Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, USS Block Island (CVE-21) entry (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS CVE-21 entry, construction, service, and loss paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents: launched 6 June 1942 by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. H. B. Hutchinson; transferred to the Navy 1 May 1942; commissioned 8 March 1943, Captain L. C. Ramsey in command. Originally AVG-21, reclassified ACV-21 20 August 1942, CVE-21 15 July 1943. Departed San Diego May 1943 for Norfolk and the Atlantic Fleet; after two New York-to-Belfast trips carrying Army fighters, she operated as the nucleus of a hunter-killer team. Across four antisubmarine cruises her planes sank U-220 (28 October 1943) and U-1059 (19 March 1944), and she shared credit for the sinkings of U-801 (17 March 1944) and U-66 (6 May 1944); her escorts also accounted for U-709 and U-603. At 2013 on 29 May 1944 she was torpedoed by U-549, which had slipped undetected through her screen; the submarine put one and perhaps two more torpedoes into the stricken carrier before being sunk herself by Eugene E. Elmore (DE-686) and Ahrens (DE-575) of the screen near 31 deg 13 min N, 23 deg 03 min W. Two battle stars per DANFS (NavSource ribbon display shows one - see gaps).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Crew (~890) plus embarked squadron; six crewmen killed in the loss (per NavSource)
- Limitations
- Documents construction, Atlantic service, hunter-killer record, and loss; contains no insulation, material, or asbestos information. DANFS internal defects noted: the U-709 sinking is printed '1 March 1943' though the ship had not yet deployed (correct year is 1944), and the escort 'Corry (DD-453)' is a misprint for DD-463 - neither detail carried into prose.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-block-island-cve21-01
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[2]NavSource Online, Escort Carrier Photo Archive, USS Block Island (ACV-21/CVE-21) - Operational and Building Data, loss narrative, class specifications [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource CVE-21 page, Operational and Building Data block, Fate note, photo captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource building data documents: named 19 March 1942 for a sound east of Long Island, N.Y., and south of Rhode Island; Maritime Commission hull 237, type C3-S-A1; laid down 19 January 1942; launched 6 June 1942; acquired 1 May 1942; AVG-21, ACV-21 (20 August 1942), CVE-21 (15 July 1943); commissioned 8 March 1943; stricken 28 June 1944. Loss narrative: hit by two torpedoes from U-549 at 2013 on 29 May 1944, a third torpedo ten minutes later, and sank at 2155; USS Barr (DE-576) was damaged by another torpedo in the same action before U-549 was sunk by Eugene E. Elmore (DE-686) and Ahrens (DE-575). Six crewmen died during or soon after the attack; four of six Wildcat pilots aloft could not reach their diversion field in the Canary Islands. A March 1943 photograph places the ship off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, on trials. Class specifications: 7,800 tons standard; 2 boilers (285 psi), 1 steam turbine, 1 shaft, 8,500 shp; 16.5 knots; crew 890.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- n/a (building data); six killed in the loss
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary source consistent with DANFS on all overlapping facts; keel date, stricken date, torpedo count, casualty figure, and sink time are NavSource details. Ribbon display shows a single EAME battle star with an Awards Manual footnote, vs. DANFS's 'two battle stars' - conflict carried in gaps. No insulation/asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-block-island-cve21-02
-
[3]Bureau of Ships War Damage Report, U.S.S. Block Island (CVE-21), Torpedo Damage - South Atlantic Ocean, May 29, 1944 (LOST IN ACTION), scanned at HyperWar [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar WDR PDF (HTTP 200, 563 KB, image-only scan), linked from NavSource CVE-21 page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- An official Bureau of Ships war damage report specific to this hull exists and is publicly retrievable: 'U.S.S. BLOCK ISLAND (CVE-21), TORPEDO DAMAGE - South Atlantic Ocean, May 29, 1944 (LOST IN ACTION).' BuShips war damage reports document hull construction particulars, damage extent, and casualty analysis from official surveys and action reports - the strongest class of ship-specific primary document located for this hull.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944 (report era)
- Limitations
- Located but not reviewed: the scan is image-only (no text layer) and its contents were not extracted this pass. Whether it addresses insulation materials or fitted-equipment composition is unknown; nothing in this row should be read as asbestos documentation until the document is OCR'd or transcribed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-block-island-cve21-03
-
[4]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual, NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960, page date 15 April 1959) - specification-level document for Navy shipboard insulation materials [other_primary]
- Locator
