Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet crew-cp-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS **Algorma** (AT-34; later ATO-34)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-algorma-at34-pkt-crew-cp-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'USS Algorma I (ATO-34)' (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Naval History Division) - HyperWar/ibiblio transcription by Patrick Clancey [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full entry; spec line '(ScTug: dp. 998; l. 156'8"; b. 30'; dr. 14'7"; s. 13.06 k.; cpl. 44; a. 1 mg.)'; bracketed addendum re Mulberry blocks/dud torpedo appears mid-entry in brackets
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for USS Algorma I (ATO-34): laid down 1919-01-06 at Port Richmond, N.Y., by Staten Island Shipbuilding Co.; launched 1919-06-12; commissioned 1920-05-15 at New York Navy Yard (Lt. H.C. Brown); designated AT-34 1920-07-17; 3d Naval District, then 5th Naval District/Norfolk (Jan 1921); Canal Zone towing Coco Solo-San Diego from 1921-09-28; decommissioned Mare Island 1922-05-03; recommissioned 1924-09-28 (Lt. Frank Schultz) for Fleet Base Force, Train Squadron 2, Battle Fleet - aircraft tender/target towing on the California coast; carried emergency supplies to 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake victims (late June 1925); west coast ops through 1941-06-30; Atlantic Fleet from 1941-07-14; Caribbean towing/ASW patrols 1942-07 to 1943-12; Norfolk overhaul Dec 1943; convoy to England 1944-01-25, Falmouth 1944-02-15; Normandy buildup towing concrete blocks for artificial harbors (Mulberry), struck by a dud torpedo and towed to England for propeller repairs (bracketed addendum in the DANFS transcription); designation changed to ATO-34 1944-05-15; post-invasion salvage and barge/lighter duty Britain-France; departed Belfast convoy 1945-03-23, New York 1945-04-13, Norfolk Navy Yard overhaul; arrived San Francisco via Panama Canal 1945-08-25; Pacific Fleet towing from Treasure Island; decommissioned 1946-06-18; struck 1946-07-31; transferred to Maritime Commission 1947-01-14 for disposal; one battle star for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1919-1947
- Population
- Crew (~44 per DANFS; sources differ)
- Limitations
- Canonical NHHC URL (history.navy.mil DANFS page) returns 404 as of 2026-09-26 - standing NHHC link-rot issue; the ibiblio HyperWar transcription of the printed DANFS entry is cited instead. DANFS's own text is internally inconsistent on the 1922 deactivation transit ('In April 1922... left the Canal Zone... arrived 29 March 1922'). The bracketed Mulberry/dud-torpedo passage is an addendum in the transcription, not main DANFS text. No asbestos or insulation-material statement in the entry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorma-at34-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Algorma (ATO-34) page (09/64/64034) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Specifications block; milestone list; awards/campaign table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource service ship archive page for USS Algorma (ATO-34) corroborates milestones (Fleet Tug No. 34 1920; AT-34 1920-07-17; ATO-34 1944-05-15; decommissioned 1946-06-18 Treasure Island; struck 1946-07-31; transferred to Maritime Commission 1947-01-14) and adds: Maritime Commission sale to Crowley Marine at Treasure Island 1946-12-23 for $5,077.00, removed 1947-01-14, final disposition unknown; one battle star; awards (American Defense Service Medal w/ Fleet clasp, American Campaign Medal, EAME Campaign Medal with 1 star, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal); Europe-Africa-Middle East campaign entry 'Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944'. Specifications block: displacement 998 t.(lt); length 157'8"; beam 34'8"; draft 14'7"; speed 12.8 kts (trial); complement 5 officers/56 enlisted; boom capacity 5 t.; armament one machine gun; fuel 2,050 bbls NSFO; propulsion one Globe Iron Works vertical triple-expansion steam engine, two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers 200 psi, two turbo-drive 25 kW 120V DC generators, single propeller 1,800 shp.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1919-1947
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archive reproducing official data, not an official source itself. Its spec block diverges from DANFS on beam (34'8" vs 30'), length (157'8" vs 156'8"), speed (12.8 vs 13.06 kt), and complement (61 vs 44) - discrepancies logged, not resolved. Disposal detail (Crowley Marine sale, $5,077, 1946-12-23) is consistent with but more granular than DANFS's 1947-01-14 transfer date. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorma-at34-02
-
