Evidence
18 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-18).
-
[1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS AFDL-17' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'USS AFDL-17' returned 2 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed; name query may match same-named vessels
- Evidence ID
- uss-afdl-17-afdl17-cl-name-opinion
-
[2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS AFDL-17' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'USS AFDL-17' returned 4 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed; name query may match same-named vessels
- Evidence ID
- uss-afdl-17-afdl17-cl-name-docket
-
[3]CourtListener opinion search: 'AFDL-17' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'AFDL-17' returned 9 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed
- Evidence ID
- uss-afdl-17-afdl17-cl-hull-opinion
-
[4]CourtListener docket search: 'AFDL-17' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'AFDL-17' returned 54 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed
- Evidence ID
- uss-afdl-17-afdl17-cl-hull-docket
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945,' Vol. III (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 15 April 1945), Floating Dry Dock Characteristics table p. 607 (digitized official publication via shipscribe.com) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3.pdf, printed p. 607 (PDF p. 626), AFD table rows 7AFD17; table footnotes 1-9 at end of table (footnote 7 = 'Military docks'); dry-dock index p. 832ff
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Bureau of Ships characteristics table, 'Floating Dry Dock Characteristics,' Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945 (NAVSHIPS 250-012, Vol. III, p. 607): '7AFD17' - superscript-7 footnote flagging it as a 'Military dock' - type 'do' (1-piece, steel); nominal lifted capacity 1,000 tons; suitable in general for docking 'YN, AM' vessels; length overall 200 ft, on pontoon 200 ft, on blocks 185 ft; width overall molded 64 ft, clear inside 45 ft; draft over blocks 14 ft 6 in, maximum when submerged 27 ft 0 in, light 3 ft 5 in; construction 1943-1943; the table's 'Location' cell is blank for AFD-17 (footnote 1: locations omitted where not given). The dock appears in the volume's mobile floating dry dock index as AFD17.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Construction trades (unidentified AFD contract yard, 1943); dock operating crew
- Limitations
- Authoritative U.S. Navy characteristics record published April 1945, read against the digitized page image (OCR layer is scrambled; values read from the printed table itself). Establishes identity, type, dimensions, construction years, and military-dock status. Construction 'finish 1943' conflicts slightly with the secondary compilation's April-1944 delivery - read as completion vs acceptance; no contract document located. Contains no asbestos, materials, or environmental information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-01
-
[6]shipbuildinghistory.com 'US Navy Dry Docks AFDB AFDM AFDL ARDM ARD YFD' table (Tim Colton compilation), AFDL table row 17 [other_primary]
- Locator
- auxafd.htm, AFDL table row '17' (800 tons, 200 ft, Apr-44, disposition blank)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent secondary corroboration of the build record: the shipbuildinghistory.com U.S. Navy floating-drydock table lists 'AFDL | 17 | 800 | 200 | Apr-44' - 800 tons, 200 ft, delivered April 1944 - with builder, location, and disposition cells blank (the compiler's own header warns that drydock builder attribution is incomplete).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Construction trades, unidentified AFD contract yard, 1943-44
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation corroborating dimensions and giving an April-1944 Navy delivery; a reputable compiler but not a primary record, and the table warns its builder data is incomplete - it attributes no builder and records no disposition for this dock. The Apr-1944 delivery reconciles with Ships' Data construction-finish 1943 as acceptance vs completion, but no contract or acceptance document was located. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-02
-
[7]Bureau of Yards and Docks, 'Building the Navy's Bases in World War II,' Chapter IX Floating Drydocks (official Navy history, HyperWar transcription), type-classification and Auxiliary Floating Dock sections; NavSource Service Craft index AFD-17/AFDL-17 line; uswarships.jounin.jp AFDL compilation (redesignation, date unknown) [other_primary]
- Locator
- bases-9.html 'Types of Floating Drydocks' and 'Auxiliary Floating Dock'/'Auxiliary Floating Dock, Lengthened' sections; navsource.net/archives/14/03idx.htm index row 'AFD-17 / AFDL-17' (unlinked); uswarships.jounin.jp/afdl.htm AFDL-17 line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Built as AFD-17, a Bureau of Yards and Docks AFD-type 'Auxiliary Floating Dock' - 'mobile, military, steel trough type, unit dock, with faired bow and stern, of 1,000 tons lifting capacity,' 200 ft long and 64 ft wide with 45 ft clear width inside the wing walls, 'fully self-contained, with diesel electric power plants' and limited repair facilities, intended for docking minesweepers, patrol craft, and similar vessels; construction of the type 'was distributed among five contractors, using six different plants.' Under the 1946 floating-drydock nomenclature revision 'the AFD's became AFDL's' (Auxiliary Floating Drydock Little, under 10,000 tons); NavSource and secondary compilations carry this hull as 'AFD-17 / AFDL-17', confirming the class action applied to it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Limitations
