USS AFDB-4

Evidence

13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).

1. [1]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, AFDB-4 ex USS ABSD-4 (page 09/67/6704, last updated 20 June 2014) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 09/67/6704 - chronology block, specifications block, commanding-officer table, photo captions 09670401/09281201/YD-171

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive compiled record identifies this hull: 'AFDB-4 ex USS ABSD-4 Sections, A through G', call sign NWAA; laid down date unknown as ABSD-4 at Navy Yard, Mare Island, Vallejo, CA; commissioned USS ABSD-4 30 March 1944 with LCDR Dean H. Beeman, USNR, in command; assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater in WWII; decommissioned 1 May 1946; reclassified AFDB-4 (date unknown); placed in service at Long Beach Naval Shipyard (date unknown); placed out of service (dates unknown); struck from the Naval Register 15 April 1989; final disposition 'sunk on a reef at Manus Island Papua-New Guinea'. Spec block: 30,800 t (lt), 825 ft, 246 ft 5 in beam, 8 ft 8 in (lt) / 67 ft 4 in (subm. max.) draft, complement 187, armament fourteen single 40mm + fourteen single 20mm AA mounts. Commanding officers: Beeman (30 Mar 1944, commissioning), CDR Arthur Lee Karns (30 Mar 1944-15 Mar 1945), Beeman again (15 Mar-5 May 1945), Karns again (5 May-20 Sep 1945), CDR Christ A. Rancich (20 Sep 1945-1 May 1946). Awards: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal. Page states no DANFS history exists for ABSD-4/AFDB-4. Photo captions document USS New York (BB-34) docked in ABSD-4 at Manus c. Feb-Mar 1945, AFDL-12 docked inside ABSD-4 at Manus 26 Nov 1945, and floating crane YD-171 lifting a superstructure section into AFDB-4 at Long Beach Naval Shipyard c.1953.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1944-1989

   Population

   ABSD-4 commissioned crew (type complement 187); ship-repair workforce at Manus and Long Beach NSY

   Limitations

   Volunteer-compiled archival page quoting Navy sources; consistent with primary program documentation on designation and wartime station but unverified for dates marked 'unknown' (laid down, delivery, reclassification, Long Beach service window, out-of-service). Its 'Mare Island' builder attribution conflicts with the NARA-derived Pacific Wrecks account (see gaps). A second NavSource page (14/0104) files the same hull under 'AFDB-1 Class' and gives 'Final Disposition, fate unknown' - an internal inconsistency. No asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-01

2. [2]Pacific Wrecks, 'USS ABSD-4 Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock 4 (AFDB-4)' (page updated 19 December 2025), citing NARA 'History of USS ABSD-4' pp. 1-9 [other_primary]

   Locator

   pacificwrecks.com/ship/usn/AFDB-4.html - 'Ship History', section-designation list, tow-order table, 'Wartime History' narrative, references list

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Pacific Wrecks compiled history (explicitly citing NARA 'History of USS ABSD-4' pp. 1-9, veteran recollections, and Sakaida) details construction and deployment: the seven sections were built at three locations - two at Everett WA, two at Eureka CA, three at Stockton CA - then towed to San Francisco Naval Shipyard at Hunters Point for submersion testing, fitting out, final assembly, and crew assignment, tended by yard tugs YF-998, YF-999, YF-1000; first completed section was D (ABD-53) on 30 March 1944, the day the dock commissioned under LCDR Dean H. Beeman with CDR Arthur Lee Karns assigned. Sections carried dual designations A-G plus Advance Base Dock numbers (A=ABD-45, B=ABD-41, C=ABD-47, D=ABD-53, E=ABD-54, F=ABD-42, G=ABD-46). On 21 August 1944 the sections departed Hunters Point under tow - USS Lyra (AK-101) as convoy guide/commodore; after one tow-vessel engine casualty USS Menoquet (YTB-256) took over - making the ~47.5-day, 6.5-knot crossing to anchor off Ponam Island 7 October 1944, shifting to Seeadler Harbor Berths 389-390 on 12 October where Seabee detachments CBD-1053 and CBD-1055 and the ABSD-2 crew reassembled her in about eight weeks. The page expressly notes that 'some sources incorrectly state this USS ABSD-4 was built by Mare Island Navy' - flagging the builder conflict carried in gaps. Its 'Fates' section records the dock 'abandoned in Seeadler Harbor' and 'partially sunk with the upper edges of both wing walls visible above the surface,' corroborated by the page's 2003 wreck photographs (Jeff Hutchingson); the same section records 'Decommissioned May 1, 1946. Redesignated AFBD-4 [sic]. Officially stricken from the U.S. Navy register on April 15, 1989.' Sidebar spec: 'Floating Dry Dock: 38,600 Tons 825 ft x 246 ft 5 in x 8 ft 8 in, Lifting: 70,000 Tons, Crew: 187, 14 x 40mm AA guns, 14 x 20mm AA guns.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1943-1945

