Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]DANFS, Cuttlefish (SS-171) - construction, prewar service, three 1942 war patrols, Midway service, New London training duty, disposal (NHHC page via 2025-12-09 Wayback capture; live page unreachable in this session). NOTE: the current NHHC text contains a corrupted splice omitting the first/second patrol detail; the verbatim 1998 transcription supplies the full original text: https://losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/submar/ss171.htm [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block (2025-12-09 Wayback capture); hazegray verbatim transcription ss171.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: originally named V-9 (SC-5), renamed Cuttlefish 19 February 1931 and redesignated SS-171 1 July 1931, prior to keel-laying 7 October 1931; launched 21 November 1933 by Electric Boat Co., Groton (sponsor Mrs. B. S. Bullard); commissioned 8 June 1934, Lt. Cmdr. C. W. Styer. Departed New London 15 May 1935, arrived San Diego 22 June; torpedo practice/fleet tactics on the west coast and in Hawaiian waters until 28 June 1937, then Panama Canal, Miami, New York, New London (arrived 28 July) for experimental torpedo firing, sound training, and Submarine School operations. Sailed from New York 22 October 1938 for Coco Solo C.Z. training duty until 20 March 1939, then Mare Island; arrived Pearl Harbor 16 June 1939 for patrol duty and Hawaiian exercises; Samoan Islands cruise that autumn, west coast 1940; cleared Pearl Harbor 5 October 1941 for overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard. Three war patrols in 1942: departed 29 January, reconnaissance of Marcus Island 13 February, patrolled the Bonins, returned Midway 24 March; departed Midway 2 May, reconnoitered Saipan and the northern Marianas 18-24 May, attacked a patrol ship 19 May and endured four hours of depth charging, more on 24 May against three destroyers, bombed (missed) 25 May; held station ~700 miles west of Midway through the Battle of Midway 4-6 June; third patrol departed 29 July off the Japanese homeland - attacked a destroyer 18 August (depth-charged), torpedo hits on a freighter and an escort 21 August (sinking unconfirmed), attacked a tanker believed sunk 5 September; returned Pearl Harbor 20 September. Ordered to New London; Submarine School training ship December 1942-October 1945; decommissioned at Philadelphia 24 October 1945; sold 12 February 1947. Third patrol designated 'successful'; one battle star for the patrol and one for Battle of Midway service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1931-1947
- Population
- EB construction trades (1931-34); NYNY and Mare Island yard trades (1937-38, 1939, 1941-42); crew (1934-1945); Submarine School students/instructors rotated through (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Yard-period asbestos disturbance is era inference, not a per-hull record. The current NHHC entry splices 'overhaul at Mare Island' directly into the enemy-plane sentence, dropping the patrol 1-2 paragraphs - full original text supplied by the verbatim 1998 transcription (hazegray), which also corrects the live spec block's obvious OCR errors (draft '2'11"' -> 12'11"; beam 24'0" vs 24'9"). Spec-block complement is 43.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cuttlefish-ss171-01
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[2]Grays Ferry Brick Co. v. United States, 93 Ct. Cl. 713 (U.S. Court of Claims, filed 3 March 1941; consolidated dockets No. 44005, 44347, 44072, 44273, 44343, 44364; Littleton, J., lead opinion with dissent on unrelated items) - opinion text via exa.ai legal mirror and CourtListener Atom feed snippet (CL opinion page returned HTTP 202 anti-bot challenge in this session); citation verified via CourtListener volume page and the Court of Claims judgments list at govinfo [court_record]
- Locator
- 93 Ct. Cl. 713 (1941); CL opinion 8610365; Atom-feed snippet 'standard displacement, later known as the U.S.S. Cuttlefish'; exa.ai opinion mirror; govinfo SERIALSET-10676_00_00-019-0175-0000 judgments list
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- OTHER LITIGATION - not asbestos. In a consolidated NIRA cost-reimbursement action under the act of 28 June 1938 (52 Stat. 1197), the Court of Claims opinion recites that the petitioner entered Navy Contract NOD-311 on 29 June 1931 'through its representative, C. F. Adams, Secretary of the Navy, for the construction of a fleet submarine (cruiser type) not to exceed 1,150 tons standard displacement, later known as the U. S. S. Cuttlefish,' and that the petitioner joined the NIRA Code of Fair Competition for the Shipbuilding and Shiprepairing Industry in August 1933, seeking reimbursement of increased costs. The vessel is the subject of a government construction contract in a published merits opinion - the only CourtListener hit naming this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1931-1935 (contract and NIRA-code period); 1941 (judgment)
- Population
- Shipbuilding contract workforce circa 1931-1935 (contract context only)
- Limitations
- Classified DOWN per litigation-stage discipline: this is a contract-price reimbursement judgment, not exposure evidence of any kind - no asbestos, materials, or health content. Which consolidated petitioner held NOD-311 is not confirmed in the retrieved text (Electric Boat was the builder of record per DANFS; Grays Ferry Brick Co.'s own claim concerned building materials). Full opinion text not retrieved (CL 202 challenge; exa.ai preview truncated); recital language verified from two independent extracts.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cuttlefish-ss171-02