- The class design description and the 1946 blanket AFD-to-AFDL reclassification are official Navy-history facts applied to this hull via the verified AFD-17/AFDL-17 identity lines; the hull's individual redesignation instrument was not retrieved (class action dated 1946-08-01 for documented sisters). Ships' Data dimensions (200 ft, 1,000-ton) identify this dock as a standard AFD, not one of the five 88-ft-lengthened 288-ft wartime 'AFDL' (Lengthened) conversions - a nomenclature collision flagged to prevent conflation. No asbestos information in any source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-03
-
[8]Naval History and Heritage Command, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (HyperWar transcription of the NHHC publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Org-450501 index, 'SERVICE SQUADRON TWO' section, floating-drydock block, row '10 | AFD 17' (leading numeral is the source page reference, not a vessel figure)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945 (official Navy organization document): 'AFD 17' is listed in the Service Squadron Two section - the administrative umbrella commanded by Commander Service Force Pacific, V. Adm. W. W. Smith, flagship AG 31 Argonne - among the floating drydocks (ABSD 3/6/7; AFD 9, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 29; AFDL 7, 32). AFD 17's commanding-officer field shows '..........' (none listed), as do several sister docks.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Dock operating crew (unverified complement)
- Limitations
- Official wartime organization listing verifying the dock's Pacific Fleet assignment as of 1 May 1945. The ServRon Two listing is administrative - the same document shows Service Squadron Ten (Commodore W. R. Carter) and its representatives as the operating echelon, and BBBO documents the dock physically at Ulithi under ServRon Ten in this period. The blank commanding-officer cell means no officer is named here; the CO is supplied by the BBBO roster (ev-08). No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-04
-
[9]Carter, Rear Adm. Worrall Reed, USN (Ret.), 'Beans, Bullets, and Black Oil: The Story of Fleet Logistics Afloat in the Pacific During World War II' (Department of the Navy, 1953), Chapter XVI, Western Carolines operation section (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BBBO-16.html, 'Limited repair facilities ... at Kwajalein' paragraph (printed pp. ~175)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy logistics history documents AFD-17 at Kwajalein in August-September 1944: 'Limited repair facilities for STALEMATE forces were available at Kwajalein from Squadron Ten. Several 1,000-ton floating drydocks were used chiefly for repairs to small craft. At Kwajalein, Captain H.A. Houser assumed Ogden's duties... She [the Diesel-engine repair ship Luzon] stayed at Kwajalein until 2 September effecting repairs, assisting in the maintenance work done by the 1,00-ton [sic] floating drydock AFD-17, and delivering fuel, water, and stores.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-08 to 1944-09
- Population
- AFD-17 crew; Luzon repair crews; crews of small craft under repair at Kwajalein
- Limitations
- Official Navy history naming this dock at a specific station and mission (small-craft maintenance, Kwajalein, Aug-Sep 1944), with the repair ship Luzon assisting. Establishes wartime station and operating command (ServRon Ten Representative, Kwajalein detachment) but no asbestos, materials, crew-size, or exposure information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-05
-
[10]Carter, 'Beans, Bullets, and Black Oil,' Chapter XXVI 'Activities at Saipan and Ulithi' (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BBBO-26.html, repair/drydocking paragraph listing 'floating docks ARD-25 and AFD-17' (printed p. ~323)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy logistics history documents AFD-17 at Saipan in March 1945 performing repair/drydocking for the Okinawa staging (Task Group 51.2, the largest concentration yet staged there): 'much repairing had to be done quickly... Work was undertaken by the destroyer tender Hamul, repair ship Vestal, battle-damage repair ship Phaon, internal-combustion-engine repair ship Luzon, submarine tender Fulton, and floating docks ARD-25 and AFD-17... Drydock facilities for small craft in Saipan's inner harbor were severely overtaxed, and drydocking operations were retarded by rough, heavy swells which at times suspended operations.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1945-03
- Population
- AFD-17 crew; staging repair crews; crews of small craft drydocked at Saipan
- Limitations
- Official Navy history naming this dock at Saipan's inner harbor, March 1945, in the Okinawa staging repair effort alongside ARD-25. Establishes station and mission; the 'overtaxed/suspended operations' detail documents sustained small-craft drydocking tempo. No asbestos, materials, or exposure information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-06
