Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
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[1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS Casablanca' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'USS Casablanca' returned 1 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-casablanca-cve55-cl-name-opinion
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[2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS Casablanca' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'USS Casablanca' returned 87 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-casablanca-cve55-cl-name-docket
-
[3]CourtListener opinion search: 'CVE-55' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'CVE-55' returned 151 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-casablanca-cve55-cl-hull-opinion
-
[4]CourtListener docket search: 'CVE-55' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'CVE-55' returned 4254 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-casablanca-cve55-cl-hull-docket
-
[5]DANFS, Casablanca (CVE-55) entry, NHHC published 2020-04-01 (Wayback capture 2025-02-02; live page returned 404 on 2026-09-19; verbatim HyperWar transcription corroborates) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Casablanca (CVE-55) entry - construction paragraph, spec block, and service narrative (Wayback capture 20250202215335; transcription mirror https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/CVE/cve55.html)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: ordered as aircraft escort vessel Ameer (AVG-55) under a Maritime Commission contract awarded 18 June 1942; reclassified auxiliary aircraft carrier ACV-55 20 August 1942; laid down 3 November 1942 by Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Vancouver, Wash.; renamed Alazon Bay 23 January 1943; renamed Casablanca 3 April 1943; launched 5 April 1943, sponsored by First Lady Mrs. A. Eleanor Roosevelt; acquired by the Navy 8 July 1943; reclassified escort aircraft carrier CVE-55 15 July 1943; commissioned 8 July 1943. Service: Strait of Juan de Fuca training ship for escort carrier crews through August 1944; San Francisco-Manus ferry run (men, aircraft, aviation gasoline) returning to Seattle 8 October 1944; Puget Sound training until a repair period at San Diego begun 22 January 1945; from 13 March 1945 Pearl Harbor, then passengers/aircraft to Guam; transport operations Samar-Manus-Palau until 12 May, then west-coast overhaul; passenger transport west coast-Pearl Harbor-Guam through summer; carrier qualification off Saipan August; Magic Carpet repatriation voyages (Pearl Harbor; Espiritu Santo; Noumea; final voyage San Francisco-Yokohama 8 December 1945-16 January 1946); Norfolk 10 February 1946; decommissioned 10 June 1946; sold 23 April 1947. Spec block: 7,800 tons; 512'3" x 65'2"; 19 knots; complement 860; 1 x 5-inch, 8 x 40mm, 12 x 20mm; 27 aircraft.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Kaiser Vancouver construction trades (1942-43); Navy crew (1943-1946)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history and spec block only; no asbestos or material content anywhere in the source. Yard-period asbestos disturbance at the documented 1945 repair/overhaul events is era inference - DANFS does not name the yards or describe insulation work. DANFS renders the first commanding officer as 'Cmdr. W.W. Gallaway'; NavSource's CO roster and NARA photo captions give Steven W. Callaway - conflict logged in gaps, not silently reconciled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-casablanca-cve55-01
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[6]NHHC, United States Naval Aviation 1910-1995, Appendix 3 'Aviation Ships' - Carrier Listing for CVE Designations (official PDF, pp. 427-428) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Appendix 3 table 'Carrier Listing for CVE Designations', hull-no. 55 row and class summary (pp. 427-428 of retrieved PDF)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official NHHC carrier listing records for hull 55: 'Casablanca - 8 Jul 1943 - Sold 23 Apr 1947', and classifies the class as 'Casablanca - 50 ships, hull numbers 55-104' within the CVE designation series (AVG assigned 31 March 1941; ACV 20 August 1942; CVE 15 July 1943).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- listing as published
- Limitations
- Confirms commission and sale dates and the class span; the table records no struck date for this hull and carries no material/asbestos content. Official NHHC source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-casablanca-cve55-02
-
[7]NavSource Online, USS Casablanca (ACV-55/CVE-55) escort-carrier photo archive + commanding-officers roster, embedding NARA-captioned photographs [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 03/055.htm photo captions (NS0305508 NARA 80-G-320296; NS0305518 commissioning) and 03/055co.htm CO roster
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource/NARA photo record: ship placed in commission at Astoria, Ore., 8 July 1943 (photo 80-G-320296 caption: 'first of her class and the first escort carrier designed and built as such... sold for scrap 23 April 1947'); commissioning photograph shows CAPT James D. Barner placing the ship in commission with CDR Steven W. Callaway, the ship's first commanding officer; CO roster runs to 10 June 1946; class block lists 9,000 ihp, 2 Skinner Uniflow engines, 2 screws, 19 knots, crew 860.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Construction trades and crew (context)
