Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]DANFS, 'Algorab' entry (second ship entry, AK-262), Naval History and Heritage Command (published 2015-06-16; live NHHC URL returns 404 - verbatim text retrieved via Internet Archive Wayback capture 20251209094751; historycentral.com mirror corroborates) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Algorab' page, second entry (AK-262 paragraph below the AK-25/AKA-8 entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC records, verbatim: 'Elisha Whitney, an N3-S-A2 freighter launched on 31 October 1943 at Beaumont, Tex., by Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc., under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1624), was acquired by the Navy from the Army on 12 June 1951 and renamed Algorab (AK-262). She was loaned to the Republic of Korea that same day and served that nation until her return to the United States Navy early in 1960. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 February 1960; and she was sold to Hong Kong Rolling Mills, Ltd., on 27 June 1960 for scrapping.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943-1960
- Limitations
- Primary Navy historical entry - authoritative for identity, custody chain, and disposal; a five-sentence entry with no spec block, no commissioning or crew data (the ship was never commissioned), and no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page 404s (standing link rot, cf. BATCH-01); the Wayback capture is the verbatim NHHC text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorab-ak262-01
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[2]Shipscribe U.S. Navy auxiliary ships data sheets, 'USS Alchiba (AK 261, N3-S-A2) Class' page (Stephen S. Roberts compilation from Navy registers, BuShips/SCB design records, and MARAD files) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AK-261 class page: characteristics block, construction table (AK-262 row), disposition table, class notes (Korean Program / naming / disposal paragraphs), ship notes (AK-262 row)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compilation naming this hull in class tables and ship notes: ALGORAB acquired 12 Jun 1951; keel 6 Sep 1943; launched 31 Oct 1943 at Pennsylvania SY, Beaumont; never in U.S. commissioned service ('Svc: --'); struck 1 Feb 1960; ship note - 'Ex merc. ELISHA WHITNEY, completed 25 Apr 1944. To Army 10 May 1946 at Yokohama. Loaned by the Army to ECA Korea 13 Jan 1950. Sold 27 Jun 1960 to Hong Kong Rolling Mills.' Class notes document the program context: eight N3-S-A2s in the Army's Korean Program as of 31 Aug 1948 on MC bareboat charter, title to the Army 23 Feb 1949 under Public Law 766; Army's 5 May 1951 request that COMNAVFE control six of them for ROK civil relief; June 1951 Army-to-Navy transfer with simultaneous ROK loan; CNO naming request for AK 257-266 on 20 Jun 1951; BUPERS slate DENEBOLA/REGULUS/RIGEL/SIRIUS/SPICA/VEGA cancelled 12 Jul 1951 and final names approved 26 Jul 1951; SECNAV disposal approval 1 Dec 1959; MA scrapping-only authorization 8 Jan 1960; return to Navy custody at Sasebo; advertised 23 May 1960; sold 27 Jun 1960 with the five sisters and six ex-Army FS freighters (AKL 37-42). Class data: N3-S-A2 design, 1,276 lt / 4,040 fl tons; 259' oa x 42' x 19'; 11 kts; 1,300 hp Ajax Uniflow 6-cylinder compound reciprocating engine, 2 oil-fired boilers, 1 screw; accommodations 9 officers + 24; unarmed. N3-S-A2 origins: 59 built of 76 proposed; developed after the 1941 British Shipbuilding Mission urged Great Lakes small-yard capacity for coaster tonnage.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943-1960
- Population
- Pennsylvania Shipyards construction workforce (1943-44); U.S. Army Transportation Service crews (1944-46); Army Korean-Program crews (1946-50); ECA Korea / Republic of Korea crews (1950-1960); Hong Kong breaking-yard workers (1960)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary transcription of official Navy register, design, and MARAD records, not the registers themselves; used where consistent with DANFS/NavSource/shipbuildinghistory. Contains no asbestos information; the detailed custody dates document events, not materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorab-ak262-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - Algorab (AK-262), file 09/13/130262 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 130262.htm - specifications block, timeline entries, NH 84174 photo credit
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline corroborates DANFS: laid down as SS Elisha Whitney, MC type N3-S-A2 (MC hull 1624), Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc., Beaumont TX; launched 31 Oct 1943; delivered to the Maritime Commission for service with the US Army Transportation Service; acquired by the US Navy from the US Army Transportation Service 12 Jun 1951, renamed Algorab (AK-262) and leased to South Korea the same day; returned to US Naval custody January 1960; struck 1 Feb 1960; sold for scrapping 27 Jun 1960 to Hong Kong Rolling Mills, Ltd. Spec block: 1,677 t lt / 5,202 t fl; 269'10" x 42'6" x 20'9"; 10 kts; complement unknown; armament none; 'steam turbine, single propeller.' Photo: NH 84174 (NHHC) shows the ship at anchor in South Korean service, date and location unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943-1960
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official; consistent with DANFS on the timeline. Spec-block conflicts logged in gaps: displacement/length differ from shipscribe class data (1,276 lt / 4,040 fl; 259' oa) and the 'steam turbine' entry conflicts with the type's documented reciprocating plant (Ajax Uniflow per shipscribe class notes) - assessed as a generic-fill error. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorab-ak262-03
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[4]ShipbuildingHistory.com (Tim Colton), 'Bethlehem Beaumont, Pennsylvania Shipyards' yard table + 'N Type Coastal Cargo Ships' table (http://shipbuildinghistory.com/merchantships/2ntypeships.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Bethlehem Beaumont yard table, row 307 (official no. 245482); N-type coastal cargo table, MC 1624 row; yard-history narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard production table row for this hull: yard no. 307, U.S. official no. 245482, 'Elisha Whitney', U.S. Maritime Commission, type N3-S-A2/MC hull 1624, 1,896 GRT (2,757 DWT in the N-type table), completed Apr-44, 'To USA 1949, to USN 1951 as Algorab (AK 262), scrapped 1960.' Yard history: the Beaumont yard (originally Beaumont Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., a WWI emergency builder in continuous operation since 1917) was acquired by Pennsylvania Car & Foundry of Sharon PA in 1922 and renamed Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc.; it built nine N3-S-A2s and later passed to Bethlehem Steel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943-1960
