausted before this vessel's queries ran; every request returned HTTP 429 ('Expected available in ~69,771 seconds' at last check). No qualifying asbestos litigation was located in the other sources searched, but CourtListener coverage is absent rather than negative for this hull. Collision risk noted: namesake USS Bergall (SSN-667, 1969-1996) received the 'Bergall' name reassigned from this hull in 1965.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   2026-09-18

   Limitations

   CourtListener gap is an absence of coverage, not a negative finding - no docket data of any kind was retrieved for this hull. State-court and non-digitized records are also uncovered. Sweep should be re-run under an authenticated API token in a future pass.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bergall-ss320-05

6. [6]Batch-23 search ledger (this record): NavSource data block; ussbergall.org timeline; GAO; CourtListener sweeps [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-bergall-ss320-01 through sl-uss-bergall-ss320-08

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record (survey, abatement contract, industrial-hygiene report, or docketed case) naming this hull was found in the public sources searched; CourtListener coverage was unavailable due to quota exhaustion (see search_ledger).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   2026-09-18

   Limitations

   Does not establish absence of asbestos aboard - only absence of located public documentation. Turkish-service-era material records (1958-1983) were not located in public sources. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bergall-ss320-06