Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS Chicago' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'USS Chicago' returned 195 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-chicago-ca29-cl-name-opinion
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[2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS Chicago' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'USS Chicago' returned 6971 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-chicago-ca29-cl-name-docket
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[3]CourtListener opinion search: 'CA-29' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'CA-29' returned 155411 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-chicago-ca29-cl-hull-opinion
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[4]CourtListener docket search: 'CA-29' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'CA-29' returned 734078 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-chicago-ca29-cl-hull-docket
-
[5]DANFS, Chicago II (CA-29) (specifications block, build dates, service narrative, loss, battle stars; 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 10 April 1930 by Mare Island Navy Yard, sponsored by Miss E. Britten; commissioned 9 March 1931, Captain M. H. Simons in command; flagship of Commander Cruisers, Scouting Force 1931-1940; to Pearl Harbor September 1940; at sea with TF 12 on 7 December 1941; ANZAC/Southwest Pacific operations February-August 1942 including Coral Sea and the Guadalcanal landings; torpedoed in the bow at Savo Island 9 August 1942; repaired at Noumea, Sydney, and San Francisco (arrived 13 October 1942); hit by two aerial torpedoes 29 January 1943 during the Battle of Rennell Island, taken in tow, then struck by four more torpedoes on 30 January and sank at 11 deg 25 min S, 160 deg 56 min E; three battle stars. Specifications: 9,300 tons, 600'3", 32 kt, complement 621, nine 8-inch guns.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1930-1943
- Population
- Mare Island construction trades 1928-31; crew 1931-43
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The DANFS entry as transcribed omits the keel-laying date and any stricken date; mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chicago-ca29-01
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[6]Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels (Navy Department, 1 July 1931 ed.), Heavy Cruisers (CA) tables, pp. 18, 22-23 - official build and machinery rows for CHICAGO, CA29 (scan hosted at shipscribe.com) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ships' Data 1 July 1931, Heavy Cruisers (CA) table row 4 'CHICAGO - CA29' (book pp. 18, 22, 23; PDF pp. 40, 44, 45)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official Navy Department tables for this hull: keel laid 10 September 1928; ship launched 10 April 1930; contract date of completion 13 March 1931; date of first commission 9 March 1931. Builder 'Navy yard, Mare Island'; contract price of hull and machinery $11,100,000 (limit of cost); authorizing act 18 December 1924; contract signed (date assigned to yard) 15 April 1927. Machinery: 4 propellers; Parsons turbines with reduction gear; 8 White-Forster oil-burning boilers (95,040 sq ft total heating surface); designed horsepower 107,000; 4 x 250 kW turbogenerator sets (120-240 V). Listed under HEAVY CRUISERS (CA) in the July 1931 edition.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1927-1931 (construction data)
- Population
- Mare Island construction trades 1928-31; crew 1931-43
- Limitations
- Documents build dates, contract data, and machinery fit only - contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information. White-Forster boiler/Parsons turbine configuration is the era-typical plant; asbestos content is not stated by this source and remains era inference.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chicago-ca29-02
-
[7]Bureau of Ships / NAVSEA war-damage report, 'U.S.S. CHICAGO (CA29) Loss in Action, 29-30 January 1943, Guadalcanal Island' (HyperWar mirror); corroborating: Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II, 1943 entries [other_primary]
- Locator
- WDR Section I Summary paragraphs 1-4 + Section II Narrative; ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1943.html (29-30 January entries)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Bureau of Ships technical loss report for this hull: hit starboard side by two aircraft torpedoes at 1940 on 29 January 1943 (after engine room; No. 3 fireroom); all four shafts stopped, rudder locked, flooding from bulkhead 64 to about bulkhead 112 (~192 ft, one-third of length); all steam pressure lost; forward and after 100-kW emergency diesel generators carried casualty power; list checked at 11 degrees. Under tow the next day, struck by four additional torpedoes in rapid succession between frames 60 and 80 starboard; at 1624 the Commanding Officer ordered abandon ship over the battle telephones; at 1643, about 19 minutes after the last hits, Chicago rolled over on her starboard side and sank by the stern. Official Chronology adds: attack by 701st/705th Kokutai; tow passed Louisville (CA-28) to tug Navajo (AT-64); Chicago sank 30 miles east of Rennell Island at 11 deg 26 min S, 160 deg 56 min E.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1943-01-29 to 1943-01-30
