Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet 976-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-alexandria-pf18-pkt-976-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Alexandria II (PF-18), Naval Historical Center / NHHC online entry (Wayback Machine capture 2012-09-20 of history.navy.mil/danfs/a6/alexandria-ii.htm; the live NHHC URL returns 404 and the successor DANFS path is also 404 - archived copy cited and labeled) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Alexandria II entry, specifications block + two-paragraph service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: second Alexandria, first named for Alexandria, Virginia; specifications block (PF-18: dp. 1,430; l. 303'11"; b. 37'6"; dr. 13'8"; s. 20.3 k.; cpl. 190; a. 3 3", 4 20mm., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (hh.), 2 dct.; cl. Tacoma; T. S2-S2-AQ1). Laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1848) 23 June 1943 at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Shipbuilding Co.; launched 15 January 1944; sponsored by Mrs. J. Leslie Hall; towed down the Mississippi River to New Orleans where she was fitted out and commissioned 11 March 1945, Lt. Comdr. C. G. Houtsma, USCG, in command. Shakedown and ASW training out of Guantanamo Bay late March-early April 1945; post-shakedown availability at the Norfolk Navy Yard 22 April - 4 May 1945; reported to Commander, Destroyers, Atlantic Fleet 15 May and reassigned as a weather ship; modifications at the Charleston Navy Yard; weather patrol off Newfoundland from late June 1945 (broken by a late October-early November visit to Alexandria, Va.) until February 1946, when she was declared surplus. Arrived Boston Naval Shipyard 12 February 1946 for just under one month; arrived Norfolk 12 March; decommissioned 10 April 1946; struck from the Navy list 21 May 1946; sold 18 April 1947 to Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester, Pa., for scrapping.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- American Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-45; USCG crew 1945-46 (design complement 190); yard workers at Norfolk, Charleston, and Boston Navy Yards and Sun Shipbuilding
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, service history, manning (USCG command), and disposition for this hull - it does not document materials or asbestos content. The archived capture is cited because the live NHHC page returns 404 (verified 2026-10-04); the entry is the expanded online DANFS II text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alexandria-pf18-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Frigate Photo Archive, Alexandria (PF-18) page (compiled ship record, verified live at navsource.net 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PF-18 page: header data block, specifications block, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled record for this hull: originally designated Patrol Gunboat PG-126, reclassified Patrol Frigate PF-18 on 15 April 1943; Maritime Commission type T. S2-S2-AQ1; laid down 23 June 1943 at American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio; launched 15 January 1944; commissioned 11 March 1945; decommissioned 10 April 1946 at Norfolk, VA; struck from the Navy Register 21 May 1946; sold for scrap 18 April 1947 to Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester, Pa. Ship-specific specifications: displacement 1,430 t.; propulsion 'Two 3-drum express boilers, two 5,500ihp Beloit Iron Works vertical triple expansion steam engines, two shafts'; speed 20.3 kts.; complement 190; armament listed as two 3"/50 dual-purpose mounts with the note 'the after 3-inch gun was removed and a weather balloon hanger was added'. Commanding officer list shows all three officers as USCG/USCGR (LCDR Cornelius Garret Houtsma USCG 11 Mar - 28 Jul 1945; LT Bache M. Whitlock USCGR to 20 Oct 1945; LT Aaron T. Leopard USCGR to 10 Apr 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- USCG/USCGR officers and crew 1945-46
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled photographic/history archive, not an official record - dates corroborate DANFS. Its PF-18 machinery figure (Beloit VTE engines) conflicts with generic class-level 'geared turbines' blurbs at uboat.net and the Wikipedia class infobox (carried in gaps). Documents specifications and officers, not asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alexandria-pf18-02
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS Alexandria (PF-18) (specialist warship database, verified live 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page, data table + commands table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent specialist corroboration for this hull: ordered 8 December 1942; laid down 23 June 1943; launched 15 January 1944; commissioned 11 March 1945; end of service (decommissioned) 10 April 1946; sold 18 April 1947 to be broken up for scrap. First commanding officer listed as Cornelius Gerrit Houtsma, USCGR (11 Mar - 28 Jul 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Limitations
- Secondary specialist database, not an official record; corroborates DANFS/NavSource dates and adds only the order date. 'Stricken at an unknown date' there vs. DANFS/NavSource 21 May 1946 - DANFS carried. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alexandria-pf18-03
-
[5]Tacoma-class frigate class documentation (Wikipedia compilation citing Friedman, 'U.S. Small Combatants'; verified live 2026-10-04) + hazegray DANFS Vol. I short entry for PF-18 (site unreachable at research time; text via search-index capture) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Tacoma-class article, 'Design', 'Construction program' and 'Service' sections; hazegray.org/danfs/patrol/pf18.htm via search cache
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class context bearing on this hull's history: all Tacoma-class ships in US service during WWII were crewed by the United States Coast Guard (corroborated ship-specifically for this hull by DANFS naming USCG officers in command and the NavSource all-USCG officer table, and by the DANFS Vol. I short entry's phrase 'the Coast Guard manned Alexandria'); Great Lakes-built PFs were floated down the Mississippi on pontoons to New Orleans or Houston for fitting out because ice closed the Soo Locks in winter/spring, often doubling construction time - consistent with this hull's 14-month launched-to-commissioned interval at New Orleans; Alexandria (PF-18) was the last Tacoma-class ship commissioned (March 1945); PFs assigned weather-ship duty had the aft 3-inch gun removed for a weather-balloon hangar - the modification NavSource documents on this hull. 96 class units built 1943-45 across eight yards; 21 transferred to Britain as the Colony class; 28 lent to the USSR.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- USCG crews class-wide; Great Lakes yard construction trades