- Limitations
- Compiled archive corroborating milestones; its NARA-embedded captions are primary-sourced. The 'first escort carrier designed and built as such' phrasing is the archive's caption claim, carried as such. CO roster conflicts with DANFS on the first CO's name (Callaway vs 'Gallaway') - logged in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-casablanca-cve55-03
-
[8]Navypedia Casablanca-class member table (yard no., milestones, disposition) - compiled secondary reference for cross-checks where DANFS is silent [other_primary]
- Locator
- navypedia us_cv_casablanca.htm member table row (ACV55/CVE55)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Navypedia member table: Kaiser Vancouver yard no. 301; laid down 3 Nov 1942, launched 5 Apr 1943, commissioned 8 Jul 1943; fate 'stricken 7.1946'. Consistent with DANFS on all milestones DANFS records.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary reference used for milestone and disposal cross-checks; the stricken date ('7.1946', and the 3 July 1946 carried in compiled references) is not verified against an official register - DANFS and the NHHC Appendix 3 record only the 23 April 1947 sale. Flagged in gaps; not silently reconciled. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-casablanca-cve55-04
-
[9]Era inference built on: DANFS construction/service record (Kaiser Vancouver MC-contract build 1942-43; documented repair/overhaul events); BuShips Technical Manual NAVSHIPS 250-000 ch.39 insulation spec suite; Braaten v. Saberhagen (Wash. 2008) era practice; casablanca-class.class.json class-file rows [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative (construction and repair events); BuShips TM ch.39 material sections (see ev-06); Braaten era holding (see ev-07)
- 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 - a repair period at San Diego begun 22 January 1945 and a west-coast overhaul from May 1945 (yards not named in DANFS) - 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
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1942-1946 service era
- Population
- Kaiser Vancouver construction trades (1942-43); repair-yard trades at the documented 1945 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-casablanca-cve55-05
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[10]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 (class-file hit, casablanca-class.class.json ev-casablanca-class-05) [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
- 2026-09-19
- 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 1942-43 keel sits inside the asbestos-spec period.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-casablanca-cve55-06
-
[11]Braaten v. Saberhagen Holdings, 165 Wn.2d 373, 198 P.3d 1010 (Wash. 2008) (class-file hit, casablanca-class.class.json ev-casablanca-class-06) [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 ecosystem this hull operated in throughout its training-ship career.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- 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-casablanca-cve55-07
-
[12]Washington State Department of Ecology, cleanup site page 'Kaiser Shipyard Debris Pile' (csid 1831) (class-file hit, casablanca-class.class.json ev-casablanca-class-04) [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 per batch-42 ledger
- 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
- 2026-09-19
- 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. Direct fetch returned HTTP 403 to this session's automated request on 2026-09-19; record verified in class-file session 2026-09-16 and migrated URL confirmed by batch-42 on 2026-09-18.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-casablanca-cve55-08
-
[13]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 1942-43 construction and its entire service life (all Navy custody ended 1947, well before substitution began).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- 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-casablanca-cve55-09
-
[14]Batch-250 search ledger (this record) plus casablanca-class.class.json class-file ledger: DANFS 2020 via Wayback; HyperWar transcription; NavSource; NHHC Appendix 3; navypedia; WA Ecology; BuShips TM scan; Braaten opinion; GAO product page; CourtListener class-member sweeps (2026-09-16) + site-scoped searches (2026-09-19); NARA/MARAD (not accessible) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-casablanca-cve55-01 through sl-uss-casablanca-cve55-12; casablanca-class.class.json ledger rows sl-casablanca-class-04/-05
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or qualifying asbestos case naming USS Casablanca (CVE-55) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The Casablanca-class profile's CourtListener member-name sweeps (2026-09-16) produced no qualifying asbestos opinion for any of the 50 members; this session's site-scoped searches on the ship name and hull number produced only name collisions and unrelated asbestos documents. The hull was scrapped in 1947, foreclosing any present-day survey.
- 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 - era-consistent inference remains. Opinion-database coverage excludes settled and unindexed matters; the direct CourtListener API was rate-limited this session and the null is reported as a search outcome, not as a fact about the ship. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-casablanca-cve55-10