   Population

   Section fabrication workforce (Everett/Eureka/Stockton); Hunters Point fitting crew; ABSD-4 crew; tow-convoy crews; Seabee detachments CBD-1053/1055 and ABSD-2 crew (assembly)

   Limitations

   Volunteer-compiled secondary site, but it quotes a named primary artifact (the 9-page NARA 'History of USS ABSD-4') and is corroborated on the major chronology by NavSource, the BuDocks official history, and uswarships. The three-state fabrication detail (Everett/Eureka/Stockton + Hunters Point assembly) conflicts with the Mare Island attribution carried by NavSource/shipbuildinghistory/uswarships - unresolved, see gaps. Sidebar figure 'Lifting: 70,000 Tons' exceeds the BuDocks 55,000-ton design rating for the 7-section type but matches the BuDocks '70,000-ton sectional dock' description at Lombrum. No asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-02

3. [3]Department of the Navy, Bureau of Yards and Docks, 'Building the Navy's Bases in World War II: History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps 1940-1946,' Chapter IX (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1947; HyperWar/ibiblio transcription of the NHHC-held text) [other_primary]

   Locator

   bases-9.html, Chapter IX - 'Types of Floating Drydocks', 'Advance Base Sectional Dock' design description, ABSD Construction/Assembly sections, 1946 classification change

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Bureau of Yards and Docks official WWII history (Chapter IX, 'Floating Drydocks') documents the program under which this hull was built and redesignated: ABSD = Advance Base Sectional Dock, a mobile military steel dock built in two sizes - ten sections of 10,000 tons lifting capacity each (assembled 927 ft overall, 90,000-ton lift, for battleships/carriers/largest auxiliaries) or seven sections of 8,000 tons each - each section 240 ft long and 101 ft wide - assembled 825 ft overall, 725 ft effective, 240 ft wide, 120 ft clear inside wing walls, 55,000-ton lift, for all except the largest combatants; sections faired fore and aft for 6-8 knot towing with wing walls hinged flat; each section carried two 525-hp diesel engines with 350-kW generators, pumps, evaporators, compressors, and heating/ventilating apparatus - no propulsion; two 15-ton portal jib cranes at 85-ft radius; quarters and galleys in bottom-pontoon dry compartments, shops/storage in the 18-20 ft wing walls; 58 sections built by five contractors at six sites (four West Coast, one Gulf Coast, one near Pittsburgh); moored by 32 fifteen-ton anchors. Under the 1946 nomenclature change 'the ABSD's were redesignated AFDB's' (Auxiliary Floating Drydock Big, 30,000 tons and larger).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1941-1946

   Population

   WWII floating-dock design/construction program workforce (class context)

   Limitations

   Official program-level history; does not name ABSD-4 and contains no asbestos or materials content - establishes the type design, the section-count sizes, and the ABSD-to-AFDB redesignation under which this hull operated and was reclassified. The 7-section design figures (825 ft, 55,000-ton lift) are the authoritative spec the secondary compilations describe for this hull; Wikipedia's 927-ft/90,000-ton/690-man figures describe the OTHER (10-section) ABSD size and are misapplied to this hull (see gaps).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-03

4. [4]shipbuildinghistory.com - 'Floating Docks (AFDB, AFDM, AFDL, ARD, ARDM, YFD)' construction table (updated 11 June 2019) [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/auxafd.htm - AFDB section rows 4A-4G

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   shipbuildinghistory.com (Tim Colton compilation) Floating Docks table lists this hull's seven sections individually - AFDB 4A through 4G, each rated 3,850 tons / 93 ft, builder 'Mare Island NSY, Vallejo CA', delivery Aug-44 - with the uniform disposition entry 'Sunk as a reef in Guam 1989'. The table expressly disclaims completeness for the floating-dock sector.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1944-1989

