Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet crew-cw-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: MISMATCH
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- usat-thomas-h-barry-ap45-pkt-crew-cw-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Thomas H. Barry' (AP-45) - verbatim entry via Wayback capture of canonical NHHC page (live history.navy.mil URL 404s) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry (full text is 3 short paragraphs); Shipscribe AP-45 class notes confirm cancellation 30 Mar 42 (NARA-derived)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The 'USS' designation never applied: AP-45 was reserved for the ship in Oct 1941 (one of the AP-42..49 block for Army transports slated for Navy manning), but the Navy never took her over; Navy manning was officially cancelled 1942-03-30. She remained under U.S. Army control as USAT Thomas H. Barry through the end of WWII and was never a commissioned naval vessel, never carried 'USS' in service, and never entered the Naval Vessel Register.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1942
- Limitations
- Corrects catalog shorthand ('USS Thomas H. Barry'); establishes that Navy asbestos programs and BuShips insulation circulars do not apply to her operating record even at context level - she was Army-manned. Does not itself address asbestos conditions aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usat-thomas-h-barry-ap45-01
-
[3]MARAD VesselHistory, 'THOMAS H. BARRY' (Detail/4824) + companion 'ORIENTE' record (Detail/10111): official number 230323, built 1930 Newport News Shipbuilding, 11,520 GRT; milestones - name change 1941-06-14, NDRF entry 1950-01-24, withdrawal 1957-11-04; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; vessel status card images on file [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD VesselHistory Detail/4824 and Detail/10111, 'Milestones' and 'Vessel Name History' sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Authoritative MARAD hull record: built 1930 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company as SS Oriente (Ward Line); renamed Thomas H. Barry on War Department purchase 1941-06-14; entered National Defense Reserve Fleet 1950-01-24 (James River); withdrawn 1957-11-04 for scrap sale. Confirms hull identity, builder, and disposal chain for a ship that left the federal inventory only in 1957.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1930-1957
- Population
- n/a (registry record)
- Limitations
- MARAD record contains no asbestos information - no survey, no hazmat flag, no condition notes on insulation. Status card images exist on the record but were not text-extractable in this session; buyer and $276,780 sale price are reported via secondary transcription of the card (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usat-thomas-h-barry-ap45-02
-
[4]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts, NARA-derived AP register), AP-45 page; U.S. Army official history, Leighton & Coakley, Global Logistics and Strategy 1940-1943 (CMH), on Task Force 6814; NHHC photos NH 85266 and 19-N-25782 per Shipscribe captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe AP-45 construction/disposition tables and class notes; CMH Leighton & Coakley pp. 117, 157; NavSource 09/22/22045 photo captions (NARA RG-111 SC 126006)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented exposure-relevant service and yard events for this hull: keel Jul 1929, launched 1930-05-15, completed 1930-11-21 as Ward Line liner Oriente (sister of Morro Castle); Army takeover 1941-06 and conversion to troopship (conversion yard not identified in public sources); sailed NY 1942-01-22/23 in Task Force 6814 'Poppy Force' to New Caledonia (then the largest U.S. troop movement, ~22,000 troops across seven ships - official Army history); at Noumea 1942-03-12 (NHHC photo 19-N-25782); NY-UK troop run 1942-05-31 under 'double bunking'; 1945-10-21 rammed and sank trawler Medford ~125 mi east of Nantucket Light in fog (7 trawler crew lost), returned to NY for bow-repair drydocking; refitted Jan 1946 to carry war brides; out of service 1950-01-22.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1929-1950
- Population
- Conversion/repair yard trades (1941, 1945, 1946); Army transport crew; ~3,000+ embarked troops per sailing (capacity figure unverified - see gaps)
- Limitations
- Events are ship-specific and documented; the asbestos scope of each (conversion rip-out, collision-repair work, refits) is inferred from era practice, not documented per-hull. Does not establish exposure for any individual worker, crewmember, or embarked troop.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usat-thomas-h-barry-ap45-03
-
[5]The Medford. The S. S. Thomas H. Barry. Trawler Medford, Inc. v. United States; United States v. Trawler Medford, Inc.; Johannsson v. United States, 65 F. Supp. 622 (E.D.N.Y. 1946-04-30, Byers, J.) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text, 65 F. Supp. 622 at 623 (lead facts); docket Nos. A-17668, A-17728, A-17675; cluster 8903532 verified live via CourtListener API v4 2026-10-05
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Merits-level federal admiralty opinion naming this hull in its caption: consolidated collision suits after the steamship Thomas H. Barry cut down and sank the Boston trawler Medford in fog on 1945-10-21 (~125 mi easterly of Nantucket Light, George's Bank), with the loss of seven trawler crew. The United States was a party (vessel operated by the War Department). Ship-specific federal decision on collision liability - NOT an asbestos case; classified 'other litigation.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- Collision 1945-10-21; opinion filed 1946-04-30
- Population
- Trawler Medford crew (7 lost); Thomas H. Barry crew and passengers
- Limitations
