USS Bolinas (CVE-36)

Evidence

13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).

1. [1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS Bolinas' [court_record]

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener opinion search 'USS Bolinas' returned 0 results (2026-10-07)

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Limitations

   zero-hit search; absence of hits is not proof of no litigation

   Evidence ID

   uss-bolinas-cve36-cl-name-opinion

2. [2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS Bolinas' [court_record]

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener docket search 'USS Bolinas' returned 19 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Limitations

   hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed; name query may match same-named vessels

   Evidence ID

   uss-bolinas-cve36-cl-name-docket

3. [3]CourtListener opinion search: 'CVE-36' [court_record]

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener opinion search 'CVE-36' returned 207 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Limitations

   hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed

   Evidence ID

   uss-bolinas-cve36-cl-hull-opinion

4. [4]CourtListener docket search: 'CVE-36' [court_record]

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener docket search 'CVE-36' returned 4943 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Limitations

   hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed

   Evidence ID

   uss-bolinas-cve36-cl-hull-docket

5. [5]DANFS, Bolinas (CVE-36) entry - live NHHC pages return HTTP 404 (2026-09-19, both danfs/b/bolinas.html and the NavSource-linked danfs/b/bolinas-i.html; same link rot observed in batches 01/66/247); verbatim hazegray DANFS transcription cited. HyperWar/ibiblio's CVE transcription series ends at CVE-31, so no ibiblio mirror exists for this hull [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   hazegray DANFS transcription, CVE-36 Bolinas entry (NHHC canonical URLs 404)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS documents: Bolinas is a bay in California; CVE-36 launched 11 November 1942 by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Tacoma, Wash.; sponsored by Mrs. G. B. Sherwood, wife of Commander Sherwood; commissioned 22 July 1943, Captain H. L. Meadow in command. On 2 August 1943 after being decommissioned Bolinas was transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease and renamed HMS Begum; Begum served with the British Navy during World War II and after her return was declared surplus by the U.S. Navy; sold by the Navy 16 April 1947. DANFS data line: dp. 8,333; l. 492'; b. 111'6"; dr. 26'; s. 17 k.; cpl. 890; a. 2 5"; cl. Prince William.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-19

   Study period

   1942-1947

   Population

   U.S. Navy commissioning crew (11 days, July-August 1943)

   Limitations

   Documents construction, the 11-day U.S. Navy commission, transfer, and disposal; contains no insulation, material, or asbestos information. U.S. Navy service was 11 days - the hull's operational history is almost entirely Royal Navy and merchant service, which the DANFS entry covers in one sentence each.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bolinas-cve36-01

6. [6]NavSource Online, Escort Carrier Photo Archive, USS Bolinas (CVE-36) / HMS Begum (D38) - naming caption, class data block, RN photography (IWM credits), fate block, merchant-service photography [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource CVE-36 page (navsource.net mirror fetched successfully; navsource.org returned fetch errors), name caption, class data block, fate block, battle honours, photo captions

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NavSource documents: AVG-36 named Bolinas for a bay in Marin County, Calif., just north of the Golden Gate Bridge; renamed Begum on RN transfer - 'the title of a woman of high rank (e.g., a Queen or royal princess) in countries such as India or Pakistan.' Battle honour displayed: East Indies 1944. Class data: displacement 7,800 tons; 495'8" oa x 69'6" x 26' max; 2 x 5"/51, 4 x 40mm, 10 x 20mm; 28 aircraft; 8,500 SHP Allis-Chalmers geared turbines, 1 screw; 17.5 knots; crew 890. Fate: April 1947 sold for commercial service and converted to cargo ship, renamed Raki (Dutch flag); 1966 sold to C. Y. Tung, Hong Kong, renamed I Yung; April 1974 scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Photo documentation: HMS Begum with the Eastern Fleet 1944 (832 Squadron Avengers and Wildcats on deck); Begum off Greenock 6 February 1944 (IWM A 21737); Capt. J. E. Broome RN on the bridge at Greenock 23 February 1944 (IWM A21926); SS Raki of the Nederland Line circa 1964 (from Victor Young, Merchant Ships of World War II).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-19

   Study period

   1942-1974

   Population

   Royal Navy crew (646), embarked FAA squadrons; postwar merchant crews

   Limitations

   Compiled secondary source consistent with DANFS on overlapping facts; its battle-honour label (East Indies 1944) conflicts with RNRA's sidebar (East Indies 1945) - flagged in gaps. Displacement/speed/armament figures vary across compiled sources - flagged in gaps. No insulation/asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bolinas-cve36-02

