Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet crew-cy-packet.md (3 sources cited) [museum_official]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (never commissioned; service flag)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- hms-vagrant-w136-pkt-crew-cy-packet-md
-
[2]Shipscribe.com, 'USS ATR-41 Class' - class construction/disposition tables, ship notes, and class notes transcribing U.S. Navy Ship's Data, Bureau of Ships, Munitions Assignment Board, and Maritime Commission records (compiled by Tim Colton) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR-41 class page: construction table row 49; disposition table row 49; ship-notes row 49; class notes paragraphs 1-2
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship note for this hull (verbatim): 'ATR-49 (HMRT VAGRANT): Ex AT-127 31 Jul 42. Compl. 1 Oct 43, deliv. next day and trf. to UK under Lend Lease as VAGRANT. Returned to U.S. custody 20 Mar 46. Sold (delivery receipt signed) 17 Oct 47 by MC to Moran Towing Co., New York (or, also according to MC sale records, delivery receipt signed 7 Nov 47, departed Navy custody 10 Nov 47, from MC to buyer 21 Nov 47). Merc. MARION MORAN 1947, MARY ELIZABETH 1964, ANN LEE 1971, WILBIE 1972, COLUMBIA I 1981, scrapped at Manila 1983.' Construction table: ordered 15 Jun 42; Levingston SB, Orange; keel 29 Jan 43; launch 1 Mar 43; commissioning blank (never commissioned USN). Disposition table: strike 3 Jul 46; transfer 2 Oct 43; MC sale 17 Oct 47. Class notes: ATR 41-49 ordered against British Lend-Lease Requisition BAD-1001-9 under the CNO directive of 17 Jan 42 (Maximum War Effort, 1799-vessel program); BuShips contracted with General Motors, which provided diesel engines and subcontracted hull construction to Levingston; class design Navy BAT-1; class-wide reclassification ATR-to-ATA effective 15 May 1944 (sister-hull notes: 'to ATA-122 15 May 44' etc.; ATR-98's note confirms the reclassification letter's 15 May 44 effective date).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1942-1983
- Population
- Levingston construction trades (1943); RN crew (1943-46); Moran Towing and later merchant crews (1947-83); Manila shipbreakers (1983)
- Limitations
- Shipscribe is a secondary compilation transcribing official USN/MC records - authoritative in practice but not itself the primary registry page; the underlying documents (Ship's Data Book, MC sale cards) are not directly viewable online. The two alternative MC delivery-receipt date chains are the compiler's own notation of conflicting MC records - carried as documented, not resolved. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-hms-vagrant-w136-01
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[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - 'HMRT Vagrant (W-136) ex ATR-49' page (09/40/40049) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/40/40049.htm header block, timeline, specifications block, 'no DANFS' notice
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: planned as ATA-127; redesignated Rescue Tug ATR-49 (date unknown); laid down (date unknown) at Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, TX; delivered to the US Navy as ATR-49 on 2 October 1943; transferred under the Lend-Lease Act to the United Kingdom; commissioned HMS Vagrant (W-136) in 1943; returned to US Naval custody (date unknown); struck from the Naval Register (date unknown). Merchant chain: sold 1947 to Moran Towing (Marion Moran), 1964 John Mecom Houston (Mary Elizabeth), 1971 Asia Maritime Singapore (Ann Lee), 1972 Robin Loh Singapore (Wilbie), 1982 Inter-Ocean Towing Panama (Colombia I); final disposition 'scrapped in 1983'. Specifications: 835 t (fl), 143', beam 33'10", draft 13'2", 13 kts trial, complement 5 officers + 40 enlisted, one 3"/50 DP mount, one GM model 12-278A diesel-electric set, single Fairbanks Morse main reduction gear, single propeller, 1,300 bbls diesel fuel. Page states 'There is no DANFS history available for ATR-49 at NavSource.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1942-1983
- Population
- Levingston construction trades (1943); RN crew (1943-46); merchant crews (1947-83)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation - its milestone dates generally track NVR/DANFS; on this page it leaves laid-down, launched, return, and strike dates unknown (filled by the Shipscribe row, ev-01). Page fetched live 2026-10-06. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-hms-vagrant-w136-02
-
[4]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - 'HMS Vagrant (W-136) ex ATR-49 ATA-127' page (09/38/38127) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/38/38127.htm header block and timeline
