Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]DANFS, Conger (SS-477) - online DANFS entry (coverage ends 1960), verbatim losthistory.net/hazegray transcription (live NHHC page returned 404); NHHC online entry identical via 2021 Wayback capture [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (DANFS coverage ends 1960): launched 17 October 1944 by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (sponsor Mrs. W. C. Ploeser); commissioned 14 February 1945, Lt. Comdr. H. D. Sipple. Tested new submarine equipment at New London; cleared for Pacific service 21 July 1945 but was at sea between Balboa and Pearl Harbor when hostilities ended - no war patrols. Fleet Sonar School services Key West Sep-Dec 1945; Cristobal, C.Z. home port Jan 1946; circuit of South America on special hydrographic work via the Straits of Magellan Aug-Oct 1947; Key West base Jan 1948; Norfolk home port Jun 1949; New London home port Dec 1952 with student-submariner cruises through 1960.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1964
- Population
- PNSY construction trades (1944-45); crew (1945-63)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Yard-period asbestos disturbance is era inference, not a per-hull record. Live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 or was not located for this hull on 2026-09-18; DANFS text ends at 1960 in both the transcription and the NHHC online entry; later events rest on NavSource (cross-check class source).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conger-ss477-01
-
[2]NavSource Naval History, USS Conger (SS-477) page - register/disposition block (Wayback capture; live navsource.org unreachable) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource register/disposition block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource disposition detail (sole source for post-1960 events): laid down 11 July 1944 at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Seavey Island, Kittery, ME; reclassified Auxiliary Research Submarine AGSS-477 on 9 March 1962; decommissioned 29 July 1963; struck 1 August 1963; sold for scrapping 9 June 1964 to Peck Iron Co., Portsmouth, VA for $44,306.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1964
- Population
- Register/disposal clerks; scrapyard trades
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (NavSource, Bauer & Roberts Register-derived data); used for disposition/register details DANFS omits or truncates. Cross-check class source per batch convention; not an official record itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conger-ss477-02
-
[3]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (diesel-electric drive); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 1 submarine machinery tables (DERD drive, no boilers); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product lists for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (thermal insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, block insulation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; BuShips SDB1945v1 submarine tables; shipyards.json product lists
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A Tench-class diesel-electric fleet boat built at Portsmouth in 1944-45 and maintained through Navy-yard availabilities to 1963 sits inside the Navy's peak asbestos-use era; era-standard applications on diesel-electric boats (no boilers/steam plant) included diesel exhaust lagging, engine gaskets and packing, acoustic/thermal hull insulation, and galley/refrigeration equipment insulation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1964
- Population
- PNSY construction trades (1944-45); crew (1945-63)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material list located for this hull. Names era-standard applications on diesel-electric aux/hull systems, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity; current material condition undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conger-ss477-03
-
[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 all of this hull's service-era insulation events (1944-45 build; availabilities through 1963).
- 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-conger-ss477-04
-
[5]Kase v. Metalclad Insulation Corp., Cal. Ct. App. (4th Dist.) 2021 (CourtListener opinions 4324658, 4332654) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, specification-history discussion
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Court-documented era regime: the Navy's submarine insulation procurement specifications (SUBSAFE's MIL-I-24244 post-1963; predecessor BuShips practice before) covered asbestos-containing insulation for submarine construction and overhaul - the regime applicable to this hull's 1944-45 build and service-era availabilities.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2021 (opinion); regime 1950s-forward
- Population
- Navy submarine construction/maintenance trades
- Limitations
- This hull is not named in the opinion; documents the era spec regime only. Does not establish materials aboard this hull, exposure, causation, quantity, or eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conger-ss477-05
-
[6]Robbins v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., Second Amended Complaint, ECF 37, M.D. Fla. 8:23-cv-01723 (2023) [court_record]
- Locator
- Robbins v. Air & Liquid Systems, M.D. Fla. 8:23-cv-01723, ECF 37
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Fleet-boat design-family context: the Second Amended Complaint in Robbins v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp. (M.D. Fla. 8:23-cv-01723, 2023) alleges a Navy engineman aboard USS Clamagore (SS-343) in 1960-63 was exposed while removing/replacing asbestos-containing products (gasket, refractory, castable, pipe-covering, insulating-cement, packing, spray materials per the complaint's general recital). Clamagore is a Balao-class sister design; the Tench class is a near-copy Balao derivative per the NPS Torsk NHL nomination.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1960-1963 alleged; 2023 filing
- Population
- Navy engineman (alleged), fleet-boat design family
- Limitations
- An unadjudicated pleading allegation about a different hull in the same design family - not evidence about this vessel. Names era-typical product categories only; establishes nothing ship-specific.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conger-ss477-06
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[7]Batch-47 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC (Wayback or verbatim transcription); NavSource-Wayback disposition data; CourtListener exact-name and hull-number searches; GAO product page [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows this record
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying asbestos case naming USS Conger (SS-477) was found in the sources searched. Litigation coverage caveat: direct CourtListener API/RECAP was unreachable (HTTP 429 daily-quota throttle; AWS WAF challenge on the public UI), so the case check ran through an engine-indexed site:courtlistener.com search for the exact name and hull number - a partial index, not a complete docket search.
- Verification
- partial
- 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. Scrapped hull - no residual-material survey possible. The thinness of the documented record (DANFS ends 1960) is itself flagged. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Litigation coverage is partial: the CourtListener API and web UI were blocked at research time; the negative litigation finding rests on a secondary search index only and unindexed or unindexed-RECAP dockets may exist.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conger-ss477-07