Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]DANFS, USS Kete (SS-369) - construction, wartime/postwar service, dispositions; verbatim transcription via Wayback capture of hazegray.org (live NHHC DANFS page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: Launched 9 April 1944 by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wis. (sponsor Mrs. E. S. Hutchinson); commissioned 31 July 1944, Cmdr. R. L. Rutter. First war patrol East China Sea/Nansei Shoto Nov 1944-Jan 1945 (lifeguard duty; no confirmed targets); second patrol under Lt. Cmdr. Edward Ackerman from 1 March 1945 - torpedoed three marus 9-10 March (DANFS: 6,881 tons; Submarine Losses pamphlet: 12,000 tons - variant in gaps). Ordered home 19 March; last message a weather report 20 March from 29 38'N, 130 02'E; reported presumed lost 16 April 1945; cause unresolved - the official loss pamphlet judges an unreported enemy submarine attack probable, a mine improbable. One battle star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Construction trades 1943-44 (Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.); crew (lost with all hands March 1945)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Yard-period asbestos disturbance is era inference, not a per-hull record. DANFS Vol. 2/3-era text ends ~1960-67 for this hull; later events rest on NavSource/NVR supplements.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kete-ss369-01
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[2]NavSource Naval History, submarine photo-archive entry (secondary archival compilation; disposition data consistent with Bauer & Roberts Register of Ships supplements) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource entry header block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource: laid down 25 October 1943 at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.; sunk on 2nd patrol by unknown causes while enroute to Midway from Colnett Strait in March 1945, all hands lost; struck from the Naval Register (date unknown). A contemporary Navy announcement reported the complement as between 80 and 85 officers and men.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not an official record; dates/items not corroborated by DANFS or NVR are flagged in this record's gaps. Used for laid-down date, final-disposition detail, and conversion labels.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kete-ss369-02
-
[3]U.S. Submarine Losses World War II (NavPers 15784), Kete (SS-369) entry incl. crew roster - HyperWar transcription [other_primary]
- Locator
- SubLosses Kete section + name roster
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official loss accounting (U.S. Submarine Losses World War II, NavPers 15784): last message a weather report 20 March 1945 from 29 38'N, 130 02'E; expected at Midway ~31 March; presumed lost 16 April 1945. Japanese records showed no matching antisubmarine attack; the pamphlet judges an unreported enemy submarine attack probable and a mine improbable. Includes the lost-crew roster by name.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- ~87 officers and enlisted lost (memorial roster); contemporary announcement 80-85
- Limitations
- Official pamphlet narrative and roster; loss cause stated as the pamphlet's own assessment (probable unreported enemy attack) - the record asserts no cause. Casualty figures are population documentation only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kete-ss369-03
-
[4]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (diesel-electric drive, no boilers); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 submarine machinery tables (shipscribe.com SDB1945v1); documented yard-period events above [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; BuShips SDB1945v1 pp. 266-270 submarine tables; balao-class profile ev-05
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-electric fleet boat built 1943-44 at Manitowoc sits inside the Navy's peak asbestos-use era. Diesel-electric boats carried no boilers/steam plant: era-consistent asbestos applications are diesel exhaust lagging, engine gaskets and packing, acoustic/thermal hull insulation, galley/refrigeration insulation, and battery/electrical materials. This hull went directly to combat after shakedown - no post-shakedown yard periods documented; construction-era applications only.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. construction trades (1943-44); crew (1944-1945)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material list located for this hull. Names era-standard diesel-boat applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantities.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kete-ss369-04
-
[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; standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - covering this hull's service-era insulation and yard-period events.
- 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-kete-ss369-05
-
[6]Batch-26 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcriptions; NavSource; NVR (where extant); Google Scholar case-law sweep; CourtListener attempted [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kete-ss369-01 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 Kete (SS-369) was found. CourtListener sweeps attempted 2026-09-18: public search UI blocked by bot-challenge (HTTP 202/403) and v4 API throttled (HTTP 429, shared 125/day quota); Google Scholar case-law sweep substituted for published opinions. Exact-name "USS Kete" search: no published-opinion hits. Hull-number "SS-369" search: 1 citation-only hit (Ltd v. Goodman, 1936 Ch 216) - no qualifying litigation.
- 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. Scholar covers published opinions only - RECAP/docket-level text was not searched (CourtListener blocked); an unresolved sweep limitation, logged in the ledger.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kete-ss369-06