Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]Bureau of Ships (U.S. Navy), War Damage Report: U.S.S. ALCHIBA (AKA6) Torpedo Damage - Solomon Islands, 28 November and 7 December 1942 (17-page report incl. plates and photos; full text read via HyperWar mirror PDF) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Report para. 62 (fibrous glass statement, Discussion section F/C) and para. 25 (insulation renovation, Narrative)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Bureau of Ships war damage report for this hull (U.S.S. ALCHIBA (AKA6), Torpedo Damage, Solomon Islands, 28 November and 7 December 1942) documents insulation material aboard by name: 'The use of fibrous glass insulation in refrigerated spaces and living quarters was considered by the Commanding Officer to have been an important factor in preventing the spread of the fire. The insulating and non-inflammable properties of fibrous glass are well recognized, and it has been specified for combatant naval vessels or new construction for several years.' The same report records that 'throughout the remaining spaces in way of the damage all piping, coils, ventilation ducts and insulation were damaged to such an extent that complete renovation was necessary.' For the two named space categories aboard this hull, the documented insulation is fibrous glass - a non-asbestos material - which corrects the blanket presumption that all WWII shipboard insulation was asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1943 (report period)
- Population
- Ship's company (1942-43); salvage and repair personnel at Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Espiritu Santo, and Mare Island (1942-43)
- Limitations
- The report documents fibrous glass (non-asbestos) in refrigerated spaces and living quarters only - it does not identify insulation content in machinery spaces, on the auxiliary boiler, in gaskets, packing, or elsewhere aboard, and it nowhere uses the word 'asbestos'. It establishes a non-asbestos insulation material for two named space categories; it neither establishes nor excludes asbestos in any other material aboard. The report's 'complete renovation' statement applies to fire-damaged spaces, not a material survey.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alchiba-aka6-01
-
[2]Bureau of Ships (U.S. Navy), War Damage Report: U.S.S. ALCHIBA (AKA6) Torpedo Damage - Solomon Islands, 28 November and 7 December 1942 (HyperWar mirror PDF, read in full) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Report paras. 25, 32, 39-41, 46 (refrigerator space, auxiliary boiler/evaporating plant, engine room, shaft alley); Table No. 1 (auxiliary boiler and distilling plant in No. 3 port deep tank)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The same Bureau of Ships war damage report documents the asbestos-relevant machinery complement aboard this hull: an auxiliary boiler and distilling (evaporating) plant located in port deep tank No. 3 ('The evaporating plant in port deep tank No. 3 ... was completely destroyed. The auxiliary boiler located inboard of the evaporating plant was extensively damaged. The casings on the outboard side, the fuel oil burners and all attachments were crushed. The steam and water drums were damaged less extensively.'), a refrigeration plant ('the equipment in the refrigerator space ... was completely demolished'), machinery spaces flooded and later unwatered and overhauled at Espiritu Santo, and a single shaft alley - consistent with the diesel single-screw motorship documented in compiled data (ev-05).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Engine-room and auxiliary-machinery crew; refrigeration plant operators; damage-control and salvage personnel
- Limitations
- Establishes that asbestos-relevant machinery (auxiliary steam boiler, distilling plant, refrigeration plant, piping systems) was aboard this hull in 1942-43 - the report identifies equipment, not the materials content of its insulation, lagging, gaskets, or packing. Asbestos content of those systems is era inference only (ev-06).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alchiba-aka6-02
-
