Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 1098-packet.md (5 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-ala-yt139-pkt-1098-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Ala (YT-139) - construction, Thirteenth/Seventeenth Naval District service, 1941 rescue, reclassifications, 1964 loss (live NHHC page, verified 2026-10-05) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'Ala (YT-139) was laid down on 23 September 1939 at Bremerton, Wash., by the Puget Sound Navy Yard; launched on 6 November 1939; and completed on 11 March 1940.' Placed in service in the Thirteenth Naval District, operating out of Bremerton on local tug and tow service. On 16 November 1941 Sea1c George E. Martin rescued Sea2c L.A. Minton from drowning between ammunition lighters at the Naval Ammunition Depot, Puget Sound - Martin commended by SecNav Frank Knox and received a Treasury Department Life Saving Medal. Assigned to the Seventeenth Naval District on its creation 15 April 1944; reclassified harbor tug (big) YTB-139 on 15 May 1944. Post-war reassigned to the Thirteenth Naval District, operating in and around Puget Sound until 1954; then returned to Alaskan waters under the Seventeenth Naval District, serving in the Aleutians and along the Alaskan coast for the remaining decade. Reclassified medium harbor tug YTM-139 February 1962. 'Ran aground and then sank in Kuluk Bay near the Naval Station, Adak' on 19 May 1964. Stricken from the Navy Register 20 May 1965. Spec block: dp. 325 (full load); l. 100'0"; b. 25'0"; dr. 9'7" (full load); s. 13 k.; cpl. 10; a. 2 .50-cal. mg.; cl. Woban. Entry by Raymond A. Mann, revised Robert J. Cressman, updated 15 September 2022.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1939-1965
- Population
- PSNY construction trades (1939-40); crew of ~10 (1940-64)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. Spec-block draft (9'7" full load) conflicts with NavSource (11'5" max) - see gaps. Loss cause stated only as 'ran aground and then sank'; no inquiry detail, salvage record, or wreck disposition. Live page verified 2026-10-05 (NHHC has a history of 404s on DANFS paths - this one is currently live).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ala-yt139-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, Ala (YTM-139) ex-YTB-139 ex-YT-139 - designation timeline, specifications, awards, photo captions (live navsource.net page verified 2026-10-05; legacy .org host is dead) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 14/08139.htm header block, specifications block, photo caption set
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: built by Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton; laid down 23 September 1939; launched 6 November 1939; placed in service as Ala (YT-139) 11 March 1940; assigned Thirteenth Naval District 1940-44; Seventeenth Naval District from its creation 15 April 1944; reclassified District Harbor Tug, Large YTB-139 15 May 1944; District Harbor Tug, Medium YTM-139 February 1962; ran aground and sank in Kuluk Bay near Naval Station Adak 19 May 1964; struck 20 May 1965. Specifications: 325 t full load; 100' x 25'; draft 11'5" max; 13 kts; cpl. 10; two .50 cal MG; propulsion 'one Diesel-electric engine, single screw 1,000shp.' Awards: American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal. Photo captions document: moored at Puget Sound Navy Yard 18 June 1941 (National Archives photo 19-N-24268); pierside across from USS Yorktown (CV-10) at Bremerton, March 1946; underway with ammunition barges in tow near Bremerton, March 1946; assisting a gasoline tanker (AOG) with Owachomo (YTB-401) at Naval Station Adak, c.1961; alongside USS Nautilus (SSN-571), date and location unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1939-1965
- Population
- Crew (1940-64); PSNY trades during availabilities
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its dates here track DANFS exactly. Draft figure (11'5" max) conflicts with DANFS (9'7" full load) - see gaps. Contains no asbestos content. Photo captions establish presence and activity, not material records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ala-yt139-02
-
[4]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'U.S. Navy Harbor Tugs, Large, 1922-1945' photo gallery - class list sourced to the Navy's 1949 Ships Data Book and NAVSHIPS 250-641 ship contracts [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe YT119-p.html class list row 'a' (YT-138 Woban) and fleetwide reclassification note; Ala (YTB-139) photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class documentation for the Woban (YT-138) class: first order 7 July 1938; 100 ft oa x 26 ft beam; 237 t standard / 345 t full load; class comprised YT 138-142, 145-151, 177-182, 188-191, 195 - this hull (YT-139) falls inside the lead block. Note carried verbatim: on 15 May 1944 all still-in-service YTs of these classes were reclassified YTB (Harbor Tug Big); most surviving WWII YTBs were downgraded to YTM in February 1962 - the exact reclassification dates DANFS records for this hull. Shipscribe's Ala photo caption places her at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in March 1946 with Colorado (BB-45) in the background.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1938-1962
- Population
- Woban-class crews and yard trades (1938-62 design/construction window)
- Limitations
