Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet dw-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-absecon-avp23-pkt-dw-packet-md
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Absecon (AVP-23), updated 24 January 2022 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Specification line; construction and training paragraphs; postwar and transfer paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS identifies Absecon as AVP-23, a Barnegat-class seaplane tender built by Lake Washington Shipyard at Houghton, Washington: laid down 23 July 1941, launched 8 March 1942, and commissioned 28 January 1943. It lists a Navy-era complement of 367. Absecon was the class member fitted with a catapult and two aircraft-handling cranes for floatplane pilot training. She trained pilots from Florida bases during World War II, was placed out of commission in reserve on 19 March 1947, transferred to the Coast Guard on 5 January 1949, stricken on 15 June 1972, and transferred to South Vietnam. DANFS reports later Vietnamese navy service through the end of the 1990s.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-1990s
- Limitations
- Supports vessel identity, Navy-era complement, dates, and service history only. DANFS does not identify asbestos, insulation composition, exposure, or the vessel's status after the 1990s. The Coast Guard fact sheet contains conflicting decommissioning and transfer dates, addressed in ev-02.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-absecon-avp23-01
-
[3]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, Absecon, 1949 (WHEC 374), cutter fact sheet, 29 October 2019 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Specifications table; Cutter History, final paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Coast Guard's Absecon cutter fact sheet identifies the former Navy AVP-23 as WAVP-374, later WHEC-374, based at Norfolk from 1949 to 1972. It lists Fairbanks-Morse geared diesel main engines rated at 6,080 shaft horsepower and a 1964 complement of 10 officers, 3 warrants, and 138 men. Its narrative says the cutter was decommissioned and returned to the Navy on 9 May 1972, then transferred to South Vietnam and commissioned there on 15 July 1972.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1949-1972
- Limitations
- The same fact sheet's header says 'Decommissioned: 15 Jul 1972,' conflicting with its own narrative and DANFS, both of which give 9 May 1972 for Coast Guard decommissioning. The header's 15 July appears to be the South Vietnamese commissioning date; that interpretation is an inference. Diesel propulsion is not evidence for or against asbestos aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-absecon-avp23-02
-
[4]Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Ships' Technical Manual Chapter 050, Readiness and Care of Inactive Ships, revision 3 (1 May 2005) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Section 050-7.2.7, Handling and Removal of Asbestos Materials
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Navy-wide inactive-ship guidance states that past naval shipbuilding programs made extensive use of asbestos materials in shipboard installations, including thermal insulation and deck tile, and provides procedures for handling asbestos materials during inactivation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- Historical programs; manual issued 2005
- Population
- Past U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs generally
- Limitations
- Navy-wide policy and historical context, issued decades after Absecon left U.S. service; it does not name Absecon or the Barnegat class and does not establish that asbestos was installed, retained, disturbed, or encountered on this hull. Product categories remain unassigned to this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-absecon-avp23-03
-
[5]National Archives, Ship Plan Index, entries for ABSECON AVP-23 and WHEC 374 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Index entries ABSECON | AVP-23 and ABSECON | WHEC 374
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Ship Plan Index lists Absecon AVP-23 in RG 19 Hull series of Ship Engineering Drawings (catalog identifier 153714262) and microfilm (175668018), and Absecon WHEC-374 in RG 26 Cutter Plans After 1915 (175671385). These are leads to hull plans for checking materials and modifications.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940s-1970s plans, dates not itemized in index
- Limitations
- Only index metadata was inspected, not the drawings. The index establishes record-series leads, not that any plan depicts asbestos or that a specific material was installed aboard the ship. One index row spells the Coast Guard designation ABESECON WAVP-374; it is not used as identity evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-absecon-avp23-04
-
[6]National Archives, Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961 (reviewed 2 March 2022) [other_primary]
- Locator
- General Information Books; Cartographic Branch / S39 and S48; Other Records and their usefulness
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's naval asbestos research guide directs researchers to RG 19 hull-specific engineering drawings, especially S39 insulation and lagging and S48 piping, and notes that detailed drawings may be on microfilm. It also identifies RG 19 Auxiliary Vessel General Information Books as a possible source and cautions that deck logs and muster rolls do not directly establish shipboard asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- Navy vessels through 1961
- Limitations
- Research instructions, not an Absecon-specific finding. The guide does not confirm whether a relevant drawing or book exists for AVP-23, nor the composition of any material on the hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-absecon-avp23-05
-
[7]Batch 3055 public-source search ledger: NHHC DANFS; U.S. Coast Guard Absecon fact sheet; NARA Ship Plan Index and naval asbestos research guide [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-absecon-avp23-01 through sl-uss-absecon-avp23-05
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos material, survey, or abatement record was located in the public DANFS, Coast Guard fact sheet, NARA plan index, or NARA research guide reviewed for this batch. The named NARA plans were identified by index only and remain uninspected.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26 search
- Limitations
- A bounded negative result for the public sources reviewed, not proof that asbestos was absent or that no relevant record exists elsewhere. No inference about individual exposure, causation, or legal eligibility follows. CourtListener status is recorded separately in the search ledger.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-absecon-avp23-06
-
[8]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Library, Veteran Exposure to Asbestos (annual review 1 March 2026) [other_primary]
- Locator
- What are sources of asbestos exposure in the military?; Who's at risk?
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- VA's public health guidance describes asbestos-containing materials as having been used in Navy shipbuilding from the 1930s through the 1990s and in Navy ships built before the mid-1970s. Absecon's 1941-1942 construction falls within that era, making this a general research context rather than material documentation for the hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1930s-1990s historical context
- Population
- U.S. Navy ships and shipyard workers generally
- Limitations
- Official health guidance addresses Navy vessels and shipyards in broad date ranges, not AVP-23, the Barnegat class, Lake Washington Shipyard, or a particular installed material. Chronological overlap is not proof of asbestos aboard Absecon or individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-absecon-avp23-07