- Population
- Crew aboard at loss, January 1943
- Limitations
- Documents machinery-space damage mechanics (engine rooms, firerooms, boilers, shafts, emergency generators) - engineering detail, not materials content. Confirms a multi-fireroom steam plant of the era but says nothing about insulation composition. Casualty figures are summarized ('loss of life was fortunately small'), not enumerated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chicago-ca29-03
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[8]Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images, USS Chicago (CA-29, originally CL-29) page and photo captions (NH 70635, NH 715, 19-N-39212, 19-N-39220; HyperWar mirror); corroborating NavSource CA-29 cruiser photo index captions of U.S. Navy photos (navsource.net archive 04/029/04029) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHC Online Library page narrative + captions of photos 19-N-39212, 19-N-39220; NavSource CA-29 index (photo series 0402941-0402951 collision captions; keel-laying captions)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHC record for this hull: built at Mare Island Navy Yard; commissioned 1931; reclassified from light cruiser (CL) to heavy cruiser (CA) effective 1 July 1931; flagship of Commander Cruisers, Scouting Force; photo 19-N-39212 captions the ship 'off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, at the end of her last overhaul, 20 December 1942' and 19-N-39220 (14 December 1942) marks 'alterations made during her last overhaul, including the repair of her torpedo-damaged bow' - documenting that her stateside post-Savo repair period ran at her builder yard weeks before she sailed for the war zone and was lost. NavSource captions of official U.S. Navy photos additionally document the earlier Mare Island repair period: damaged Chicago entering the yard 25 October 1933 after her collision with the British freighter Silver Palm ('the collision killed 3 officers'), divers inspecting hull damage, and drydock views - a months-long bow-repair availability at the builder yard. NavSource photo captions also corroborate the official keel-laying date: 'keel laying of the USS Chicago (CL 29) at Mare Island Navy Yard on 10 September 1928. U.S. Navy photo.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1928-1943
- Population
- Mare Island construction and repair trades 1928-31, Oct 1933-1934, Oct-Dec 1942
- Limitations
- Photo-caption records document yard presence and repair events only - no materials or asbestos information. NHC page text is a brief chronology that rounds the commissioning date to 'April 1931' (DANFS and Ships' Data give 9 March). NavSource's own data line reads 'Keel laid on 04 JUL 1928' - contradicted by its own U.S. Navy photo captions (10 September 1928) and by Ships' Data 1931; the official 1928-09-10 date is carried. The 24 October 1933 collision date and ~18-ft penetration detail rest on secondary/press accounts; the repair period itself is photo-documented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chicago-ca29-04
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[9]Royal Australian Navy official history, 'Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour' (navy.gov.au); corroborating Australian War Memorial collection record E84301 [museum_official]
- Locator
- navy.gov.au history-milestones page (M-24 sequence, Kuttabul toll); AWM collection E84301 description; AWM photo caption via NavSource CA-29 index (drydock finding, frames 95-96)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- On the night of 31 May 1942, moored at the Man-of-War anchorage in Sydney Harbour, Chicago sighted the periscope of Japanese midget submarine M-24, lit searchlights and fired on it; about half an hour later M-24 fired two torpedoes at Chicago, both missing - one ran ashore at Garden Island unexploded, the second passed under the Dutch submarine K-9 and exploded beneath the RAN depot ship HMAS Kuttabul, sinking her and killing 21 Allied naval ratings (19 Australian, 2 British). An Australian War Memorial photo caption records that on drydocking, a torpedo was found to have struck Chicago between frames 95 and 96 starboard, ~9 feet above the base line, without exploding or penetrating the plating.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1942-05-31 to 1942-06-01
- Population
- Chicago crew at anchor; 21 HMAS Kuttabul ratings killed
- Limitations