[4]NavSource USS Algorma (ATO-34) specifications block (plant description); DANFS service history (yard periods) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Specifications block, 'Propulsion' lines; DANFS overhaul entries (Dec 1943; Apr-May 1945 Norfolk Navy Yard)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Algorma was a WWI-program single-screw steam tug: per the NavSource specifications block, one Globe Iron Works vertical triple-expansion steam engine fed by two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers (200 psi), single propeller, 1,800 shp. Steam propulsion of this era and configuration was era-typically fitted with asbestos-containing thermal insulation (boiler casing, steam-line lagging, magnesia/felt systems) and asbestos gaskets and packing; this vessel also underwent Navy-yard overhauls (Mare Island 1922 inactivation; Norfolk Dec 1943 and spring 1945) inside the asbestos-specification era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1919-1946
- Population
- Construction trades (Staten Island Shipbuilding, 1919-20 fitting-out); Navy engine-room crew; yard workers at 1922/1943/1945 availabilities
- Limitations
- INFERENCE ROW - the plant description is real for this hull, but no located source documents that asbestos was installed aboard it. Asbestos presence is an era/technology inference only; nothing here establishes presence, quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. Does not establish or defeat any claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorma-at34-03
-
[5]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), doi:10.3109/08958378.2011.643417, PMID 22200078 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and section on historical asbestos use in the Navy (1880s-1950s insulation use; mid/late-1930s amosite approval)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed state-of-the-science review documents that amosite and chrysotile asbestos (and, to a lesser extent, crocidolite) were used extensively as insulating materials on U.S. naval ships beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into the 1950s, that the Navy approved amosite for shipboard use in the mid-to-late 1930s and subsequently required it in many applications, and that military specifications prescribed asbestos content in insulation, gaskets, and packing - spanning this hull's entire period in service (1920-1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1900-1970
- Population
- U.S. Navy ship crews and shipyard workers (era context)
- Limitations
- Era/program-level scholarship; does not name this vessel and establishes nothing about this specific hull's materials, exposure, or present condition. ChemRisk-affiliated authorship is noted as a potential defense-side perspective - content used here only for era framing.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorma-at34-04
-
[6]Rushworth, A.M., 'The Navy and Asbestos Thermal Insulation,' Naval Engineers Journal 117(2), American Society of Naval Engineers (2005) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract, NEJ 117(2) (2005)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Professional-society review documents that asbestos was once used in U.S. Navy shipboard pipe and machinery thermal insulation and in many other shipboard products, and describes the evolution of naval thermal-insulation systems in WWII and post-WWII ships - the era covering this tug's WWII service and Norfolk Navy Yard overhauls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- WWII era documented; article 2005
- Population
- Navy engineering personnel and yard workers (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level technical review; does not name this hull. Article centers WWII and post-WWII insulation systems; a 1919 steam plant is earlier than the article's detailed focus, so era applicability is general, not specific. Establishes nothing about this hull's materials, exposure, or condition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorma-at34-05
-
[7]Staten Island Shipbuilding Company collection finding aid (Sailors' Snug Harbor/Noble Maritime Collection catalog) describing the yard's corporate history 1888-1959; corroborating secondary summaries (navalmarinearchive.com shipyard profile) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Finding aid scope/history notes; yard profile timeline
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder lineage context: the construction yard was Staten Island Shipbuilding Co. at Port Richmond, Staten Island - founded by William Burlee as Burlee Drydock Co. (1888/1895 per archival finding aid), renamed Staten Island Shipbuilding Company in 1907, moved to Mariners Harbor 1925, merged into United Dry Dock Company 1929, and acquired by Bethlehem Steel in 1938. The yard's WWI Navy work included Lapwing-class minesweepers (AM-5 through AM-8, AM-44/45/46) alongside the Algorma-class fleet tugs.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1888-1959
- Limitations