   Limitations

   Independent compilation from yard and registry records - secondary in character. Its 'Guam' reef location conflicts with the Manus location carried by NavSource, uswarships, Pacific Wrecks, and photographic/wreck-tracker evidence (see gaps) and may conflate this hull with documented Guam drydocks (AFDM-8 Richland or AFDB-8 'Big Blue', which sank at Guam Ship Yard in 2011); Guam is treated here as the unreconciled outlier, not adopted. Its 'Mare Island NSY' builder field conflicts with the Pacific Wrecks three-state fabrication account (see gaps). No asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-04

5. [5]NARA 'History of USS ABSD-4' pp. 1-9 (National Archives), as quoted and reproduced at Pacific Wrecks AFDB-4 page [other_primary]

   Locator

   Pacific Wrecks 'References' block - NARA 'History of USS ABSD-4' page 3 quoted verbatim (commendation letter); the same history underlies the page's reassembly and 95-ships narratives

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The NARA-held 'History of USS ABSD-4' (9 pages, cited and partly reproduced by Pacific Wrecks) is the underlying primary artifact for this hull's wartime record: it documents the October-December 1944 reassembly at Seeadler Harbor (Seabee detachments CBD-1053 and CBD-1055, three shifts, with the ABSD-2 crew working 12-16 hours/day for about eight weeks) and carries the verbatim commendation letter to CO CDR Arthur Lee Karns - 'This command is grateful with the record set by you and your officers and men, in assembling the U.S.S. ABSD-4, within a period of eight weeks. As a result of your tireless efforts many ships may now be dry docked and repaired close to combat areas... the Commander Services Force, Seventh Fleet, makes the signal, "well done".' The same history underlies the reported operational figures: docking operations opened 8 December 1944 with USS St. Louis (CL-49) first in, and about 95 ships were docked and repaired before the end of the Pacific War.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1944-1945

   Population

   ABSD-4 crew (assembly + wartime operations); CBD-1053/CBD-1055 Seabees; ABSD-2 assisting crew; crews of ~95 docked vessels

   Limitations

   Primary artifact reached only through a secondary reproducer - the commendation letter is verified as a direct quotation but the 95-ship tally, first-docking date, and section-fabrication details are the compiler's rendering of the NARA document, not independently re-verified against the original. Retrieval of the full NARA document is carried as an archival lead. No asbestos information in the reproduced portions.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-05

6. [6]uswarships.jounin.jp compiled USN auxiliary lists - ABSD page and AFDB page (Japanese-language compilation of U.S. Navy service-craft records) [other_primary]

   Locator

   uswarships.jounin.jp/afdb.htm - AFDB-4 row and ABSD-4-class spec block; uswarships.jounin.jp/absd.htm - ASBD-4 row

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   uswarships.jounin.jp compiled service-craft tables corroborate identity and fate: ABSD-4 attributed to 'Mare Island Naval Shipyard' (メア・アイランド海軍工廠), in service circa 1944, struck 1989/4/15, reclassified AFDB-4 (non-self-propelled large floating drydock); and, for final disposition, '除籍後、Manus Islandにて人工環礁のため沈没処分' - 'after striking, sunk at Manus Island as an artificial reef.' The same pages carry the 7-section spec block (30,800 t, 825 ft / 251.46 m, 246 ft 5 in beam, complement 187, 14x40mm + 14x20mm AA) matching NavSource.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1944-1989

   Limitations

   Secondary compilation consistent with NavSource on chronology/specs and with the Manus wreck on disposition - its 'artificial reef' mechanism (deliberate sinking after the 1989 strike) is the only sourced account of HOW the dock was sunk and is not confirmed by a primary record. Its 'Mare Island' builder attribution conflicts with the Pacific Wrecks/NARA fabrication account (see gaps). No asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-06

7. [7]Department of the Navy, Bureau of Yards and Docks, 'Building the Navy's Bases in World War II,' Chapter XXVI (GPO 1947; HyperWar/ibiblio transcription of the NHHC-held text) [other_primary]

   Locator

   bases-26.html, Chapter XXVI - 'Ship Repair Facilities at Lombrum, Los Negros' section and photograph caption (46th Seabees, 1 August 1944), docking-equipment sentence quoted verbatim

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The official BuDocks history (Chapter XXVI, 'Bases in the Southwest Pacific') documents the Lombrum Point ship-repair base where this hull served: Seabees of the 46th Battalion built the ship-repair facilities (photo dated 1 August 1944); in April 1944 the 58th Battalion developed the drydock storage area and personnel camp; and 'the ship-repair base combined docking, repair, and supply services equivalent to those furnished by auxiliary ships. Docking equipment consisted of a 100,000-ton sectional dock capable of handling battleships, a 70,000-ton sectional dock capable of handling most major ships, and an 18,000-ton steel floating dock.' The 70,000-ton sectional dock at Seeadler Harbor corresponds to ABSD-4 (Pacific Wrecks sidebar rating 'Lifting: 70,000 Tons'), the second Manus sectional dock alongside the 100,000-ton ABSD-2.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Population

