Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]DANFS, Cutlass (SS-478) - online DANFS entry (coverage ends 1960), verbatim losthistory.net/hazegray transcription (live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (DANFS coverage ends 1960): launched 5 November 1944 by Portsmouth Navy Yard (sponsor Mrs. R. E. Kintner); commissioned 17 March 1945, Comdr. H. L. Jukes. Maiden war patrol to the Kurile Islands - entered the area one day after the Japanese surrender; observation patrol to 24 August 1945; New York Navy Day. Cristobal, C.Z. basing; 23 Aug-2 Oct 1947 South America circuit around Cape Horn (with Diablo SS-479 and Conger SS-477). Philadelphia Naval Shipyard overhaul/modernization from March 1948; Operation 'Rainbow' color-scheme test submarine 1949; Norfolk home port 1952; Mediterranean 1953 and 1956 (NATO/6th Fleet); north European cruise 1958; TF 'Alfa' ASW development 1959; Suez transit Nov 1959 for Pakistani Navy exercises off Karachi; Philadelphia NSY overhaul Feb-Aug 1960.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1973; 1973-present (ROCN)
- Population
- PNSY construction trades (1944-45); PNSY trades (1948, 1960 availabilities); crew (1945-73)
- 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 on 2026-09-18; DANFS text ends at 1960; later events rest on NavSource (cross-check class source).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cutlass-ss478-01
-
[2]NavSource Naval History, USS Cutlass (SS-478) page - register/disposition block (Wayback capture; live navsource.org unreachable by direct fetch) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource register/disposition block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource disposition detail (sole source for post-1960 events): laid down 10 July 1944 at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Seavey Island, Kittery, ME; converted to a Guppy type submarine in 1948; decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register 12 April 1973; transferred (sold) to Taiwan under the Security Assistance Program 12 April 1973, renamed Hai Shih (791); as of October 2013 still in service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1973; 1973-present (ROCN)
- 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-cutlass-ss478-02
-
[3]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (diesel-electric drive); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product lists for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (thermal insulation, asbestos cement, pipe covering, millboard, gaskets, packing, block insulation, Kaylo) and Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (Eagle-Picher Super 60, Unibestos, Kaylo, Garlock gaskets, Thermasil pipe covering) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; shipyards.json product lists
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A Tench-class diesel-electric fleet boat built at Portsmouth in 1944-45 and yarded through 1973 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
- 1944-1973; 1973-present (ROCN)
- Population
- PNSY construction trades (1944-45); PNSY trades (1948, 1960); crew (1945-73); ROCN crew/yard (1973-present)
- 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-cutlass-ss478-03
-
[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 US service-era insulation events (1944-45 build; 1948 and 1960 availabilities).
- 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-cutlass-ss478-04
-
[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-cutlass-ss478-05
-
[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-cutlass-ss478-06
-
[7]The National Interest (citing Taiwan News), 'Taiwan's Ancient Submarine Will Reach an Astounding 80 Years in Service' (2017); Taipei Times (2007) 'World's longest-serving sub feted' [reputable_press]
- Locator
- nationalinterest.org blog item (Jan 2017); Taipei Times archive (2007)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-transfer status for this hull: Taiwan announced in January 2017 a ~$19 million retrofit of ROCS Hai Shih (SS-791, ex-USS Cutlass) to extend her service to 2026; she is the world's oldest submarine still in naval service. Press accounts also report her torpedo tubes were sealed before the 1973 transfer and later restored to operational status.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1973-2026
- Population
- ROCN crew and dockyard workers (1973-present)
- Limitations
- Press reporting on ROCN service status - not an official US or ROC record; no asbestos or material content. Whether original US-era insulation survives aboard is not addressed. Service-extension intent is a plan, not a verified condition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cutlass-ss478-07
-
[8]Batch-48 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC (verbatim transcription or Wayback capture of canonical page); NavSource-Wayback disposition data; CourtListener exact-name and hull-number searches; GAO product page; Taiwan-service status via reputable press [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 Cutlass (SS-478) 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; results were name collisions only ('Cutlass' as an automobile name in a warrantless-search evidence list).
- 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. The hull remains extant in ROCN service; her material condition under Taiwanese maintenance is not publicly characterized and Taiwanese dockyard records are not public. 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-cutlass-ss478-08