Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]shipscribe.com (Stephen S. Roberts), 'AKL 17 (T-AKL 17, FS Design 381 part 2) Class' - construction table, disposition table, class notes, and per-vessel ship note for T-AKL 26 [other_primary]
- Locator
- AKL15.html construction table row 26, disposition table row 26, ship-note paragraph for T-AKL 26; class notes paragraphs 1-2
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Register compilation names this hull across all tables: T-AKL 26 ex-FS 368, built by Sturgeon Bay SB/DD under contract dated 24 April 1943, completed 6 July 1944, acquired and placed in MSTS service 1 July 1950 (T designation); ship note: 'Design 381A (refrigerated variant). In Army service at Hawaii Aug 1949 for intra-theater distribution of supplies. In USN reserve 1954-60. On disposal list Mar 1960, first reported sold Apr 1960. Merc. NEW PROVIDENCE 1961, TEMAC 1964, NEW PROVIDENCE 1967, wrecked off Cat Is., Bahamas, 5 Feb 1975.' Disposition row: inactivated Jul 1954, struck 1 Apr 1960, disposal 19 Sep 1960, Navy sale. Class notes: FS 368-370 were of Design 381A, a refrigerated variant with two refrigerated holds produced for the Army Air Corps; AKL 18-32 were among Army ships in the Far East transferred to the Navy about 1 July 1950, names/classification/hull numbers approved 7 Jun 1950. Class data: 177' oa x 32' e x 10' max nav draft; (26-28) 580 tons light; geared diesel, 2 screws, 1,000 hp, 12 kts; 'all of these ships had Cleveland diesels.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1975
- Population
- Army Transportation Corps crew (1944-50); MSTS civilian mariners (1950-54); merchant crews (1961-75)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of official register sources (Naval Vessel Register data, CNO records, Miramar Ship Index) - authoritative for identity and milestones but not itself a primary document. No asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim. Strike date (1 Apr 1960) conflicts with NavSource/shipbuildinghistory '1959' - logged in gaps. The class note dating the Design 381A specifications to November 1944 postdates this hull's July 1944 completion - unresolved tension, logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-26-akl26-01
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[2]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USNS T-AKL-26 ex USAV FS-368 page (compiled service record), citing NHHC photos NH 59995 and NH 59996 [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/09/14/1426.htm - vessel header, service timeline, awards line, specifications block, 'no DANFS history' notice, photo captions NH 59995/NH 59996
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource corroborates: laid down (date unknown) for the U.S. Army as FS-368 at Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, WI; delivered to the US Army in 1944; USAV FS-368 'was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area during WWII'; acquired by the US Navy 1 July 1950 and placed in service as USNS T-AKL-26; 'placed out of service and struck from the Naval Register in 1959'; final disposition 'fate unknown.' The page carries awards consistent with WWII-era service (American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal), states explicitly that no DANFS history exists for this hull, and cites two Naval History and Heritage Command photographs of T-AKL-26 (NH 59995, NH 59996).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Limitations
- Compiled reference, not a primary source; corroborates shipscribe. Internal discrepancies on this page: header dates 'USAV FS-368 (1945-1950)' while the body says delivered to the Army in 1944; 'struck ... in 1959' conflicts with shipscribe's 1 Apr 1960 strike - both logged in gaps. 'Southwest Pacific' service line is NavSource's standard phrasing for FS hulls and is not corroborated by a ship-specific operational record located. Spec block (560 t., 177', 33' beam, 10' draft, 12 kts, complement 42, two 500-hp GM Cleveland 6-278A diesels) is generic class-level data - complement conflicts with shipscribe accommodations (gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-26-akl26-02
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[3]Shipbuilding History (shipbuildinghistory.com / njscuba mirror), Sturgeon Bay SB / Bay Shipbuilding yard construction table; corroborating row in 'US Army Coastal Freighters F FS' table [other_primary]
- Locator