7. [7]Royal Navy Research Archive, 'A History of HMS BEGUM' + Seattle-Tacoma built-ships table (non-profit virtual museum / research archive) [other_primary]

   Locator

   RNRA ESCORT/BEGUM.htm (history sections, spec block, commanding-officers and squadrons sidebar) and ESCORT_2/Seattle-Tacoma_Ships.htm (row ST 31 / MC 247)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   RNRA documents: keel laid 3 August 1942 at Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Tacoma, as MC C3-S-A1 freighter hull 247, Seattle-Tacoma hull 31 (corroborated by shipbuildinghistory's Todd Tacoma table, row 31/247, and marhisdata yard-no. field); launched 11 November 1942, sponsor Mrs. G. B. Sherwood; hull towed to Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton for completion; commissioned USS Bolinas 22 July 1943 (Capt. H. L. Meadow); remained at Puget Sound until 1 August, proceeded to Vancouver; decommissioned in preparation for transfer and officially transferred to the RN at Burrard Dry Dock's Lapointe Pier, North Vancouver, 2 August 1943, commissioning as HMS Begum (D38) the same day under Capt. J. E. Broome RN - the second MC hull earmarked 'Begum' (CVE-62, intended as HMS Chastiser then Begum, was retained by the USN and commissioned as USS Natoma Bay, also under Capt. Harold L. Meadow). Burrard modification program 4 August - 25 November 1943 (114 days, ~150 alterations; third of nineteen CVEs in the Burrard program): flight-deck lengthening, redesigned flying controls and fighter-direction layout, hangar/accommodation/store-room changes, aviation-fuel stowage and oiling-at-sea safety changes, W/T and R/T sets, darken-ship arrangements; LP turbine rotor removed 24 September and sent to Allis-Chalmers, Milwaukee, for partial re-blading (received back 9 November); floating dry dock 17-20 October. Ammunitioning trip to Bremerton US Naval Yard and trials in the Straits of Georgia; Confidential Books embarked at Esquimalt. Maiden ferry voyage: San Diego, Panama Canal 4 January 1944, Norfolk (embarked Lend-Lease airframes plus 1837 and 1838 Naval Air Squadrons, Corsair II), New York 16 January (Bethlehem Steel voyage repairs), convoy UT.7 from New York 18 January with HMS Trumpeter carrying 60 aircraft (36 Corsair, 24 Avenger), 68 tons of stores, and 239 passengers; Liverpool Bay 29 January; Rothesay Bay 1 February (1837/1838 flew off to RNAS Burscough); three weeks of Clyde dockyard defect rectification and RN-standard conversion work including petrol-stowage changes. Far East ferry: embarked 1839/1844 (Hellcat) and 815/817 (Barracuda) squadrons; convoy KMF.29A from the Clyde 3 March; Alexandria 17 March; Suez 18-19; Aden 27; convoy AJ.2 to Colombo 4 April; Madras 11 April (aircraft to RNARY Tambaram); Colombo 26 April. East Indies Fleet service: 832 Squadron (12 Avenger I, 4 Wildcat V) embarked 26 May 1944; five Indian Ocean anti-submarine sweeps; TF66 with HMS Shah; U-198 hunt August 1944 (Shah's aircraft sighted her 10 August near the Seychelles; combined Shah/Begum air attack 12 August; U-198 sunk by hedgehog attacks from HMS Findhorn and HMIS Godavari); convoy KM.5 Kilindini-Aden escort; catapult failures 28 October and 6 December; RO-113 hunt November; Colombo 26 November; East Indies Fleet temporary pennant R305; 832 disembarked 22 December. UK refit and ferry-carrier conversion: sailed Colombo 16 January 1945, Clyde 20 February; Capt. C. L. Howe relieved Broome 26 March; embarked 721 Fleet Requirements Unit (Vengeance TT.IV) and 1701 Air-Sea-Rescue Squadron (Sea Otter) at Belfast 17 April; convoy KMF.43. BPF ferry run: Ponam 27-28 May, Sydney 5 June, replacement airframes to RNAS Ponam 15 June; reallocated to the EIF as deck-landing-training carrier for 757 Naval Operational Training Squadron from 1 July. Allocated reserve carrier for Operation ZIPPER; struck a submerged object leaving Trincomalee 4 September 1945 (hull damage, fuel leak), temporary repair, withdrawn from ZIPPER, dockyard repairs at Bombay. Embarked passengers including 280 Maritime Regiment Royal Artillery DEMS gunners at Bombay 22 October; sailed 23 October; Clyde 10 November; de-ammunitioned and de-stored; Portsmouth and Southampton (embarked U.S. troops 13 December); heavy-weather crossing - forward flight deck came adrift, makeshift repairs; Norfolk 25 December. Returned to U.S. Navy custody 4 January 1946; stricken for disposal 19 June 1946; sold into merchant service with the Netherlands Steamship Co. 16 April 1947 as Raki; sold to Monrovia interests 1966, renamed I-Yung; scrapped in Taiwan starting March 1974. Spec block: 15,390 tons; 494'9" x 69'6"; flight deck 450' x 80' wood-covered mild steel; 2 Foster-Wheeler boilers, 1 Allis-Chalmers geared turbine, 1 shaft, 16 knots; complement 646; 2 single 5in USN Mk 12, 8 twin 40mm Bofors, 14 twin and 7 single 20mm Oerlikon; 20 aircraft; 1 H4C hydraulic catapult.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-19