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[3]NavSource Online Submarine Photo Archive, USS Cuttlefish (SS-171) page - spec block (propulsion, stricken date, battle stars) with embedded Norman Friedman 'U.S. Submarines Through 1945' (Naval Institute Press) caption text; class design detail corroborated by secondary compilations tracking Friedman/Alden/Johnston (globalsecurity.org SS-170 class page; The Submarine Review June 2020 welding history) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/08/08171.htm spec block and captions (via search-index extract); globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/ss-170.htm; Wikipedia Cuttlefish article (cross-check only, citing Friedman/Alden/Johnston)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Secondary-literature construction and design detail for this hull: first submarine built at Electric Boat's own Groton yard (earlier EB designs subcontracted, e.g. Fore River); first USN submarine fitted with an air-conditioning plant; outer hull and fuel tanks largely welded while the inner pressure hull remained riveted - expanding on welding pioneered by Portsmouth and virtually eliminating the fuel-oil leakage of earlier riveted tanks; with Cachalot, test bed for the Mark I Torpedo Data Computer. Propulsion per NavSource spec block: diesel-electric, MAN-designed diesels built by Electric Boat (3,100 hp total), electric motors (1,600 hp), 240 battery cells, twin propellers; BuEng-built MAN M9Vu 40/46 mains (~1,535 hp each) plus one auxiliary diesel-generator per Friedman/Alden; troublesome MAN mains replaced with GM-Winton diesels at New York Navy Yard 1937-38. Minor damage in collision with USS Bray (DE-709) 8 December 1944.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1931-1938 (design/construction events); 1944 (collision); secondary compilations later
- Population
- n/a (design and construction detail)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations, not primary BuShips documents - carried as context flagged 'partial,' never as a basis for a ship-specific material claim. Re-engining and the Bray collision are not in the DANFS text; replacement engine model varies across sources (GM-Winton 16-258 vs 16-278 - see gaps); motor maker varies (NavSource Westinghouse vs Friedman-sourced Electro Dynamic).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cuttlefish-ss171-03
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[4]Era inference built on: DANFS-documented yard periods (Electric Boat construction 1931-34; New York Navy Yard re-engining 1937-38; Mare Island 1939 and October 1941-early 1942 overhaul; Philadelphia inactivation 1945); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product lists for electric-boat-groton (thermal pipe insulation, asbestos lagging on propulsion systems, gaskets, packing in submarine construction), brooklyn-navy-yard (Kaylo pipe insulation 1930s-1966, per In re Brooklyn Navy Yard Asbestos Litigation, 971 F.2d 831), mare-island-naval-shipyard (Kaylo, Careytemp, Marinite, Transite, gaskets, packing, refractory - period-appropriate subset for 1939-42), and philadelphia-naval-shipyard (Eagle-Picher, Thermasil, Garlock, Johns-Manville insulation products); Gato-class profile conclusion that diesel-electric boats' exposure relevance concentrates on engine/exhaust lagging, gaskets, and hull insulation [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS yard-period narrative; shipyards.json product lists for electric-boat-groton, brooklyn-navy-yard, mare-island-naval-shipyard, philadelphia-naval-shipyard; gato-class.class.json (class-f worktree)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-electric submarine built 1931-34 at Electric Boat and refitted through documented Navy-yard availabilities across 1937-45 sits inside the Navy's asbestos era; era-standard applications on a diesel-electric (non-steam) boat concentrate on engine and exhaust lagging, machinery and hull insulation, gaskets, valve and pump packing, and electrical insulation. All four yards' asbestos product use in the relevant period is independently documented at the yard level.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1931-1945
- Population
- EB construction trades (1931-34); NYNY/Mare Island/Philadelphia yard trades; crew incl. Submarine School trainees cycling through 1942-45
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or abatement record located for SS-171. Names era-standard applications on non-steam systems, not confirmed installed materials; diesel-electric drive means no boiler-insulation pathway. No quantity; hull scrapped 1947 so no present condition exists to characterize.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cuttlefish-ss171-04
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[5]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 whole of Cuttlefish's 1931-34 construction and every service-era yard availability (1937-45).
- 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-cuttlefish-ss171-05
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[6]Batch-86 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback capture + verbatim 1998 transcription; NavSource spec block; CourtListener opinion and RECAP searches by name and hull number; Grays Ferry opinion text via exa.ai mirror/Atom snippet; GAO product page; va.gov/BVA name check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cuttlefish-ss171-01 through -12
- 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 Cuttlefish (SS-171) was found. CourtListener 'USS Cuttlefish' returned zero opinion hits; 'Cuttlefish' produced one verified vessel reference (Grays Ferry Brick Co. v. United States, 93 Ct. Cl. 713 (1941) - classified other litigation, see ev-02) amid name collisions (the marine animal in seafood/tariff matters; the 'cuttlefish defense' legal idiom; cuttlefish-casting jewelry process); RECAP 'Cuttlefish' hits are the animal and Google's Cuttlefish Android emulator; 'SS-171' hits are string collisions (bank-account 'SS 171', document numbers). No BVA decision naming this hull located.
- Verification
- verified
- 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 - for a 1931-34 hull inside the Navy asbestos era, era inference stands on its own. The hull was scrapped 1947, foreclosing any present-condition documentation. CourtListener RECAP results are feed-capped at the 20 most recent entries; deeper docket-text searching was not run (API throttled, shared-IP daily quota) - an open lead, not a finding. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cuttlefish-ss171-06