Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS Copahee' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'USS Copahee' returned 0 results (2026-10-07)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Limitations
- zero-hit search; absence of hits is not proof of no litigation
- Evidence ID
- uss-copahee-cve12-cl-name-opinion
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[2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS Copahee' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'USS Copahee' returned 1 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-copahee-cve12-cl-name-docket
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[3]CourtListener opinion search: 'CVE-12' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'CVE-12' returned 415 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-copahee-cve12-cl-hull-opinion
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[4]CourtListener docket search: 'CVE-12' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'CVE-12' returned 8640 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-copahee-cve12-cl-hull-docket
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[5]DANFS, USS Copahee (CVE-12) entry (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS CVE-12 entry, construction and service paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents: launched 21 October 1941 by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Tacoma, Wash., under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. W. M. Wells; acquired by the Navy 8 February 1942; commissioned 15 June 1942, Commander J. G. Farrell in command. Pacific service: sailed from Alameda 5 September 1942, arrived Noumea 28 September with aircraft, stores and passengers; cruised toward Guadalcanal 7-11 October to launch 20 Marine fighter planes for Henderson Field; returned to San Diego 29 October for overhaul; training at Pearl Harbor, then transport duty carrying aircraft, aviation stores and personnel to the New Hebrides, Fijis, New Caledonia and Hawaiian bases until 7 June 1943; two voyages delivering aircraft at Townsville and Brisbane, Australia, and one to Pearl Harbor (2 September 1943 - 19 January 1944); ferry runs Pearl Harbor to Majuro from 10 April 1944, then Marianas support supplying replacement pilots and aircraft to 5th Fleet carriers; returned to San Diego 28 July 1944 with captured Japanese planes and equipment for intelligence and training use; after overhaul, six more transport voyages from Alameda to Manus, Majuro, Guam, Saipan and Pearl Harbor through war's end; 'Magic Carpet' duty 6 September - 21 December 1945 returning servicemen from Saipan, Guam, Eniwetok and the Philippines. Decommissioned and placed in reserve at Tacoma 5 July 1946; struck 1 March 1959; sold 1 February 1961. One battle star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1941-1961
- Population
- Crew (~890) plus embarked squadron and transport passengers
- Limitations
- Documents construction, service, and disposal; contains no insulation, material, or asbestos information. DANFS documents the two San Diego overhaul periods (post-October-1942 and post-July-1944) as events only - their insulation rip-out/re-lagging scope is not recorded; the Bremerton conversion yard and Mare Island presence come from NavSource (ev-02), not this entry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-copahee-cve12-01
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[6]NavSource Online, Escort Carrier Photo Archive, USS Copahee (AVG-12/ACV-12/CVE-12/CVHE-12) - Operational and Building Data + class specifications [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource CVE-12 page, Operational and Building Data block, specifications, and dated photo captions (NS0301235, NS0301222a, NS0301240, NS0301204)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource building data documents: named for a sound of the South Carolina coast; built under Maritime Commission contract (hull number 169) as the civilian Steel Architect, type C3-S-A1; laid down 18 June 1941; launched 21 October 1941; acquired by the Navy 8 February 1942; converted to an aircraft carrier at the Bremerton Navy Yard; AVG-12, ACV-12 (20 August 1942), CVE-12 (15 July 1943), CVHE-12 (12 June 1955); commissioned 15 June 1942; decommissioned 5 July 1946; stricken 1 March 1959; sold for scrap 1 February 1961. Class specifications: 7,800 tons standard; 2 boilers (285 psi), 1 steam turbine, 1 shaft, 8,500 shp; 16.5 knots; crew 890; 24 aircraft. Photo documentation includes the future AVG-12 pulling into Dry Dock 5 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard during conversion, Puget Sound Navy Yard views 17 August 1942, Navy Yard Mare Island photographs 9 May 1943 and 14 July 1943, departure from San Diego Naval Repair Base 9 April 1944, and an underway view off Hunters Point, San Francisco, 1944. Captions quote the ship's War History (NARA) on VGS-12 - 'the only squadron ever assigned to the Copahee' - carrier-qualified in the straits of Juan de Fuca 25-27 August 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1941-1961
- Population
- n/a (building data and photo record)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary source consistent with DANFS on all overlapping facts; adds the MC hull number, Steel Architect identity, keel date, and conversion yard. Builder line reads 'Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Seattle, Wash.' - corporate HQ vs. yard-city variance (see gaps). Photo captions document yard/base presence, not work scope. No insulation/asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-copahee-cve12-02
-
[7]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual, NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960, page date 15 April 1959) - specification-level document for Navy shipboard insulation materials [other_primary]
- Locator
- BuShips TM ch.39, sections 39-11 through 39-13 (materials)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The 1960 BuShips Technical Manual's insulation chapter enumerates the asbestos material suite standard to Navy steam plants of this hull's construction era: MIL-I-2781 pipe covering including 85% magnesia 'formed from a combination of 85 percent magnesium carbonate with about 15 percent asbestos fiber' and a class 'formed from a uniform mixture of amosite asbestos fibers'; roll asbestos felt MIL-I-15091; asbestos cloth/tape SS-C-466 (80-95% chrysotile) as lagging; asbestos millboard HH-M-351; asbestos finishing cement; molded asbestos block for high-temperature service. This hull's two Foster-Wheeler boilers, single Allis-Chalmers geared turbine set, and associated steam piping are the equipment classes these specifications cover.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1960 (manual); describes era-standard specifications