   Study period

   1942-1974

   Population

   U.S. Navy commissioning crew (11 days); RN crew (646), Burrard/UK-yard/Bombay yard workforces, FAA squadron personnel, embarked passengers and U.S. troops; postwar merchant crews

   Limitations

   RNRA is a non-profit virtual museum/research archive - a compiled secondary source (its own listed sources include Admiralty War Diaries, Norfolk/New York Navy Yard War Diaries, naval-history.net, and Fold3 documents), not a primary record; its work-package and movement detail is documented as events without insulation or material content. Dates corroborate DANFS where they overlap. Its sidebar battle honour (East Indies 1945) conflicts with NavSource/naval-history.net (1944); its 2 August RN-commissioning conflicts with naval-history.net/navypedia (3 August) - both flagged in gaps. No asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bolinas-cve36-03

8. [8]Stichting Maritiem Historische Data (Dutch Maritime Historical Data Foundation), ship register record RAKI ID 5397 - registry-level merchant data and ownership/disposal chain [other_primary]

   Locator

   marhisdata.nl schip record ID 5397 (RAKI) - identification, construction, engine, ship-history, and events blocks

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The Dutch register documents for this hull (yard no. 31, Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Tacoma; laid down 1942-08-03; launched 1942-11-11; C3-S-A1 'Baby Flattop'; steel, shelterdeck open; Lloyd's Register; IMO 5289510; Dutch official number 2269 Z AMST 1948; callsign PGYI; Allis-Chalmers steam turbine machinery, 8,500 bhp, one screw, 16.5 knots): HMS BEGUM D38 under Royal Navy from 1943-08-02; rebuilt at Burrard Drydock Company Ltd, Vancouver, in service 25 November 1943; bought by Waterman Steamship Corporation in 1946 and converted to a freighter at Gulf Shipbuilding Corp., Mobile, Alabama; purchased by the Dutch government April 1947; registered as RAKI under N.V. Stoomvaart Maatschappij 'Nederland' (Nederland Line), Amsterdam, 1948-06-15; renamed I-YUNG May 1966 (manager Associated Maritime Industries Inc., New York; owner Zui Kong Steamship Company Ltd., Keelung, Taiwan; shareholder C. Y. Tung; flag Monrovia/Liberia); transferred to Zui Kong Steamship Co., Taipeh, 1968 (Keelung flag); sold early 1974 to breakers at Kaohsiung - departed Hong Kong 20 February 1974 on her last voyage, arrived late February; sold to Chin Tai Steel Enterprise Co. Ltd., demolition begun 24 June 1974.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-19

   Study period

   1942-1974

   Population

   Merchant crews and passengers (Nederland Line, Zui Kong/Orient Overseas interests); Mobile conversion-yard workforce (1946-48); Kaohsiung breaking-yard workforce (1974)

   Limitations

   Compiled shipping-register data resolving the disposal chain (U.S. Navy sale April 1947 to Waterman, Mobile conversion, Dutch-government purchase, Nederland Line registration June 1948); reconciles the 'sold 1946/1947/1948' variance across other compiled sources. Prints 'two steamturbines' and 16.5 knots against the single geared set and 16-18.5 knots of other sources - flagged in gaps. Delivery-date field prints '1942-08-00' (inconsistent with the 1943 delivery; treated as a register typo and not carried). No insulation/asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bolinas-cve36-04

