Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
-
[1]DANFS vol. II, Cisco (SS-290) entry - construction, first patrol, loss (verbatim transcription mirror; live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS vol. II (C-F), Cisco entry and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (DANFS): launched 24 December 1942 by Portsmouth Navy Yard (sponsor Mrs. A. C. Bennett through her proxy Mrs. N. Robertson); commissioned 10 May 1943, Comdr. J. W. Coe; sailed from Panama 7 August 1943 for Brisbane (arrived 1 September) then Port Darwin (18 September); departed on her first war patrol 20 September and never returned. Japanese records report a submarine leaking oil sighted 28 September in an area where Cisco was the only submarine operating; Japanese records state the submarine was sunk by bombs and depth charges. 'Cisco is thus presumed to have been lost in action 28 September 1943.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Crew (1943); PNSY construction trades (1942-43)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 - verbatim transcription mirror used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cisco-ss290-01
-
[2]United States Submarine Losses, World War II (Naval History Division / ONI official publication, 1963), Cisco (SS-290) loss report - verbatim HyperWar transcription [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio HyperWar USN/SubLosses, Cisco section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official loss report: Cisco (Lt. Cdr. J. W. Coe) left Port Darwin 18 September 1943, returned that evening with a derangement of the main hydraulic system, and departed again 19 September after repair. Her assigned area was the South China Sea between Luzon and French Indo-China, transiting the Celebes Sea, Sibutu Passage, Sulu Sea and Mindoro Strait; on 28 September she should have been due west of Mindanao. That day a Japanese antisubmarine attack was made at 9-47'N, 121-44'E, slightly north and east of her expected position: 'Found a sub tailing oil. Bombing. Ships cooperated with us. The oil continued to gush out even on tenth of October.' Task Force 71 could not raise her 4-5 November; no enemy minefields were known in her area. Postwar attribution (secondary sources): Nakajima B5N 'Kate' bombers of the 954th Naval Air Squadron plus the gunboat Karatsu (the former USS Luzon, PG-47). Coe had previously commanded S-39 and Skipjack. The ComSubForPac framing lists 76 men lost.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943; report 1963
- Population
- Crew lost with the boat (~76 per ComSubForPac framing)
- Limitations
- Official USN loss assessment; the attacker's identity (954th NAS + Karatsu) comes from postwar secondary compilations of Japanese records, not the 1963 report itself - flagged as such. A report that one crewman was hospitalized at Darwin before the final sortie is secondary-source only (Wikipedia) - unverified, in gaps. Wreck not located. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cisco-ss290-02
-
[3]Era inference anchored to DANFS-documented construction and yard periods for this hull; Balao-class diesel-electric machinery per NavSource specification block and BuShips Ships' Data 1945 (class profile ev-balao-class-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- construction-era inference from DANFS dates, NavSource spec block, documented yard periods
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: a diesel-electric fleet submarine built 1942-43 at Portsmouth Navy Yard in the peak asbestos era would era-typically have carried asbestos-containing exhaust lagging, engine gaskets and packing, and thermal/acoustic insulation around machinery and galley/refrigeration equipment. Balao-class boats had NO boilers or steam plant - the diesel-electric plant narrows the steam-era asbestos pathway materially. Documented yard windows: Portsmouth Navy Yard construction (1942-43); no service-period yard availabilities (lost on her first patrol). She was lost in September 1943 with her full wartime fit aboard; the wreck is not located and no material condition record exists.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1942-1971
- Population
- Construction and yard trades; crew
- Limitations
- CLASS/ERA INFERENCE ONLY - no ship-specific material schedule, insulation survey, or asbestos abatement record was located for this hull. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. Establishes no quantity and no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cisco-ss290-03
-
[4]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 - covering the construction and most service years of every Balao-class hull in this batch (built 1942-45).
- 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-cisco-ss290-04
-
[5]Negative finding: no qualifying non-litigation ship-specific asbestos record located across DANFS/NHHC, NavSource, loss-report, and ACM-survey/abatement sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- see search_ledger for this record
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull ACM survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated exposure finding naming USS Cisco (SS-290) was located anywhere in the research sweep.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not proof no record exists. Museum-hull and scrapper-side records, where they existed, were not retrievable in located sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cisco-ss290-05