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource's ATA-127 page for the same hull: 'ATA-127 was transferred Lend-Lease to the United Kingdom, named HMS Vagrant (W-136).' Timeline reads 'Planned and approved as Auxiliary Fleet Tug ATA-127; Reclassified, date unknown, as Rescue Tug ATR-49' - i.e., NavSource indexes the hull under both ATA-127 and ATR-49, consistent with the class-wide ATR-to-ATA reclassification of 15 May 1944 (per Shipscribe sister-hull notes) that assigned the paper designation ATA-127 while the ship was already under the RN flag. Same specifications block as the ATR-49 page. This page lists final disposition as 'fate unknown' - conflicting with the companion ATR-49 page's 'scrapped in 1983' (see gaps).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1942-1983
- Limitations
- Confirms the dual ATA-127/ATR-49 designation for the same hull and the 'planned and approved as ATA-127' wording; the page's 'fate unknown' conflicts with NavSource's own ATR-49 page and with Shipscribe ('scrapped at Manila 1983') - carried as an open conflict, not resolved. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-hms-vagrant-w136-03
-
[5]uboat.net Allied Warships - 'HMS Vagrant (W 136), Rescue Tug of the Favourite class' (archived Wayback capture 2025-03-22; live uboat.net refused automated fetch) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 7416: header table; 'Notable events' entries 14 Feb 1944 (GUS 31), 17 Mar 1944 and 4 Mar 1944 (KMS 44), 15 Mar 1944 (GUS 34), 26 Mar 1944 (arrival Gibraltar), 10 Jul 1944 (UGS 46), 29 Jul 1944 / 1 Aug 1944 (UGS 48)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Royal Navy record for this hull: HMS Vagrant (W 136), Rescue Tug, classed 'Favourite' in RN groupings; built by Levingston Shipbuilding Co. (Orange, Texas); launched 1 March 1943; commissioned 2 October 1943; no commanding officers listed. Documented convoy service as a rescue tug on the Mediterranean routes in 1944: with convoy GUS 31 from Port Said (departed 14 Feb 1944), arrived Bizerta 22 Feb 1944; departed Gibraltar 17 Mar 1944 with the HMS Colombo escort group to join eastbound convoy KMS 44; joined westbound convoy GUS 34 coming from Bone 23 Mar 1944 and was detached to/arrived at Gibraltar 26 Mar 1944; departed Gibraltar 10 Jul 1944 to join convoy UGS 46; joined convoy UGS 48 on 29 Jul 1944 and was detached to Bone with the merchant vessel Esso Concord on 1 Aug 1944 (UGS 48 was attacked by enemy aircraft on the night of 31 Jul/1 Aug 1944 with no damage recorded).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- RN crew and convoy escort/rescue-tug population (Feb-Aug 1944 window documented)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a specialist secondary compilation of convoy/movement records, not an official archive - the event transcripts reproduce convoy documents but the compilation itself is secondary. Live page refused automated fetch (all engines failed); the Wayback capture of 2025-03-22 is cited as archived. Coverage stops in August 1944 - the rest of her RN service (1944-46) is undocumented here. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-hms-vagrant-w136-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block (GM 12-278A diesel-electric, Fairbanks Morse reduction gear, single screw); Shipscribe class data (Navy BAT-1 design, 1,500 hp GM diesel-electric); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos-insulation era through early 1970s - see ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block (both pages); Shipscribe class table (design, machinery); GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steel diesel-electric rescue tug built at a U.S. Gulf Coast yard in 1943 under U.S. Navy wartime programs sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were thermal insulation on machinery and piping, diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and winch/windlass brake linings in a confined hull volume. As a diesel-electric vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1943-1983
- Population
- Levingston construction trades (1943); RN crew (1943-46); Moran/later merchant crews (1947-83); Manila shipbreakers (1983)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, survey, work package, or material list was located for ATR-49/ATA-127. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Does not establish that asbestos was or is present aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-hms-vagrant-w136-05
-
[7]U.S. Department of Labor, OALJ Law Library, 'Recent Significant Black Lung and Longshore Decisions #208' (March 2009), summarizing Levingston Ship Building Co. v. Pelaez, No. 07-60616, 2009 WL 577736 (5th Cir. Mar. 6, 2009) (unreported); reported at 312 F. App'x 711 [other_primary]
- Locator
- USDOL OALJ Law Library BLNW032009 digest entry; case No. 07-60616 (5th Cir.)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Yard-level documentation that this hull's builder was a site of occupational asbestos exposure: in Levingston Ship Building Co. v. Pelaez (5th Cir. 2009), the DOL Benefits Review Board record and the court's review concern a ship fitter employed at Levingston Shipbuilding Co. (Orange, TX) who was exposed to asbestos at the yard in the 1960s and early 1970s and died of that exposure in 2002; the ALJ found a prima facie compensable LHWCA death-benefits claim, and the Fifth Circuit denied the insurer's petition for review - the award stood. The exposure finding against the yard was adjudicated at ALJ/BRB level and upheld on review.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1960s-2009 (exposure 1960s-early 1970s; litigation 2003-2009)
