Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
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[1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS Aldebaran' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'USS Aldebaran' returned 0 results (2026-10-07)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Limitations
- zero-hit search; absence of hits is not proof of no litigation
- Evidence ID
- uss-aldebaran-af10-cl-name-opinion
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[2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS Aldebaran' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'USS Aldebaran' returned 15 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed; name query may match same-named vessels
- Evidence ID
- uss-aldebaran-af10-cl-name-docket
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[3]CourtListener opinion search: 'AF-10' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'AF-10' returned 13799 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed
- Evidence ID
- uss-aldebaran-af10-cl-hull-opinion
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[4]CourtListener docket search: 'AF-10' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'AF-10' returned 176515 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed
- Evidence ID
- uss-aldebaran-af10-cl-hull-docket
-
[5]DANFS, Aldebaran (AF-10) - construction, acquisition, service narrative, disposal (verbatim hazegray transcription; live NHHC page unavailable) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/aldebaran.html (404 on 2026-09-20); verbatim text via losthistory.net hazegray mirror + Wayback capture 2024-05-25 (web.archive.org/web/20240525114211/...aldebaran.html)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: built as SS Stag Hound (MC hull 27) by Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., laid down 28 Nov 1938, launched 21 Jun 1939, delivered to Grace Lines 4 Dec 1939; Navy purchased 22 Dec 1940, renamed Aldebaran, classified stores ship AF-10, in commission in ordinary 26 Dec 1940, full commission at San Francisco 14 Jan 1941 (Comdr. Royal Abbott). WWII: San Francisco-Pearl provision shuttles; South Pacific circuit (Samoa, Tongatabu, New Caledonia, Espiritu Santo, Efate, Solomons); Kwajalein provisioning June 1944; Marshalls/Carolines (Eniwetok, Ulithi, Manus, Guam); April 1945 fitted for underway replenishment, TU 50.8.5, five weeks supporting Okinawa then carrier strikes on Japan; Tokyo Bay 2 Sep 1945; two battle stars. Postwar: Puget Sound Naval Shipyard repair Feb-Mar 1946; east coast via Panama Jul 1946; two decades Mediterranean/West Indies logistics incl. 1958 Lebanon and 1962 Cuban quarantine (Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal). Decommissioned Norfolk 28 Jun 1968; to MARAD NDRF James River 29 Oct 1968 (permanent 30 Jun 1969); stricken 1 Jun 1973; sold 14 Nov 1974 to Andy International, Brownsville, TX, for scrapping.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1938-1974
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, service history, and specifications - it contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or condition-survey information and supports no asbestos claim. Complement 287 is the DANFS spec-block figure (conflicts documented in gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aldebaran-af10-01
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[6]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), USS Aldebaran (AF-10) class and ship notes - compiled from official U.S. Navy/Maritime Commission records [other_primary]
- Locator
- AF-10 page: Class Notes (AF conversion program) and Ship Notes row (MC#27, conversion yard, dates)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Conversion record: Aldebaran was accepted 26 Dec 1940 and placed in commission in ordinary for conversion at Moore Dry Dock Co., Oakland, Cal.; an urgent 12th Naval District requirement sent her on the Samoa run after only minimal work; full conversion proceeded at Moore between April and October 1941 - insulating three holds, installing six units of refrigerating equipment, rearranging living spaces for a naval crew of 210, installing a new water-distilling plant, and providing gun foundations and boat stowage/handling equipment; stack to be raised 10 ft; initial armament (1-5"/51, 4-3"/23) installed September 1941. Equipped for replenishment at sea April 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1940-1945
- Population
- Moore Dry Dock conversion workforce (Apr-Oct 1941); embarked naval crew (~210 design)
- Limitations
- Specialist compilation of official records (primary data, secondary host). Documents the conversion EVENT - insulating three holds and installing refrigerating equipment - but does not specify insulation material; any asbestos content is era inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish exposure, quantity, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aldebaran-af10-02
