Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, Snook (SS-279), Vol. 6 pp.539-540 (verbatim hazegray transcription via Wayback) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block (Wayback capture of hazegray transcription)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: the first Snook, laid down 17 April 1942 by the Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard; launched 15 August 1942 (sponsor Mrs. James C. Dempsey); commissioned 24 October 1942, Lt. Comdr. C. O. Triebel. Nine war patrols credited with sinking 17 enemy vessels including Kinko Maru, Daifuku Maru, Hosei Maru, Koki Maru, Liverpool Maru, transport Yamato Maru, Yamafuku Maru, Shiganoura Maru, Magane Maru, Lima Maru, Nittoku Maru, Hoshi Maru No. 2, Koyo Maru, Shinsei Maru No. 1, tanker Kikusui Maru, and Arisan Maru; seven battle stars. After her fifth patrol she underwent a major overhaul at Hunters Point Navy Yard (March-May 1944). Lost while conducting her ninth war patrol in the South China Sea and Luzon Strait - last report to Tigrone (SS-419) on 8 April 1945; presumed lost 16 May 1945, victim of unknown causes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Portsmouth NY construction trades (1942); Hunter's Point yard trades (1944); crew (1942-1945, ~82 lost)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Live NHHC page pattern returned 404 batch-wide; verbatim transcription used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-snook-ss279-01
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[2]NavSource Online Submarine Photo Archive, Snook (SS-279) page - milestones, overhaul photo, loss documentation (volunteer-compiled archive) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block, disposition line, and dated photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource supplements: sunk on 9th patrol by unknown causes, April-May 1945 east of Taiwan, all hands lost (ComSubForPac report gives 82 men lost; another caption tally reads 84); struck from the Naval Register (date not given). A 25 May 1944 photo documents her at Hunters Point Navy Yard during the major overhaul. Possible loss hypotheses on the page (Japanese submarine torpedo; coastal defense vessels) are unconfirmed conjecture.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Hunter's Point yard trades (1944); crew (1942-1945, 82-84 lost)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive; consistent with DANFS on milestones. Striking date not given in either source - logged in gaps. Loss-cause discussion on the page is conjecture and is not carried. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-snook-ss279-02
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[3]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block + service history (diesel-electric DERD plant, no boilers); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 submarine machinery tables (Gato-era DERD drive, 4 diesels, ~5,400 hp); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product lists for portsmouth-naval-shipyard, hunters-point-naval-shipyard [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative; BuShips SDB 1945 submarine tables; shipyards.json product lists
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Construction at Portsmouth Navy Yard (Apr-Oct 1942) and one documented major overhaul at Hunters Point Navy Yard (March-May 1944) define her asbestos-relevant disturbance windows; a forward-base repair stop at Saipan (25 Sep-4 Oct 1944) is documented but is a tender/advanced-base event, not a Navy-yard availability. As a diesel-electric fleet boat she carried no boilers or steam plant; era-standard asbestos applications for the type were diesel exhaust lagging, engine gaskets and packing, acoustic/thermal hull insulation, and insulation around galley/refrigeration equipment. Lost April 1945 - no postwar window.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Portsmouth NY trades (1942); Hunter's Point trades (1944); crew (1942-1945, ~82 lost)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material list located for SS-279. Names era-standard applications for diesel-electric boats and the hull's documented yard events as disturbance pathways, not confirmed installed materials; establishes no quantities and no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-snook-ss279-03
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[4]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 her 1942 construction and wartime service including the 1944 Hunter's Point overhaul (she was lost before the substitution era).
- 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 returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-snook-ss279-04
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[5]Kase v. Metalclad Insulation Corp., Cal. Ct. App. (4th Dist.) 2021 (CourtListener opinions 4324658, 4332654) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, specification-history discussion (SUBSAFE/MIL-I-24244)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- A docketed asbestos personal-injury opinion recounts that after USS Thresher's 1963 loss the Navy created the SUBSAFE program, which issued procurement specification MIL-I-24244 covering asbestos-containing insulation for submarines - court-documented evidence that asbestos-containing insulation was specified in the submarine construction and maintenance regime.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2021 (opinion); regime described 1963-forward
- Population
- Navy submarine construction/maintenance trades, SUBSAFE era
- Limitations
- Documents the spec regime only; names no vessel as an exposure site. Postdates this hull's entire existence - she was lost April 1945, nearly two decades before SUBSAFE; the spec never governed this vessel. Does not establish exposure, causation, quantity, or eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-snook-ss279-05
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[6]Dryfka v. Trane US, Inc., Notice of Removal, ECF No. 2, S.D. Ill. No. 3:13-cv-01019; Lyautey v. Alfa Laval, Inc., Notice of Removal exhibits, ECF 1-2, S.D. Fla. No. 1:10-cv-22891; Keri Heath, 'World War II-era vessels in Galveston to undergo asbestos abatement', Galveston Daily News, 27 Jul 2020 (located via the Gato class profile's litigation sweep) [court_record]
- Locator
- Dryfka ECF 2 service-history recital; Lyautey ECF 1-2 exposure sheets pp. 37-39; galvnews.com 27 Jul 2020 (per class profile ev-gato-class-04/05/10)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- The Gato class's documented ship-level asbestos landscape: Dryfka v. Trane US recites a Navy reservist's alleged asbestos exposure aboard USS Drum (SS-228) as a reserve instructor at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard May 1966-Feb 1967; Lyautey v. Alfa Laval attaches exposure sheets listing USS Cavalla (SS-244) among Navy jobsites (1954-1974 window); and the Galveston Daily News reported in 2020 that asbestos had been found in the public areas of museum boat Cavalla (SS-244), with an approved abatement. All are pleading-stage or press-stage items for sister hulls, not this vessel. No pleading naming this vessel was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- Service windows 1954-1974; filings 2010-2013; reporting 2020
- Population
- Sailors and yard workers aboard sister Gato-class hulls (SS-228, SS-244)
- Limitations
- Pleading-level allegations and a news account for different hulls; unadjudicated; carried as class context showing the class's litigation/documentation landscape, not as evidence about this vessel. Does not establish exposure, causation, quantity, or eligibility for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-snook-ss279-06
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[7]Batch-36 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription via Wayback/hazegray; NavSource; CourtListener searches (blocked by throttle - see ledger); web litigation-footprint check; GAO product page [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-snook-ss279-01 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 Snook (SS-279) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener searches were throttled this session (HTTP 429, retry-after ~10,339 s observed 2026-09-18; web UI 403) - logged as blocked and flagged for QA re-run.
- 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. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-snook-ss279-07