- Builder-identity and corporate-lineage context only; the yard itself is not in the repo shipyards.json dataset (no slug; logged in gaps). Yard lineage bears on successor liability questions generally but is not evidence about this hull's materials. Finding aid is an archival description, not a vessel record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorma-at34-06
-
[8]Cross-source reconciliation: DANFS (ibiblio transcription), NavSource 09/64/64034 specifications and milestones, Wikipedia infobox [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body and spec line; NavSource spec block/milestones; Wikipedia infobox 'Recommissioned' field
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved/logged: (a) recommissioning date - DANFS and NavSource give 1924-09-28; Wikipedia gives 1924-09-29; DANFS adopted. (b) Specifications - DANFS gives length 156'8", beam 30', speed 13.06 kt, complement 44; NavSource gives 157'8", 34'8", 12.8 kt (trial), 61 total - both cited, figures not merged. (c) DANFS internal inconsistency - 'In April 1922... left the Canal Zone... arrived [Mare Island] 29 March 1922' cannot be sequential; logged as a DANFS transcription anomaly, not resolved. (d) Disposal sequencing - NavSource records the Crowley Marine sale contracted 1946-12-23 and DANFS/NavSource record custody transfer 1947-01-14; treated as contract-then-transfer, not a conflict.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1922-1947
- Limitations
- Reconciles publication-level discrepancies; none affect identity or the service chronology materially. No asbestos content in any reconciled source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorma-at34-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 authenticated search (helper cl-auth-search.py) - attempts returned fleet-pacing stand-down [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-algorma-at34-05, sl-uss-algorma-at34-06
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener litigation sweep for this hull: PENDING - the fleet-shared CourtListener quota window was spent at research time (paced ~114/hr account-wide); opinion and docket searches by name ('Algorma') and hull designations ('AT-34', 'ATO-34') were queued but not executed before drafting. Recorded as a search-ledger gap, not as a negative finding. See search_ledger sl-uss-algorma-at34-05/06 and BATCH-2799-REPORT.md for final status.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- PLACEHOLDER-GRADE pending row: if the sweep completes with no qualifying hit, reclassify verification_status to verified and update finding_value to the completed negative-finding wording; if blocked permanently, the gap stands. A name match would also need name-collision screening against the second USS Algorma (ATA-212, in service 1945-1962) and unrelated parties named 'Algorma'.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorma-at34-08
-
[10]Batch-2799 search ledger (this record): DANFS/ibiblio; NavSource page; MARAD ShipHistory public search; NHHC site; NavalCoverMuseum; NARA catalog API; CourtListener helper (status pending) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-algorma-at34-01 through sl-uss-algorma-at34-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials list, or docketed asbestos case naming the AT-34/ATO-34 hull was found in the public sources searched - the DANFS entry and NavSource page contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement; the vessel left Navy custody in 1947 and her final fate is unknown, so no modern survey or museum disclosure can exist for a hull. (See search_ledger.)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1919 steam tug is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. The CourtListener arm of the sweep is explicitly pending at drafting.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorma-at34-09
-
[11]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - ship deck logs), RG 181 (naval districts/shipyards), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 24 deck-log guidance; RG 181 yard records; RG 19 construction records
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 24 deck logs - her 1941-1946 logs fall in the 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1983' series (many digitized in the National Archives Catalog); 1920-1941 logs are in the earlier logbook series. (b) RG 181 naval district/shipyard records - Mare Island Navy Yard files for the 1922 inactivation and 1924 recommissioning availabilities, Norfolk Navy Yard files for the Dec 1943 and spring 1945 overhauls; Navy-yard work packages of the period are where insulation-material references would appear. (c) RG 19 Bureau of Ships contract/specification records for the 1919 Staten Island Shipbuilding construction contract.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1919-1946 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; catalog.archives.gov API returned no indexed 'Algorma' item at query time (empty response, not a confirmed absence). Existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-algorma-at34-10