Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]research packet r4-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USNS Range Recoverer
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- usns-range-recoverer-pkt-r4-packet-md
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Range Recoverer [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry: service narrative after designation
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC DANFS records Range Recoverer's missile-range instrumentation role on the Pacific Missile Range, including telemetry, data processing, radio instruments, and nose-cone recovery facilities; it records the 1962 shift to Little Creek, Virginia, to support NASA's Wallops Island facility and operations between Wallops Island and the splashdown area near Bermuda through 1970.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Limitations
- Supports mission and operating-history claims only. Mission equipment and service locations do not establish asbestos aboard or exposure to any crew member, civil-service worker, or NASA technical party.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-range-recoverer-02
-
[3]NASA, Wallops Station and the Creation of an American Space Program, NASA SP-4311 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NASA SP-4311, Wallops Station chapter, p. 86
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NASA's official Wallops history states that in May 1962 Wallops contracted with MSTS for operation and maintenance of USNS Range Recoverer as a tracking and recovery ship; Wallops personnel handled tracking equipment while MSTS provided nautical operations, and equipment included helix antennas, recording systems, and communications equipment with direction finders.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Limitations
- Supports NASA/MSTS operational history and equipment description. It does not identify asbestos-containing products or establish any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-range-recoverer-03
-
[4]NavSource Online, Service Ship Photo Archive, Range Recoverer (YFRT-524) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Archive page: service chronology and specifications, lines 24-51; final disposition lines 36-41
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource's verified Range Recoverer archive identifies the ship's dimensions as 176 feet 6 inches length, 32 feet beam, and 11 feet 5 inches draft; complement as 24; and propulsion as two GE 500-hp diesel engines with twin propellers. It records out-of-service status in 1972, reclassification as YFRT-524, sale for scrapping on 1 November 1974, conversion to FV Reedville, and scuttling as a Delaware artificial reef on 13 August 2020.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Limitations
- NavSource is used here as an archival photo-index and transcription source for ship history. It does not document asbestos, material condition, abatement, individual exposure, or causation; its final-disposition date differs by one day from the Shipscribe compilation and is retained as a source discrepancy in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-range-recoverer-04
-
[5]NIOSH/CDC, occupational health evaluation summary on shipyard hazards [other_primary]
- Locator
- NIOSH document description: historical shipyard hazards and Navy insulation use through the 1960s
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- NIOSH states that until the 1960s the U.S. Navy used chrysotile and amosite asbestos insulation on naval vessels to insulate pipes, boilers, and machinery, and that shipyard work included asbestos exposure. This supports only a class/era context for a 1944-built vessel; it does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard Range Recoverer.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Limitations
- Program- and era-level evidence, not a Range Recoverer record. The ship was diesel-powered, so no boiler or steam-plant asbestos claim is made. It does not establish product identity, quantity, location, retention, removal, exposure, or causation aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-range-recoverer-05
-
[6]Batch-9572 source review and CourtListener search ledger rows sl-usns-range-recoverer-01 through sl-usns-range-recoverer-04 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Search ledger rows sl-usns-range-recoverer-01 through sl-usns-range-recoverer-04
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located in the authoritative sources reviewed: NHHC DANFS, NASA's Wallops history, NavSource's ship archive, and the CourtListener exact-name and hull-number litigation sweep. No asbestos survey, abatement record, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying case naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Limitations
- A negative public-source search does not prove absence of asbestos aboard. It establishes only that no qualifying record was located in the sources searched; it does not establish or defeat any exposure claim, medical causation, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-range-recoverer-06
-
[7]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Range Recoverer [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry: opening history and designation narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC DANFS identifies Range Recoverer as built for the Army in 1944 as FS-278 by Wheeler Shipbuilding Corporation, acquired by the Navy in April 1960, converted by Pacific Ship Repair in San Francisco, and placed in MSTS service as AG-161 on 22 June 1960; it was named Range Recoverer on 12 July 1960 and reclassified T-AGM-2 on 27 November 1960.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Limitations
- Supports identity, builder, acquisition, conversion, MSTS entry, naming, and designation history. It does not document asbestos, insulation material, quantity, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-range-recoverer-01