-
[11]Carter, 'Beans, Bullets, and Black Oil,' Chapter XXIX 'Support Activities at Leyte-Samar' (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BBBO-29.html, Ulithi maintenance paragraph listing 'the 1,000-ton AFD-17' and the 19 May towing-convoy paragraph (printed pp. ~369-370)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy logistics history documents AFD-17 at Ulithi in the first half of May 1945: with an average of more than 600 ships at Ulithi, 'the drydocks docked a never-ending stream of vessels, inspecting and overhauling sea valves, making rudder repairs, adjusting and repairing sound gear, and doing miscellaneous underwater work. The units included four 3,500-ton floating docks, ARDs-15-18-23 and 25, the 1,900-ton AFDL-32, and the 1,000-ton AFD-17.' A towing convoy departing Ulithi 19 May for San Pedro Bay carried among its 18 units 'a 1,000-ton drydock' - plausibly this dock moving to Leyte with Service Squadron Ten, but the source does not name it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1945-05
- Population
- AFD-17 crew; ServRon Ten dock crews; crews of vessels under repair at Ulithi
- Limitations
- Official Navy history establishing the dock's Ulithi station and its specific work (sea valves, rudder repairs, sound gear, underwater work) in May 1945 - the last documented station. The 19 May convoy's '1,000-ton drydock' is unnamed in the source; attribution to AFD-17 is plausible but unproven and is not asserted as fact. No asbestos, materials, or exposure information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-07
-
[12]Carter, 'Beans, Bullets, and Black Oil,' Appendix 'List of Commanding Officers,' Floating Drydocks section (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BBBO-A.html, 'Floating Drydocks' block, line 'AFD-17 - ChCarp I.H. Kissinger'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official logistics history's appendix 'List of Commanding Officers' - 'a list of commanding officers of the principal vessels which were engaged in logistic work under Commander Service Force Pacific' - gives for AFD-17: 'ChCarp I.H. Kissinger' (Chief Carpenter I.H. Kissinger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Dock crew under ChCarp Kissinger (size unverified)
- Limitations
- Names the dock's wartime commanding officer - consistent with the service-craft practice of warrant-grade command (Chief Carpenter). The roster does not give his tenure dates, total crew size, or whether he was aboard for the whole 1944-45 period; the 1 May 1945 fleet organization shows no CO for this dock. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-08
-
[13]Bureau of Yards and Docks, 'Building the Navy's Bases in World War II,' Ch. IX (design description of the AFD type); wartime repair mission per BBBO rows ev-05/06/07; era asbestos framing per Corn & Starr (see ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-10) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Chapter IX, 'Auxiliary Floating Dock' paragraph (diesel-electric power plants, self-contained, limited repair facilities)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference only: the AFD design carried a diesel-electric power plant, ballast/pumping machinery, and limited repair facilities within a welded-steel trough dock built 1943 for the U.S. Navy - a period when Navy construction specifications and supply routinely included asbestos-containing gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, millboard, and thermal insulation for machinery and piping. The dock's documented mission - sustained underwater-hull repair and maintenance of minesweepers, patrol craft, and small auxiliaries at Kwajalein, Saipan, and Ulithi - placed its crew in sustained contact with era vessels whose own insulation suites commonly contained asbestos.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1946 construction era; 1944-45 wartime operations
- Population
- Construction trades (unidentified yard, 1943); dock operating crew; crews of vessels under repair at Kwajalein, Saipan, Ulithi
- Limitations
- Design-level inference, not a hull record - neither the BuSandA history nor the BBBO operational mentions state 'asbestos' or describe insulation materials. Asbestos presence aboard AFDL-17 is inferred from era construction practice and onboard machinery, not proven; a non-propelled floating dock had a far smaller machinery and inhabited-space footprint than a steam vessel, and its onboard asbestos loading would correspondingly be lower - the larger inferred pathway is occupational (repair work on era hulls). Establishes nothing about quantity, condition, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-09
-
[14]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
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- 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 program and era under which this Navy-contracted floating dock was built - with wartime demand driving unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard government and contract hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and vessel crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this dock, does not address floating drydocks specifically, and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-10
-
