Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
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[1]shipbuildinghistory.com 'US Navy Dry Docks AFDB AFDM AFDL ARDM ARD YFD' table (auxafd.htm) and 'WWII Construction by Other Boatbuilders on the Atlantic Coast' table (atlanticwar.htm, Tidewater Construction Corp. section); corroborated by NavSource AFDL-43 page (09/28/7343.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- auxafd.htm AFDL(ARDC) table row 43; atlanticwar.htm Tidewater Const. rows ARDC-9 through ARDC-12; navsource.net/archives/09/28/7343.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Build record: the shipbuildinghistory.com Navy floating-drydock table lists 'AFDL 43 | Tidewater Const. | Wilmington NC | 8,300 | 389 | Feb-45 | Ex-ARDC 10, scrapped 1979'; the compiler's Atlantic-coast wartime builders table independently lists 'Tidewater Const. | Wilmington NC | US Navy | drydock | ARDC-10 | 8,300 | 389 | Feb 1945 | later AFDL-43, scrapped 1979'. NavSource concurs on builder (Tidewater Construction Corp., Wilmington N.C.) and gives 'built in 1944,' 'delivered and placed in commission as USS ARDC-10 in December 1944.' Two independent compiler tables agree on Tidewater/Wilmington - while for sibling ARDC-9 the same compiler's two tables conflict (Tidewater/Wilmington vs J. E. Haddock/San Pedro), so table agreement here is meaningful but not primary.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Construction trades, Tidewater Construction Corp. dry-basin site, Wilmington NC 1944-45
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations, not primary records - no contract document, builder plate, or delivery instrument was located. The December 1944 commission (NavSource) and February 1945 delivery (shipbuildinghistory) are not necessarily contradictory (commissioning can precede final delivery) but the offset is unresolved. The official BuSandA history verifies that eight ARDCs were built at Wilmington N.C. in excavated dry basins but does not name builders per hull. No asbestos information in any source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-01
-
[2]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 1946-revision sections; NavSource Service Craft Photo Archive index (14/03idx.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- bases-9.html 'Types of Floating Drydocks' bullet list and 1946-reclassification paragraph; NavSource 14/03idx.htm index row 'ARDC-10 / AFDL-43'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Type identity and ARDC-to-AFDL consolidation (one dock only): the Bureau of Yards and Docks official history defines 'ARDC - Auxiliary Repair Dock, Concrete' as a 'mobile, military concrete trough type, unit dock with faired bow and stern, 2,800 tons lifting capacity,' and documents that the 1946 nomenclature revision made 'the RDC's became AFDL(C)'s' within a scheme where AFDL meant 'Auxiliary Floating Drydock Little' (less than 10,000 tons). The NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive index carries the hull as 'ARDC-10 / AFDL-43' - the same dock under both designations, matching this record's consolidation of the earlier ARDC designation with the AFDL record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Limitations
- The ARDC definition and 1946 revision are official Navy-history facts; the ARDC-10/AFDL-43 hull mapping rests on the NavSource compilation index (consistent across the shipbuildinghistory tables). The redesignation DATE is unresolved: NavSource's AFDL-43 page states '1 February 1945' while its own header parenthetical runs '(1945 - 1946)', sibling AFDL-41 (ex-ARDC-8) states '1 August 1946' consistent with the 1946 revision, and the implementing directive was not located - flagged in gaps. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-02
-
[3]Bureau of Yards and Docks, 'Building the Navy's Bases in World War II,' Chapter IX, 'Auxiliary Repair Docks, Concrete' section (official Navy history, HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- bases-9.html, 'Auxiliary Repair Docks, Concrete' paragraphs and 'ARDC Construction'/'ARDC Service' subsections (pp. ~217-218)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class design and construction program: the BuSandA official history records that in 1943, drydock requirements plus 'the critical shortage of steel plate' led the Bureau to design thirteen 2,800-ton reinforced-concrete docks designated ARDCs - monolithic open-trough structures 389 ft long, 84 ft wide, 40 ft deep overall, with pontoons 14 ft deep, twelve bottom-pontoon compartments, and a 5-ton traveling job crane (42-ft reach) on each wing wall. Six were militarized/self-contained (three diesel engines driving 200-kW AC generators, air compressors, refrigerating/heating/ventilating equipment, water evaporators; crew of five officers and 84 men); the other seven required shore power. Eight were built at Wilmington N.C. and five at San Pedro, Calif., in excavated dry basins, each consuming ~3,300 cubic yards of concrete. Five self-contained docks were towed to Pacific advance bases or Pearl Harbor; in service they proved exceptionally stable and watertight.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- ARDC-class construction workforce (Wilmington NC and San Pedro CA dry-basin sites, 1943-45); ARDC crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Class/program-level facts from the official history - the source does not name ARDC-10 and does not state whether this hull was one of the six self-contained or seven shore-powered docks. The 5-officer/84-man crew figure applies only to the militarized subtype and is not asserted for this hull. No asbestos or insulation-material statement in the source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-03
