USS Idaho (BB-42)

Evidence

8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).

1. [1]DANFS, Idaho IV (BB-42) entry - builder, dates, 1931-34 Norfolk modernization, wartime regunning/repairs, disposal (verbatim HyperWar transcription; live NHHC page unavailable) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS BB-42 entry, ibiblio/HyperWar transcription

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official hull history: built by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden NJ; launched 30 Jun 1917; commissioned 24 Mar 1919; Norfolk Navy Yard modernization 30 Sep 1931 - 9 Oct 1934 (new armor, 'blister' anti-torpedo protection, better machinery, tripod masts - the longest rebuild of the class); Puget Sound Navy Yard regunning Oct 1942; Espiritu Santo floating-drydock blister repairs Aug 1944; Bremerton repairs from 22 Oct 1944; kamikaze near-miss damage to port blisters off Okinawa 12 Apr 1945 (Guam repairs); decommissioned Norfolk 3 Jul 1946; sold for scrap 24 Nov 1947 to Lipsett Inc.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1915-1947

   Population

   Norfolk NYd workers 1931-34; Puget Sound NYd workers 1942 and 1944-45; crew

   Limitations

   Ship-specific official history establishing construction, the 1931-34 rebuild yard period, and wartime yard events - all relevant to material-disturbance analysis - but the entry contains no asbestos, insulation, or abatement content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-idaho-bb42-01

2. [2]U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (1945), Battleships (BB) tables pp. 18-25 (shipscribe.com scan; OCR-extracted) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB1945v1.pdf book pp. 18-25 (BB tables); OCR pg-019 (complement 2,007), pg-022 (builders/dates row)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Official 1945 record row for BB-42: New York S.B. Corp. builder, contract cost $7,250,000, keel 20 Jan 1915, launched 30 Jun 1917, commissioned 24 Mar 1919; 1945 complement 2,007 - the largest crew figure of the class.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1945

   Population

   Crew (2,007 as of 1945 record)

   Limitations

   Official record confirming builder, dates, and 1945 crew scale. Scanned volume with no text layer - values read via local OCR and cross-checked; no asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-idaho-bb42-02

3. [3]Naval Historical Center, Online Library, 'New Mexico Class (BB-40 through BB-42), 1915 Building Program' + USS Idaho (BB-42) ship page (ibiblio/HyperWar mirror of official pages) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   NHHC Online Library ship-type page bb40cl.htm; ship page usnsh-i/bb42.htm

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NHHC class page documents that all three New Mexico-class ships 'were rebuilt in 1931-34, receiving entirely new superstructures, modern controls for their guns, new engines and improved protection,' with anti-torpedo bulges; Idaho's rebuild at Norfolk Navy Yard ran 30 Sep 1931 - 9 Oct 1934 (DANFS), replacing her as-built turbines and nine B&W boilers with Westinghouse geared turbines and six Bureau Express boilers (40,000 shp).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1931-1934

   Population

   Norfolk NYd workers 1931-34

   Limitations

   Authoritative Navy source for the rebuild's existence and scope; the insulation strip/replace implication is inference - no insulation or abatement record is cited. Class-level statement applied to this hull via the hull's own documented yard period.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-idaho-bb42-03

4. [4]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual, NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960, page date 15 April 1959) [other_primary]

   Locator

   BuShips TM ch.39, sections 39-11 through 39-13

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   The BuShips Technical Manual insulation chapter enumerates the asbestos material suite standard to Navy steam plants of this class's era: MIL-P-2781 pipe covering including 85% magnesia (~15% asbestos fiber) and amosite-fiber classes; roll asbestos felt MIL-I-15091; asbestos cloth/tape SS-C-466 (80-95% chrysotile) lagging; asbestos millboard HH-M-351; asbestos finishing cement; molded asbestos block.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1960 (manual); describes specifications representative of 1915-19 and 1931-34 work

   Population

   n/a

   Limitations

   Specification-level documentation of era-standard materials; applies to both the 1915-19 original installation and the 1931-34 replacement insulation (same material family remained standard into the 1950s). Does not name this hull and does not quantify material aboard. Retrieved PDF is a scan hosted in the Garlock bankruptcy Daubert-appendix repository.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-idaho-bb42-04

5. [5]Synthesis: NHHC class page (1931-34 rebuild scope) + DANFS (Norfolk rebuild 9/1931-10/1934; Puget Sound 1942 regunning; Bremerton 1944-45 refit) + Navypedia modernization ledger (secondary) + BuShips TM ch.39 era suite [other_primary]

   Locator

   NHHC bb40cl class page; DANFS BB-42 entry; navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_bb_new_mexico.htm

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Idaho's 1915-19 construction and her documented 1931-34 full machinery replacement at Norfolk Navy Yard - at 37 months the longest rebuild of the class - frame two complete insulation installations in era-standard asbestos materials; the documented Puget Sound regunning (Oct-Dec 1942) and Bremerton refit (Oct 1944 - Jan 1945, including 5"/38 rearmament) are additional disturbance events.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1915-1919; 1931-1934; 1942; 1944-1945

   Population

   New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1915-19; Norfolk NYd workers 1931-34; Puget Sound NYd workers 1942 and 1944-45; crew

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - the machinery replacement and wartime yard periods are officially documented, but the insulation strip/reinsulate implication is inference from that scope; no insulation inventory, survey, or abatement record was located for this hull. Not a quantity.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-idaho-bb42-05

6. [6]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-protection program and 1975/1979 insulation-removal policies - the program framework under which any retained insulation aboard Navy vessels was managed.

   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 postdating this hull's 1947 sale by three decades; included for policy context only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description. Establishes nothing about this ship.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-idaho-bb42-06

7. [7]Batch-81 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS entries; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 OCR; NHHC Online Library class and ship pages; Navypedia class page; GAO product page; CourtListener API + site-index sweeps; VA BVA index; LOC/HAER [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-idaho-bb42-01 through -09

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no insulation survey, abatement contract, museum hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming BB-42 was found in the public sources searched. 'USS Idaho' collides with BB-24 (sold to Greece 1914) and SSN-799 (commissioned 2026) - all hits reviewed were name collisions or non-qualifying. CourtListener API was rate-limited (125/day) and the web index returned HTTP 403 on 2026-09-18; the 2026-09-16 class-level sweep found zero qualifying opinions for all three New Mexico-class names.

   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 - the documented 1915-19 construction and 1931-34 machinery replacement are consistent with retained era materials. Litigation negative rests on the prior-day sweep plus site-index searches because live CourtListener access was blocked; a later re-sweep may surface dockets not indexed.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-idaho-bb42-07

8. [8]NARA Record Group 19 (BuShips) / RG 181 (naval shipyard records) - known holdings, not yet searched [other_primary]

   Locator

   NARA RG 19 / RG 181 (not yet searched)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Archival lead: Norfolk Navy Yard work packages for the September 1931 - October 1934 re-engining (full boiler and turbine replacement, the longest of the class) would itemize insulation strip/replace scope for this hull; Puget Sound (1942) and Bremerton (1944-45) records are secondary targets. Undigitized; not consulted for this pass.

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   n/a

   Limitations

   Holding location inferred from standard records disposition; specific series and box numbers not identified.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-idaho-bb42-08