Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]DANFS, Catfish (SS-339) - verbatim transcription at losthistory.net/hazegray mirror (live NHHC DANFS page returned HTTP 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: launched 19 November 1944 by Electric Boat Co., Groton (sponsor Mrs. J. J. Crowley); commissioned 19 March 1945, Lt. Cmdr. W. A. Overton, USNR. One war patrol - special minefield-reconnaissance mission off Kyushu, then Yellow Sea surface patrol and lifeguard duty at the cease-fire. 'Extensively modernized (August 1948 - May 1949), giving her greater submerged speed and endurance.' Reconnaissance patrol supporting UN forces in the Korean War; San Diego training, Naval Reservist exercises, joint ASW exercises with Canadian forces, Far East cruises through 1963. One battle star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1971
- Population
- EB construction trades (1944); conversion-yard trades (1948-49); crew (1945-1971)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Live NHHC page 404s; verbatim hazegray transcription used. The DANFS spec block lists class as 'Gato' - the hull is Balao class (DANFS spec blocks genericize the class label).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catfish-ss339-01
-
[2]NavSource Online Submarine Photo Archive, Catfish (SS-339) data block (keel, decommission/stricken dates, reclassifications, final disposition) - secondary compilation, not an official Navy source [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource Catfish (SS-339) data block (Wayback capture; navsource.net unreachable by direct fetch)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource data block: laid down 1 January 1944 at Electric Boat Co., Groton; decommissioned 10 December 1948 for GUPPY II conversion; recommissioned (date not stated); decommissioned, struck from the Naval Register, and transferred (sold) to Argentina 1 July 1971, renamed Santa Fe; final disposition - during the 1982 Falklands War Santa Fe was hit by British forces and, deemed too costly to repair as a war prize, was sunk in Grytviken Sound, South Georgia.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1982
- Population
- Crew (1945-1971); Argentine crew (1971-1982)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained photo archive, not an official record; post-service dates await NVR/NHHC confirmation (pre-1987 disposals are absent from the public NVR by its own notice). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catfish-ss339-02
-
[3]Armada Argentina (Argentine Navy) official site - Submarine Force history page (argentina.gob.ar) [other_primary]
- Locator
- argentina.gob.ar/armada/fuerza-de-submarinos
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Argentine Navy's official submarine-force page documents the 1971 acquisition from the United States of two Balao/GUPPY-class submarines - ARA Santa Fe (S-21, ex-Catfish) and ARA Santiago del Estero (S-22, ex-Chivo) - which served the force until the 1982 conflict.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1971-1982
- Population
- Argentine Navy crew (1971-1982)
- Limitations
- Official foreign-navy corroboration of the transfer and service span; Spanish-language page summarized - per-hull dates rest on NavSource. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catfish-ss339-03
-
[4]UK House of Commons Hansard, 26 April 1982 - official parliamentary record, Falkland Islands operations [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hansard HC Deb 26 April 1982, Falkland Islands statement
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official UK parliamentary record for 26 April 1982 documents that the Argentine submarine Santa Fe (ex-USS Catfish) was engaged and disabled by British forces during operations around South Georgia in the opening days of the Falklands War - the government statement reported the submarine disabled and captured at Grytviken.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1982
- Population
- Argentine crew; British forces (1982)
- Limitations
- Official record of the engagement, not a technical or material record. Subsequent disposal (scuttling of the hulk in Grytviken Sound, reported 1985 in secondary sources) is not covered by this record - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catfish-ss339-04
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), submarine machinery tables (shipscribe.com scan) + Balao class profile (class-f/balao-class.class.json) + shipyard-exposure-map product list for electric-boat-groton [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 submarine tables; class-f/balao-class.class.json; shipyards.json electric-boat-groton
- 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, 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
- 1943-1975 (era)
- Population
- EB construction trades (1943-45); era yard and crew trades
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material list located for SS-339. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; establishes no quantities and no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catfish-ss339-05
-
[6]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 service and yard periods (1945-1971).
- 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-catfish-ss339-06
-
[7]CourtListener searches for "USS Catfish" / "SS-339" (API v4 throttled; completed via search-engine index sweep of courtlistener.com) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-catfish-ss339-03 and sl-uss-catfish-ss339-04
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Catfish / SS-339 located: the indexed CourtListener corpus returned no pleading, opinion, or docket naming this hull; surfaced items were unrelated asbestos and maritime matters (name-string collisions only).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- CourtListener API v4 and HTML search returned HTTP 429/403 to automated fetches during this window; the sweep was completed via a search-engine index of the courtlistener.com domain, which has weaker recall than the native index - a residual unverifiable margin exists. Absence of a located public docket does not prove absence of exposure or of filings; state-court and non-digitized records are not covered.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catfish-ss339-07
-
[8]Batch-25 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource data block; CourtListener index sweep; BuShips Ships' Data 1945; GAO HRD-80-2; NVR coverage notice; hull-specific official sources as logged [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-catfish-ss339-01 through end
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for CATFISH (no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, HAER documentation, museum disclosure, or adjudicated case naming this hull 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 materials may have been installed and later removed or retained undocumented. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catfish-ss339-08