Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, Grampus (SS-523) - suspended/resumed construction, GUPPY-prototype service, Atlantic Fleet operations (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: built at the Naval Shipyard, Boston; begun 1944 but left uncompleted at the end of the war; construction resumed 1948; launched [Vol. IV errata: was christened] 26 October 1949, sponsored by Mrs. Clark H. Woodward (who also sponsored the previous Grampus, SS-207); commissioned the same day, Comdr. George F. Sharp. Equipped with new snorkeling equipment permitting far longer submerged running than WWII fleet-class ships; served as a prototype for the 'Guppy' class and incorporated features later appearing in nuclear submarines. SubDiv 61 Norfolk; East Coast/Caribbean exercises incl. torpedo/attack exercises, snorkeling tests, early HUK (hunter-killer) antisubmarine patrol development. Mediterranean cruise 5 Jan-2 Apr 1955 (Algiers, Naples, Barcelona, Malta, Beirut, Monaco, Gibraltar). Regular overhauls at Portsmouth and Philadelphia. Task Force 'Alfa' six weeks prior to 13 Feb 1964; 6th Fleet Mediterranean deployment 3 Apr-3 Aug 1964. Philadelphia Naval Shipyard overhaul from mid-April 1965; NATO ASW exercises eastern Atlantic/Northern Europe May-Aug 1966; Philadelphia naval shipyard repairs from 29 Dec 1966. (Print-era entry ends ~1967.)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1972
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades (1944-49); Portsmouth and Philadelphia NSY overhaul trades; crew (1949-72)
- 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; verbatim losthistory.net/hazegray transcription used. Print-era DANFS entry predates disposal - decommission/strike/transfer rest on NavSource (ev-02). Launch date: NavSource gives 15 December 1944 (hull floated with sisters); the 26 October 1949 DANFS 'launch' is corrected to christening by the Vol. IV errata note.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grampus-ss523-01
-
[2]NavSource Naval History, USS Grampus (SS-523) page - register/disposition block (Wayback capture; live navsource.org unreachable); NGB naval.com.br Submarino Rio Grande do Sul S-11 page citing Aviso 0441 of 3 May 1972 and OD 0016/72 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource register/disposition block; naval.com.br/ngb/R/R041/R041.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource disposition detail: decommissioned and simultaneously struck from the Naval Register 13 May 1972; transferred (sold) under the Security Assistance Program to Brazil, renamed Rio Grande Do Sul (S-11); sold 18 June 1981 to Verolme Shipyard, Angra dos Reis, Brazil. Brazilian compilation NGB (naval.com.br) supplies ceremony detail: transfer at the Submarine Base, New London (Groton), CT, 13 May 1972 under Aviso 0441/OD 0016-72; arrived Rio de Janeiro 25 October 1972; first GUPPY-class and first snorkel-equipped submarine in Brazilian service; Brazilian decommission 16 November 1978. She replaced the previous Rio Grande do Sul (S-11), ex-USS Sand Lance (SS-381).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1981
- Population
- Brazilian crew (1972-78); Verolme disposal workers (1981); register/disposal clerks
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations (NavSource, Bauer & Roberts Register-derived data; NGB citing Brazilian official orders); used for disposition/register details the print-era DANFS entry omits. Not official records themselves. Wikipedia gives the build-completion description 'Completed as GUPPY II' - consistent with the DANFS prototype framing but a secondary label.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grampus-ss523-02
-
[3]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (diesel-electric drive); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 1 submarine machinery tables (DERD drive, no boilers); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product lists for Boston Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (thermal insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, block insulation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; BuShips SDB1945v1 submarine tables; shipyards.json product lists
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A Tench-class diesel-electric fleet boat built at Boston Navy Yard 1944-49 (suspended post-war, completed as a snorkel-equipped GUPPY prototype) and maintained through Navy-yard availabilities (regular overhauls at Portsmouth and Philadelphia per DANFS; Philadelphia NSY overhaul Apr 1965 and repairs Dec 1966) 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
- 1944-1981
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades (1944-49); Portsmouth/Philadelphia NSY trades; crew (1949-72); Brazilian crew (1972-78) and Verolme disposal workers
- 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; Brazilian-period and Verolme scrapping material condition undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grampus-ss523-03
-
[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 service-era insulation events (1944-49 build; Portsmouth/Philadelphia overhauls through 1972).
- 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-grampus-ss523-04
-
[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 1944-49 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-grampus-ss523-05
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[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-grampus-ss523-06
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[7]Batch-49 search ledger (this record): DANFS (hazegray verbatim transcription); NavSource-Wayback disposition data; NGB Brazilian compilation; CourtListener API hull-number search + index-fallback name/docket searches; GAO product page [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 Grampus (SS-523) was found in the sources searched. CourtListener API 'SS-523' (type=o) returned 7 hits - all name collisions (bankruptcy SSN-fragment matches; Macy v. Macy; Hemmeter; Kielisch; Padilla; Mauzy) - none vessel-related, none asbestos. 'USS Grampus' (type=o) and RECAP docket searches (type=r) were blocked by the API's 125/day throttle; engine-indexed site:courtlistener.com fallback returned only a name collision - The Palmyra (1827), concerning the 1820s USS Grampus schooner, a different vessel - and unrelated dockets.
- 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. Brazilian-period material condition undocumented in English-language sources; Verolme disposal-site hazmat handling not documented. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Litigation coverage is partial: the CourtListener API throttled mid-sweep (daily quota), so name and RECAP-docket coverage rests on a secondary search index only and unindexed dockets or unindexed-RECAP filings may exist.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grampus-ss523-07