9. [9]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

   2026-09-19

   Study period

   1960 (manual); describes era-standard specifications

   Population

   Construction trades (Tacoma, 1942-43; Bremerton completion, 1943); RN crew and Canadian/UK/Indian yard workforces (1943-45); merchant conversion crews (Mobile, 1946-48); breaking-yard workforce (Kaohsiung, 1974)

   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; the 114-day Burrard Vancouver modification of 1943 (including LP turbine-rotor removal to Allis-Chalmers Milwaukee), the early-1944 Clyde-yard RN-standard conversion work (petrol stowage, possible tropicalisation), the 1945 UK ferry-carrier refit, the late-1945 Bombay hull repairs and Clyde destoring, the 1946-48 Waterman/Gulf Shipbuilding Mobile freighter conversion, and the 1974 Kaohsiung breaking are further material-disturbance events whose insulation scope - and whether they removed or retained era insulation - is undocumented. Retrieved PDF is a scan hosted in the Garlock bankruptcy Daubert-appendix repository; the document itself is the government manual (verified legible in batch-54, batch-66, and batch-247 work).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-bolinas-cve36-05

10. [10]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

    2026-09-19

    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-bolinas-cve36-06

11. [11]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

    2026-09-19

    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-bolinas-cve36-07

12. [12]Braaten v. Saberhagen Holdings, Inc., 165 Wn.2d 373, 198 P.3d 1010 (Wash. 2008) [court_record]

    Locator

    Opinion, 165 Wn.2d 373 (No. 80146-4)

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    Washington Supreme Court opinion documenting the shipboard asbestos-maintenance regime at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard through the career of pipefitter William Braaten (1967-2002), who developed mesothelioma; the court held manufacturers had no duty to warn of asbestos in other makers' products applied to their equipment - a defense win on duty grounds. Documents the era asbestos environment at the naval shipyard where this hull was completed and fitted out in 1943 (and where she ammunitioned in December 1943 as HMS Begum).

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    class_or_era

    Accessed

    2026-09-19

    Study period

    1967-2008

    Population

    PSNS pipefitter (mesothelioma)

    Limitations

    Yard-level litigation context only: Braaten's PSNS tenure (1967-2002) postdates this hull's 1943 completion by 24 years and the opinion does not name this hull or adjudicate exposure aboard any vessel. Carried because the completion yard is documented (RNRA spec block 'Completed by: Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington'; RNRA narrative 'towed to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton Washington for completion'; DANFS 'remained at Puget Sound Navy Yard'; shipbuildinghistory prints 'Completed by Puget Sound NSY' for adjacent sibling rows); the decision is a merits-level negative for those plaintiffs, not exposure evidence.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-bolinas-cve36-08

13. [13]Batch-248 search ledger (this record): DANFS(hazegray mirror)/NavSource/RNRA/navypedia/naval-history.net/shipbuildinghistory/marhisdata ship records; CourtListener API + courtlistener.com-domain sweeps by exact name, hull number, RN name, and both merchant names; builder-yard litigation verification [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-bolinas-cve36-01 through -14

    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 Bolinas (CVE-36), HMS Begum, SS Raki, or SS I-Yung was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener API v4 was rate-limited (HTTP 429, retry-after 5,266s at sweep time) before any query could run; the courtlistener.com-domain index sweep for 'Bolinas' returned Marin County, California name collisions only (a Bolinas law office address, Bolinas-resident litigants, Bar Bolinas Inc. as a corporate party) - none is this hull. 'Begum' resolves to a South Asian name/surname and 'Raki'/'I Yung' produced no qualifying results; generic Navy-asbestos dockets naming other vessels surfaced but none naming this hull. USS Bolinas (CVE-36) appears on two law-firm marketing ship lists (mesothelioma.com escort-carrier list; freeasbestostesting.com) - marketing lists are not claims and the sources are excluded per batch rules.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-19

    Study period

    2026-09-19

    Limitations

    Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942-43 Tacoma construction plus Bremerton completion sits inside the Navy's asbestos-specification era, and the negative reflects record availability, not hull condition; whether the Burrard/Clyde/UK-refit/Bombay/Mobile material-disturbance events removed or retained era insulation is undocumented. CourtListener API was rate-limited (HTTP 429, shared 125/day cap) on 2026-09-19; the domain-restricted index sweep is a degraded but honest substitute, logged in the ledger. UK veteran claims would not appear in U.S. court repositories regardless. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-bolinas-cve36-09