Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]DANFS, Gunnel (SS-253) - construction, war patrols, awards, and disposition (verbatim transcription via hazegray DANFS .txt transcription via Wayback capture 2001-03-06; live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: launched 17 May 1942 by Electric Boat Co., Groton (sponsor Mrs. Ben Morell, wife of the Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks); commissioned 20 August 1942, Lt. Comdr. J. S. McCain, Jr. First war patrol (19 Oct-7 Dec 1942) was a UK passage for Operation Torch - reconnaissance off Fedhala and infrared signals guiding the fleet on D-day. After a major overhaul at Portsmouth, N.H. she moved to the Pacific: second patrol sank cargo ships Koyo Maru and Tokiwa Maru (June 1943); overhaul at Mare Island followed; third patrol (Nov 1943-Jan 1944) off Honshu sank Hiyoshi Maru; patrols four-six in South China/Sulu/Celebes Seas unproductive; seventh patrol (Oct-Dec 1944) sank motor torpedo boat Sagi, Shunten Maru, and torpedo boat Hiyodori, and evacuated 11 naval aviators from Palawan; eighth patrol lifeguard duty for B-29 strikes. Refitting at Pearl Harbor at war's end; decommissioned New London 18 May 1946; struck 1 September 1958; sold for scrapping August 1959. Five battle stars; patrols one, two, three and seven designated successful.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Yard-period asbestos disturbance is era inference, not a per-hull record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gunnel-ss253-01
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[2]NavSource Online Submarine Photo Archive, header 'as built' spec block and disposition line for this hull; corroborated by DANFS (diesel-electric) and BuShips Ships' Data 1945 submarine machinery tables (via shipscribe.com, per Gato class profile) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page header spec block for this hull (https://www.navsource.net/archives/08/0853.htm)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Machinery fit for this hull per NavSource 'as built' spec block: diesel electric reduction gear with four Hoover, Owens, Rentschler Co. main generator diesel engines (5,400 hp), four General Electric main motors (2,740 hp), two 126-cell main storage batteries, twin propellers. NO BOILERS and no steam plant. The H.O.R. diesels were notoriously troublesome - a NavSource photo caption (text credited to arlingtoncemetery.net) recounts all four main-engine drive gears failing en route to Operation Torch and records that Gunnel was 'the first Pearl Harbor H.O.R. boat to be re-engined' before returning to action off Iwo Jima in December 1943 - an engine-swap event that would have disturbed era-standard engine/exhaust insulation; the replacement engine make is not stated.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- The NavSource spec block is a class-standard spec sheet, not a per-hull machinery survey - actual installed equipment is presumed class-typical and unverified for this specific hull. No hull-specific machinery or material list was located. Establishes propulsion type only, not fiber content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gunnel-ss253-02
-
[3]Gato class profile ev-gato-class-07 (era/design inference for diesel-electric fleet boats) built on navypedia member table and BuShips Ships' Data 1945; GAO HRD-80-2 for the Navy's era asbestos-use regime [other_primary]
- Locator
- class profile gato-class.class.json ev-07; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference for diesel-electric fleet boats of this build period: era-standard applications likely included asbestos-containing diesel exhaust lagging, engine gaskets and packing, hull thermal and acoustic insulation, insulation around galley/refrigeration equipment, and electrical/battery materials.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- CLASS/ERA INFERENCE ONLY - no ship-specific material schedule, insulation survey, or asbestos product list was located for this hull. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity. Does not establish exposure or eligibility for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gunnel-ss253-03
-
[4]CourtListener API v4 (opinions type=o, RECAP dockets type=r) exact-name and hull-number searches; site:courtlistener.com index sweep as throttling fallback [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows for this vessel
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep for this hull: CourtListener API queries were throttled at the daily cap (HTTP 429; 'Expected available in ~17.3 hours'), so the sweep ran on the site:courtlistener.com index fallback for "USS Gunnel" and "SS-253". The fallback surfaced only general Navy-yard asbestos material (Boston v. General Dynamics re Portsmouth NSY; Zimmerman re USS Bluefish SSN-675 / USS Sam Houston SSBN-609) - nothing naming this hull. No qualifying asbestos litigation - and no litigation of any kind verified as naming this hull - was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- A negative result is bounded by the search mechanism: CourtListener coverage is not exhaustive for state-court pleadings, and the API throttle meant docket-text and opinion queries could not complete - the site:-index fallback is corroboration, not a substitute for docket search. Does not prove no litigation exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gunnel-ss253-04
-
[5]Negative finding: no qualifying non-litigation ship-specific asbestos record located across DANFS/NHHC (via transcription sources), NavSource, NARA guided topic, and ACM-survey/abatement/disposal sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows for this vessel
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull ACM survey, abatement contract, scrapping/disposal hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated exposure finding naming this vessel was located anywhere in the research sweep. Three documented yard periods (Portsmouth N.H. major overhaul; Mare Island overhaul Aug-Oct 1943; Pearl Harbor re-engining) are era-material disturbance events, not asbestos evidence; no hazmat documentation was located for them or for the 1959 scrap sale.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not proof no record exists. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present aboard/within the hull, and does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gunnel-ss253-05
-
[6]DANFS closing narrative + NavSource disposition line - postwar custody, foreign service (if any), and terminal disposition [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS/NavSource disposition data
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Postwar custody and terminal disposition for this hull: decommissioned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at New London 18 May 1946; struck from the Naval Register 1 September 1958; sold for scrapping 17 July 1959 to Luria Bros., Philadelphia (NavSource; DANFS says 'sold for scrapping in August 1959'), removed 1 August 1959. Thirteen years of reserve-fleet custody; pre-regulation scrap sale with no located hazmat documentation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Documents custody/disposition only; no asbestos or material-condition content. Whether era insulation was disturbed during postwar periods is undocumented. Scrapper/disposal records for this era predate modern hazmat documentation practice and none was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gunnel-ss253-06
-
[7]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 the Navy's asbestos-management regime covering this hull's postwar custody: the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s; standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it.
- 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, not hull-specific; supports era context only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description. Does not establish materials aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gunnel-ss253-07
-
[8]NARA guided research topic 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' (archives.gov) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA guided topic page, RG 19/RG 38 series description
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's guided research topic 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' identifies where hull-level material records would live if they exist: Record Group 19 (Bureau of Ships) general/confidential/secret correspondence filed by hull designation (this hull: 'SS253') and Record Group 38 (Board of Inspection and Survey reports, written before trials/after conversions/before demilitarization). No digitized per-hull asbestos material was located in the public sweep; these series are not digitized and require in-person or hired-researcher access.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- A research-pathway pointer, not evidence about this hull: the RG 19/RG 38 series may contain hull-level material records but are not digitized and were not searched for this batch. The guide itself documents that per-vessel asbestos determination requires correspondence-level research, not that any record exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gunnel-ss253-08