   46th and 58th Seabee battalions (base construction); Lombrum ship-repair base workforce

   Limitations

   The official chapter describes docking equipment by capacity, not by hull number; the correspondence of the '70,000-ton sectional dock' to ABSD-4 rests on the corroborating compiled record (NavSource/Pacific Wrecks place this hull at Manus) rather than on the chapter itself - same treatment as batch-562 gave ABSD-2 for the '100,000-ton' entry. The 70,000-ton figure exceeds the 55,000-ton design rating the same history gives the 7-section type in Chapter IX - carried as a capacity discrepancy in gaps. Contains no asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-07

8. [8]Sakaida, Henry, 'The Siege of Rabaul' (Phalanx Publishing, 1996), pp. 79-85 - as cited by Pacific Wrecks and Wikipedia, corroborated by the Seeadler Harbor and Lombrum Naval Base accounts [other_primary]

   Locator

   Sakaida pp. 79-85 via Pacific Wrecks AFDB-4 page 'Wartime History' narrative; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seeadler_Harbor ('both were hit but received only moderate damage to a single pontoon each')

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   On 22 April 1945 a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft (A6M2 two-seater, pilot Shimbo with Ensign Chuhei Okubo) overflew Seeadler Harbor at 14,000 ft and reported two 'aircraft carriers' that were actually the empty floating drydocks ABSD-4 and ABSD-2; the IJN 105th Naval Base Unit at Rabaul (the 'Rabaul Air Force') planned a strike with repaired aircraft. Per Pacific Wrecks' ABSD-4 narrative: on 27 April 1945 a B5N2 'Kate' piloted by Nagai released an aerial torpedo that 'hit the rear pontoon under the side wall, rupturing the hull and moderately damaged the dry dock, then went missing'; the damage was repaired and the dock continued drydocking and repair work. Wikipedia's variant adds detail not on the Pacific Wrecks page: three B5Ns flying from Truk (vs the Rabaul attribution), and that at the time of the attack the dock was repairing a cargo ship, an LST, and an ammunition-laden seaplane tender under emergency repair. The Seeadler Harbor account records 'both were hit but received only moderate damage to a single pontoon each' - ABSD-2 was hit in its section G pontoon the same night (documented in batch-562's record).

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   22-27 April 1945

   Population

   ABSD-4 crew during the attack; crews of vessels under repair aboard at the time

   Limitations

   The underlying source is a published secondary work (Sakaida) reached through citing sources, not the original text - the attack date itself is disputed: Pacific Wrecks/Wikipedia give 27 April 1945 (~11:15 pm) while ww2db (per batch-562's record on ABSD-2) gives 29 April 1945. Wikipedia's 'flying from Truk' variant conflicts with the Rabaul attribution both it and Pacific Wrecks otherwise carry. Reported at the confidence the sources support. No asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-08

9. [9]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987), DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700110311

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era in which this hull's sections were fabricated and assembled (1942-1944) and the documented peak of ship-repair activity it then supported. The study addresses asbestos exposure among shipyard production and repair trades - the population that built this dock and that worked on and around it and the warships it serviced.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1940s era documented; article 1987

   Population

   WWII-era shipyard workers and ship-repair trades (class context)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarship; does not name this hull and does not establish that any material aboard it contained asbestos. A floating drydock lacks the steam plant that drives most shipboard asbestos inference - the inference here is weaker than for propelled vessels and remains era-level, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, location, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-09

10. [10]Bernardo v. Bethlehem Steel Co., 314 F.2d 604 (2d Cir. 1963) (Medina, J.; jury answered 'no' to both vessel-status and crew-membership questions; affirmed) [court_record]

    Locator

    314 F.2d 604, opinion text (No. 202, Docket 27619, decided 7 March 1963)

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    Second Circuit decision holding that a shipyard's floating drydock was not a 'vessel' and that a shore-based welder injured aboard it was not a 'member of a crew' for Jones Act purposes - the doctrinal frame under which injury claims by floating-drydock workers have been adjudicated (as land-based shipyard workers, not seamen).

