Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]DANFS, Halibut (SS-232) - Portsmouth construction; ten war patrols; Navy Unit Commendation; crippled by depth charges 14 November 1944 and never repaired (verbatim transcription via Wayback capture of hazegray; live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: launched 3 December 1941 by Portsmouth Navy Yard (sponsor Mrs. P. T. Blackburn); commissioned 10 April 1942, Comdr. P. H. Ross in command. Ten war patrols - Aleutians, northeast Japan coast, Japan-Kwajalein lanes, Truk, Marianas (coordinated attack group with Haddock and Tullibee), Okinawa/eastward, and a Luzon Strait scouting line with Haddock and Tuna during the Battle off Cape Engano. On 14 November 1944, attacking a convoy in Luzon Strait, she was counterattacked by aircraft using magnetic airborne detectors; a short depth-charge attack left her severely damaged but under control - she made temporary repairs and reached Saipan 19 November, receiving the Navy Unit Commendation for the patrol. She reached San Francisco via Pearl Harbor 12 December 1944, then sailed for Portsmouth, N.H. (16 February 1945), where her damage was found too extensive to justify repair. Decommissioned 18 July 1945; sold for scrap 10 January 1947 to Quaker Shipyard and Machinery Company of Camden, N.J. Seven battle stars; patrols 3-7, 9, and 10 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-halibut-ss232-01
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[2]NavSource Online Submarine Photo Archive, header 'as built' spec block and disposition line for this hull; corroborated by DANFS spec block (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/08/08232.htm)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Machinery fit for this hull per NavSource 'as built' spec block: diesel electric reduction gear with four Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines (5,400 hp), four Elliot Motor Co. electric motors (2,740 hp), two 126-cell main storage batteries, twin screws. NO BOILERS and no steam plant - the asbestos-relevant machinery profile differs materially from steam classes (no boiler/furnace insulation, no steam-line lagging run-outs; exposure-relevant systems are diesel exhaust lagging, engine gaskets/packing, hull thermal/acoustic insulation, and auxiliary equipment). DANFS also documents an overhaul at San Francisco May-September 1944 (yard not named).
- 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-halibut-ss232-02
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[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-halibut-ss232-03
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[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 already throttled at the daily cap (HTTP 429, 125/day - quota exhausted by prior same-day batch work, expected available in ~3.7 hours), so the sweep ran on the site:courtlistener.com index fallback for "USS Halibut" and "SS-232". The fallback sweep surfaced only general Navy/submarine asbestos litigation - 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-halibut-ss232-04
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[5]Negative finding: no qualifying non-litigation ship-specific asbestos record located across DANFS/NHHC (via hazegray/losthistory transcription and Wayback captures), NavSource, 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. The hull went through reserve-fleet custody and was sold for scrap in the pre-OSHA/pre-NEPA era; no hazmat or material-condition documentation of any kind was located for the scrapping or reserve periods.
- 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-halibut-ss232-05
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[6]Dryfka v. Trane US, Inc., Notice of Removal, ECF No. 2, S.D. Ill. No. 3:13-cv-01019 (per Gato class profile ev-gato-class-04) [court_record]
- Locator
- Dryfka ECF 2 removal notice, service-history recital; class profile ev-04/06
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NAME-COLLISION CORRECTION: the Dryfka removal notice recites that the plaintiff was 'exposed to asbestos during his service aboard the USS Swordfish, USS Andrew Jackson, USS Drum, USS Florikan, USS Halibut' - but the documented service window is 1960s Navy duty (incl. a May 1966 - February 1967 reserve-instructor posting at Portsmouth NSY). USS Halibut SS-232 was decommissioned July 1945 and scrapped by January 1947, so the referent is necessarily the later USS Halibut SSN-587/SSGN-587 (in commission 1960-1976), NOT this hull. Classified as a name collision and excluded from this hull's qualifying-litigation record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- Filing 2013; alleged exposure window 1960s
- Limitations
- Prevents misattributing SSN-587 litigation material to SS-232. The Dryfka reference itself is an unadjudicated pleading-stage recital; no exposure aboard either hull was adjudicated. Resolution rests on chronology - SS-232 did not exist as a Navy vessel in the alleged exposure window.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-halibut-ss232-06
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[7]DANFS Halibut closing narrative + NavSource disposition line - battle-damage evaluation at Portsmouth, decommissioning, scrapping sale [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS/NavSource disposition data
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Terminal disposition for this hull: battle damage judged too extensive to repair at Portsmouth Navy Yard in 1945; decommissioned 18 July 1945 at Portsmouth; struck 8 May 1946; sold 10 January 1947 to Quaker Shipyard and Machinery Company of Camden, N.J. The damaged-hull lay-up and disposal (1945-47) is a material-handling event with no located hazmat documentation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Documents disposition only; no asbestos or material-condition content. The 1945-46 lay-up and 1947 scrapping of a battle-damaged hull are undocumented at the material level - no survey or disposal record located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-halibut-ss232-07
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[8]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 Navy asbestos-management regime for the period covering this hull's postwar custody (damaged-hull lay-up and disposal 1945-1947): GAO found the Navy's 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
- 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-halibut-ss232-08