Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]DANFS, 'Liscome Bay (CVE-56)' - verbatim transcription (live NHHC page 404s) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, construction paragraph and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry documents construction and brief career: Liscome Bay (CVE-56) was laid down 9 December 1942 by Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Vancouver, Wash., under a Maritime Commission contract; launched 19 April 1943 (sponsor Mrs. Ben Moreell); named Liscome Bay 28 June 1943; redesignated CVE-56 15 July 1943; acquired by the Navy and commissioned 7 August 1943, Capt. I. D. Wiltsie in command. Spec block: displacement 7,800; length 512'3"; complement 860; class Casablanca. After west-coast training she departed San Diego 21 October 1943 for Pearl Harbor, then sailed 10 November as a unit of CarDiv 24 attached to TF 52, Northern Attack Force, for the Gilbert Islands invasion; her aircraft flew Makin operations 20-24 November.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history for construction and service milestones; contains no asbestos or insulation-material content. Entry is short because the ship was lost three and a half months after commissioning.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-liscome-bay-cve56-01
-
[2]DANFS, 'Liscome Bay (CVE-56)' - loss narrative [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, loss narrative paragraphs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- At about 0510 on 24 November 1943, steaming 20 miles southwest of Butaritari Island as flagship of Rear Adm. H. M. Mullinnix's three-carrier task group (with Coral Sea CVE-57 and Corregidor CVE-58), Liscome Bay was struck by a torpedo from Japanese submarine I-175 abaft the after engine room; a second major detonation followed immediately and the interior burst into flames. She listed to starboard and sank at 0533, carrying Admiral Mullinnix, Captain Wiltsie, 53 other officers and 591 enlisted men down with her; 272 of her crew were rescued. She received one battle star for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-11-24
- Population
- Crew of ~916-918 aboard at loss (DANFS accounting: flag officer, captain, 53 officers, 591 enlisted lost; 272 rescued)
- Limitations
- Establishes the loss event and that the hull was never decommissioned, scrapped, or salvaged - as-built material went down with the wreck. Contains no asbestos content; the deadliest sinking of a U.S. carrier (secondary accounts cite 702 lost - see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-liscome-bay-cve56-02
-
[3]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships, War Damage Report No. 45, 'U.S.S. Liscome Bay (CVE56) Loss in Action, Gilbert Islands, Central Pacific, 24 November 1943' (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- WDR No. 45, Sections I-II (Foreword, Summary), paragraphs 1-5
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- BuShips War Damage Report No. 45 (Preliminary Design Branch, Bureau of Ships, Navy Department, 10 March 1944) investigated the loss: the ship sank about 23 minutes after being torpedoed and 'approximately three-fourths of her complement were lost with her'; the Navy Department concluded the primary cause of loss was the mass detonation of aircraft bombs stowed in the hold at frames 152-168, produced by heavy fragment attack from a contact torpedo explosion on the starboard side in way of, or very near, the magazine. The explosion demolished all structure aft of the forward bulkhead of the after engine room; steam lines and compressed-air piping in the forward machinery space were carried away.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-11-24 (report issued 1944-03-10)
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked personnel at loss
- Limitations
- Primary Navy engineering investigation of this hull's loss - confirms magazine detonation and total loss of after structure. Documents steam-line and machinery-space construction details but contains no insulation-fiber or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-liscome-bay-cve56-03
-
[4]U.S. Navy, 'Navy to Name Future Ford Class Aircraft Carrier After WWII Hero Doris Miller' (navy.mil press release) + DON CIO CHIPS biographical article [other_primary]
- Locator
- Navy press release paragraphs 3-4; CHIPS Doris Miller biographical article
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy communications confirm Mess Attendant 2nd Class Doris Miller - the first Black recipient of the Navy Cross (Pearl Harbor) - was assigned to Liscome Bay and lost with the ship on 24 November 1943; he was presumed dead by the Secretary of the Navy on 25 November 1944. The future USS Doris Miller (CVN-81) is named for him.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1944 (release published 2020)