- bay.htm yard table, hull 177 row; shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/armyfreighters.htm, FS-368 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard-table entry names this hull: Sturgeon Bay SB hull 177, U.S. Official No. 315884, FS-368, U.S. Army Transportation Corps freighter, 560 tons, 176 ft, completed July 1944, 'to USN 1950 as T-AKL-26 ... struck 1959, ... New Providence, wrecked Bahamas, 1975' (the row's 'Temac 1952' fragment conflicts with shipscribe's merchant sequence and is treated as a table error - see gaps). The companion Army coastal freighters table lists the same hull explicitly as design '381-A,' steel, 560 t, 176 ft, 7/44, 'to USN 1950 as AKL 26, struck 1959.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1944 (construction); 1950-1975 (disposition summary)
- Population
- Sturgeon Bay construction trades (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Compiled construction-reference tables, not primary documents; corroborates builder, completion month/year, official number, and the Design 381-A label. 'Struck 1959' conflicts with shipscribe's 1 Apr 1960 - logged in gaps. 'Temac 1952' conflicts with shipscribe's merchant sequence (NEW PROVIDENCE 1961, TEMAC 1964) - treated as an error in the table, not adopted. No asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-26-akl26-03
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[4]usmm.org, 'Ships transferred to Military Sea Transportation Service from Naval Transportation Service and Army Transportation Service 1949-1950' (transfer list naming USNS T-AKL 26); shipscribe disposition table (T designation); NavSource header (USNS T-AKL-26) [other_primary]
- Locator
- usmm.org/msts/transfer.html - 'July 1, 1950; 33 ships' Cargo Ships section, USNS T-AKL 26 line; shipscribe AKL15.html disposition table; NavSource 1426.htm page header
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Prefix correction: this vessel was never a commissioned U.S. Navy ship. It served the Army as USAV FS-368 (1944-1950) and entered Navy custody as a civilian-crewed Military Sea Transportation Service vessel, USNS T-AKL-26, on 1 July 1950 - appearing verbatim on the MSTS transfer list of 33 Army Transportation Service ships under that designation. Commercial asbestos-ship listicles label it 'USS AKL-26'; the correct style is USNS T-AKL-26.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1950
- Limitations
- Corrects naming only; carries no asbestos information. usmm.org is a secondary compiled reference (list provided by MSTS historian S.R. Mercogliano); the transfer is corroborated by shipscribe's register compilation and the NavSource page header.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-26-akl26-04
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[5]shipscribe.com AKL 1 (Camano, FS Design 381 part 1) class notes - Design 381/381A specification ('Vessel, Supply, Diesel, Steel, 176-foot' and 'Vessel, Supply, Refrigerated, Diesel, Steel, 176-foot') and machinery line (geared diesel, 2 screws); shipbuildinghistory Army freighters table design column ('381-A') [other_primary]
- Locator
- AKL01.html class notes - Design 381/381A specification paragraphs; AKL15.html class header machinery lines; shipbuildinghistory armyfreighters table, FS-368 '381-A' design column
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Design-level framing for asbestos inference: this hull is a Design 381A vessel - a small geared-diesel twin-screw refrigerated supply freighter with no boilers and no steam distribution plant. The dominant WWII-era shipboard asbestos application (thermal insulation/lagging on boilers, steam drums, and steam piping) is therefore absent by design on this hull type. The Design 381A variant's two refrigerated holds add a type-specific plausible application absent from non-refrigerated sisters: insulation of refrigerated cargo spaces and refrigerant piping. The residual era-plausible applications are engine and exhaust gaskets and packing, diesel-exhaust/muffler lagging, refrigeration-space and refrigerant-pipe insulation, electrical insulation, interior fireproofing and joiner materials, deck covering, and winch brake linings. None of these are documented aboard this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1945 design/build era
- Population
- Sturgeon Bay construction trades (1944); operating crews (inference only)
- Limitations
- Design-document inference only - identifies which application categories are and are not plausible for the type; establishes neither presence nor absence of asbestos aboard this hull, nor quantity, condition, individual exposure, or causation. The Design 381A refrigerated-variant assignment is documented for the type (FS 368-370 per shipscribe class notes; '381-A' per shipbuildinghistory table) - the refrigeration-insulation pathway is plausible for the type but no document describes the actual insulation material.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-26-akl26-05
