Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
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[1]DANFS, USS Caiman (SS-323) - construction (as Blanquillo), four war patrols, postwar service, snorkel 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: originally Blanquillo, renamed Caiman 24 September 1942; launched 30 March 1944 by Electric Boat Co., Groton (sponsor Mrs. R. C. Bonjour); commissioned 17 July 1944, Cmdr. J. B. Azer. Four war patrols - first departed Pearl Harbor 13 November 1944 (CO disembarked ill at Saipan, Cmdr. W. L. Fey, Jr. relieved); lifeguard duty and no contacts; second patrol South China Sea/Gulf of Siam 18 February-6 April, no contacts; third patrol from Subic Bay 28 April, sank two small schooners; fourth patrol 22 July-end of hostilities, three special missions landing and evacuating agents on the Java coast, sank another schooner. Operated out of San Diego, Guam, and Pearl Harbor 1946; Arctic familiarization cruise out of Seattle 1947; Seattle-based reserve training ship until 23 April 1951, then snorkel conversion at Mare Island Naval Shipyard; thereafter Pearl Harbor and San Diego with Far East tours at 18-month intervals (1957 cruise included Brisbane). Last patrol designated 'successful'; two battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1986
- Population
- EB construction trades (1943-44); Mare Island yard trades (1951 GUPPY); US crew (1944-1972); Turkish crew (1972-1983)
- 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 transcription used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caiman-ss323-01
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[2]NavSource Online Submarine Photo Archive, SS-323 Caiman data block (construction dates, GUPPY conversion, transfer to Turkey, Turkish service and disposal) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource SS-323 data block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource data block and photo captions: entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard 23 April 1951 for conversion to GUPPY (snorkel) configuration; decommissioned, struck, and transferred to Turkey 30 June 1972 under the Security Assistance Program; commissioned in the Turkish Navy as TCG Dumlupinar (S-339) - the third Turkish submarine of that name - in ceremonies at the U.S. Support Facility, Ballast Point, San Diego. Collided with Soviet freighter Szik Vovilov 1 September 1976 (grounded, salvaged, repaired); decommissioned from Turkish service 6 February 1983; renamed Ceryan Botu (Y-1247), served as a charging boat at Golcuk Navy Yard; scrapped 15 September 1986.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1986
- Population
- EB construction trades (1943-44); Mare Island yard trades (1951 GUPPY); US crew (1944-1972); Turkish crew (1972-1983)
- 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). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caiman-ss323-02
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[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 - diesel maker Fairbanks-Morse or General Motors varying by hull block, electric motors Elliott or General Electric, ~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
- 1943-1986
- Population
- EB construction trades (1943-44); Mare Island yard trades (1951 GUPPY); US crew (1944-1972); Turkish crew (1972-1983)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material list located for SS-323. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; establishes no quantities and no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caiman-ss323-03
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[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 1951 Mare Island snorkel 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-caiman-ss323-04
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[5]Batch-24 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource data block; CourtListener searches; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-caiman-ss323-01 through -06
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated case naming USS Caiman (SS-323) was found. CourtListener "USS Caiman" type=r returned zero dockets; "Caiman" asbestos type=r returned 29 hits of which one MDL-875 tag-along attachment (J.P.M.L. docket 1245688 doc. 7294-1, attaching a CBS-notice exhibit filed in S.D.N.Y. 1:11-cv-03507) is a pending document-level lead and the remainder are name collisions ('Caiman' as surname/OCR artifact, Cayman).
- 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. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caiman-ss323-05