Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
-
[1]DANFS, Growler III (SS-215) - live NHHC page (history.navy.mil, verified 2026-09-18; expanded 2018 entry) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: third USS Growler, laid down 10 February 1941 at Groton by Electric Boat Co.; launched 22 November 1941 (sponsor Mrs. Robert L. Ghormley); commissioned 20 March 1942, Lt. Cmdr. Howard W. Gilmore. Eleven war patrols from the Aleutians through the South China Sea. On her fourth patrol, 7 February 1943, she rammed the 900-ton stores ship Hayasaki; machine-gun fire killed Gilmore (posthumous Medal of Honor for ordering 'Take her down'), Ens. Williams, and lookout Kelley; the bow, bent 90 degrees, was rebuilt by Evans Deakin Co., Brisbane, which mounted two small kangaroo figures - hence 'The Kangaroo Express.' On 12 September 1944 she sank the coast defense vessel Hirato and destroyer Shikinami in wolf-pack action. Lost with all 86 hands on 8 November 1944 west of the Philippine group during an attack on a convoy; probable attackers destroyer Shigure, escort Chiburi, or Kaibokan No. 19; stricken 8 February 1945. Fifteen vessels sunk (74,900 tons); eight battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- EB construction trades (1941-42); Evans Deakin repair trades, Brisbane (1943); crew (1942-1944); 86 souls lost
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. Cause of loss stated as NHHC's probable-attacker assessment, not a certainty; a circular-run torpedo is also noted as possible in the same source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-growler-ss215-01
-
[2]United States Submarine Losses in World War II (Navy Department) - Growler (SS-215) section (verbatim transcription via ibiblio HyperWar) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- SubLosses narrative, Growler section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy's official submarine-loss history records Growler's final patrol: operating with Hake and Hardhead as a coordinated attack group under Cmdr. T. B. Oakley, Jr. west of the Philippine group; on 8 November 1944 the pack closed a convoy, Hardhead sank tanker Manei Maru, and Growler was never heard from again; she never made her spare-parts rendezvous with Bream. Credited with sinking 17 ships (74,900 tons) and damaging 7 (34,100 tons) in her first ten patrols. Gilmore's fourth-patrol sacrifice is recounted: mortally wounded on the bridge after ramming a patrol vessel, he ordered the ship submerged while he lay topside - posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (loss); 1946 (publication)
- Population
- 86 souls lost (documentation only - no exposure claim made)
- Limitations
- Official loss-accounting only; no asbestos or material content. Tally differences vs DANFS (17 vs 15 ships) reflect source-era accounting - noted, not resolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-growler-ss215-02
-
[3]DANFS, Growler IV (SSG-577) - live NHHC page (history.navy.mil, verified 2026-09-18) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS Growler IV entry header
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NAME-NAME note for downstream litigation sweeps: 'USS Growler' also names SSG-577, a Grayback-class guided-missile submarine built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (commissioned 1958, decommissioned 1964, now a museum at the Intrepid museum, New York) - plus two 19th-century sloops. Asbestos-era litigation naming 'USS Growler' is far more likely to concern SSG-577 or the EA-18G Growler aircraft community; any hit must be resolved before attribution to SS-215.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1952-1964 (other hull)
- Limitations
- Identity/context note only - documents the second submarine namesake so 'USS Growler' references are not misattributed to SS-215.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-growler-ss215-03
-
[4]Gato-class profile (ships-worktrees class-f/gato-class.class.json) + NavSource spec block (propulsion: diesel-electric, no boilers) [other_primary]
- Locator
- class-f/gato-class.class.json row ev-gato-class-07; NavSource SS-215 spec block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a diesel-electric fleet submarine of the Gato class: the boats have no boilers or steam plant - era-consistent asbestos-relevant applications are diesel-exhaust lagging, engine gaskets and packing, acoustic/thermal hull insulation, galley and refrigeration insulation, and electrical/battery materials. All construction and documented Navy-yard periods on this hull fall inside the Navy's peak asbestos-use era. This hull was built 1941-42 and lost in 1944 - her entire material history (construction plus wartime refits including the 1943 bow rebuild at Brisbane) predates the Navy's substitution era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1941-1944
- Population
- EB construction trades (1941-42); wartime refit trades incl. Evans Deakin, Brisbane (1943); crew (1942-1944)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - does not establish that any asbestos-containing material is or was installed aboard this hull, and does not establish quantity, individual exposure, or present-day presence. No hull-specific insulation survey or material list was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-growler-ss215-04
-
[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 - meaning every construction, overhaul, and repair event on this hull (built 1941-42) predates the substitution era.
- 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-growler-ss215-05
-
[6]Batch-31 search ledger (this record): live NHHC DANFS; official loss history; NavSource; site-scoped CourtListener index sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-growler-ss215-01 through -07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for SS-215: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming THIS hull was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener API search was rate-limit throttled on 2026-09-18 (HTTP 429; site search interface and feeds also blocked); site-scoped web searches of courtlistener.com for 'USS Growler'/'SS-215' returned no qualifying asbestos case for this hull.
- 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 - all 86 hands were lost in 1944 and the wreck has not been located, so the hull's material condition is undocumented and unsurveyable. CourtListener API sweep could not be completed under rate limiting. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-growler-ss215-06