- Class-level design/contract data drawn from official Navy sources (1949 Ships Data Book, NAVSHIPS 250-641) via a researcher's compilation; not a hull record and contains no asbestos content. Class totals (345 t full load) differ from DANFS spec block (325 t) - design vs. as-listed displacement; see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ala-yt139-03
-
[5]NPS, National Historic Landmark nomination, City of Oakland ex-Hoga (YTB-146) - Woban-class sister, 'HOGA AS BUILT AND MODIFIED' machinery/arrangement description [nps]
- Locator
- NPS NHL nomination PDF, 'Hoga As Built and Modified' and machinery description sections (NRHP/NHL file via npgallery.nps.gov)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class-level construction and machinery description from a sister hull's NHL nomination: Woban-class district harbor tugs were 'a typical US Navy yard tug of the period,' built entirely of welded steel; Hoga measured 99.7 ft oa x 25.6 ft beam, 10.6 ft draft, 350 t, with a single welded steel deckhouse and elevated steel pilothouse. Diesel-electric plant: twin 650-hp McIntosh & Seymour diesels drove twin 515-hp Westinghouse propulsion motors through a common reduction gear on a single screw (~14 kts), with two 410-kW DC generators - 'the arrangement of machinery reflects a common engineering technique for a Diesel-electric tugboat of the period.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940-1988 (nomination era); construction data 1940-41
- Population
- Woban-class construction trades and crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Sister-ship record, not this hull: Hoga was built by Consolidated Shipbuilding (Morris Heights, NY) - engine manufacturers varied by builder, so the McIntosh & Seymour/Westinghouse fit is NOT attributable to Ala (secondary sourcing names Enterprise engines for this hull; unverified - see gaps). The nomination contains no asbestos content; it establishes the class's diesel-electric, welded-steel construction only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ala-yt139-04
-
[6]Hollins DM, Paustenbach DJ, Clark K, Mangold CA, 'A visual historical review of exposure to asbestos at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (1962-1972),' J Toxicol Environ Health B 12(2):124-56 (2009), PMID 19235622 - abstract verified via NCBI eutils [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record/abstract PMID 19235622 (via NCBI eutils, 2026-10-05); doi 10.1080/10937400902729176
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed review of asbestos exposure conditions at this hull's builder: 'A majority of the photographs presented in this article depict work conditions at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, circa 1940-1965, which is representative of other military shipyards of the time,' documenting that high airborne asbestos exposures at shipyards were associated with construction work during and after WWII - the window covering this hull's 1939-40 construction and Bremerton-based service through 1954.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940-1965 (depicted conditions); article 2009
- Population
- PSNSY construction and overhaul trades, c.1940-1965
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation, not a hull record: Ala is not named, and the source addresses worker exposure conditions, not the material outfit of any specific vessel. Abstract-level verification only (paywalled full text); no claim about this hull's materials can be drawn from it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ala-yt139-05
-
[7]Beckett RR, 'Asbestos exposure control at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard,' Environ Res 11(2):248-60 (Apr 1976), PMID 1065583; EPA Superfund site profile, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Complex, Bremerton WA (site WA2170023418) - both verified 2026-10-05 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed PMID 1065583 metadata (eutils); https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.cleanup&id=1001107; shipyard-exposure-map shipyards.json ev-puget-sound-naval-shipyard-*
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Builder-level asbestos documentation: a 1976 peer-reviewed paper is titled 'Asbestos exposure control at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard' - i.e., asbestos exposure at Ala's builder yard was a formally studied and controlled occupational problem. EPA lists the 650-acre Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Complex, Bremerton, as a Superfund site (WA2170023418). The Atlas yard record (shipyards.json) additionally anchors PSNSY findings from DTIC AD0715808 (reported pulmonary abnormalities in pipe coverers/insulators; 40-150 f/cc during rip-out operations).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1962-1976 (study/publication era); site listing ongoing
- Population
- PSNSY trades incl. pipe coverers/insulators (1950s-70s study era)
- Limitations