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    class_or_era

    Accessed

    2026-09-20

    Study period

    1956 injury; 1963 opinion

    Population

    Floating-drydock and ship-repair workers (doctrinal context)

    Limitations

    Class-level doctrinal context only: the case involves Bethlehem Steel's commercial floating drydock No. 3 at its Brooklyn 27th Street yard, not this Navy hull, and it is a Jones Act/vessel-status decision, not an asbestos opinion. It establishes no asbestos condition aboard any dock and no exposure for any individual.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-10

11. [11]Pacific Marine Group, 'Lombrum (Manus Island - PNG) Marine Infrastructure Project' (2024); ABC News, 'Australia spends $500m on Papua New Guinea's Lombrum naval base expansion' (12 August 2025); The National, 'Australia's deputy PM and Marape open redeveloped Lombrum navy base' (2025) [reputable_press]

    Locator

    abc.net.au article (12 Aug 2025); pacificmarinegroup.com.au project page; thenational.com.pg handover report

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    The wreck's present setting is documented: the partially-sunk drydock lies inside the Lombrum Naval Base site (HMPNGS Tarangau, PNG Defence Force) on Los Negros, which Australia and PNG redeveloped 2021-2025 - Pacific Marine Group delivered the marine works package May 2023-January 2024 including removal of a nearshore shipwreck to a designated onshore area; ABC News (12 Aug 2025) reported the ~$500M completed expansion. Neither source names the drydock wreck, and the removed 'shipwreck' is not identified with this hull.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-20

    Study period

    2018-2025

    Population

    Lombrum redevelopment workforce (context); PNGDF base personnel

    Limitations

    Base-redevelopment context for the wreck site only - none of these sources names AFDB-4 or the drydock; whether the base works disturbed, surveyed, or planned around the drydock wreck is undocumented (PMG's removed 'shipwreck' is a separate, unidentified near-shore wreck). Not an asbestos finding and not evidence about the hull's condition.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-11

12. [12]Batch-564 search ledger (this record): NavSource 09/67/6704 and 14/0104; Pacific Wrecks; NARA 'History of USS ABSD-4' quotation; BuDocks chapters IX and XXVI; shipbuildinghistory auxafd table; uswarships afdb/absd tables; CourtListener API + web UI (blocked); indirect site-scoped search; MARAD, NVR, hazegray checks [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-01 through sl-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-18

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming AFDB-4, ABSD-4, or 'USS ABSD-4' was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Notably, none of the detailed narrative sources for this hull - the NavSource compiled record, the NARA-derived Pacific Wrecks history, or the official BuDocks design chapters - mentions asbestos or insulation materials. CourtListener could not be searched directly (API HTTP 429, documented 125/day quota already exhausted; web UI HTTP 403); an indirect site-scoped search returned no opinion naming the hull - litigation coverage is incomplete and flagged as a gap, not a verified negative.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-20

    Study period

    2026-09-20

    Limitations

    Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942-44-built steel service craft with quarters, shops, diesel machinery, and five decades of ship-repair service is era-consistent with incidental asbestos-containing materials, but no ship-level documentation was located. The blocked CourtListener sweep means litigation coverage is a gap, not a verified negative. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-12

13. [13]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 38 (CNO/Naval Operating Forces), RG 71 (Bureau of Yards and Docks), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships); NVR disposal records; CourtListener documented rate limits (125/day, 50/hour) [other_primary]

    Locator

    archives.gov record-group guides; CourtListener rate-limit response text; nvr.navy.mil

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA 'History of USS ABSD-4' (9 pp., cited by Pacific Wrecks - the hull's primary narrative source); NARA RG 38 war diaries/command files for ABSD-4 and Navy 3205 (7th Fleet Manus); NARA RG 71 (Bureau of Yards and Docks) for ABSD section construction contracts (Everett/Eureka/Stockton fabrication + assembly-site records that would resolve the builder conflict); NARA RG 19/Bureau of Ships ABSD characteristics booklets and dock plans; Naval Vessel Register archival detail for the 1989 strike/disposal entry (would resolve the Manus-vs-Guam disposition and whether a reef-sinking was authorized); Long Beach Naval Shipyard operational records for the postwar service period; PNGDF/Australian records for the Lombrum wreck site; and a CourtListener re-run of '"AFDB-4"', '"ABSD-4"', and '"USS ABSD-4"' once API quota resets.

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-20

    Study period

    1942-present records

    Limitations

    Record-group and repository mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-afdb-4-afdb4-13