-
[4]Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (official organization document, HyperWar transcription); sibling station data per NavSource AFDL-41 and AFDL-44 pages (with NARA-photo captions for ARDC-8) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PacFleet Org 1 May 1945 floating-dock listings - 'ARDC 1', 'ARDC 2', 'ARDC 3' present; 'ARDC 10' absent; NavSource 09/28/7341.htm (ARDC-8 at San Pedro 30 June 1945, NARA IDs 295540 and 181-ND11LBHP-NASSP-GOF03/04) and 09/28/7344.htm (ARDC-11 at Charleston Navy Yard Dec 1944-Jul 1945)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Wartime assignment (negative finding on Pacific service): the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' lists only three concrete docks - 'ARDC 1', 'ARDC 2', and 'ARDC 3' - in its floating-dock blocks; 'ARDC 10' does not appear anywhere in the organization document. Combined with the documented stations of siblings (ARDC-8 photographed at Naval Station San Pedro CA 30 June 1945; ARDC-11 at Charleston Navy Yard December 1944-July 1945 then towed to San Diego), this hull's absence is consistent with stateside navy-yard service rather than a Pacific advance-base assignment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Absence from the 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization proves only that the dock was not a Pacific Fleet unit on that date - it does not by itself establish where the dock WAS stationed; the stateside-service inference leans on sibling-station documentation, not a record naming this hull. The document is a verified official organization; sibling station details come from NavSource compilation pages (with NARA-photo backing for ARDC-8). No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-04
-
[5]NavSource Naval History, AFDL-43 Service Ship Photo Archive page (09/28/7343.htm), Commanding Officers section; corroborating NavSource AFDL-44 page (09/28/7344.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Commanding Officers table: 'CAPT. Burford, William Page, USN | 1951 - 1953', footnote 'In command AFDL-43 and AFDL-44 simultaneously'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Postwar commanding officer: the NavSource commanding-officer listing for this hull names 'CAPT. Burford, William Page, USN | 1951 - 1953' with the note 'In command AFDL-43 and AFDL-44 simultaneously' - documenting that the dock remained in commission with an assigned commanding officer into the early 1950s, and that it was co-located with sibling AFDL-44 (ex-ARDC-11), which had been towed from Charleston Navy Yard to San Diego via the Panama Canal in July-September 1945.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1951-1953
- Population
- Dock crew under CAPT Burford (1951-1953)
- Limitations
- Compilation listing without a cited primary roster - the named officer and dual-command note are carried at partial confidence. The simultaneous command implies co-station with AFDL-44 (San Diego by the sibling's documented 1945 tow) but no source states AFDL-43's station - the San Diego association is inference, flagged here and in gaps. A captain commanding two harbor service craft simultaneously is plausible but the span (1951-53) and station are not otherwise documented. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-05
-
[6]NavSource AFDL-43 page (09/28/7343.htm); shipbuildinghistory.com auxafd.htm AFDL-43 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AFDL-43 chronology lines; auxafd.htm row 'AFDL 43 ... Ex-ARDC 10, scrapped 1979'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disposition: NavSource records 'Placed out of service, date unknown. Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown. Final Disposition, scrapped in 1979.' The shipbuildinghistory table independently carries 'scrapped 1979.' No sale record, breaking yard, or disposal instrument was located in digitized sources; the hull received no name in any located source.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1953-1979
- Population
- Breaking-yard workforce, 1979 (location unknown)
- Limitations
- Compilation-only milestones - 'scrapped 1979' is consistent across two compilations but no disposal document (MARAD/DRMS sale, NVR entry, or navy-yard record) was located. Out-of-service and stricken dates are unrecorded in the located sources. A 1979 breaking is itself a terminal material-disturbance event for any onboard materials, but the breaking location is unknown. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-06
-
[7]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List 44 by Ship Numbers (RG 24, Bureau of Naval Personnel deck logs) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, ARD block: 'ARDC-1, ARDC-2, ARDC-3, ARDC-7, ARDC-8' present; no ARDC-10 or AFDL-43 entry
