Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
-
[1]DANFS, Blackfin (SS-322) - construction, five war patrols, postwar service, GUPPY conversion (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: launched 12 March 1944 by Electric Boat Co., Groton (sponsor Mrs. Charles A. Lockwood, wife of Rear Admiral Lockwood); commissioned 4 July 1944, Lt. Cmdr. G. H. Laird, Jr. Five war patrols 30 September 1944-5 September 1945 in the South China and Yellow Seas; sank the destroyer Shigure 24 January 1945 plus a cargo ship (4,325 tons total). Mare Island inactivation July 1948; out of commission in reserve 19 November 1948. GUPPY conversion begun November 1950; recommissioned 15 May 1951; San Diego to 8 March 1954, then Pearl Harbor; Far East tours 1951-52 and 1955. Three battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- EB construction trades (1943-44); Mare Island yard trades (1948; 1950-51); crew (1944-1972)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Yard-period asbestos disturbance is era inference, not a per-hull record. Live NHHC DANFS page returned 404; verbatim hazegray transcription used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blackfin-ss322-01
-
[2]NavSource Online Submarine Photo Archive, SS-322 Blackfin data block (construction dates, decommission/stricken dates, final disposition) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource SS-322 data block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource data block: laid down 10 June 1943 at Electric Boat Co., Groton; decommissioned 19 November 1948 for GUPPY conversion at Mare Island Naval Shipyard; recommissioned 15 May 1951; decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register 15 September 1972; final disposition sunk as a target in 'Project Thurber' on 13 May 1973.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- Crew (1944-1972)
- Limitations
- NavSource is an authoritative non-government archive; data captured via search-result text (navsource.net unreachable by direct fetch from this network - DNS resolution failure). Target-sinking location reported differently across secondary sources (off Monterey vs off San Diego) - carried in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blackfin-ss322-02
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), submarine machinery tables (shipscribe.com scan) + shipyard-exposure-map asbestos product list for electric-boat-groton [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 266-270 submarine tables; shipyards.json electric-boat-groton product list
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Balao-class diesel-electric boats carried NO boilers or steam plant (BuShips 1945: DERD drive, four main diesel-generator engines - this block General Motors - 5,400 hp, two shafts). Era-typical asbestos-relevant applications on the type: diesel exhaust lagging, engine gaskets and packing, acoustic and thermal hull insulation, insulation around galley and refrigeration equipment, and battery/electrical materials. The Electric Boat/Groton yard's asbestos product use in submarine construction of this era is independently documented at the yard level.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- EB construction trades (1943-44); Mare Island yard trades (1948; 1950-51 GUPPY); crew (1944-1972)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material list located for SS-322. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; establishes no quantities and no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blackfin-ss322-03
-
[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 this hull's entire US service period (1944-1972) including her 1950-51 GUPPY conversion.
- 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-blackfin-ss322-04
-
[5]Gay v. A.O. Smith Corporation, W.D. Pa. No. 2:19-cv-01311 (Nature of Suit: P.I. Asbestos) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener RECAP docket, W.D. Pa. 2:19-cv-01311
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Gay v. A.O. Smith Corporation, W.D. Pa. No. 2:19-cv-01311 - a personal-injury asbestos action (filed 2019-10-11, terminated 2023-04-21) in which the string "USS Blackfin" appears in docket text. Whether the hull is named as a plaintiff exposure site is unverified - document-level retrieval was blocked by CourtListener rate limiting. A separate MDL-875 tag-along attachment (J.P.M.L. docket 1245688, doc. 7225-3, attaching N.D. Cal. complaint 3:11-cv-02367) also surfaced on a "Blackfin" asbestos search - unresolved.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2019-2023
- Population
- plaintiff(s) and exposed persons referenced in the docket
- Limitations
- Pleading/docket-stage hit only, classified at its least-final stage. Hull name appears in docket text; whether it is named as an exposure site vs. another mention is unverified (document retrieval rate-limited). A docket naming the hull is a litigation record, not an adjudicated finding of asbestos exposure aboard SS-322. Terminated 21 April 2023; disposition toward this hull not verified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blackfin-ss322-05
-
[6]Batch-24 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource data block; CourtListener HTML search ("USS Blackfin" type=r; "Blackfin" asbestos type=r); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-blackfin-ss322-01 through -06
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated exposure finding naming USS Blackfin (SS-322) was found. One qualifying asbestos-litigation docket naming the hull is recorded at ev-uss-blackfin-ss322-05 (Gay v. A.O. Smith, W.D. Pa.) - a docket-stage hit, not an exposure finding. Opinion-index and hull-number sweeps remain pending (CourtListener rate-limited; see search_ledger).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Absence of a located survey/abatement/adjudicated record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard, and the docket-stage hit at ev-05 does not establish exposure. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blackfin-ss322-06