- Admiralty liability opinion only; contains no asbestos content and establishes only the collision facts and liability allocation. Documents government operation of the hull in Oct 1945. CourtListener also carries a duplicate cluster (opinion/1412060) of the same 65 F. Supp. 622 decision.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usat-thomas-h-barry-ap45-04
-
[6]MARAD VesselHistory milestones (NDRF entry 1950-01-24; withdrawal 1957-11-04; fate 'Sold - Scrap') + Shipscribe ship notes ('To buyer 4 Nov 57, scrapped by 9 Oct 58') + NavSource ('sold for scrapping, 4 November 1957, to Bethlehem Steel') [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD Detail/4824 'Milestones'; Shipscribe AP-45 ship notes; NavSource 09/22/22045 chronology
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disposal chain documented: laid up NDRF James River Group (Lee Hall, VA) 1950-01-24 after ~7.5 years in federal reserve; sold 1957-10-21 to Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation for scrap (reported $276,780 per MARAD status card via secondary transcription); withdrawn from fleet 1957-11-04; scrapping completed by 1958-10-09. A 1930-era steam hull arriving at a 1950s shipbreaking operation carried whatever era insulation remained aboard - but no survey or hazmat record for this hull exists.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1950-1958
- Population
- Shipbreaking workers (Bethlehem yard, 1957-58)
- Limitations
- Documents the disposal event and buyer, not the breaking yard location (Bethlehem operated multiple yards; Sparrows Point is the documented asbestos cluster in the Atlas yard dataset but the actual breaking yard for this hull is unconfirmed). No asbestos content in the record; scrapping-era exposure inference only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usat-thomas-h-barry-ap45-05
-
[7]Construction/design record: Shipscribe AP-45 data block (turbo-electric machinery, 17,935 HP, twin screws, 20 kts) + DANFS spec line (steel-hulled twin-screw passenger-cargo ship) + Ward Line/Newport News 1930 design context; sister ship Morro Castle fire 1934-09-08 (137 deaths) drove era-wide liner fire-safety upgrades [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe AP-45 machinery/design line; DANFS spec line; Shipscribe class notes (Morro Castle)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference: a 1930-built American steam passenger liner with a steam turbo-electric plant (boilers feeding GE turbo-generators and propulsion motors) was built in the period when marine steam systems were lagged with asbestos-containing insulation and era-standard asbestos products were used for gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and joiner materials. Typical applications for the type: boiler/steam-drum insulation, steam-line lagging, turbine/generator insulation, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, accommodation fireproofing panels, galley insulation, winch/windlass brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1929-1930 (construction); 1930-1957 (service envelope)
- Population
- Construction trades (Newport News, 1929-30); engine-room crew across commercial and Army service
- Limitations
- Era/design inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, specification, or invoice located. Names the era standard for a 1930 steam liner, not confirmed installed materials on this hull; no quantity; does not establish what remained aboard at scrapping or exposure for any individual. Morro Castle sister-ship fire-safety upgrades (post-1934) are context, not documentation of changes aboard Oriente.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usat-thomas-h-barry-ap45-06
-
[8]Atlas yard-dataset cross-check: Newport News Shipbuilding (yard evidence tier 3; Kaylo, Unibestos, Johns-Manville products documented; Tidewater VA mesothelioma cohort studies) built the hull 1929-30; Bethlehem Shipbuilding (Sparrows Point aliases; EPA CERCLIS MD0000605049; worker asbestosis cohort findings) purchased the hull for scrap 1957 [other_primary]
- Locator
- MARAD builder/disposal record + shipyard-exposure-map shipyards.json entries newport-news-shipbuilding and bethlehem-shipbuilding
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Both endpoints of the hull's lifecycle sit at documented asbestos sites in the Atlas yard dataset: she was built at Newport News Shipbuilding (1929-30) and sold for breaking to Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation (1957; Sparrows Point cluster in yard record). The hull's presence at these yards is documented; the yard-level asbestos records are documented for the yards themselves.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1929-1930; 1957-1958
- Population
- Newport News construction trades (1929-30); Bethlehem breaking-yard workers (1957-58)
- Limitations
- Yard-level records do not document this hull's asbestos involvement at either yard - no per-hull work order, survey, or exposure record located. Cross-link only; does not establish exposure for anyone who built, repaired, or broke her.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usat-thomas-h-barry-ap45-07
-
[9]Batch-2124 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC (live 404; Wayback capture of canonical page), MARAD VesselHistory status-card record, Shipscribe NARA-derived register, NavSource archive, CourtListener API v4 opinion+docket searches by exact name and hull number (base queries plus overflow-justified asbestos variants), Lloyd's Register 1934 scan [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-usat-thomas-h-barry-ap45-01 through sl-usat-thomas-h-barry-ap45-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming Oriente / Thomas H. Barry / AP-45 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only located litigation naming the hull is the 1946 Medford collision opinion - other litigation, no asbestos content.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 2026-09-25 to 2026-10-05
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1930 steam liner scrapped in 1958 would be consistent with retained era materials. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usat-thomas-h-barry-ap45-08