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[7]NavSource Online, USS Aldebaran (AF-10) Service Ship Photo Archive - specifications, awards/campaign tables, dated photo captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- AF-10 archive page: Specifications block; Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons table; photo caption index
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive tabulation for AF-10: complement 17 officers + 270 enlisted (=287, consistent with DANFS spec block); propulsion one Newport News steam turbine, two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers (450 psi, 750 deg F), Westinghouse double-reduction gears, single propeller 6,000 shp; cargo capacity 5,715 DWT incl. 116,930 cu ft refrigerated and 191,820 cu ft non-refrigerated; armament 1x5"/38, 4x3"/50, 10x20mm; campaign credits - Okinawa Gunto (6 May-11 Jun 1945) and 3rd Fleet operations against Japan (10 Jul-3 Aug 1945), Navy Occupation Service (Asia and Europe periods 1945-1955), China Service (extended), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Lebanon, Cuba). Photo captions document inclining experiments at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 30 Mar 1946 and drydocking at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, 1966.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1941-1968
- Population
- Ship's complement (~287 wartime); yard workers at documented availabilities
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive hosting official Navy imagery and data - secondary compilation, not a primary record. No asbestos, materials, or condition-survey content; supports no asbestos claim. AFEM ribbon graphic also lists Vietnam service not corroborated by the DANFS narrative (ship's documented postwar ops were Atlantic/Mediterranean) - flagged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aldebaran-af10-03
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[8]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - ALDEBARAN (AF-10), Ship History Detail 124 (incl. digitized status card scan) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 124: Vessel Name History, Milestones table, Status Cards/Documents tabs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record for Aldebaran (AF-10): year built 1939; Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company; Naval Auxiliary, AF Store Ship, MARAD type C2; 7,169 GT; 459.25 ft x 63.0 ft; name history Stag Hound (1939-1940) then Aldebaran (1940-1974); milestones - NDRF entry 29 Oct 1968, MARAD acquisition 30 Jun 1969, sold 6 Dec 1974 as scrap to Andy International Inc. under contract PD-X-985 for $336,900; digitized 1942 vessel card on file (vessel movement notes, no materials content).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1939-1974
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones and sale contract data; contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information - supports no asbestos claim. Sale-date difference vs DANFS reconciled in correction row ev-07.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aldebaran-af10-04
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[9]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
- Era/design inference: peer-reviewed scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding in the WWII era, with wartime demand driving unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard government-built and converted hulls. This vessel's era-standard applications would have been: boiler and steam-line insulation for the B&W header-type plant, turbine lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and insulation of refrigerated cargo holds (the 1941 conversion insulated three holds and installed six refrigerating units).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1938-1974
- Population
- Newport News construction trades (1938-39); Moore Dry Dock conversion trades (1941); ship's force and yard workers at 27 years of availabilities
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship and design inference - does not name this vessel, does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, and does not establish quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. Construction (1938-39) predates the paper's wartime focus; the 1941 conversion falls within the documented era.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aldebaran-af10-05
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[10]Mitchell v. Asbestos Corp., Ltd., 62 Cal. App. 4th 278 (Cal. Ct. App. 1998); Foglia v. Moore Dry Dock Co., A142125 (Cal. App. Mar. 8, 2018) (unpublished - described, not cited as authority) [court_record]
- Locator
- Mitchell: 62 Cal. App. 4th 278, First District Div. 2 (Super. Ct. S.F. Nos. 955576/975884 consolidated); Foglia: Cal. App. 1st Dist. A142125