- Limitations
- Class-level compilation (Wikipedia citing standard references), not ship-specific documentation; the ship-specific facts it corroborates (USCG manning, New Orleans fit-out, weather-ship conversion) are independently documented for this hull by DANFS and NavSource. The DANFS Vol. I entry adds 'transferred to the Navy 31 July 1944' and dates weather patrol 14 June 1945 - 12 February 1946 - details not in the canonical DANFS II entry and carried in gaps (hazegray.org itself was unreachable 2026-10-04; text obtained via search-index capture).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alexandria-pf18-04
-
[6]GAO HRD-80-2, 'Navy's Efforts to Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (published 18 October 1979; product page and full report PDF at gao.gov - direct automated fetch returns 403; content verified via firecrawl render 2026-10-04) [gao]
- Locator
- gao.gov product page 'Highlights'; full report PDF hrd-80-2.pdf - cover-letter 'all ships contain some asbestos' passage and Navy-response section on 1971/1973 specification changes and NAVSEAINST 5100.2 (24 Oct 1975)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Government documentation of the Navy's asbestos era bracketing this hull's entire existence: per the report, thermal insulation was the major shipboard asbestos application; 'all ships contain some' asbestos in components such as clutches and electric cables; thermal-insulation specifications began changing as early as 1971 toward less/no asbestos and by late 1973 called for asbestos-free materials; the formal no-asbestos policy (NAVSEAINST 5100.2) issued 24 October 1975. A hull built June 1943 - March 1945 and scrapped April 1947 sits entirely inside the unrestricted-asbestos era - decades before any substitution requirement. The report's fieldwork yards were the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards; Norfolk Naval Shipyard is also where this hull underwent post-shakedown availability 22 April - 4 May 1945 (yard-level context only).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979 (report); policy era 1971-1979; hull era 1943-1947
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program-level context)
- Limitations
- Program-level 1979 document: it names no patrol frigate and no 1943-45 construction. It establishes era policy and typical shipboard applications, not the presence, absence, quantity, or location of asbestos aboard this hull; its Norfolk fieldwork postdates this hull's 1945 availability by ~34 years and does not document her work scope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alexandria-pf18-05
-
[7]NavSource PF-18 machinery specification ('Two 3-drum express boilers, two 5,500ihp Beloit Iron Works vertical triple expansion steam engines, two shafts') + GAO HRD-80-2 era policy (spec changes 1971-75) + Atlas shipyards.json yard records [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PF-18 specifications block (propulsion line); GAO HRD-80-2 product page + PDF; shipyards.json records norfolk-naval-shipyard, charleston-naval-shipyard, boston-naval-shipyard, sun-shipbuilding-chester
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a steam-driven patrol frigate built June 1943 - January 1944 (fitted out to March 1945): plausible asbestos applications on this type concentrate in boiler and engine-room thermal insulation, steam-line lagging between fireroom and engineroom, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, electrical insulation and cable, accommodation fireproofing, and brake/friction linings on winches and windlass. GAO HRD-80-2 documents that Navy asbestos-substitution policy dates only from 1971-75 - 26+ years after this hull was scrapped. Documented yard-contact events for this hull (Norfolk Navy Yard post-shakedown availability Apr-May 1945; Charleston Navy Yard weather-ship modifications Jun 1945; Boston Naval Shipyard Feb-Mar 1946 disposal work; Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester, PA, scrapping 1947) are all yards whose asbestos-era practices are documented at yard level in the Atlas shipyard dataset (norfolk-naval-shipyard tier 2 incl. EPA Superfund listing; charleston-naval-shipyard tier 2 incl. drydock-worker fiber counts to 70 f/cc; boston-naval-shipyard tier 3 incl. John Crane gasket litigation; sun-shipbuilding-chester tier 3 incl. product-identification testimony: Unibestos, Caltemp, Kaylo, Garlock, Raybestos).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- American Shipbuilding (Lorain) construction trades 1943-45; USCG crew 1945-46; yard workers at Norfolk/Charleston/Boston navy yards and Sun Shipbuilding (scrapping)
- Limitations
- Class/era and yard-level inference only - no hull-level material schedule, insulation specification, survey, or work order exists in the located public record for this ship, and none can be generated for a hull scrapped in 1947 except through NARA construction and repair records (not retrieved). Yard-level asbestos documentation at Norfolk/Charleston/Boston/Sun describes those yards' era practices - it does not establish what work was done on this hull, what materials it carried, or exposure of any person.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alexandria-pf18-06
-
[8]Batch-8421 search ledger (this record): DANFS via NHHC Wayback capture; NavSource.net; uboat.net; CourtListener API v4 name and hull-number queries (3 of 4 completed); MARAD vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov; NVR; hazegray DANFS mirror; GAO HRD-80-2; Tacoma-class compiled references [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-alexandria-pf18-01 through sl-uss-alexandria-pf18-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, construction material schedule, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Alexandria (PF-18) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener completed queries returned zero opinion hits for the exact ship name and only name-collision hits for the hull number.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943-45 steam naval vessel's era-standard materials make asbestos presence a reasonable era-consistent inference, but it is not ship-proven. One of four required CourtListener base queries ('USS Alexandria' docket search) was blocked by fleet pacing at research time; litigation status for that one index is open, not negative. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alexandria-pf18-07