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), 'USNS 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 29 [other_primary]
- Locator
- AKL15.html construction table row 29, disposition table row 29, ship-note paragraph for T-AKL 29; class notes paragraph on AKL 18-32
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Register compilation names this hull across all tables: T-AKL 29 ex-FS 371, built by Sturgeon Bay SB/DD under contract dated 24 April 1943, completed 19 August 1944, acquired and placed in MSTS service 1 July 1950 (T designation); ship note: '(ex-FS 371, compl. 19 Aug 1944). In Army service in Japan Aug 1949 for intra-theater distribution of supplies. To reserve for disposal 30 Jun 1960. First reported sold May 1960. Merc. MENARA MAS 1961, finally KING TOWER 1966. BU at Singapore Feb 1972.' Disposition row: inactivated Jul 1960, struck 1 Aug 1960, disposal 9 Nov 1960, Navy sale. Class notes: AKL 18-32 were among Army ships operating in the Far East transferred to the Navy about 1 July 1950, names/classification/hull numbers approved 7 Jun 1950 (T-AKL 29 was never given a name - only BANNER and BRULE received names, on later transfer to the commissioned fleet). Class data: 177' oa x 32' e x 10' max nav draft; 500 tons light / 935 full; geared diesel, 2 screws, 1,000 hp, 12 kts; no armament.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1972
- Population
- Army Transportation Corps / USCG-manned crew (1944-c.1950); MSTS civilian mariners (1950-1960); merchant crews (1961-1972)
- 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. 'First reported sold May 1960' precedes the 9 Nov 1960 disposal entry and the 30 Jun 1960 reserve-for-disposal date - the sale-reporting sequence is internally tense; logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-29-akl29-01
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[2]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USNS T-AKL-29 ex USAV FS-371 page (compiled service record) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/09/14/1429.htm - vessel header, service timeline, awards block, specifications block, 'no DANFS history' notice
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource corroborates: laid down (date unknown) for the U.S. Army as FS-371 at Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, WI; completed and delivered July 1944; commissioned USAT FS-371 at Sturgeon Bay 1 August 1944, LT H. E. Melton, USCG in command; 'manned by the US Coast Guard for the US Army Transportation Service' and 'assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area including Leyte, Mindoro, Pearl Harbor, etc., during World War II'; acquired by the US Navy 1 July 1950 and placed in service as USNS T-AKL-29 with MSTSWESTPAC. Ship-specific operational detail from an attributed firsthand source (William T. Lyons, Master USNS AKL-29, 1953-1959): T-AKL-29 'operated first out of Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan, then Ominato (Shimokita), Honshu, Japan and finally Aomori, Honshu, Japan solely in cargo/passenger support of USAF Radar Site 29 on the island of Okushiri Shima off the west coast of Hokkaido.' The page carries WWII awards for the FS-371 period (American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Philippines Liberation Medal) and states explicitly that no DANFS history exists for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- USCG-manned wartime crew; MSTS civilian mariners supporting USAF radar site logistics (1953-1959 per Lyons)
- Limitations
- Compiled reference, not a primary source; corroborates shipscribe and (for the USCG-manning/commissioning line) the USCG Historian's Office compilation. Discrepancies on this page: header dates 'USAV FS-371 (1944-1947)' while shipscribe records Army service in Japan in Aug 1949 - logged in gaps; 'Completed and delivered, July 1944' conflicts with shipscribe's completion 19 Aug 1944 - logged in gaps; out-of-service/struck 'date unknown' vs shipscribe's Jul/Aug 1960 - logged in gaps. The Lyons mission detail is a single firsthand attribution reproduced by NavSource - plausible and consistent with the hull's Japan basing, but uncorroborated by an official operational record. Spec block (550 t., 177', 33', 10', 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-29-akl29-02
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[3]Shipbuilding History (shipbuildinghistory.com), Bay Shipbuilding / Sturgeon Bay SB&DD yard construction table, hull 180 row; companion 'U.S. Army Coastal Freighters (F, FS)' table FS-371 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/bay.htm, hull 180 row; shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/armyfreighters.htm, FS-371 row; njscuba.net/us-comm-large/bay/ mirror row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard-table entry names this hull: Sturgeon Bay SB hull 180, FS 371, U.S. Army Transportation Corps coastal freighter, 560 GT, 176 ft, delivered Aug-44, 'To USN 1950 as AKL 29, later Menara Mas (Panama).' The companion Army coastal freighters table lists the same hull as design '381,' steel, 560 t, 176 ft, delivery window 2/44-9/44, 'USCG-manned, to USN 1950 as AKL 29.' The njscuba mirror of the yard table adds the fuller chain: 'USCG-manned, in Japan Aug 1949, to USN 1950 as AKL-29, sold May 1960, to MENARA MAS (Panama) 1961, finally KING TOWER 1966, BU at Singapore Feb 1972.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1944 (construction); 1944-1972 (disposition chain)
- Population
- Sturgeon Bay construction trades (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Compiled construction-reference tables, not primary documents; corroborates builder, hull number, tonnage, delivery month/year, the Design 381 (non-refrigerated) assignment, USCG manning, and the merchant/scrapping chain. 'Sold May 1960' sits ahead of shipscribe's 9 Nov 1960 disposal date - treated as a sale-reporting artifact, not adopted over the register date. No asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-29-akl29-03
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[4]usmm.org, 'Ships transferred to Military Sea Transportation Service from Naval Transportation Service and Army Transportation Service 1949-1950' (July 1, 1950 list of 33 ships naming USNS T-AKL 29); shipscribe disposition table (T designation); NavSource header (USNS T-AKL-29) [other_primary]
- Locator
- usmm.org/msts/transfer.html - 'July 1, 1950; 33 ships' Cargo Ships section, USNS T-AKL 29 line; shipscribe AKL15.html disposition table; NavSource 1429.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 USAT/USAV FS-371 (1944-c.1950) and entered Navy custody as a civilian-crewed Military Sea Transportation Service vessel, USNS T-AKL-29, on 1 July 1950 - appearing verbatim on the MSTS transfer list of 33 Army Transportation Service ships under that designation. It was never given a ship name in Navy service (only BANNER/AKL-25 and BRULE/AKL-28 received names, on later transfer to the commissioned fleet). Commercial asbestos-ship listicles label it 'USS AKL-29'; the correct style is USNS T-AKL-29.
