Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]DANFS, USS Lizardfish (SS-373) - construction, wartime/postwar service, dispositions; verbatim transcription via Wayback capture of hazegray.org (live NHHC DANFS page returned 404); incl. Bauer & Roberts / Jane's supplements [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block + supplements
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 14 March 1944 by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wis.; launched 27 July 1944 per this DANFS transcription (museum-cataloged launch photos date the event 16 July 1944 - see ev-04 correction row); sponsored by Mrs. Lausdale G. Sasscer, wife of Congressman Sasscer of Maryland; commissioned 30 December 1944, Cmdr. Ovid M. Butler. Two war patrols: first patrol South China Sea/Java Sea (no contacts); second patrol - 5 July Chelukan Bawang, Bali attack sinking SUBMARINE CHASER NO. 37 and destroying four landing barges by deck-gun fire; 13 July Sunda Strait convoy attack leaving three sea trucks burning. Decommissioned 24 June 1946, Pacific Reserve Fleet Mare Island. Reserve until 16 March 1959 departure for Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for snorkel conversion and fitting out; transferred to the Government of Italy 9 January 1960 as EVANGELISTA TORRICELLI (S-512). One battle star. Supplements: originally to be named LUIGI TORELLI; shifted from operational duties 5 March 1966 to training/experiments; discarded 1976; former Lizardfish stricken from US Navy Register 15 July 1978 (Bauer & Roberts).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1978
- Population
- Construction trades 1944 (Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.); Mare Island inactivation trades (1946); PHNSY conversion trades (1959-60); crew (1944-1946; Italian service)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Yard-period asbestos disturbance is era inference, not a per-hull record. The DANFS launch date (27 July 1944) conflicts with museum-cataloged launch photography (16 July 1944) - see ev-04 and gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lizardfish-ss373-01
-
[2]Naval Vessel Register, SHIPSDETAIL SS-373 record (Wayback capture) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL SS 373
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL SS-373: stricken 07/15/1978; disposed through Security Assistance Program (SAP), transferred, cash sale; custodian ITALY; status changed 07/01/1978.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1978 (status dates); capture ~2019
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Register-level status data only; NVR milestone fields for pre-digital-era hulls are largely blank - stricken date and SAP custodian are the substantive fields. NVR's 15 July 1978 strike agrees with the Bauer & Roberts supplement; NavSource's '1 July 1976' conflicts - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lizardfish-ss373-02
-
[3]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 14 March 1944 at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.; launched 16 July 1944; decommissioned 24 June 1946 at Mare Island Navy Yard; recommissioned 16 March 1959; converted to a Fleet Snorkel Submarine at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard; decommissioned and transferred (loaned) to Italy 9 January 1960 as Evangelista Torricelli (S-512); struck from the Naval Register 1 July 1976 (conflicts with NVR/B&R 15 July 1978 - see gaps); discarded by the Italian Navy in 1976, fate unknown.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1978
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not an official record. Its 16 July 1944 launch date is corroborated by the Wisconsin Maritime Museum photo catalog (ev-04); its '1 July 1976' strike date conflicts with NVR and the Bauer & Roberts supplement (15 July 1978) and is carried in gaps, not the record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lizardfish-ss373-03
-
[4]Wisconsin Maritime Museum photo catalog, accession P68-1-105 and P70-7-550 (Harry Berns collection, Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. official photographer) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Wisconsin Maritime Museum PastPerfect catalog, accessions P68-1-105, P70-7-550
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the Wisconsin Maritime Museum's online photo catalog dates Lizardfish's launch 16 July 1944 - accession P68-1-105 ('USS LIZARDFISH (SS-373) on the ways ready to launch at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company on July 16, 1944') and P70-7-550 (sponsor Mrs. Landsdale G. Sasscer and friends at Manitowoc, July 16, 1944), both from the Harry Berns collection (the shipyard's official photographer). The DANFS transcription's 'launched 27 July 1944' is a likely outlier; 16 July 1944 is carried as the launch date.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-07-16
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Museum-catalog dates for contemporaneous event photography are strong evidence but catalog entries are secondary descriptions of the photos, not the photos' internal metadata; the conflict with DANFS is disclosed, not silently resolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lizardfish-ss373-04
-
[5]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
- 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. Documented yard events for this hull: 1946 Mare Island inactivation and 1959-60 Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Fleet Snorkel conversion - additional asbestos-relevant work windows.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. construction trades (1944); Mare Island inactivation trades (1946); PHNSY conversion trades (1959-60); crew (1944-1946)
- 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; conversion scope not documented per-hull. No quantities.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lizardfish-ss373-05
-
[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 construction, service-era insulation, and 1959-60 PHNSY conversion.
- 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-lizardfish-ss373-06
-
[7]Batch-27 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource; NVR SHIPSDETAIL; Wisconsin Maritime Museum catalog; Google Scholar case-law sweep; CourtListener attempted; GAO product page [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lizardfish-ss373-01 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 Lizardfish (SS-373) was found. Google Scholar exact-name "USS Lizardfish" returned zero published-opinion hits; hull-number "SS-373" produced 7 hits, all name collisions ('SS' litigant-initials cases, citation fragments). CourtListener sweeps blocked this session - public search UI bot-challenged (HTTP 202) and v4 API throttled (HTTP 429, shared 125/day quota); Google Scholar substituted for published opinions.
- 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-lizardfish-ss373-07