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA deck-log holdings (repository absence): NARA Special List 44 (List of Logbooks of U.S. Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947), by ship number, lists ARDC deck logs for ARDC-1, ARDC-2, ARDC-3, ARDC-7, and ARDC-8 only - no entry exists for ARDC-10, and no AFDL-43 entry appears in the AFDL sequence. The dock's wartime logbooks are therefore not located in this repository's listing.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1947 records
- Limitations
- The listing absence is verified - but SL-44 covers logs through 1947 and is not exhaustive of all NARA deck-log holdings; logs may exist under a different listing (e.g., by name or station) or may never have been transferred. Absence of a listed logbook is not proof no logs survive. No asbestos content is implied either way.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-07
-
[8]National Archives and Records Administration, Ship Plan Index (archives.gov/research/cartographic/ship-index) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ship Plan Index AFDL block - entries for AFDL-40, AFDL-41, AFDL-42, AFDL-47 present; AFDL-43/-44/-45/-46 absent; no ARDC entries
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA ship-plan holdings (repository absence): the NARA Cartographic Ship Plan Index lists microfilm plans (reel/group 385, identifier 63531026) for AFDL-1 through AFDL-42 (with gaps) and AFDL-47 - but carries no entry for AFDL-43 (or for AFDL-44/-45/-46), and no entries under the ARDC designation at all. No plan for this hull is indexed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1946 records
- Limitations
- Index-level absence verified - the index may not be exhaustive, and a class-level ARDC design sheet could exist under a type heading rather than a hull number. Whether any surviving plan would carry materials/insulation callouts is unknown. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-08
-
[9]Naval Vessel Register (nvr.navy.mil) live check; NavSource AFDL-43 page (09/28/7343.htm); NHHC DANFS URL check [other_primary]
- Locator
- nvr.navy.mil SHIPSDETAIL_AFDL_43 request redirected to index; NavSource page 'no DANFS history available' and 'no images available' notices; history.navy.mil DANFS URL 404
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Registry and DANFS absence: the live Naval Vessel Register has no SHIPSDETAIL page for AFDL-43 (the URL redirects to the NVR index), and NavSource states plainly 'There is no DANFS history available for USS ARDC-10 / AFDL-43' - a direct NHHC URL check also returned 404. NavSource maintains a dedicated page for the hull but holds no photographs of it. The Wayback CDX check of historical NVR captures could not be run this session (Internet Archive intermittently offline).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-2026
- Limitations
- Absence of an NVR page and DANFS entry is consistent with thin official documentation for an unnamed service craft disposed of in 1979 - it is not proof of the disposal mechanism or dates. The Internet Archive CDX verification of historical NVR captures remains an open check (IA offline this session). No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-09
-
[10]Bureau of Yards and Docks, 'Building the Navy's Bases in World War II,' Ch. IX (ARDC design description); 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
- bases-9.html ARDC sections (machinery/equipment list); AJIM 11(3):359-373 (WWII shipbuilding asbestos program)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era asbestos inference (not ship-proven): the BuSandA-documented ARDC design was a reinforced-concrete trough dock whose self-contained units carried diesel engines with 200-kW generators, ballast pumps, air compressors, refrigerating/heating/ventilating equipment, water evaporators, and 5-ton traveling cranes - machinery whose gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, millboard, and crane brake linings in 1944-45 Navy construction were era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials (per the WWII-era shipbuilding asbestos program documented in Corn & Starr, AJIM 1987). Deliberately narrower than a steam combatant: a monolithic concrete hull carried no boilers, steam plant, or steam-line lagging. The larger inferred pathway is occupational - the dock's purpose was lifting era combatants for underwater-hull repair at navy-yard stations, sustained contact with vessels whose own insulation suites commonly contained asbestos - plus the undocumented 1979 breaking as a terminal material-disturbance event.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1979 era documented; article 1987
- Population
- Dock crew; repair parties; crews of docked vessels; 1979 breaking-yard workforce
- Limitations
- Design/era-level inference only - no source names this hull in connection with asbestos, and no materials schedule, survey, or abatement record exists in the located sources. Whether this hull was self-contained (carrying the diesel plant and HVAC suite) or shore-powered is itself unverified, which widens or narrows plausible onboard loading accordingly. Does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard, nor quantity, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-10