- 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-29-akl29-04
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[5]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 entry 'FS-371' (sequence FS-367, then FS-371 through FS-374 - refrigerated trio FS-368/369/370 absent as not Coast Guard-manned)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official historian compilation carries a dedicated entry for this hull, verbatim: 'The Coast Guard-manned Army FS-371 was commissioned at Sturgeon Bay, WI on August 1, 1944, with LT H. E. Melton, USCG, as commanding officer. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area including Leyte, Mindoro, Pearl Harbor, etc., during the war.' Confirms ship-specifically that FS-371 was a Coast Guard-manned Army vessel (uniformed USCG wartime crew) and fixes the commissioning date and first commanding officer.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- USCG-manned wartime crew of FS-371 (1944-postwar)
- Limitations
- Historian's-office compilation, a secondary federal source drawing on wartime records; confirms manning arrangement and commissioning details but gives no Army decommissioning date and no postwar disposition. No asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim. Live defense.gov URL blocked automated retrieval; content verified via Wayback capture of the identical PDF (44-page document text-verified).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-29-akl29-05
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[6]shipscribe.com AKL 1 (Camano, FS Design 381 part 1) class notes - Design 381 specification ('Vessel, Supply, Diesel, Steel, 176-foot', specs dated 1 June 1943) and machinery line (geared diesel, 2 screws); shipbuildinghistory Army freighters table design column ('381') [other_primary]
- Locator
- AKL01.html class notes - Design 381 specification paragraphs ('176 foot steel twin screw diesel supply vessel', specs 1 Jun 1943); AKL15.html class header machinery lines; shipbuildinghistory armyfreighters table, FS-371 '381' design column
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Design-level framing for asbestos inference: this hull is a Design 381 vessel - a small geared-diesel twin-screw steel 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, and FS-371 is the standard non-refrigerated variant (the 381A refrigerated design applied to FS 368-370 only), so the refrigeration-space insulation pathway does not apply either. The residual era-plausible applications are engine and exhaust gaskets and packing, diesel-exhaust/muffler lagging, electrical insulation, interior fireproofing and joiner materials, deck covering, and winch/windlass 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 (1943-44); 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 381 (non-refrigerated) assignment is documented for the type (shipscribe class notes; '381' per shipbuildinghistory table) - the residual applications are plausible for the type but no document describes actual installed materials on this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-29-akl29-06
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[7]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 381 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-29-akl29-07
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[8]Batch-1096 search ledger (this record): shipscribe AKL class compilation; NavSource T-AKL-29 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-29-akl29-01 through sl-uss-akl-29-akl29-12
- 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 asbestos case naming FS-371, AKL-29, or T-AKL-29 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion searches returned zero hits for 'AKL-29', 'T-AKL-29', and 'AKL 29'; the single 'FS-371'/'FS 371' opinion hit (GenCorp, Inc. v. AIU Insurance, N.D. Ohio 1997) is a name collision on exhibit Bates number 'FS 000371' in an environmental insurance-coverage case - non-qualifying. RECAP hits for 'AKL-29' and 'FS-371' (Carter Bryant v. Mattel; Michael v. Westville Correctional Facility; United States v. Ogilvie) are likewise unrelated exhibit/document-number collisions. 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-06. 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-29-akl29-08
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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 26 (Records of the U.S. Coast Guard) - wartime logs/muster context for the USCG-manned FS-371 period; MSTS operational records for the 1950-60 T-AKL-29 service period [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/026.html (RG 26, U.S. Coast Guard)
- 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; RG 26 (U.S. Coast Guard records) is a plausible repository for wartime deck logs and personnel records of the Coast Guard-manned FS-371 period; MSTS-era operational records for the 1950-60 service period (including the Okushiri radar-site supply run described by Master Lyons) are a further unsearched repository.
- 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-371/AKL-29 is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-29-akl29-09