- Documents a combat event involving this hull only - no materials or asbestos information. RAN/AWM are authoritative Australian official sources covering an incident the U.S.-centric DANFS entry omits.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chicago-ca29-05
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[10]Ships' Data 1931 machinery row (8 White-Forster oil-burning boilers; 4 Parsons geared turbines; 107,000 hp; 4 shafts) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Mare Island Naval Shipyard record (tier 2 - documented asbestos products and litigation for later-era work) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ships' Data 1931 CA machinery table row 4; shipyards.json record 'mare-island-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: a treaty-era heavy cruiser built 1928-31 with an eight-boiler, 107,000-shp geared-steam plant falls squarely inside the documented naval asbestos-insulation era; the standard application set for such a plant was boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck/bulkhead coverings. Builder Mare Island Navy Yard is documented in the Atlas yard dataset (tier 2) with named asbestos products (Unibestos, Kaylo, Marinite, Transite, Careytemp, packing, gaskets) and asbestos litigation - though the yard's located records cover 1968-1994 work, not this hull's 1928-31 construction or her 1933-34 and 1942 repair periods.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1928-1943
- Population
- Mare Island construction trades 1928-31; repair trades 1933-34 and Oct-Dec 1942; crew 1931-43
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No insulation survey for CA-29 exists or is feasible (hull sunk 1943, unsurveyed); does not quantify material, does not establish any individual's exposure, and makes no claim about the crew lost with the ship. The yard dataset's documented product records postdate this hull's construction by four decades.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chicago-ca29-06
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[11]Verified name collisions in asbestos dockets: Stewart v. Akron Gasket & Packing Enterprises, W.D.N.C. 1:12-cv-00143 (complaint carried into MDL-875 docket 8827-1); Terry Lee Siegfried v. 3M Company, C.D. Cal. 2:18-cv-01575 (removal/joinder papers); McVeigh v. Cohen, D.D.C. 1998; Northwest Territorial Mint LLC, W.D. Wash. Bk. 16-11767 [court_record]
- Locator
- Stewart complaint (MDL-875 doc 8827-1, Schedule I employment history, complaint p.18); Siegfried doc 24 pp. 2, 10, 89 (vessel lists); McVeigh opinion text; NW Mint doc 2093-1 (asset list item 61023)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Every 'USS Chicago' hit in asbestos-indexed dockets resolves to a different hull or a non-vessel context: (1) Stewart complaint Schedule I lists the decedent's Navy service as 'U.S. Navy - USS Chicago (CG-11) 1972-1975' - the 1964 guided-missile cruiser, not CA-29 which sank in 1943; (2) Siegfried removal papers list Long Beach Naval Shipyard electrician work aboard a vessel schedule that names 'USS Chicago (CA-136)' - the Baltimore-class cruiser commissioned 1945; (3) McVeigh v. Cohen recites service aboard 'the United States nuclear submarine U.S.S. Chicago' - SSN-721; (4) the Northwest Territorial Mint sale order lists a 'USS Chicago SSN 721' commemorative medallion alongside boilerplate asbestos sale language. Not CA-29.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2012-2018 (dockets)
- Population
- Navy veterans aboard CG-11 (1972-75) and CA-136 (post-1945); submarine SSN-721 crew
- Limitations
- Documents three other hulls and a medallion, not CA-29. Carried as a correction row because exact-name searches for 'USS Chicago' surface these records; unreviewed readers could misattribute them. Pleading-stage ship lists in any case remain allegations, not findings.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chicago-ca29-07
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[12]Batch-179 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS; Ships' Data 1931; BuShips war-damage report; NHC Online Library; RAN/AWM Sydney Harbour records; CourtListener exact-name, hull-number, and asbestos-limited queries (type=o and type=r); NavSource; wreck-survey search [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-chicago-ca29-06 through sl-uss-chicago-ca29-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull survey exists or is feasible (sunk in action 1943; no wreck discovery or survey record in public sources), no abatement or hazmat disclosure exists, and no qualifying asbestos case names CA-29. CourtListener exact-name hits classify as name collisions (CG-11, CA-136, SSN-721, a fictional submarine in a screenplay, a 1902 case predating this hull) or non-asbestos litigation; 'CA-29' hits are all appellate docket-number fragments.
- 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 sunk with her 1942 fit retains era materials in the wreck; the ship never underwent postwar scrapping or abatement. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chicago-ca29-08