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[6]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 World War II - the era and program under which this 1944 steel Army cargo vessel was mass-produced at Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding & Dry Dock.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship; does not name this vessel or the FS Design 381A type and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. Notably, this hull's diesel plant removes the largest documented asbestos-application category (steam-plant lagging).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-26-akl26-06
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[7]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'FS Vessels - World War II Coast Guard' (Army freight-supply vessels manned by Coast Guard crews), media.defense.gov PDF (retrieved via Wayback capture; live URL returns 403 to automated fetch) [other_primary]
- Locator
- FS Vessels PDF, vessel entries FS-361 to FS-371 sequence (FS-368, FS-369, FS-370 absent); 44-page document text-verified
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- FS-368 does not appear in the Coast Guard Historian's Office compilation of Coast Guard-manned Army FS vessels: the document's vessel-by-vessel entries run FS-361 through FS-367, then skip the refrigerated trio entirely and resume at FS-371 through FS-374 and beyond. This hull was therefore very likely not Coast Guard-manned - consistent with shipscribe's class note that FS 368-370 were Design 381A refrigerated vessels produced for the Army Air Corps rather than Army Transport Service hulls crewed under the 14 March 1944 JCS manning agreement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Absence from this compilation is strong but not absolute proof of manning arrangement - the document is a historian's compilation, and an entry could theoretically be omitted. Wartime crewing of FS-368 (Army civilian mariners vs. uniformed Army/Air Corps personnel) is undocumented in located sources - logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim. Live defense.gov URL blocked automated retrieval; content verified via Wayback capture of the identical PDF.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-26-akl26-07
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[8]Batch-1094 search ledger (this record): shipscribe AKL class compilation; NavSource T-AKL-26 page; usmm.org MSTS transfer list; shipbuildinghistory yard/freighter tables; USCG Historian's Office FS-vessel PDF; NHHC/DANFS (no entry exists); NVR; MARAD ShipHistory; CourtListener opinion and RECAP searches; indexed-web check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-akl-26-akl26-01 through sl-uss-akl-26-akl26-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, specification naming this hull, or docketed case naming FS-368, AKL-26, or T-AKL-26 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion searches returned zero hits for 'AKL-26', 'T-AKL-26', and 'FS-368'; RECAP hits for 'AKL-26' were unrelated name collisions (exhibit/part/document numbers in FTC v. Qualcomm and Mack v. Nova Southeastern), classified non-qualifying. NHHC has no DANFS entry for this hull; NVR carries no record (pre-1987 disposal); no MARAD custody record located (direct Navy sale, never MARAD).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 2026-09-22
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-built vessel of this era is consistent with era-typical asbestos-containing materials in the residual applications listed in ev-05. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-26-akl26-08
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[9]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 336 (Records of the Office of the Chief of Transportation, 1917-66) - Army Transportation Corps vessel records; RG 18 (Records of the Army Air Forces) - Army Air Corps procurement context for the Design 381A refrigerated hulls; NHHC photo archive (NH 59995, NH 59996 for T-AKL-26) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/336.html (RG 336, Office of the Chief of Transportation); https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/018.html (RG 18, Army Air Forces); NavSource 1426.htm photo captions (NH 59995/NH 59996)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 336 holds Office of the Chief of Transportation records 1940-66 including Transportation Corps field activities and vessel-related files for the Army FS fleet; because FS 368-370 were produced for the Army Air Corps, RG 18 (Army Air Forces records) is a plausible additional repository for the refrigerated-variant procurement and operation; MSTS-era operational records for the undocumented 1950-54 service period are a further unsearched repository; NHHC holds two cataloged photographs of this hull (NH 59995, NH 59996 per NavSource).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1960 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for FS-368/AKL-26 is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-26-akl26-09