- Population
- Pennsylvania Shipyards construction workforce (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Reputable secondary compilation of shipyard production data, not an official register; 'To USA 1949' corresponds to the PL 766 title transfer of 23 Feb 1949 documented by shipscribe. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorab-ak262-04
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[5]Consolidated era/design inference - documented N3-S-A2 machinery plant (shipscribe AK-261 class data) applied to this hull's construction era [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe AK-261 class page: characteristics block and class machinery notes (Ajax Uniflow 6-cylinder compound, 2 boilers, oil-fired A2 variant)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull carried a single-screw oil-fired steam plant - two boilers feeding a 1,300-hp Ajax Uniflow six-cylinder compound reciprocating engine - built in 1943-44 at a Maritime Commission contract yard, the machinery configuration for which boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and accommodation joiner insulation of the period were commonly asbestos-containing. The hull's documented disturbance phases are distinct from a commissioned Navy auxiliary's: 1943-44 construction at Pennsylvania Shipyards; Army Transport Service operation 1944-46; Army Korean-Program operation 1946-50; ECA Korea then Republic of Korea operation 1950-1960 with undocumented maintenance; and 1960 breaking in Hong Kong under a scrapping-only MA authorization.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943-1960
- Population
- Pennsylvania Shipyards construction trades (1943-44); USATS crews (1944-46); Army Korean-Program crews (1946-50); ECA Korea / ROK crews (1950-1960); Hong Kong breaking-yard workers (1960) - no U.S. Navy complement ever served aboard
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant and construction era - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming AK-262 / MC hull 1624 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorab-ak262-05
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[6]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 WWII - the era and Maritime Commission emergency construction program under which this N3-S-A2 freighter was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorab-ak262-06
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[7]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at two Navy yards and two Navy contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in wartime naval-vessel and Commission construction of exactly this hull's era and type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval and Commission construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard (whether Pennsylvania Shipyards Beaumont was among the surveyed contract yards is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized - see the 2026 critique at DOI 10.1177/10482911261446696.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorab-ak262-07
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[8]Batch-914 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Wayback + historycentral mirror; NavSource 130262; shipscribe AK-261 class page; shipbuildinghistory Beaumont/N-type tables; MARAD ShipHistory; CourtListener (blocked); indexed-web litigation checks; VA BVA index; NVR; NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-algorab-ak262-01 through sl-uss-algorab-ak262-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, disposal-condition document, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Algorab / AK-262 / Elisha Whitney / MC hull 1624 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No name-collision court hits were located at all - 'Algorab' is a low-collision name and indexed-web checking returned only the first Algorab (AK-25/AKA-8) on law-firm marketing lists plus this hull on two further marketing lists (freeasbestostesting.com, mesotheliomaasbestoshelpcenter.com); marketing assertions of era-typical asbestos content carry no primary support and are an excluded source class.
- 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 1943-44 oil-fired steam freighter is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and 17 years of Army/ECA/ROK operation with undocumented maintenance plus the 1960 Hong Kong breaking are undocumented disturbance phases. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. CourtListener systematic name/hull sweeps were not run - the authenticated API quota (2,800/day) was already exhausted by prior work on this machine (HTTP 429, expected available ~16,859 s) - backed off per batch instruction; negative litigation coverage rests on indexed-web checking only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorab-ak262-08
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[9]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 178 (Records of the U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 336 (Records of the Office of the Chief of Transportation - Army Transport Service), RG 357 (Records of the Maritime Administration), RG 313 (Records of Naval Operating Forces - COMNAVFE) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html ; /groups/336.html ; /groups/357.html ; /groups/313.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): USMC construction-contract records for MC hull 1624 at Pennsylvania Shipyards (RG 178); Army Transportation Corps / USATS service records covering this hull's 1944-1950 operation and the Korean Program (RG 336); Maritime Administration files covering the PL 766 title transfer of 23 Feb 1949, the ECA Korea loan of 13 Jan 1950, and the 1960 scrapping-only sale at Sasebo - the sale file is the most promising disposal-era hazmat lead (RG 357); COMNAVFE records for the 1951 Army-to-Navy transfer and the January 1960 custody return (RG 313). No Navy deck logs exist for a vessel never commissioned in U.S. service.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943-1960 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-algorab-ak262-09