Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]DANFS, Cape Esperance (CVE-88) entry (verbatim HyperWar transcription; live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 on 2026-09-18) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: Name changed from Tananek Bay 6 November 1943; launched 3 March 1944 by Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver, Wash., under Maritime Commission contract (sponsor Mrs. W. M. McDade; laid down 11 December 1943 per compiled references - DANFS omits); transferred to the Navy and commissioned 9 April 1944, Capt. R. W. Bockius. Pacific Fleet aircraft transport - two voyages to South Pacific bases May-September 1944; joined TG 30.8 2 November supporting 3d Fleet air strikes on Leyte and Luzon - replacement aircraft flown off to the operating carriers; continued aircraft runs from Ulithi and Guam supporting TF 38 strikes on Formosa and the China coast through January 1945; series of voyages delivering the aircraft that flew over Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Japan; Magic Carpet-style return voyages; decommissioned and placed in reserve at Bremerton, Wash., 22 August 1946. Recommissioned 5 August 1950 for the Military Sea Transportation Service as aircraft transport T-CVE-88 (mostly civilian crew) - nine years delivering aircraft to Japan for the Korean conflict, supporting atomic tests at Eniwetok, two voyages delivering aircraft to the Royal Thai Air Force at Bangkok, 1952 Hong Kong evacuation of Chinese Nationalist aircraft threatened with seizure; reclassified CVU-88 12 June 1955; first transatlantic crossing 1956 ferrying aircraft to/from Italy, France, Portugal; aircraft to Pakistan later 1956; up to eight transpacific voyages a year supporting US and SEATO forces; decommissioned 15 January 1959; sold 14 May 1959. Two battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-present disposition
- Population
- Kaiser Vancouver construction trades (1943-44); Navy crew (1944-1946; 1950-1959 (MSTS))
- 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 this session; verbatim HyperWar transcription used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cape-esperance-cve88-01
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[2]Navypedia Casablanca-class member table (yard no., milestones, redesignations, disposition) + uboat.net allied-warships page (disposal/scrapping detail) - compiled secondary references for cross-checks where DANFS is silent [other_primary]
- Locator
- navypedia us_cv_casablanca.htm member table row; uboat.net ship page History block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Navypedia member table: Kaiser Vancouver yard no. 334; laid down 11 Dec 1943, launched 3 Mar 1944, commissioned 9 Apr 1944; T-CVE-88 (8.1950), T-CVU-88 (6.1955); stricken Mar 1959. uboat.net: decommissioned 22 Aug 1946; reactivated as aircraft transport 5 Aug 1950 under MSTS as T-CVE-88; placed out of service 15 Jan 1959; stricken 1 Mar 1959; sold 14 May 1959; scrapped in Japan January 1961 - consistent with DANFS.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1961
- Population
- Scrap-yard workers at the disposal location (compiled detail)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary references used for milestone and disposal cross-checks; conflicts with DANFS are logged in gaps, not silently reconciled. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cape-esperance-cve88-02
-
[3]Era inference built on: DANFS construction/service record (Kaiser Vancouver MC-contract build 1943-44; documented repair/overhaul events); BuShips Technical Manual NAVSHIPS 250-000 ch.39 insulation spec suite; Braaten v. Saberhagen (Wash. 2008) era practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative (construction and repair events); BuShips TM ch.39 material sections (see ev-04); Braaten era holding (see ev-05)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Construction by Kaiser at Vancouver, Wash., under a Maritime Commission contract (type S4-S2-BB3) inside the Navy's peak asbestos-insulation era, plus this hull's documented maintenance events - Bremerton reserve berthing and 1950 recommissioning (Puget Sound Naval Shipyard inference - flagged); nine years of MSTS operations 1950-59 with no maintenance record located - are the ship-specific exposure-relevant facts. Asbestos applications standard to this steam plant's era and class: boiler and steam-drum insulation, magnesia and amosite pipe covering, asbestos felt, cloth/tape lagging, millboard, insulating and finishing cements, valve and flange gaskets, and machinery packing. The documented repair/overhaul events are the maintenance-disturbance pathways on this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1946 service era
- Population
- Kaiser Vancouver construction trades (1943-44); repair-yard trades at the documented events; crew
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or abatement record located for this vessel. Names era-standard applications and spec materials, not confirmed installed quantities; establishes no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cape-esperance-cve88-03
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[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) - verbatim OCR text of retrieved PDF
- 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 class's construction era: MIL-P-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 four B&W boilers, Skinner reciprocating engines, and steam piping are the equipment classes these specifications cover.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1960 (manual); describes era-standard specifications
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Specification-level documentation of the materials the Navy specified, not a ship-specific installation record - establishes what the era insulation suite contained, not what is or was aboard this hull. The retrieved PDF is a scan hosted in the Garlock bankruptcy Daubert-appendix repository; the document itself is the government manual. Directly applicable era - this hull's 1943-44 keel sits inside the asbestos-spec period.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cape-esperance-cve88-04
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[5]Braaten v. Saberhagen Holdings, 165 Wn.2d 373, 198 P.3d 1010 (Wash. 2008) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion factual background (Navy equipment asbestos use; PSNS exposure history)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Washington Supreme Court's factual summary states that Navy specifications called for asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, and packing aboard its vessels: 'the use of asbestos in and on Navy valves, pumps, and turbines was not by chance, but by design.' The opinion describes pipefitters/insulators disturbing asbestos insulation during shipyard maintenance at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard - the same Pacific Northwest naval-shipyard ecosystem this hull moved through.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1960s-1970s exposure era recounted in 2008 opinion
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (PSNS), plaintiff pipefitter
- Limitations
- Documents Navy-wide era practice and PSNS yard exposure, not this class or hull specifically. Plaintiff worked at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on multiple vessels; the opinion does not name this vessel or class. Era/context support only - affirmed-trial-level factual recital in a published opinion.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cape-esperance-cve88-05
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[6]Washington State Department of Ecology, cleanup site page 'Kaiser Shipyard Debris Pile' (csid 1831) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ecology site record - site history paragraph (Kaiser Vancouver yard role and fill debris); URL migrated from apps.ecology.wa.gov/gsp/Sitepage.aspx?csid=1831 (301) to cleanupsearch/site/1831 this session
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Washington State Dept. of Ecology cleanup-site record for the 'Kaiser Shipyard Debris Pile': in 1942 the site was developed as part of the Kaiser Vancouver Shipyard, which 'was responsible for construction of liberty ships, escort carriers, and transport ships used during World War II'; shipyard debris (metal, pipes, firebrick, ceramics) was used as fill 1940-1946. This is the official environmental record of the yard that built this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1940-1946 yard operations
- Population
- Kaiser Vancouver shipyard workforce and site community (1940-1946 operations)
- Limitations
- Official state environmental record confirming the builder yard's escort-carrier program and industrial debris stream; the record does not itself list asbestos among documented debris constituents. Yard-level context only - not a hull record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cape-esperance-cve88-06
-
[7]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 - spanning this hull's 1943-44 construction and its entire service life (all Navy custody ended by 1960).
- 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 returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cape-esperance-cve88-07
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[8]Batch-42 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription via HyperWar; navypedia class table; uboat.net; WA Ecology; BuShips TM scan; Braaten opinion; GAO product page; CourtListener (see ledger); NARA (not digitized) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cape-esperance-cve88-01 through sl-uss-cape-esperance-cve88-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying asbestos case naming USS Cape Esperance (CVE-88) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- 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 - era-consistent inference remains. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cape-esperance-cve88-08