Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, Ethan Allen (SSB(N)-608) - construction and commissioning entry (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-18) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry and spec block, hazegray transcription of SSBN-608
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: launched 22 November 1960 by the Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn.; sponsored by Mrs. Robert H. Hopkins, great-great-great-granddaughter of Ethan Allen; commissioned 8 August 1961, Commander P. L. Lacy, Jr., commanding Blue Crew and Commander W. W. Behrens, Jr., commanding Gold Crew. DANFS spec block: dp. 6,400; l. 410'6"; b. 33'; dr. 27'5"; cpl. 112; a. 16 fleet ballistic missiles, 4 tt.; cl. Ethan Allen. Keel laid 14 September 1959 (NavSource/NVR-derived; awarded 17 July 1958).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1959-1961
- Population
- EB construction trades (1959-61); Blue and Gold crews (1961-1983)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. The DANFS entry for this hull is the short early-edition entry and does not carry the later service narrative; post-commissioning detail supplied by NavSource NVR-derived data and DANFS-derived secondary transcriptions. Live NHHC DANFS page returned 404; verbatim transcription used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ethan-allen-ssbn608-01
-
[2]Defense Nuclear Agency, Operation DOMINIC I - 1962, DNA 6040F (Nuclear Test Personnel Review, Feb 1983), via DOE OSTI OpenNet; corroborated by Smithsonian National Museum of American History submarine-warfare page [other_primary]
- Locator
- DNA 6040F report (abstract and event list); https://www.americanhistory.si.edu/subs/weapons/ballistic/nuclear_test.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- On 6 May 1962, USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608), operating submerged in the central Pacific as a unit of Joint Task Force 8 under Operation Dominic, launched a Polaris missile in the Frigate Bird event - the only complete proof test of a U.S. strategic ballistic missile from submerged launch through nuclear detonation. The warhead detonated in an airburst in the Christmas Island area; the DNA NTPR report lists it as the series' 'one Polaris-launched airburst' launched from USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608). USS Carbonero (SS-337) observed the burst from periscope depth approximately 30 miles from the aim point.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1962-05-06
- Population
- Ethan Allen crew and embarked test personnel; Carbonero observation crew
- Limitations
- Documents a weapons-test event, not asbestos or material content; establishes presence of this hull and crew in the test area. The Smithsonian page describes the missile as a Polaris A-2 and the yield as roughly 600 kilotons; some secondary sources say A-1 - variant carried per Smithsonian/DNA framing.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ethan-allen-ssbn608-02
-
[3]NavSource Submarine Photo Archive, Ethan Allen (SSBN-608)(SSN-608) page - NVR-derived milestone and disposition data (volunteer archive transcribing Naval Vessel Register entries); DANFS-derived service narrative via navysite.de [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 08/08608 disposition block; https://www.navysite.de/ssbn/ssbn608.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Redesignated attack submarine SSN-608 on 1 September 1980 after her missile tubes were disabled under strategic arms limitation ceilings. Decommissioned 31 March 1983; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 2 April 1983. Held at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, and disposed through the Nuclear Powered Ship-Submarine Recycling Program; recycling completed 30 July 1999, listed as scrapped.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1980-09-01 to 1999-07-30
- Population
- PSNSY inactivation and recycling workers (1983-1999)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer archive transcribing NVR entries - cited as NVR-derived secondary because the live NVR site carries no detail page for this pre-1987 disposal (nvr.navy.mil redirects; per-ship pages for pre-1987 disposals are not digitized). No asbestos content; SRP processing included hazardous-material removal at yard level, but no hull-specific ACM disclosure was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ethan-allen-ssbn608-03
-
[4]NHHC, Navy 250 commemoration toolkit, 'Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines' (SSBNS.pdf) - official class-level history [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Navy250 SSBNS.pdf, Ethan Allen-class paragraph
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC documents that the Ethan Allen-class and all later SSBNs were designed from the keel up to carry ballistic missiles (unlike the converted-hull George Washington class), that the Navy built five Ethan Allen-class boats between 1961 and 1963 equipped with A-2 and later A-3 missiles, and that by 1966 the force totaled 41 boats ('41 for Freedom'). This hull is the class name-ship and lead boat.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1961-1966
- Limitations
- Class-level official history; documents the type, not any material content aboard this hull. No asbestos statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ethan-allen-ssbn608-04
-
[5]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (S5W-era nuclear plant, secondary steam plant); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product lists for Electric Boat/Groton and Puget Sound NSY (thermal insulation, submarine steam/propulsion lagging, gaskets, packing, machinery insulation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; shipyards.json product lists for electric-boat-groton, puget-sound-naval-shipyard
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A fleet ballistic missile submarine built 1959-61 at Electric Boat and maintained through Navy-yard availabilities across the 1960s-80s sits inside the Navy's peak asbestos-use era; era-standard applications on the secondary steam plant (steam generators to turbines) and auxiliary systems included thermal/pipe insulation, gaskets, packing, and machinery insulation. Both documented yards for this hull (Electric Boat/Groton construction; Puget Sound NSY inactivation/recycling) carry yard-level asbestos product documentation in the Atlas shipyards dataset.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1959-1983; 1983-1999
- Population
- EB construction trades (1959-61); service-era yard trades; crew (1961-1983); PSNSY inactivation/recycling workers (1983-1999)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material list located for SSBN-608. Names era-standard applications on non-nuclear auxiliary/secondary systems, not confirmed installed materials; the S5W reactor plant establishes nothing. No quantity. Hull no longer extant (recycled 1999) - present-day material condition moot.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ethan-allen-ssbn608-05
-
[6]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 this hull's entire construction window (1959-61) and most service-era availabilities (1961-1983).
- 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-ethan-allen-ssbn608-06
-
[7]Batch-76 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource/NVR-derived disposition; DNA NTPR report; Smithsonian; NHHC class PDF; CourtListener name and hull-number searches; GAO product page [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ethan-allen-ssbn608-01 through -08
- 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 Ethan Allen (SSBN/SSN-608) was found. CourtListener opinion search for 'USS Ethan Allen', 'SSBN-608', and 'SSN-608' returned zero hits; RECAP name and hull searches returned only name collisions (Ethan Allen furniture/retail employment and contract litigation; an Ethan Allen boys' school matter). CourtListener throttled partway through the batch sweep - residual RECAP hull-number hits for this vessel went uninspected and are logged as a partial check in the ledger.
- 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. The hull was fully recycled (1999); SRP hazardous-material handling records, if any exist naming this hull, are not public. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ethan-allen-ssbn608-07