- Population
- Construction trades (Tacoma, 1941-42; Bremerton conversion, 1942); crew (1942-46)
- Limitations
- Specification-level documentation of materials the Navy specified, not a ship-specific installation record - establishes the era insulation suite, not what was installed on this hull. Keel-to-commissioning window (1941-42) is inside the asbestos-spec period. Retrieved PDF is a scan hosted in the Garlock bankruptcy Daubert-appendix repository; the document itself is the government manual (same document verified in the class-D profile work of 2026-09-16 and batch-54/66 records).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-copahee-cve12-03
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[8]Port of Tacoma v. Todd Shipyards Corp. et al., No. 3:08-cv-05132-BHS (W.D. Wash.), Order approving TSC settlement (Doc. 139, 2010-09-09); allegations recited from Port's CERCLA contribution complaint (Doc. 58) [court_record]
- Locator
- Order Doc. 139 at 1-3; complaint summary Doc. 58 (Shipbuilding Site, 1916-1946)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- A W.D. Wash. order recites the Port of Tacoma's CERCLA/MTCA contribution allegations that Todd Shipyards Corporation owned and operated parcels near the mouth of the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma - 'the Shipbuilding Site' - from 1916 through 1946, and that Todd's shipbuilding operations disposed of contaminated material and hazardous substances into the waterway. The Shipbuilding Site is the Commencement Bay yard where this hull was built; a settlement releasing TSC (Todd) was approved.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1916-1946 site era; litigation 2005-2010
- Population
- Todd Tacoma yard workforce (allegation-level)
- Limitations
- Establishes the builder's site identity and operating era (1916-1946) at the location of construction. The litigated contaminants were listed hazardous substances (metals, PAHs, PCBs) - asbestos is not among the recited substances; the order recites allegations for settlement approval, not findings of contamination or exposure. No individual or hull-level exposure is established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-copahee-cve12-04
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[9]Herring v. Texaco, Inc., 161 Wn.2d 189, 165 P.3d 4 (Wash. 2007) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 161 Wn.2d 189 (No. 78774-3)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Washington Supreme Court opinion documents that Roger Herring worked for subcontractors at Todd Shipyards sites in the 1960s-early 1970s, developed pleural thickening (1986), asbestosis (~1989), and fatal mesothelioma (2002), and that his suit against Todd was barred because his asbestos claims were discharged in Todd's 1987 Chapter 11 bankruptcy (published-notice sufficiency was the litigated issue). Documents that occupational asbestos-exposure claims were litigated against this hull's builder corporate family in the postwar era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1960s-2007
- Population
- Todd Shipyards subcontractor worker (mesothelioma)
- Limitations
- Yard/corporate-level litigation at Todd's Puget Sound operations post-dating this hull's construction era; does not name this hull, does not adjudicate exposure aboard any specific vessel, and Herring's claim was barred on bankruptcy-discharge grounds - a merits-level negative for that plaintiff, not affirmative exposure evidence. Construction-era (1941-42) conditions at the Tacoma yard are not addressed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-copahee-cve12-05
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[10]Braaten v. Saberhagen Holdings, Inc., 165 Wn.2d 373, 198 P.3d 1010 (Wash. 2008) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 165 Wn.2d 373 (No. 80146-4)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Washington Supreme Court opinion documenting the shipboard asbestos-maintenance regime at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard through the career of pipefitter William Braaten (1967-2002), who developed mesothelioma; the court held manufacturers had no duty to warn of asbestos in other makers' products applied to their equipment - a defense win on duty grounds. Documents the era asbestos environment at the naval shipyard where this hull was converted to an escort carrier in 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1967-2008
- Population
- PSNS pipefitter (mesothelioma)
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation context only: Braaten's PSNS tenure (1967-2002) postdates this hull's 1942 conversion by 25 years and the opinion does not name this hull or adjudicate exposure aboard any vessel. Carried because the conversion yard is documented (NavSource building data; PSNY Dry Dock 5 photograph). The decision is a merits-level negative for those plaintiffs, not exposure evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-copahee-cve12-06
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[11]Batch-237 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NavSource/navypedia ship records; CourtListener API v4 searches by exact name and hull number (opinions and RECAP dockets); builder-yard litigation verification [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-copahee-cve12-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation specification, abatement contract, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Copahee (CVE-12) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion sweeps returned zero hits for 'Copahee'; 'CVE-12' returned seven Ohio civil matters (name collisions) and zero asbestos opinions; the RECAP sweep returned only the Motors Liquidation (General Motors) bankruptcy docket - a collision, not the ship.
- 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 1941-42 Tacoma construction plus Bremerton conversion sits inside the Navy's asbestos-specification era and the negative reflects record availability, not hull condition. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-copahee-cve12-07