Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
-
[1]DANFS, Harder II (SS-568) - NHHC page (live URL 404; 2021 Wayback capture used; navysite expanded narrative cross-checked) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Harder II service narrative and spec block; navysite.de/ss/ss568.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 30 June 1950 by the Electric Boat Co., Groton; launched 3 December 1951 (sponsor Mrs. Kay Logan Cole); commissioned 19 August 1952, Comdr. R. B. Laning. Shakedown out of Newport R.I.; ~1,000-mile submerged passage New London to Nassau while snorkeling; New London fleet operations from June 1953. March 1959 SUBICEX: ~280 miles beneath ice packs off Newfoundland with Trout and nuclear Skate - farther than any conventionally powered submarine had previously gone; seven days, 23 surfacings through polynyas. Home port Charleston from 17 November 1959, SubRon 4; European/Mediterranean deployment May-August 1961 (Bremerhaven, Holy Loch, Rota). Charleston Naval Shipyard overhaul October 1962 - April 1963; Charleston Naval Shipyard modernization from 22 October 1965 - completed early 1967: 18-foot hull extension, redesigned superstructure, new engines, improved electrical/electronic equipment, BQG-4 PUFFS passive fire-control sonar. Pacific service from late 1969; Korea qualifying service November-December 1969; Vietnam qualifying periods January 1970, January 1972, March 1973; commanding-officer change at Mare Island 15 April 1971; selected for transfer to Italy; struck from the NVR 20 February 1974 and entered Italian service as Romeo Romei (S 516) 22 February 1974 (navysite narrative); Italian service until 31 May 1988.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1950-1988
- Population
- Electric Boat construction trades (1950-52); Charleston NSY yard trades (1962-63, 1965-67); crew (1952-1974); Italian Navy crew (1974-1988)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS text ends at the 1967 modernization; the post-1967 operational detail and Italian-transfer chain come from navysite's expanded narrative (secondary compilation) corroborated by the NVR stricken date. Live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-18; Wayback capture of the official page used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harder-ss568-01
-
[2]Naval Vessel Register, HARDER (SS 568) - NAVSHIPSO/NAVSEA record (2012 Wayback capture; live NVR detail page no longer serves this hull) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR ship detail SS568, Wayback capture 2012-01-26
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NVR documents for this hull: stricken 20 February 1974; disposed of through the Security Assistance Program as a cash sale (ex-US fleet hull foreign military sale case), status change 1 February 1974; custodian Italy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1974
- Population
- Italian Navy crew (1974-1988)
- Limitations
- Disposal/stricken record only; no material content. The NVR status-change date (1 February 1974), navysite's decommission/strike/transfer framing (20 February), the narrative's Italian commissioning (22 February), and a Wikipedia infobox decommission date (31 January 1974) are inconsistent - carried in gaps; DANFS-silent on the terminal dates. Live NVR page redirects to portal root.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harder-ss568-02
-
[3]Kase v. Metalclad Insulation Corp., 6 Cal.App.5th 623 (Cal. Ct. App. 1st Dist. 2016), A143590 (Justia full text; CourtListener opinions 4324658/4332654 per batch-08 verification - direct CourtListener access throttled this session) [court_record]
- Locator
- Kase v. Metalclad, 6 Cal.App.5th 623, specification-history discussion (Unibestos; MIL-I-2781; MIL-I-24244)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published California appellate opinion court-documents the submarine asbestos-insulation spec regime in force during this hull's documented Charleston Naval Shipyard modernization window: Navy insulation specifications (MIL-I-2781; SUBSAFE-era MIL-I-24244 for submarine insulation) could only be met with asbestos-containing product (Unibestos, the sole Navy-approved item). Harder's two documented Charleston NSY availabilities (October 1962 - April 1963 overhaul; 22 October 1965 - early 1967 modernization) fall inside the era when this spec regime governed submarine yard insulation work.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2016 (opinion); regime described 1950s-1970s; Harder availabilities 1962-63, 1965-67
- Population
- Charleston NSY insulation/yard trades; submarine crews during availabilities
- Limitations
- Spec-regime documentation, not a per-hull materials record: Kase concerned nuclear submarines at Mare Island and a different claimant; no court found asbestos aboard SS-568. Establishes the governing spec regime only. Does not establish exposure, causation, quantity, or eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harder-ss568-03
-
[4]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (diesel-electric Tang class) and documented yard events (Electric Boat build 1950-52; Charleston NSY 1962-63 overhaul and 1965-67 modernization); Kase-documented submarine insulation spec regime; shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product lists for Electric Boat/Groton and Charleston NSY [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block and yard-event narrative; shipyards.json product lists for electric-boat-groton, charleston-naval-shipyard
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-electric submarine built 1950-52 and overhauled/modernized at a Navy yard through early 1967 sits inside the Navy's peak asbestos-use era. For a diesel boat (no steam plant), era-standard asbestos applications comprise machinery and engine-exhaust insulation/lagging, gaskets and packing on auxiliary piping, electrical insulation, and interior hull insulation - applied most intensively during yard availabilities. The documented yards' asbestos product use in this period is independently documented at the yard level.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1950-1988
- Population
- EB construction trades (1950-52); Charleston NSY yard trades; crew (1952-1974); Italian Navy crew (1974-1988); Italian breaking workers (1988)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or ACM record located for SS-568. Names era-standard applications on a diesel-electric submarine, not confirmed installed materials; no boiler-room framing applies (no steam plant). No quantity. Italian-service material changes (1974-88) and breaking scope undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harder-ss568-04
-
[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 - covering all of Harder's U.S. service-era construction and yard events (1952-1974).
- 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-harder-ss568-05
-
[6]Batch-74 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS Wayback capture + losthistory/hazegray transcription; NVR Wayback record; navysite expanded narrative; CourtListener direct search (blocked); web-search litigation discovery; GAO product page [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-harder-ss568-01 through -07
- 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 Harder (SS-568) was found. CourtListener direct search (API v4, web UI, and Atom feeds) was blocked this session - API returned HTTP 429 'Rate limit exceeded: 125/day' and CloudFront returned 403/202 on web/feed endpoints; substitute discovery (web searches for 'USS Harder', 'SS-568', asbestos/lawsuit/court terms) surfaced only mesothelioma-marketing listicles, which are excluded per source rules.
- 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, and CourtListener was not directly searchable this session - a later docket-level check may find complaint-exhibit work-history mentions not visible to web search. The hull was scrapped after Italian service; no surveyable structure remains. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harder-ss568-06