-
[11]Keller v. Dravo Corp., 441 F.2d 1239 (5th Cir. 1971), cert. denied 404 U.S. 1017 (1972) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion at 441 F.2d 1244 (vessel-status holding); reporter text verified via multiple case-law databases (OpenJurist, syfert) - live CourtListener API unavailable this session (see search_ledger)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Litigation-posture context for the vessel type (not this hull, not asbestos): the Fifth Circuit held 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' - Keller v. Dravo Corp., 441 F.2d 1239, 1244 (5th Cir. 1971), cert. denied 404 U.S. 1017 (1972), following Atkins v. Greenville Shipping Corp., 411 F.2d 279 (5th Cir. 1969) and Chahoc v. Hunt Shipyard, 431 F.2d 576 (5th Cir. 1970) - channeling injury claims by drydock workers toward LHWCA remedies rather than vessel-owner negligence or unseaworthiness theories; the Keller court expressly declined an absolute rule that a floating drydock can never be a vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1969-1972 (doctrine); applies to moored-dock operations
- Population
- Floating-drydock workers generally (type context)
- Limitations
- Doctrinal context for the vessel type only - an LHWCA/admiralty vessel-status ruling, not asbestos litigation, not naming this hull, and not an exposure finding. Relevant to how injury claims by drydock crews were channeled. A direct CourtListener pull remains an open lead (API quota exhausted this session).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-11
-
[12]Batch-599 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 attempt (HTTP 429); web-indexed court-document sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-12 and sl-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Litigation and name-collision sweep: a fresh CourtListener API v4 query for 'AFDL-43' was blocked (HTTP 429, shared 125/day quota, ~46min reset) and deferred per the backoff rule; web-indexed court-record sweeps (site:courtlistener.com, RECAP storage, general litigation terms) returned no opinion or docket naming this dock under either designation - returned documents were generic MDL-875 asbestos material and unrelated collisions. Name-collision risk is low: 'AFDL-43'/'ARDC-10' are unique designations with no other Navy hull sharing the number, and the dock never received a name.
- 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 the 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-43-afdl43-12
-
[13]Batch-599 search ledger (this record): BuSandA Ch. IX; CinCPac PacFleet Org 1 May 1945; NavSource 7343.htm and 14/03idx.htm; shipbuildinghistory auxafd/atlanticwar tables; NARA SL-44 and Ship Plan Index; NVR live check; web-indexed litigation sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-01 through sl-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-15
- 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 ARDC-10/AFDL-43 was found in the public sources searched - the BuSandA official history, the 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization, the NavSource page and index, the shipbuildinghistory tables, the NARA logbook and plan listings, and the web-indexed litigation sweeps contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement, and no DANFS entry or NVR detail page 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 1944-45 Navy dock with diesel-electric machinery and repair equipment is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, though a concrete-hulled dock's plausible loading is lower than a steam combatant's. The 1979 breaking would have sent any onboard materials into the disposal stream without a located disclosure. 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-43-afdl43-13
-
[14]NARA RG 71 (Bureau of Yards and Docks) contract records; Naval Vessel Register historical issues; navy-yard station records [other_primary]
- Locator
- Record-holding mapping only - no document-level retrieval performed
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no reproduction spend authorized): (a) the BuShips/SecNav redesignation directive implementing the 1946 ARDC-to-AFDL renumbering - the authoritative resolution of the NavSource '1 February 1945' vs sibling '1 August 1946' conflict; (b) BuSandA/BuShips contract records for the Tidewater Construction Corp. ARDC contracts at Wilmington (NARA RG 71) - would settle builder, hull-by-hull assignment, and whether ARDC-10 was self-contained or shore-powered; (c) 1945-1979 Naval Vessel Register/Naval Directory issues - the stricken instrument for this hull; (d) Charleston Navy Yard and Naval Station San Diego dock-assignment and station records (WWII/postwar command files) - the unlocated station history; (e) DRMS/DLA disposal records for the 1979 breaking.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1979 records
- Limitations
- Record-holding mapping only - no document-level retrieval performed (no reproduction spend authorized; wartime/postwar service-craft records largely not digitized). Whether any of these holdings contains asbestos-specific information for this dock is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-afdl-43-afdl43-14