Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
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[1]DANFS, California V (BB-44) (builder, dates, Pearl Harbor sinking and salvage, reconstruction, disposal; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-18; transcription header misprints hull number as 'BB-41', logged in gaps) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 25 October 1916 (per BuShips Ships' Data via class record; DANFS entry text omits it) by Mare Island Navy Yard; launched 20 November 1919; commissioned 10 August 1921; Pacific Fleet flagship, then Battle Fleet flagship 1921-41; modernized late 1929-early 1930. Moored at the southernmost berth of Battleship Row on 7 December 1941 with watertight integrity below maximum (material inspection pending); two bomb hits plus torpedoes - settled into the mud with only superstructure above water; 98 killed, 61 wounded. Refloated 26 March 1942 and drydocked at Pearl Harbor for repairs; departed 7 June for Puget Sound Navy Yard 'major reconstruction' - improved protection, stability, AA battery, fire control. Departed Bremerton 31 January 1944. Marianas (Saipan shore-battery hit 14 June - 1 killed, 9 wounded; Guam, Tinian); collision with Tennessee repaired at Espiritu Santo; Leyte incl. Surigao Strait 25 October. Lingayen kamikaze 6 January 1945 - 44 killed, 155 wounded; temporary repairs in place, stayed on bombardment mission; Puget Sound permanent repairs from 15 February. Okinawa June-July; East China Sea minesweeping cover; occupation support Wakanoura Wan; via Singapore, Colombo, Capetown to Philadelphia, arriving 7 December 1945. In commission in reserve 7 August 1946; out of commission in reserve 14 February 1947; sold 10 July 1959. Seven battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1916-1959
- Population
- Mare Island construction trades 1916-21; Pearl Harbor salvage workers and Navy Yard 1941-42; Puget Sound reconstruction trades 1942-44 and repair workers 1945; Philadelphia inactivation workers 1945-47; crew 1921-47
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and yard periods, not materials or asbestos content. Transcription verified against HyperWar/ibiblio; the live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-18. The transcription header misprints the hull number as 'BB-41' - the hull is BB-44 (Tennessee class); logged in gaps. Stricken date is not stated in the DANFS entry - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-california-bb44-01
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[2]VAdm. Homer N. Wallin (ret.), Pearl Harbor: Why, How, Fleet Salvage and Final Appraisal, Naval History Division, Washington, 1968, Chapter XIII ('Ships Sunk at Pearl Harbor'), USS California section [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wallin ch. XIII, USS California section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Navy salvage monograph documents the inside-hull salvage of this hull: steel sheet piling and concrete patches over the two torpedo hits (frames 46-60, 95-100), wooden cofferdams fabricated by Navy Yard carpenters, deep-well pumps and drying-out machines on the upper deck, preservation of the turbo-electric plant (motors washed with fresh water and 'tectyl', electrical parts cleaned and dried; boilers re-bricked and tested as on Nevada), recovery of human remains during the work. Workforce named: Salvage Division, Navy Yard, Pacific Bridge Company (contractor), and mechanics arrived from the mainland. She came afloat on a near-even keel 24 March 1942 and entered Drydock Number Two 9 April 1942. Crew nickname 'The Prune Barge' recorded.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1941-12 to 1942-06
- Population
- Salvage Division, Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, Pacific Bridge Company contractor personnel, mainland mechanics, ship's nucleus crew - December 1941 - June 1942
- Limitations
- Documents months of interior work aboard the sunken hull - compartments unwatered, cleaned, and machinery preserved - but contains no asbestos or insulation-material reference; the monograph's chapters and appendices were searched for 'asbestos' on 2026-09-18 with zero hits. Wallin's refloat date (24 March) differs from DANFS (26 March) - logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-california-bb44-02
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[3]NHHC Online Library, Tennessee Class (BB-43 and BB-44), 1916 Building Program (class page, ibiblio mirror) + DANFS BB-44 specifications block and reconstruction narrative [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library class page; DANFS BB-44 specifications block + reconstruction narrative; Wallin ch. XIII
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: Tennessee-class turbo-electric construction (8 boilers, turbo-generators driving 4 motors) in 1916-21 falls inside the period when Navy steam plants were lagged and gasketed with era-standard materials; the documented 1942-44 Puget Sound reconstruction - per NHHC 'probably the most extensive reconstruction given to any of the Navy's wartime major combatants' - plus the Pearl Harbor salvage interior work are documented yard periods in which era insulation was disturbed and renewed on an unusually large scale.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1916-1947
- Population
- Construction trades 1916-21; salvage and Navy Yard workers 1941-42; Puget Sound reconstruction trades 1942-44; crew 1921-47
- Limitations
- Class/era and yard-period inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material list was located for this hull. This row must not be read as an independent ship-specific finding; it does not establish that asbestos products were aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-california-bb44-03
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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 - every insulation installation aboard this hull (1916-21 construction; 1929-30 modernization; 1942-44 reconstruction) predates the substitution era.
- 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 hull-specific. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description, consistent with prior batches.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-california-bb44-04
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[5]Batch-17 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS transcription + live-page probe; CourtListener/PACER ship-name and hull-number queries; Naval Vessel Register; Wallin salvage monograph; museum/scrapping-disclosure sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-california-bb44-01 through sl-uss-california-bb44-06
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos-litigation opinion naming this hull, no hull ACM survey, abatement contract, scrapping hazmat disclosure, NVR entry (hull disposed of 1959, before the live register's coverage), or museum record naming this hull with asbestos data was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener 'USS California' asbestos = 0; 'U.S.S. California' = 0; 'BB-44' hits are name collisions (Lambert v. State; D'Amico Dry v. Primera Maritime; Harvey Nobel & Beaverbrook Motors; Mockaitis v. Harcleroad; Pedder) - the string appears as unrelated cite text, not a ship reference.
- 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; the hull was scrapped in 1959, before asbestos-aware disposal documentation existed. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-california-bb44-05