Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]DANFS, Diablo (SS-479) - 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 1 December 1944 by Portsmouth Navy Yard (sponsor Mrs. V. D. Chapline); commissioned 31 March 1945, Lt. Comdr. G. G. Matherson. First war patrol sailed 10 August 1945 - destination changed to Guam at the cease fire. Canal Zone basing 1946-49; simulated war patrol down South America's west coast and around Tierra del Fuego with Cutlass (SS-478) and Conger (SS-477), 23 Aug-2 Oct 1947. Norfolk home port June 1949; New London 1952 (Submarine School); ODF Key West May-Jun 1954; Operation 'Springboard' 1955; South American exercise cruise Feb-Apr 1959; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard overhaul 27 May-Oct 1960.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1971
- Population
- PNSY construction trades (1944-45); Philadelphia NSY trades (1960); crew (1945-64)
- 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-diablo-ss479-01
-
[2]NavSource Naval History, USS Diablo (SS-479) 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 11 August 1944 at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Seavey Island, Kittery, ME; re-designated Auxiliary Research Submarine AGSS-479 on 1 July 1962; decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, transferred (loan) to the Republic of Pakistan under the Security Assistance Program and commissioned PNS Ghazi, 1 June 1964; final disposition, lost with all hands 4 December 1971.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1971
- 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-diablo-ss479-02
-
[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 and yarded through 1964 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
- 1944-1971
- Population
- PNSY construction trades (1944); Philadelphia NSY trades (1960); crew (1945-64); Pakistan Navy crew/dockyard (1964-71)
- 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-diablo-ss479-03
-
[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 build; 1960 availability).
- 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-diablo-ss479-04
-
[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 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-diablo-ss479-05
-
[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-diablo-ss479-06
-
[7]The Times of India, 'Now, no record of Navy sinking Pakistani submarine in 1971' (2010, via Wayback); Hindustan Times (2006) 'We did not sink Ghazi: former Pak Commander' [reputable_press]
- Locator
- TOI article (2010, Wayback capture); Hindustan Times (2006)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Loss-circumstance dispute for this hull (as PNS Ghazi): she sank off Visakhapatnam on the night of 3-4 December 1971 during the Indo-Pakistani War with all hands (92 reported aboard). The Indian Navy credits destroyer INS Rajput's depth charges; Pakistani official reviews concluded an internal explosion or accidental detonation of mines the submarine was laying. The Times of India documented that Indian naval records of the sinking are missing and that both claims stand; wreckage remains off Visakhapatnam.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1971
- Population
- Pakistan Navy crew (lost 1971)
- Limitations
- Describes a genuinely disputed wartime event - neither national claim is adjudicated or independently verified; the TOI report itself documents missing Indian records. No asbestos or material content. Casualty figure (92) is press-reported, not register-verified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-diablo-ss479-07
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[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; PNS Ghazi loss circumstances 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 Diablo (SS-479) 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; no qualifying result returned.
- 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 wreck is a war grave off Visakhapatnam; any surviving original material condition is undocumented. Pakistani service (1964-71) undocumented in US sources. 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-diablo-ss479-08