[3]DANFS, 'Alchiba (AK-23)' (NHHC online edition published 2018-02-13; canonical URL returned 404 on 2026-09-21 - read via Wayback capture 2025-12-09; HyperWar transcription cross-checked) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS 'Alchiba (AK-23) 1941-1946' entry, spec block + full narrative; HyperWar mirror http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/AKA/aka6.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Alchiba (AK-23/AKA-6) - full verbatim text of the NHHC online edition (published 2018-02-13) read via Wayback capture and cross-checked against the HyperWar transcription: Mormacdove laid down under MC contract (M.C. Hull 21) 15 August 1938 at Chester, Pa., by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; launched 6 July 1939 (sponsor Miss Alice W. Clement); owned/operated by Moore-McCormick Lines; acquired by Navy 2 June 1941, renamed Alchiba and designated AK-23 the next day; converted by the Boston Navy Yard for naval service as a cargo ship; commissioned at Boston 15 June 1941, Cmdr. Allen P. Mullinix in command. Service: Naval Transportation Service; Halifax-Reykjavik cargo run (departed 22 October 1941); Pacific cargo (Bora Bora; Antofagasta copper; Wellington NZ); Amphibious Force Pacific Fleet, Transport Division 10; Guadalcanal landings 7 August 1942; returns 18 September and 1 November; torpedoed by I-16 off Lunga Point 28 November 1942 (beached; fires over five days); torpedoed again 7 December 1942 (3 killed, 6 wounded); Tulagi 27 December; Espiritu Santo 18 January 1943; redesignated AKA-6 1 February 1943; Mare Island Navy Yard 2 June 1943-early August; Bougainville landings mid-November 1943; Moore Drydock Co., Oakland alterations 30 May-late August 1944; cargo at Hunters Point Navy Yard 22 September; Mare Island engine repairs from 29 November 1944; General Engineering & Drydock Corp. repairs spring 1945; at Ulithi at war's end; Norfolk 18 December 1945; decommissioned at Portsmouth, Va., 14 January 1946; stricken from the Navy list 25 February 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 19 July 1946; sold 1948 and refitted for merchant service. Three battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation (Guadalcanal, August-December 1942).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1938-1946
- Population
- Ship's company 1941-1946; embarked troops/cargo passengers; Boston Navy Yard conversion workforce (1941); Mare Island (1943-45), Moore Drydock (1944), General Engineering & Drydock (1945) repair workforces
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, construction, conversion yard, service narrative, and yard availabilities - contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation information and supports no asbestos claim. The NHHC edition reads laid down 15 August 1938 where the older HyperWar transcription reads 16 August (NHHC carried; flagged in gaps). Transcription artifacts in the entry ('31 November', '19843', 'mid-Adjust', 'Carvi') were not carried. The same NHHC page carries a second entry for Alchiba II (AK-261), a different postwar hull - out of scope here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alchiba-aka6-03
-
[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - ALCHIBA (AKA-6) Detail 109, including scanned NDRF vessel status cards (109_202AF.jpg, 109_202AB.jpg, 87cbb34b, a25cb174) and document ALCHIBA.pdf, all read verbatim from the card images [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 109 data block + milestones + status-card images read directly; document /documents/032ab084-05b4-4ef3-93b4-be74d81d2017.pdf (ALCHIBA.pdf custody card)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record (Detail 109 'ALCHIBA (AKA-6)') plus the vessel status cards read verbatim from the card images. Data block: year built 1939, Official No. 238987, Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock, type C2, AKA attack cargo ship; 459.0 ft x 63.0 ft; gross 6,198.96 / net 3,651 / DWT 8,540; displacement 14,225 summer; fate 'Sold - Foreign Flag Op.' Name history: Mormacdove (1939-1941) - Alchiba AK-23 (1941-1943) - Alchiba AKA-6 (1943-1946) - Mormacdove (1946-1948) - Tjipanas (1948-). Status card (front): name ALCHIBA AKA-6, former MORMACDOVE, type C2-Cargo, James River fleet unit; built Sun S.B. & D.D. Chester Pa. 1939, hull no. MC 21; ownership Navy; date entered fleet 7-19-46; renamed 'MORMACDOVE'; termination port last voyage NORFOLK; ships papers - prelim alloc 635 3-1-48 'Netherlands as is', final alloc 621 3-3-48; withdrawn from fleet 3-29-48 12:05 PM delivered to Purchaser. Status card (custody rows): Reserve Fleet -> Dichmann, Wright & Pugh, 12:05 PM (EST) 3-29-48, James River, GAA; Dichmann, Wright & Pugh -> Koninklijke Java-China Paketvaart Lijnen, 6-8-48 (Baltimore, Md.), Purchase, title passed 6-28-48 at Amsterdam, Holland; Maritime Admin. -> Zidell Explorations, Inc., 11-20-68, Olympia, 'LU/Scrap'. Basis card: 'Basis to W.S.A. 7-19-46 4:30 PM EDT at Lee Hall, Va. from Navy Dept. - Surplus'; continuation card note: 'Built with Const. Differential Subsidy - Moore McCormack Lines, Sect 502 and 504.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1939-1968
- Population
