Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS Chester' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'USS Chester' returned 25 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-chester-ca27-cl-name-opinion
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[2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS Chester' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'USS Chester' returned 847 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-chester-ca27-cl-name-docket
-
[3]CourtListener opinion search: 'CA-27' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'CA-27' returned 157503 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-chester-ca27-cl-hull-opinion
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[4]CourtListener docket search: 'CA-27' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'CA-27' returned 828709 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-chester-ca27-cl-hull-docket
-
[5]DANFS, Chester II (CA-27), Vol. II (builder, dates, specifications, service narrative; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 3 July 1929 by New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.; commissioned 24 June 1930; Atlantic Fleet, European cruise 1930; flagship Commander Light Cruiser Divisions 1931; overhaul at New York Navy Yard (two catapults fitted); San Pedro operations from 1932; flagship Special Service Squadron; Presidential Naval Review 1934; carried Secretary of War to the Philippines 1935; escorted Indianapolis (CA-35) with President Roosevelt to Buenos Aires and Montevideo 1936; homeported at Pearl Harbor from 3 February 1941; at sea with Northampton (CA-26) and Enterprise (CV-6) returning from Wake Island during the Pearl Harbor attack; Samoa reinforcement January 1942; Taroa raid 1 February 1942 - bomb hit in well deck killed 8 and injured 38, repairs at Pearl Harbor; TF 17 Tulagi raid and Battle of the Coral Sea (received 478 Lexington survivors); Noumea September 1942, Funafuti landings; torpedoed starboard side amidships 20 October 1942 - 11 killed, 12 wounded; emergency repairs Espiritu Santo 23 October (also took aboard 440 President Coolidge survivors); Sydney repairs; departed 25 December for Norfolk and a complete overhaul; returned San Francisco 13 September 1943; Marshalls operations, Majuro patrol; San Francisco overhaul 6-22 May 1944; TF 94 bombardments of Matsuwa and Paramushiru (Kuriles) 13 and 26 June; Wake Island bombardment 3 September; Marcus Island 9 October; TG 38.1 Luzon/Samar strikes and post-Leyte Gulf search; Iwo Jima and Bonins bombardment November 1944-February 1945 supporting the 19 February landings; Ulithi 21 June 1945; Okinawa patrols and minesweeping cover; TG 95.2 Yangtze; Aleutians August; occupation landings at Ominato, Aomori, Hakodate, Otaru September-October; Magic Carpet troop returns; Philadelphia 30 January 1946; placed out of commission in reserve there 10 June 1946; sold 11 August 1959; 11 battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1929-1959
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1928-30; crew 1930-46
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content; it does not give a laid-down or stricken date, and does not name the attacking submarine or the west-coast overhaul yards. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404. Yard periods documented here (New York Navy Yard 1931-32, Pearl Harbor Feb 1942, Norfolk 1942-43, San Francisco 1944, unnamed west-coast availabilities) are asbestos-relevant repair events; their asbestos scope is inference, not documented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chester-ca27-01
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[6]Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels 1945' Vol. I (NAVSHIPS 250-010; shipscribe.com scan), Heavy Cruisers (CA) machinery table - Chester (CA-27) row [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1.pdf - Heavy Cruisers (CA) machinery table, Chester/CA-27 row (book pp. 28-29)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official April 1945 BuShips heavy-cruiser machinery table carries the Chester (CA-27) row: 8 White-Forster boilers (300 psi, 422 deg. superheat); New York Shipbuilding-built Parsons geared turbines; 107,000 shaft horsepower; De Laval main reduction gears; 4 ship's-service generators (240/120 V d.c.) - the treaty-era steam plant shared with Northampton-class sisters and the Pensacola/Portland-era 107,000-shp pattern.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1945 edition
- Population
- Chester program; wartime crew
- Limitations
- OCR of a textless 2-up scan (book pp. 28-29 = PDF pp. 24-25); official 1945 characteristics, not materials - the table does not state insulation content. Asbestos applications remain era-level inference. Declassified wartime edition (Restricted marking).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chester-ca27-02
-
[7]DANFS specifications block (9,200 t; 32 kt; cpl. 621) + BuShips Ships Data 1945 machinery row + Atlas shipyard dataset, New York Shipbuilding yard record (tier-1, extensive era asbestos product documentation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; SDB1945v1 CA machinery table; shipyards.json record 'new-york-shipbuilding'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: a Washington-treaty-era heavy cruiser built 1928-30 with an eight-boiler, 107,000-shp geared-steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos-containing insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings; builder New York Shipbuilding is documented in the Atlas yard dataset as a tier-1 yard with extensive era asbestos product use (85% magnesia insulation, Caltemp block, Transite panels, asbestos gaskets, packing, wire and felt insulation). Documented repair availabilities (Pearl Harbor Feb 1942 bomb damage; Norfolk 1942-43 torpedo rebuild; New York Navy Yard 1931-32; San Francisco 1944) sit at documented asbestos-era yards - peak-disturbance contexts under the era model.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1928-1946