- BuShips TM ch.39, sections 39-11 through 39-13 (materials)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The 1960 BuShips Technical Manual's insulation chapter enumerates the asbestos material suite standard to Navy steam plants of this hull's construction era: MIL-I-2781 pipe covering including 85% magnesia 'formed from a combination of 85 percent magnesium carbonate with about 15 percent asbestos fiber' and a class 'formed from a uniform mixture of amosite asbestos fibers'; roll asbestos felt MIL-I-15091; asbestos cloth/tape SS-C-466 (80-95% chrysotile) as lagging; asbestos millboard HH-M-351; asbestos finishing cement; molded asbestos block for high-temperature service. This hull's two Foster-Wheeler boilers, single Allis-Chalmers geared turbine set, and associated steam piping are the equipment classes these specifications cover.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1960 (manual); describes era-standard specifications
- Population
- Construction trades (Tacoma, 1942-43); crew (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Specification-level documentation of materials the Navy specified, not a ship-specific installation record - establishes the era insulation suite, not what was installed on this hull. Keel-to-commissioning window (1942-43) is inside the asbestos-spec period. Retrieved PDF is a scan hosted in the Garlock bankruptcy Daubert-appendix repository; the document itself is the government manual (verified legible 2026-09-18; same document verified in the class-D profile work of 2026-09-16 and batch-54 records).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-block-island-cve21-04
-
[5]Port of Tacoma v. Todd Shipyards Corp. et al., No. 3:08-cv-05132-BHS (W.D. Wash.), Order approving TSC settlement (Doc. 139, 2010-09-09); allegations recited from Port's CERCLA contribution complaint (Doc. 58) [court_record]
- Locator
- Order Doc. 139 at 1-3; complaint summary Doc. 58 (Shipbuilding Site, 1916-1946)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- A W.D. Wash. order recites the Port of Tacoma's CERCLA/MTCA contribution allegations that Todd Shipyards Corporation owned and operated parcels near the mouth of the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma - 'the Shipbuilding Site' - from 1916 through 1946, and that Todd's shipbuilding operations disposed of contaminated material and hazardous substances into the waterway. The Shipbuilding Site is the Commencement Bay yard where this hull was built; a settlement releasing TSC (Todd) was approved.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1916-1946 site era; litigation 2005-2010
- Population
- Todd Tacoma yard workforce (allegation-level)
- Limitations
- Establishes the builder's site identity and operating era (1916-1946) at the location of construction. The litigated contaminants were listed hazardous substances (metals, PAHs, PCBs) - asbestos is not among the recited substances; the order recites allegations for settlement approval, not findings of contamination or exposure. No individual or hull-level exposure is established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-block-island-cve21-05
-
[6]Herring v. Texaco, Inc., 161 Wn.2d 189, 165 P.3d 4 (Wash. 2007) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 161 Wn.2d 189 (No. 78774-3)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Washington Supreme Court opinion documents that Roger Herring worked for subcontractors at Todd Shipyards sites in the 1960s-early 1970s, developed pleural thickening (1986), asbestosis (~1989), and fatal mesothelioma (2002), and that his suit against Todd was barred because his asbestos claims were discharged in Todd's 1987 Chapter 11 bankruptcy (published-notice sufficiency was the litigated issue). Documents that occupational asbestos-exposure claims were litigated against this hull's builder corporate family in the postwar era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1960s-2007
- Population
- Todd Shipyards subcontractor worker (mesothelioma)
- Limitations
- Yard/corporate-level litigation at Todd's Puget Sound operations post-dating this hull's construction era; does not name this hull, does not adjudicate exposure aboard any specific vessel, and Herring's claim was barred on bankruptcy-discharge grounds - a merits-level negative for that plaintiff, not affirmative exposure evidence. Construction-era (1942-43) conditions at the Tacoma yard are not addressed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-block-island-cve21-06
-
[7]Batch-66 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NavSource/navypedia ship records; BuShips war-damage report located; CourtListener-domain searches by exact name and hull number; builder-yard litigation verification [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-block-island-cve21-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation specification, abatement contract, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Block Island (CVE-21) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Litigation-index sweeps by exact ship name and hull number returned Rhode Island Block Island geographic/utility matters (offshore-wind dockets) - a name collision, not this hull.
- 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 - a 1942-43 Tacoma construction sits inside the Navy's asbestos-specification era and the negative reflects record availability, not hull condition. CourtListener API was rate-limited (HTTP 429, daily cap) on 2026-09-18; the domain-restricted index sweep is a degraded but honest substitute, logged in the ledger. The wreck remains on the seabed - no recovery, survey, or artifact-return documentation was located either. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-block-island-cve21-07