- NDRF James River (Lee Hall) fleet preservation crews (1946-48); Dichmann, Wright & Pugh agents; KJCPL/Royal Interocean Lines crews and refit workforce (1948-); Zidell Explorations scrapping workforce, Olympia (1968)
- Limitations
- Primary government custody record and the strongest disposition source in this file. The card's final custody row records Maritime Admin -> Zidell Explorations, Inc., Olympia, 11-20-68 'LU/Scrap' - which conflicts with secondary compilations (NavSource, shipbuildinghistory, Sun-Doxford engine list) reporting a 1967 Singapore-flag renaming (Tong Jit) and scrapping at Whampoa 3/1973; the mechanism reconciling the two records (e.g., reversion of the CDS-built hull to MARAD custody then resale for scrap) is undocumented in the sources found and is flagged in gaps. The cards track custody, fuel, and fleet movements only - they contain no asbestos, materials, insulation, or condition-survey information. Card verso carries an illegible pencil note (not carried).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alchiba-aka6-04
-
[5]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Alchiba (AKA-6) page (volunteer-compiled); Navypedia Arcturus-class table; Sun Ship built Doxford Engines compiled list (dieselduck.info PDF); HyperWar AKA-6 ship-data page; shipbuildinghistory.com C2 table - all secondary compilations used for cross-check [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/02/02006 data block (propulsion, fuel, complement, CO list, merchant-service photo captions); navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_aws_arcturus.htm machinery line; dieselduck.info Sun-built Doxford list row 33 (hull 178); ibiblio HyperWar AKA-6 page; shipbuildinghistory.com/merchantships/2c2cargoships.htm row 21
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Compiled ship-data sources agree on the diesel motorship identity of this hull: NavSource's AKA-6 data block lists 'one 2-stroke, 4 cylinder single-acting Sun Doxford Diesel engine, five Diesel-drive 230Kw 240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators, single propeller, 6,000shp' and 'Fuel Capacity Diesel 8,950 Bbls'; Navypedia's Arcturus-class table assigns '1 Sun Doxford diesel, 6000 h.p.' to AKA-6/7/8 and 11; the compiled Sun-built Doxford engine list (dieselduck.info) enters yard hull 178 'Freighter-C2 Tons 6198, Launch 6.7.1939, 815LB4 Stroke 2410 mm, 6000, 5362544, Mormacdove '41 Alchiba '48 Tjipanas '67 Tong Jit, 3/1973 scrapped Whampoa'; HyperWar's ship-data page likewise lists 'Diesel engines, single screw, 6,000 hp.' shipbuildinghistory.com's C2 construction table records Sun hull 178 Mormacdove delivered 21-Sep-39.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1939-1973
- Population
- Engine-room crew (diesel motorship complement)
- Limitations
- Volunteer/secondary compilations, not official records - carried as context/cross-check only. They are mutually consistent (Sun-Doxford diesel, single screw, ~6,000 shp) and consistent with the primary war damage report's documented machinery layout (single shaft alley, auxiliary boiler for hotel steam, no main boilers). The diesel identification is therefore credible but compiled, not register-primary. Contains no asbestos information. The compiled fate chain ('67 Tong Jit, 3/1973 Whampoa) conflicts with the MARAD status card's 1968 Zidell scrapping row - flagged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alchiba-aka6-05
-
[6]Franke, K., and Paustenbach, D., 'Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: A state of the science evaluation (1900 to 1970),' Inhalation Toxicology 23(sup3):1-20 (2011), PMID 22200078 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Inhalation Toxicology 23(sup3):1-20, 1930-1959 analysis block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference only: peer-reviewed scholarship (Franke & Paustenbach, Inhalation Toxicology 2011) documents that the U.S. Navy required and used asbestos-containing shipboard materials across the era spanning this hull's merchant construction (1938-1939) and naval service (1941-1946) - the 1930-1959 analysis blocks - and that naval vessels of the era carried amosite and chrysotile insulating materials extensively. Applied to this hull's documented equipment (auxiliary steam boiler, distilling/evaporating plant, refrigeration plant, and piping systems per ev-02), the era-typical asbestos applications would have been auxiliary boiler and steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, and machinery packing. The hull's documented disturbance events that would have worked such materials: Boston Navy Yard conversion (1941); war-damage salvage and repair at Tulagi/Espiritu Santo (1942-43) and Mare Island (1943); Moore Drydock alterations (1944); repeated engine repairs (1944-45); reserve-fleet preservation (1946-48); merchant refit (1948); scrapping (1968).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1938-1968
