Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]DANFS vol. VI, Skate II (SSN-578) entry - construction at Electric Boat; Arctic operations; first submarine to surface at the North Pole; SUBSAFE installation (Internet Archive scan of the official DANFS volume; live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS vol. VI (R-S), Skate II entry and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 21 July 1955 by General Dynamics Corp. (Electric Boat Co. Div.), Groton, Conn.; launched 16 May 1957 (sponsor Mrs. Lewis L. Strauss); commissioned 23 December 1957, Comdr. James F. Calvert in command. First ship of the four-boat Skate class. Made her first Arctic voyage in 1958 (second ship to reach the North Pole); on 17 March 1959 became the first submarine to surface through the ice at the North Pole, conducting a memorial ceremony for Arctic explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins. Refit/refueling at Electric Boat beginning January 1961; joint Arctic rendezvous with Seadragon (SSN-584) in summer 1962, both surfacing at the Pole on 2 August 1962. Norfolk Naval Shipyard refueling and SUBSAFE installation 28 April 1965 through September 1967. Subsequent North Atlantic, Mediterranean, NATO, and Arctic operations.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1955-1995
- Population
- EB construction trades (1955-57); EB refit trades (1961); NNSY refueling/SUBSAFE trades (1965-67); crew (1957-1986)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 in this environment - the citation is the Internet Archive full-text scan of the official DANFS volume (verbatim primary text); defect disclosed. Yard periods are documented but contain no material detail.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-skate-ssn578-01
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[2]Kortekamp v. 3M Company (General Electric Co. et al.), No. 1:08-cv-00043-S-LDA (D.R.I.), plaintiffs' Motion to Remand with supporting exhibits, ECF No. 5 (filed 2008-02-19); suit nature 368 Asbestos personal injury [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF No. 5, attachments 4-6 (exhibit titles as docketed); ECF No. 8 (GE opposition)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos wrongful-death case (estate of Jack Kortekamp). Plaintiffs' remand-motion exhibits expressly name this hull three times: 'Ex. D - USS Skate (SSN 578) Record of GE Pump', 'Ex. E - USS Skate (SSN 578) Record of GE Pump', 'Ex. F - USS Skate (SSN 578) Record of GE Pump', alongside an exposure chart and 'Asbestos Medical and Legal Aspects - GE Knowledge of Asbestos Danger'. The exhibits are plaintiff-filed General Electric pump records for USS Skate used to argue the case belonged in state court.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2008 (litigation)
- Population
- Jack Kortekamp (deceased; GE-associated worker per case framing)
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage plaintiff exhibits filed with a remand motion; unadjudicated. 'Record of GE Pump' documents a pump aboard this hull, not the pump's insulation content - no finding about asbestos aboard was made, and the exhibit contents were not extractable (scanned PDFs). The case was a jurisdictional dispute, not an exposure adjudication.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-skate-ssn578-02
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[3]Rorie Wilson v. CBS Corporation, No. 15-2582 (4th Cir., appeal from E.D. Va. No. 4:14-cv-00091-RJK), Appellant's Opening Brief, Doc. 17 (filed 2016-04-27) [court_record]
- Locator
- 4th Cir. No. 15-2582, Doc. 17 ('USS Skate', 'Westinghouse' string matches in RECAP full-text index)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos products appeal. The appellant's opening brief (Rorie N. Wilson, plaintiff-appellant, against CBS Corporation as Westinghouse successor) references 'USS Skate' and 'Westinghouse' - an asbestos-exposure claim tied to Navy service aboard this hull, carried to the Fourth Circuit after a defense win below.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2014-2016 (litigation)
- Population
- Rorie N. Wilson (Navy veteran; alleged exposure during USS Skate service)
- Limitations
- Appellate briefing-stage party allegation; the underlying district-court disposition was adverse to the plaintiff (he appeals). No court made any finding that asbestos was aboard this hull. The brief's full text was binary PDF in this environment; the 'USS Skate' and 'Westinghouse' references are verified by CourtListener full-text index matches; the final appellate disposition was not located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-skate-ssn578-03
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[4]Cooks v. General Electric Company, No. 3:07-cv-05451-EMC (N.D. Cal.), complaint Exhibit A work-history, ECF No. 1-2 (filed 2007-10-25) [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF No. 1-2, Exhibit A vessel roster ('SSN-578' string match in RECAP full-text index)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos complaint exhibit (plaintiff Alvin Cooks's work-history/exposure exhibit; diagnosis asbestosis and asbestos-related pleural disease) lists vessels of alleged asbestos exposure; the CourtListener full-text index places 'SSN-578' inside this Exhibit A vessel roster.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2007 (litigation)
- Population
- Alvin Cooks (shipyard worker; Mare Island Naval Shipyard exhibit context)
- Limitations
- Complaint-exhibit vessel list; unadjudicated pleading-stage allegation. Establishes nothing about materials aboard this hull. Verified by index string match; scanned exhibit text not extractable.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-skate-ssn578-04
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[5]Lindquist v. Heim, L.P., No. 1:04-cv-00249 (W.D. Pa.), Exhibit C to Document 50 (filed 2006-06-27) - expert report referencing USS Skate [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF No. 50, attachment 5 (Exhibit C; 'Skate'/'SSN-578' index match)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Personal-injury product-liability case (ALFA insurance file ALFA-107530). A report filed as Exhibit C to Document 50 references USS Skate; the CourtListener full-text index places the hull string inside this discovery-stage exhibit.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2006 (litigation)