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1928-30; repair-yard workers and crew at documented availabilities 1931-46
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No insulation survey, material schedule, or abatement record exists for this hull; does not quantify material aboard, does not establish any individual's exposure, and does not establish legal eligibility. The Norfolk torpedo rebuild is a documented repair event; its asbestos rip-out scope is inference.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chester-ca27-03
-
[8]NavSource Online Cruiser Photo Archive, USS Chester (CL/CA-27) - building data + USN/NHHC photo captions (verified via search index; direct fetch failed this session, DNS resolution error) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/04/027/04027.htm - operational/building data block + NHHC/USN photo captions (via search index 2026-09-19)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Photo-archive record for this hull: keel laid 6 March 1928 by New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden; reclassified CA-27 on 1 July 1931; decommissioned 10 June 1946; stricken 1 March 1959; sold for scrap August 1959. NHHC/USN photo captions: torpedo-hit damage photos at Espiritu Santo 23 October 1942; hull being docked in Sutherland dock, Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney, November 1942 - caption identifies the attacker as Japanese submarine I-176 (20 October 1942, starboard amidships); Chester under tow away from Philadelphia Navy Yard for scrapping, circa 1959 (USNHC photo NH 85179-KN). A further USN photo shows her off Mare Island Navy Yard on 2 October 1943 after the post-torpedo overhaul.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1928-1959
- Population
- Repair-yard workers (Cockatoo Island, Norfolk) during documented availabilities
- Limitations
- Secondary photo-archive captions quoting USN/NHHC photo metadata - not an official publication and not a materials record. Direct site fetch failed this session (DNS resolution error); contents verified through search-index text. Laid-down and stricken dates and the I-176 attribution are corroborated across secondary compilations but absent from the DANFS narrative.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chester-ca27-04
-
[9]National Museum of the Pacific War, oral history interview with Daniel Wentrcek, 15 January 2004 (UNT Portal to Texas History) [museum_official]
- Locator
- UNT Portal to Texas History, metapth1604482 - interview abstract
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archived crew-member oral history naming this hull: Daniel Wentrcek enlisted July 1941, served as a Fireman aboard Nevada (BB-36) at Pearl Harbor, then transferred to USS Chester (CA-27) - Samoa landings support, antiaircraft duty at the Battle of the Coral Sea, Solomons operations, and 1944-mid-1945 engagements including Alaska, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa; discharged November 1945. Fireman is a boiler-room rating - the engineering-space population the era model treats as highest-disturbance.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (service); 2004 (interview)
- Population
- Engineering-rated crewman aboard Chester 1942-45
- Limitations
- Oral-history transcript documenting one crewman's service and duties; contains no asbestos or materials information - a personnel-level lead only. Does not establish exposure or material content aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chester-ca27-05
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[10]Batch-177 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS live + ibiblio mirror; BuShips Ships Data 1945 Vol. I (shipscribe); NavSource photo archive; National Museum of the Pacific War oral history (UNT); CourtListener API v4 and public-index searches; consumer ship-list scan [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-chester-ca27-05 through sl-uss-chester-ca27-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull survey, abatement contract, scrapping hazmat disclosure, or museum ACM disclosure exists or was found (hull scrapped 1959-60), and no qualifying asbestos case naming CA-27 was located. CourtListener API was throttled mid-session (HTTP 429, daily cap); public-index searches for 'USS Chester' in opinions and RECAP text return only name collisions (criminal/civil 'Chester' parties, an 1782 admiralty sloop, and the first Chester CL-1 collision risk), and hull-designator queries return identifier collisions only. Consumer law-firm/marketing ship-list pages naming Chester were located but excluded as non-authoritative per source rules.
- 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 - a cruiser scrapped in 1959-60 predates asbestos-era disclosure practices entirely. The qualifying-litigation negative is provisional: the CourtListener API daily cap interrupted direct query and was completed only via public web index; an API-window re-run is the open lead. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chester-ca27-06