Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, USS Lagarto (SS-371) - construction, wartime service, loss; 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: laid down 12 January 1944 by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wis.; launched 28 May 1944 (sponsor Mrs. Paul H. Douglas, Congresswoman from Illinois and wife of Capt. Paul H. Douglas, USMCR); commissioned 14 October 1944, Cmdr. F. D. Latta. First war patrol Nansei Shoto area: 13 February coordinated gun attack with HADDOCK (SS-231) and SENNET (SS-408) sank two armed picket boats; 24 February sank freighter TATSUMONO MARU and Japanese submarine I-371 in a day periscope attack. Second patrol: departed Subic Bay 12 April for South China Sea, directed to Gulf of Siam; coordinated attack with BAYA (SS-318) on a heavily escorted tanker 2-3 May; no contact after 0010, 4 May. Japanese records show minelayer HATSUTAKA attacked a U.S. submarine that night - Lagarto presumed lost with all hands. One battle star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Construction trades 1944 (Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.); crew (lost with all hands May 1945)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Casualty detail is population documentation only; the record asserts no individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lagarto-ss371-01
-
[2]U.S. Submarine Losses World War II (NavPers 15784), Lagarto (SS-371) entry incl. crew roster - HyperWar transcription [other_primary]
- Locator
- SubLosses Lagarto section + name roster
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official loss accounting (U.S. Submarine Losses World War II, NavPers 15784): Lagarto rendezvoused with BAYA ~07 55'N, 102 18'E early 3 May 1945 to plan a coordinated attack; Baya's midnight attack was driven off by radar-equipped escorts and no further contact with Lagarto was made after 0010, 4 May. Japanese records show minelayer Hatsutaka attacked a U.S. submarine at 7 55'N, 102 00'E in about 30 fathoms; the pamphlet judges this 'must be presumed to be the one which sank Lagarto.' Includes the lost-crew roster by name (~85 entries). Cmdr. Latta had previously made seven patrols commanding Narwhal; every patrol was designated successful for combat insignia - 'a record surpassed by no commanding officer in the Submarine Force.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- ~85 officers and enlisted lost (official roster transcription count)
- Limitations
- Official pamphlet narrative and roster; loss cause stated as the pamphlet's own presumption - the record asserts no cause. Casualty figures are population documentation only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lagarto-ss371-02
-
[3]Naval Vessel Register, SHIPSDETAIL SS-371 record (Wayback capture) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL SS 371 (Comments field)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL SS-371: status 'Disposed of, type of disposal not known'; status changed 05/03/1945; custodian US NAVY. Comments field: 'JUN 2006 THE NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER, WASH. DC CONFIRMED THAT A WWII SUB WRECK FOUND IN THE GULF OF THAILAND IS USS LAGARTO, SS-371.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1945; 2005-2006 (wreck discovery/identification)
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Register-level status data only; milestone fields blank (pre-digital-era hull). The NVR comment is the official confirmation of wreck identity; the 2005 discovery narrative rests on NavSource photo captions (USN-released imagery) - see ev-04.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lagarto-ss371-03
-
[4]NavSource Naval History, submarine photo-archive entry (secondary archival compilation embedding USN-released photo captions from news.navy.mil) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource entry header block + USN photo-caption sequence (Verification - 2006)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource (USN photo captions): the wreck was discovered in May 2005 by British wreck diver Jamie MacLeod; rescue and salvage ship USS Salvor (ARS-52) divers assisted the Naval Historical Center in identification in the Gulf of Thailand, June 2006. 7th Fleet Diving Officer Cmdr. Tony San Jose: 'Without a doubt, it's a U.S. submarine, a Balao-class' - divers identified twin 5-inch gun mounts forward and aft, a feature believed unique to Lagarto. Struck from the Naval Register 1 September 1945.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2005-2006
- Population
- Salvor (ARS-52) and NHC dive personnel (2006)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation; the discovery narrative is carried from USN-released photo captions reproduced on the page, not an independent official history. The NVR record (ev-03) supplies the official NHC confirmation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lagarto-ss371-04
-
[5]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (diesel-electric drive, no boilers); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 submarine machinery tables (shipscribe.com SDB1945v1) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; BuShips SDB1945v1 pp. 266-270 submarine tables; balao-class profile
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-electric fleet boat built 1944 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
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. construction trades (1944); 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. Material condition of the war-grave wreck is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lagarto-ss371-05
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[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 that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - covering this hull's entire construction and service period (1944-45).
- 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-lagarto-ss371-06
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[7]Batch-27 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; U.S. Submarine Losses WWII (NavPers 15784); NavSource; NVR SHIPSDETAIL; CourtListener opinions (partial); Google Scholar case-law sweep; GAO product page [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lagarto-ss371-01 through -08
- 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 Lagarto (SS-371) was found. CourtListener opinions search for "USS Lagarto" returned 0 results (verified this session). Google Scholar exact-name "USS Lagarto" returned zero published-opinion hits; hull-number "SS-371" produced 9 hits, all name collisions ('SS' litigant-initials cases, citation fragments, docket-number strings). RECAP/docket-level search not completed - CourtListener throttled/bot-challenged this session.
- 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; the RECAP/docket layer remains an unresolved sweep limitation, logged in the ledger. Nothing is asserted about exposure of the dead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lagarto-ss371-07