- Population
- Tina Lindquist (plaintiff)
- Limitations
- Discovery-stage expert-report exhibit; unadjudicated and context-unverified beyond the index match - whether the reference alleges exposure aboard this hull or mentions her incidentally could not be determined from the extractable text. Recorded as a ship-specific litigation reference, not an exposure finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-skate-ssn578-05
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[6]Naval Vessel Register detail page, SKATE (SSN 578), captured 2019-04-15 via Internet Archive Wayback (live nvr.navy.mil detail pages not reachable in this environment) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL_SSN_578.HTML, Vessel Status and Milestone Dates tables
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official NVR record: SKATE (SSN 578), submarine (nuclear-powered); status 'Disposed of by submarine recycling', status changed 03/06/1995; builder General Dynamics Corp.; award 07/18/1955; keel 07/21/1955; launch 05/16/1957; commission 12/23/1957; decommission 09/12/1986; stricken 10/30/1986.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1955-1995
- Limitations
- Official register of status and milestone dates only; contains no asbestos or material information. Wayback capture of the official record; live NVR page unreachable here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-skate-ssn578-06
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[7]Navysite.de, USS Skate (SSN-578) unofficial ship page - disposition data, propulsion, and crew figures (secondary compilation; not a primary record) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navysite SSN-578 general-characteristics, history, and accidents sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-DANFS disposition and characteristics (secondary compilation): lead ship of a class of four nuclear attack submarines; decommissioned 12 September 1986; stricken 30 October 1986; entered the Recycling Program at Puget Sound 14 April 1994, finished 6 March 1995. Propulsion: one S3W nuclear reactor, two propellers. Crew field: 8 officers, 75 enlisted. Also records peacetime incidents: propeller damage in collisions with USS Fulton (AS-11) and USS Cubera (SS-347), and minor damage striking a concrete pier at Electric Boat.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1986-1995
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (unofficial site), not a primary record - used for disposition corroboration and propulsion detail only. Crew figure (8+75=83) conflicts with DANFS spec block (93) - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-skate-ssn578-07
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[8]Era inference anchored to DANFS-documented construction and yard periods for this hull [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- construction-era inference from DANFS dates and yard periods
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: a first-generation nuclear attack submarine built 1955-57 at Electric Boat in the peak asbestos era would era-typically have carried asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, and packing around its secondary steam and auxiliary machinery; documented yard-disturbance windows (EB refit/refueling from January 1961; Norfolk Naval Shipyard refueling and SUBSAFE installation 1965-67) are the kind in which era insulation was installed and removed.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1955-1995
- Population
- EB construction trades; EB refit trades; NNSY refueling/SUBSAFE trades (1955-1986)
- Limitations
- CLASS/ERA INFERENCE ONLY - no ship-specific material schedule, survey, or insulation record was located for this hull. Nuclear propulsion itself establishes nothing about asbestos; the inference attaches to conventional steam-side systems. Does not establish asbestos aboard USS Skate, any exposure, or any quantity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-skate-ssn578-08
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[9]Context: non-asbestos litigation naming this hull - Cromer v. Cromer (N.C. Sup. Ct. 1981), a custody case involving a USS Skate crewmember [court_record]
- Locator
- Cromer v. Cromer, 301 N.C. (1981) and N.C. App. (1980) opinion texts
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Non-asbestos litigation naming the hull: Cromer v. Cromer (N.C. Supreme Court 1981; Court of Appeals 1980) - a domicile/custody dispute involving the 'Chief of the Boat' of the nuclear submarine USS Skate (SSN-578), stationed at Pearl Harbor per the 14 November 1979 letter from the commanding officer quoted in the opinion. Classified as other litigation, not an asbestos record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1979-1981
- Limitations
- Context row only - a family-law case that happens to name this hull; no asbestos or exposure content. Establishes the hull's Pearl Harbor operating period circa 1979.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-skate-ssn578-09
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[10]Negative finding: no qualifying non-litigation ship-specific asbestos record located across DANFS/NHHC, NVR, and ACM-survey/abatement/disposal sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- see search_ledger sl-uss-skate-ssn578-01..07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull ACM survey, abatement contract, scrapping/recycling hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated exposure finding naming USS Skate (SSN-578) was located. CourtListener sweeps produced the Kortekamp GE-pump exhibits, the Wilson appellate brief, the Cooks roster entry, and the Lindquist exhibit - all unadjudicated - plus military-justice and name collisions; no merits-level exposure record names this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not proof no record exists - the 1995 recycling-disposal path left no retrievable hazmat-disclosure trail in located sources. The GE pump records document equipment aboard, not insulation content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-skate-ssn578-10