- Population
- Levingston Shipbuilding trades, 1960s-early 1970s exposure window
- Limitations
- Yard-level record, not a hull record: documents asbestos exposure at Levingston generally, in a 1960s-early 1970s window that post-dates this hull's 1943 construction - probative of the yard's asbestos environment, not of materials aboard ATR-49. Litigation-stage note: the disposition is an affirmed benefits award (ALJ prima facie finding, BRB order, Fifth Circuit petition denied), not a tort judgment; the unreported appellate decision is cited via the official USDOL OALJ digest. Does not establish exposure of this hull's builders, crew, or breakers.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-hms-vagrant-w136-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979; publicly released Oct 22, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure and documented the use of asbestos in Navy ships; the Navy's 1975 policy removed/replaced only damaged or repair-necessitated insulation, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas - i.e., Navy ships of this hull's construction era (1943) carried asbestos insulation as standard, and substitution began only in the early 1970s.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- 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. GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - not Levingston. Product page verified live 2026-10-06; finding_value summarizes the product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-hms-vagrant-w136-07
-
[9]Batch-2844 search ledger (this record): NavSource (both hull pages, live); Shipscribe ATR-41 class transcription; uboat.net via Wayback; NHHC DANFS (404); Naval Vessel Register (no record); UK National Archives ADM 53 (name-collision only); USDOL OALJ digest; GAO HRD-80-2; secondary web litigation sweep; CourtListener (paced/blocked this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-hms-vagrant-w136-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming HMS Vagrant, ATR-49, or ATA-127 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener ran 3 of 4 base queries: 'HMS Vagrant' opinion -> 0, 'HMS Vagrant' docket -> 0, 'ATA-127' opinion -> 0; the 'ATA-127' docket query hit the fleet pace stand-down after repeated spaced attempts and is logged as blocked, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying litigation naming this hull; no law-firm listicle claiming this specific hull was even encountered. UK TNA ADM 53 'VAGRANT' hits are all 1917-18 logs of an earlier namesake - a name collision, not this ship.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 2026-10-06
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - one CourtListener base query (ATA-127 docket) is a genuine open gap (fleet pacing, not run). RN-side records (ADM 53 logs for 1943-46, ADM 1 files, disposal records) and the MC sale file are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-hms-vagrant-w136-08
-
[10]Designation/name cross-check: NavSource ATR index and ATA index (ATA-127 <-> ATR-49 same hull); Shipscribe ship note ('Ex AT-127 31 Jul 42'); tugboatinformation.com commercial record (USCG Doc. No. 254582); NavSource ATA index (ATA-129 = Cayuga / HMRT Integrity) [other_primary]
- Locator
- tugboatinformation.com/tug.cfm?id=6502; NavSource 09/38/38idx.htm and 09/40/40idx.htm; Shipscribe ATR-41 ship notes (ATR-44, ATR-98)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: tugboatinformation.com states that after her 1946 return 'she was renamed as the ATA-129' - a misattribution. ATA-129 was USS Cayuga, transferred to Britain as HMRT Integrity (W-14); this hull's correct USN designations were AT-127 (planned) -> ATR-49 (delivered) -> ATA-127 (paper reclassification effective 15 May 1944, while already in RN service). NavSource's own ATA-127 page additionally carries 'fate unknown' while its ATR-49 page and Shipscribe record scrapping at Manila in 1983 - carried as an internal NavSource conflict.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1942-1983
- Limitations
- Corrects a circulating designation error and a within-source fate conflict, not a material claim. tugboatinformation.com is a non-authoritative aggregator; its 'ATA-129' claim is excluded from the record fields. The 15 May 1944 reclassification date rests on Shipscribe's transcription of sister-hull reclassification letters plus a NavSource-derived class summary - the ATA-127 page itself does not print the date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-hms-vagrant-w136-09