- Population
- Individual crewmember documented lost with the ship
- Limitations
- Confirms a documented crew fatality aboard this hull; contains no asbestos or materials content. Included as personnel context for the loss event only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-liscome-bay-cve56-04
-
[5]Batch-41 search ledger (this record): CourtListener exact-name + asbestos-term sweeps; class-profile sweep 2026-09-16 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-liscome-bay-cve56-03 and sl-uss-liscome-bay-cve56-04
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CourtListener sweeps for this hull returned no qualifying asbestos litigation: '"USS Liscome Bay"' type=o returned 0 results; '"Liscome Bay" asbestos' type=o returned 0 results (both completed 2026-09-18 before the service began returning HTTP 202 throttles). The 2026-09-16 class-profile CourtListener member-name sweep covering all 50 Casablanca-class hulls likewise located no asbestos opinion naming CVE-56.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- A null litigation result is not proof that no exposure claims exist - unindexed state-court and settled matters are invisible to opinion databases. Reported as a search outcome, not a fact about the ship.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-liscome-bay-cve56-05
-
[6]Batch-41 search ledger (this record): full source sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-liscome-bay-cve56-01 through sl-uss-liscome-bay-cve56-07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos record of any kind located for this hull: no insulation survey, no material schedule, no litigation naming CVE-56, and (uniquely in this batch) no possibility of later abatement or dismantlement documentation because the hull was lost intact in 1943 and never salvaged. Whatever insulation, gaskets, packing, deck tile, and cable insulation were installed at Kaiser Vancouver in 1943 remains aboard the wreck.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Negative finding within the sources searched. Retention of as-built material aboard the wreck is an inference from the unsalvaged loss, not a survey result; no wreck survey or condition assessment was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-liscome-bay-cve56-06
-
[7]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual, NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960) - specification-level document; class construction context per DANFS and class references [other_primary]
- Locator
- BuShips TM ch.39, sections 39-11 through 39-13 (materials)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era context: all 50 Casablanca-class escort carriers were mass-produced by Kaiser at Vancouver, WA, on Maritime Commission S4-S2-BB3 hulls with keels November 1942 - March 1944 - squarely inside the Navy's asbestos-specification era. The 1960 BuShips Technical Manual ch.39 'Thermal Insulation' enumerates the era insulation suite for steam plants of this type: MIL-P-2781 pipe covering incl. 85% magnesia ('about 15 percent asbestos fiber') and an amosite-asbestos class; roll asbestos felt MIL-I-15091; asbestos cloth/tape SS-C-466 (lagging); asbestos millboard HH-M-351; asbestos finishing cement; molded asbestos block for high-temperature service. This hull's 4 B&W boilers and Skinner Uniflow steam plant are the equipment classes those specifications cover.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1942-1943 construction; 1960 manual describes era-standard specifications
- Population
- Construction trades (Kaiser Vancouver, 1942-43); wartime crew
- Limitations
- Specification-level documentation of what the Navy specified, not a ship-specific installation record - does not confirm installed materials on this hull. Retrieved PDF is a litigation-repository scan of the government manual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-liscome-bay-cve56-07
-
[8]National Park Service, Fort Vancouver NHS, 'Vancouver During World War II' - Kaiser Shipyards section [nps]
- Locator
- NPS article, Kaiser Shipyards paragraph
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The builder yard is documented by the National Park Service (Fort Vancouver NHS): Kaiser Shipyards Vancouver was established May 1942, operated around the clock, and by war's end had launched ten Liberty ships, 30 LSTs, fifty escort aircraft carriers ('baby flat tops'), 31 attack transports, 12 C-4 troopships, eight C-4 cargo vessels, and two 14,000-ton drydocks.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Kaiser Vancouver shipyard workforce (peak wartime employment)
- Limitations
- Yard-level context confirming the builder and its escort-carrier program; contains no asbestos or material content. Does not document conditions aboard any specific hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-liscome-bay-cve56-08