[15]Batch-576 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 attempt (HTTP 429); web-indexed court-document sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-09 and sl-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Litigation sweep: fresh CourtListener API v4 queries for 'AFDL-17'/'AFD-17' were blocked (HTTP 429, shared 125/day quota, ~2.6h reset) and deferred per the backoff rule; web-indexed court-record sweeps (site:courtlistener.com, Justia, casetext) returned no opinion or docket naming this dock - returned documents were generic Navy-asbestos and MDL-875 filings unrelated to the hull. The dock was never named, so the designator is the only search key and name-collision exposure is minimal (unrelated hulls ARD-17, AFDL-17-designated ARDCs do not share this designator).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Sweep partially blocked - the live CourtListener API quota was exhausted before any query ran, so no fresh docket-level search of this hull was possible; the web-indexed sweep is a weaker instrument. Absence of a located pleading is not proof no claim ever existed. No asbestos opinion naming this dock was found by any instrument used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-11
-
[16]Batch-576 search ledger (this record): Ships' Data 1945 Vol. III; PacFleet org 1-May-1945; BBBO HyperWar; shipbuildinghistory auxafd; NavSource 14/03idx.htm; NARA SL-44 and Ship Plan Index; uswarships.jounin.jp; web-indexed litigation sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-01 through sl-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, materials schedule, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming AFD-17/AFDL-17 was found in the public sources searched - the 1945 Ships' Data characteristics table, the Pacific Fleet organization listing, the BBBO operational mentions and CO roster, the shipbuildinghistory tables, and the NavSource index contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement, and no DANFS entry exists for this hull.
- 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 1943 self-contained Navy dock with diesel-electric machinery and repair shops is era-consistent with retained asbestos-containing materials. The post-war fate itself is untraced, so any retained material's disposition is undocumented. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-12
-
[17]National Archives and Records Administration, Ship Plan Index (archives.gov/research/cartographic/ship-index), entry 'AFDL-17 | AFDL-17 | 385 | Microfilm | 63531026'; NARA Special List 44 by Ship Numbers (RG 24 deck logs) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ship Plan Index AFDL-17 line; sl-44-ship-number.pdf AFD block - no AFD-17 entry present (verified against the full list)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival mapping (index-level verified, contents unretrieved): (a) NARA cartographic Ship Plan Index holds a plan for AFDL-17, RG 385 'Microfilm,' NAID 63531026 - the same microfilm file unit as AFDL-25's plan, a potential materials/machinery-layout source; (b) NARA Special List 44 (List of Logbooks of U.S. Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947), by ship number, contains NO deck-log entry for AFD-17/AFDL-17 - the AFD block lists AFD-15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25-30 and AFDL-21/29/32 only, so no logbook holdings exist for this hull in the list; (c) BuShips/BuSandA contract records for the AFD construction contracts would document builder assignment for this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1946 records
- Limitations
- Index-level facts verified today: the plan microfilm exists, and the SL-44 absence is verified against the complete AFD block (unlike sister AFD-25, which has Jul 1944-Dec 1945 logs listed). No document-level retrieval performed - no reproduction spend authorized - so whether the plan or contract records contain asbestos-specific information is unknown. The SL-44 absence means wartime station detail rests on BBBO rather than logbooks. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-13
-
[18]Keller v. Dravo Corp., 441 F.2d 1239 (5th Cir. 1971), cert. denied 404 U.S. 1017 (1972) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 441 F.2d at 1244 - reporter citation cross-verified across case-law databases; direct CourtListener pull deferred (API blocked, sl-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-09)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Type-level litigation-posture context (not this hull, not asbestos): the Fifth Circuit held in Keller v. Dravo Corp. that 'as a matter of law, a floating dry dock is not a vessel when it is moored and in use as a dry dock' (441 F.2d 1239, 1244 (5th Cir. 1971), cert. denied 404 U.S. 1017 (1972)) - the controlling doctrine channeling drydock-crew injury claims toward LHWCA remedies rather than vessel-owner negligence or unseaworthiness theories.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1971
- Limitations
- Does not name this dock and is not asbestos litigation - carried as doctrinal context for the vessel TYPE only (the litigation posture a floating-drydock crew claim would face), consistent with the batch-119 sister record. Verified via reporter citation in secondary case-law databases; the direct CourtListener opinion pull was not possible this session (API 429) and remains an open lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-17-afdl17-14