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published California appellate opinion documenting asbestos products in use at the yard that converted this ship: Mitchell v. Asbestos Corporation Ltd., 62 Cal. App. 4th 278 (1998) - a jury found asbestos fiber supplier ACL liable for a tack welder's 1942-43 exposure to Eagle-Picher 'Super 66' insulating cement and other asbestos products while working at Moore Dry Dock, Oakland; the published appeal resolved statute-of-limitations and consolidation issues arising from the consolidated Mitchell I/Mitchell II actions. A second, unpublished appellate disposition - Foglia v. Moore Dry Dock Co., A142125 (Cal. App. Mar. 8, 2018) - affirmed summary judgment for MDD on a secondary-exposure wrongful-death claim for lack of admissible exposure evidence (father alleged electrician at MDD 1942-45).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1945 exposure period; 1998 and 2018 opinions
- Population
- Moore Dry Dock shipyard workforce (1941-1945 era)
- Limitations
- YARD-LEVEL litigation context, not a ship record: no opinion names Aldebaran or any specific hull. Mitchell documents asbestos products at Moore Dry Dock in 1942-43 - immediately post-dating this ship's April-October 1941 conversion there; it establishes yard practice/era, not materials installed aboard AF-10. Foglia is unpublished (Cal. R. Ct. 8.1115) and ended in affirmed defense summary judgment - a merits-level negative for those plaintiffs, not affirmative exposure evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aldebaran-af10-06
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[11]MARAD ShipHistory Detail 124 milestone table vs DANFS Aldebaran entry vs shipscribe AF-10 ship notes [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD milestones (Sold 12/6/1974); DANFS final paragraph (sold 14 Nov 1974); shipscribe disposition table (MA Sale 14 Nov 74; ship notes 'to buyer 6 Dec 74')
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancy reconciled - disposal date: DANFS and NavSource record 'sold 14 November 1974' to Andy International, Brownsville, TX; the MARAD milestone table records 'Sold 12/6/1974 ... under PD-X-985 contract for $336,900' and shipscribe lists 'MA Sale 14 Nov 74 / to buyer 6 Dec 74'. Consistent reading: sale contract executed 14 Nov 1974; physical delivery/title transfer to buyer 6 Dec 1974. Both dates are carried with their sources rather than silently merged.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1974
- Limitations
- Resolves a publication-level date discrepancy (contract award vs delivery). No asbestos content in any source; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aldebaran-af10-07
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[12]Batch-509 search ledger (this record): DANFS mirror + Wayback capture; NavSource; shipscribe; MARAD ShipHistory 124 + status card; CourtListener/Google-indexed opinion search; NVR coverage check; NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-aldebaran-af10-01 through sl-uss-aldebaran-af10-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, materials inventory, museum hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming Aldebaran, AF-10, or SS Stag Hound as the exposure platform was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion screening returned 39 'Aldebaran', 18 'AF-10', and 7 'Stag Hound' hits - every one a name collision (the Alleghany Corp. v. Aldebaran Corp. Maryland corporate precedent, foreign-flag merchantmen S/S and M/V Aldebaran, an Oregon 'AF-10' zoning district, a Sea-Land container ship Stag Hound, and an 1870 schooner), none involving this hull or asbestos. The ship was stricken and sold for scrap in 1973-74 - before modern asbestos documentation practice - and never became a museum.
- 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 1938-39 steam merchant hull converted for refrigerated stores service in 1941 is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. Litigation screening covered CourtListener's published-opinion index via the HTML endpoint (the API was rate-limited, HTTP 429, 125/day shared cap); RECAP dockets and unindexed state filings were not exhaustively covered - residual missed-docket risk is flagged, not zeroed. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aldebaran-af10-08
-
[13]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Naval Personnel - deck logs), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 181 (Naval Districts); NHHC Operational Archives [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/181.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - research-room or reproduction order required; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 deck logs for USS Aldebaran, 1941-1968 (WWII logs at Archives I, Washington; post-1959 logs at Archives II, College Park) - logs record underway replenishment evolutions and yard periods; NARA RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) construction/contract files for MC hull 27 including outfitting specifications; NARA RG 181 Twelfth Naval District records (NARA San Bruno) potentially covering the April-October 1941 Moore Dry Dock conversion work orders; NHHC Operational Archives ship files and any BuShips correspondence on the AF-10 conversion.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1938-1974 records
- Limitations
- Record-group 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-aldebaran-af10-09