- Population
- Sun Shipbuilding construction workforce (1938-39); Moore-McCormick merchant crew (1939-41); Boston Navy Yard conversion workforce (1941); ship's company (1941-46); salvage/repair workforces at Tulagi, Espiritu Santo, Mare Island, Moore Drydock, General Engineering & Drydock (1942-45); NDRF preservation crews (1946-48); KJCPL refit/crew (1948-); scrapping workforce (1968)
- Limitations
- Era/program-level scholarship combined with this hull's documented auxiliary steam plant - establishes that asbestos-containing insulation was Navy/MC-standard practice in this hull's construction and service era, NOT that any survey or record confirms asbestos aboard this specific hull. The BuShips report's documented fibrous glass (ev-01) shows non-asbestos insulation was actually used aboard this hull in named spaces - era inference cannot be extended to assert asbestos content in the auxiliary systems either. No quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation is established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alchiba-aka6-06
-
[7]Batch-1040 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404; Wayback capture 2025-12-09 verified); HyperWar DANFS transcription; BuShips war damage report PDF (read in full); MARAD ShipHistory Detail 109 incl. status cards (read verbatim); NavSource/Navypedia/Doxford-list/shipbuildinghistory compilations; VA BVA index; general web index litigation search; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, 2800/day shared-key tier - throttled mid-session; outcome logged in ledger) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-alchiba-aka6-01 through sl-uss-alchiba-aka6-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, insulation specification, hazmat disclosure, adjudicated finding, or BVA decision naming USS Alchiba, AK-23, AKA-6, or her Mormacdove/Tjipanas identities was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Web litigation searches surfaced only law-firm marketing ship lists (simmonsfirm.com, freeasbestostesting.com, duboselawfirm.com, elslaw.com, mesotheliomaasbestoshelpcenter.com) that list Alchiba generically - an excluded source class, not carried as evidence.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 2026-09-21
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1938-39 merchant-built hull with a 1941 Navy conversion and documented auxiliary steam plant is era-consistent with some asbestos-containing materials. The disposal path (foreign sale 1948; MARAD-documented scrapping via Zidell 1968, or secondary-source 1973 Whampoa) predates hazmat-conditioned scrapping documentation. The CourtListener litigation surface was throttled mid-session (shared-key daily cap); its status is logged in the ledger - do not read the litigation surface as fully exhausted if the retry window lapsed. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alchiba-aka6-07
-
[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 and RG 24 record-group descriptions; BuShips war damage report reference block (ev-01/02); NavSource photo credit 19-N-24206 (ev-05); MARAD status-card custody references (ev-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 19 / RG 24 record-group guides (archives.gov); WDR references (a)-(d); MARAD card custody rows
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - research-room or reproduction order required; no spend authorized): NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) holds the original war damage report and Boston Navy Yard conversion records for MC hull 21 - including the referenced CO action report (15 Dec 1942), CO war damage report (5 May 1943), VESTAL repair report (13 May 1943), and Comdt. NYMI war damage report (19 Oct 1943) cited in the report's reference block; RG 24 holds the hull's deck logs (1941-1946); NARA photo 19-N-24206 (Bureau of Ships collection) documents the ship off Boston Navy Yard 18 June 1941; the MARAD custody correspondence file behind the status cards; KJCPL/Royal Interocean Lines records for the Tjipanas period (1948-); Zidell Explorations scrapping records (Olympia, 1968) - the likeliest repositories for any surviving materials documentation, including any scrapping-side survey.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1938-1968 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and file mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alchiba-aka6-08