Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]DANFS, USS Bismarck Sea (CVE-95) - verbatim transcription (live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-18; ibiblio HyperWar transcription used) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS CVE-95 entry - spec block and full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: launched 17 April 1944 by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Vancouver, Wash., under a Maritime Commission contract as Alikula Bay; renamed Bismarck Sea 16 May 1944; transferred to the Navy and commissioned 20 May 1944. Convoy and training duty; TG 77.4 escort carrier for the Lingayen Gulf landings (January 1945); then Iwo Jima. On 21 February 1945, while supporting the Iwo Jima landings, she was hit by two Japanese suicide aircraft (kamikazes); the second hit ignited fires that reached the torpedo/bomb stowage, and uncontrollable fires and exploding ammunition sank the ship in about 90 minutes. 318 officers and men were lost. Three battle stars WWII.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Kaiser Vancouver construction trades (1944); ship's company and embarked air group (1944-1945); survivors of the 21 Feb 1945 sinking
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bismarck-sea-cve95-01
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[2]NavSource Online, USS Bismarck Sea (CVE-95) escort carrier photo index - data block, awards line, and captioned NARA/US Navy images including final-day photographs and loss accounts [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 03/095 data block and loss captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource data block corroborates the DANFS chronology, class spec, and the loss record: sunk by two kamikaze aircraft off Iwo Jima 21 February 1945 with the loss of 318 officers and men - the largest loss of life on a U.S. escort carrier. Its photographic record includes images of the burning ship and of survivors being recovered by escorting ships.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Same populations as DANFS row
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation consistent with DANFS; no material or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bismarck-sea-cve95-02
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[3]NHHC, Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons - appendix listing escort carriers and their squadrons (app03.pdf, indexed) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANAS app03.pdf - escort carrier appendix (indexed; direct fetch incomplete)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC's naval-aviation appendix indexes Bismarck Sea (CVE-95) among escort carriers and their composite squadrons - an authoritative cross-reference for the embarked air group that fought and died with the ship (VC-86 / composite squadron embarked at loss per the aviation appendix).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Embarked air group (VC-86 et al.)
- Limitations
- NHHC aviation appendix indexed in search results; direct PDF fetch returned 0 bytes on 2026-09-18 so the appendix entry is cited as indexed rather than fully verified line-by-line. Content is squadron/embarkation data only - no material or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bismarck-sea-cve95-03
-
[4]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual, NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960) + Casablanca-class profile (ships-worktrees class-d/casablanca-class.class.json, row ev-casablanca-class-05) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BuShips TM ch.39 sections 39-11 through 39-13 (as catalogued in class-d/casablanca-class.class.json); NavSource/DANFS spec block (4 B&W boilers, Uniflow engines)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a Casablanca-class escort carrier: the class's 4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2 Skinner Uniflow reciprocating steam engines, and associated steam piping are the equipment classes covered by the BuShips Technical Manual ch.39 material suite - MIL-P-2781/32-P-8 thermal pipe insulation including 85% magnesia (about 15% asbestos fiber) and amosite-felt types, MIL-I-2819/32-I-3 thermal block insulation, roll asbestos felt, SS-C-466 asbestos cloth/tape lagging (80-95% chrysotile), asbestos millboard, and asbestos finishing cement. This hull's construction (launch Apr 1944, commission May 1944) and her entire nine-month service life fall inside the Navy's peak asbestos-specification era; she sank in February 1945 and her materials went down with her.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Kaiser Vancouver construction trades (1944); ship's company and air group (1944-1945)
- Limitations
- Class/era specification inference only - does not establish that any asbestos-containing material 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, and none can exist for a hull that sank with all aboard within nine months of commissioning. The retrieved PDF is a scan hosted in a bankruptcy Daubert-appendix repository; the document itself is the government manual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bismarck-sea-cve95-04
-
[5]Washington State Department of Ecology, cleanup site page 'Kaiser Shipyard Debris Pile' (csid 1831) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ecology site record - site history paragraph
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Washington State Dept. of Ecology cleanup-site record for the 'Kaiser Shipyard Debris Pile': in 1942 the site was developed as part of the Kaiser Vancouver Shipyard, which 'was responsible for construction of liberty ships, escort carriers, and transport ships used during World War II'; shipyard debris (metal, pipes, firebrick, ceramics) was used as fill 1940-1946. This is the yard that built this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1940-1946 yard operations
- Population
- Kaiser Vancouver shipyard workers (1940-1946)
- Limitations
- Official state environmental record confirming the builder yard's escort-carrier program and industrial debris stream; the record does not itself list asbestos among documented debris constituents. Yard-level context only - no hull-specific material data.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bismarck-sea-cve95-05
-
[6]Batch-43 search ledger (this record): live NHHC DANFS probe; ibiblio DANFS transcription; NavSource; NHHC aviation appendix; CourtListener API + site-scoped index sweep; general web trace [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bismarck-sea-cve95-01 through -07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for CVE-95: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming THIS hull was found in the public sources searched - unsurprising for a hull that sank nine months after commissioning and has no postwar material history. CourtListener API v4 search was rate-limit throttled on 2026-09-18 (HTTP 429, 125/day shared limit); a site-scoped web-index sweep of courtlistener.com for 'Bismarck Sea'/'CVE-95' returned no qualifying asbestos case naming the ship. Circulating 'USS Bismarck Sea asbestos' content traces to mesothelioma law-firm sites only - excluded per source rules.
- 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 or of filings - state-court and non-digitized records are not covered, the CourtListener API sweep could not be completed under rate limiting, and the site-scoped index sweep is partial coverage, not a completed docket search. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bismarck-sea-cve95-06