- Yard-level, not hull-level: documents asbestos presence and control activity at the yard that built this hull; says nothing about materials aboard Ala. Beckett 1976 metadata verified (title/journal/date); no abstract on record - content characterization beyond the title rests on the Atlas yard record, not re-verified full text. EPA page verified live but its background contaminant list does not itself name asbestos; it establishes Superfund status only. DTIC citation page was in maintenance on 2026-10-05 (not re-verified live).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ala-yt139-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979); corroborated by Kelly RJ, 'When errors become etched in stone,' New Solutions 36(2):138-50 (2026), PMID 42307414, on the January 1946 Navy study of asbestos pipe-covering operations in naval-vessel construction [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked); PubMed PMID 42307414 abstract (eutils, 2026-10-05)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Navy-wide era documentation: GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire 1939-40 construction and 1940-64 service era. The WWII-era Navy pipe-covering survey (Fleischer et al., J Ind Hyg Toxicol, Jan 1946) documents that asbestos-containing insulation was in use in constructing naval vessels during the war, per its 2026 critical review.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1939-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; naval-vessel construction trades
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. GAO full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description. Kelly 2026 abstract-level verification only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ala-yt139-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block and milestones; NavSource specifications (diesel-electric, single screw, 1,000 shp); Woban-class construction documented via Hoga NHL nomination (welded steel, diesel-electric); PSNSY asbestos literature (PMID 19235622, PMID 1065583); GAO HRD-80-2 era coverage [other_primary]
- Locator
- Synthesis of ev-uss-ala-yt139-01 through -07
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A welded-steel district harbor tug built 1939-40 at the Puget Sound Navy Yard sits inside that yard's documented asbestos era and inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use window (through the early 1970s). Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel-electric harbor tug of this period were machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and accommodation-space insulation. As a diesel-electric craft she carried no boiler or steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply, and her small size (325 t, crew of ~10) bounds the plausible material footprint accordingly.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1939-1964
- Population
- PSNY construction trades (1939-40); crew (~10) at Bremerton and Adak (1940-64)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation list, specification sheet, or work package located for YT-139. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution. The hull sank in place in 1964 and was never abated or scrapped - whatever materials were aboard went down with her.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ala-yt139-08
-
[10]NARA photograph lead: National Archives photo 19-N-24268, Ala (YTB-139) moored at Puget Sound Navy Yard, 18 June 1941 (metadata transcribed from NavSource caption); RG 24/313 deck logs and RG 181 Thirteenth/Seventeenth Naval District records as undigitized leads [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 14/08139.htm caption crediting National Archives photo 19-N-24268; NARA catalog unverified
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A Bureau of Ships photograph (19-N-24268) documents this hull at the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 18 June 1941. Deck logs for a yard craft of this era, and 13th/17th Naval District shore-establishment records (RG 181, held in part at NARA Seattle for the Bremerton area), are the likeliest repositories for any hull-specific maintenance or material records but are not publicly digitized.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941 (photo); 1939-1964 (potential record span)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the photograph establishes presence, not materials. catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered and could not be independently fetched this session - NAID-level verification open. No deck-log or work-package content was reviewed; nothing here is an asbestos record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ala-yt139-09
-
[11]Batch-9304 search ledger (this record): DANFS (live); NavSource (live .net); NPS NHL nomination for class sister; shipyards.json yard record; PubMed metadata (PMIDs 19235622, 1065583, 42307414); EPA Superfund profile; NVR; NARA catalog; CourtListener API v4 (4 base queries, authenticated, fleet-paced) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ala-yt139-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation specification, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS Ala (YT-139/YTB-139/YTM-139) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener base queries returned ZERO opinion and ZERO docket hits for exact-name "USS Ala" and zero opinion hits for "YT-139"; the single "YT-139" docket hit is a name collision (In re Nortel Networks Inc., Ch. 11, Bankr. D. Del. 09-10138 - 'YT-139' occurs inside filing exhibits, not as the vessel). The hull was lost at sea in 1964 - there was no disposal or demolition phase in which an ACM record would typically be generated, and the wreck's disposition is undocumented.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 2026-10-05
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1939-40 Navy-yard-built tug sits inside the documented asbestos era. CourtListener coverage: the 4 base queries were run quoted (exact-name/exact-hull); YTB-139 and YTM-139 alias queries were not separately run (spec: 4 base queries only). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ala-yt139-10