Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Alhena' entry (Naval Historical Center / NHHC); live page 404 on 2026-09-22 - Wayback Machine capture of history.navy.mil/danfs/a6/alhena.htm used [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Alhena' entry, full text incl. AKL-38 second-hull note; Wayback capture 2010-12-07
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents the hull's full identity and service: laid down 1940-06-19 as SS Robin Kettering under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 74, type C2-S) by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Sparrows Point, Md.; launched 1941-01-18 (sponsor Mrs. William Sanford Lewis); purchased by the Navy 1941-05-31 from Robin Line/Seas Shipping Co.; commissioned USS Alhena (AK-26) 1941-06-15 at Hoboken, N.J. East-coast and Naval Transportation Service runs (Belfast, Clydebank) into early 1942; Pacific via Canal Zone April 1942; assigned Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet; Guadalcanal-Tulagi landings 1942-08-07 to 09; torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-16 on 1942-09-29 (4 killed, 20 wounded, 1 missing); towed to Espiritu Santo then Noumea; reached Sydney 1942-11-20 for final repairs and conversion to attack cargo ship; redesignated AKA-9 on 1942-11-26; returned to duty 1943-06-10; Bougainville/Cape Torokina operations Oct-Nov 1943; Saipan 1944-06-15 to 23; San Francisco overhaul Jul-Oct 1944; damaged at Manus by the USS Mount Hood (AE-11) explosion 1944-11-10 (3 killed, 70 wounded); Lingayen Gulf Jan 1945; Iwo Jima Mar 1945; Manila-New Guinea shuttle to war's end; Tokyo Bay occupation duty 1945-10-13 to 11-19; China service (Tsingtao) Jan-Mar 1946; decommissioned 1946-05-22; stricken 1946-08-15; transferred to the Maritime Administration 1946-09-12 and later sold and refitted for merchant service. DANFS credits five battle stars (see correction row).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1940-1946
- Population
- Ship's company (complement 446 per DANFS); embarked troops varied by operation (2d Marine Division at Saipan; 3d Marine Division at Iwo Jima); casualties: 4 KIA/20 WIA/1 MIA 1942-09-29; 3 KIA/70 WIA 1944-11-10
- Limitations
- Official Navy ship history; authoritative for identity and timeline. Live NHHC URL returned 404 (the NHHC link-rot pattern documented in BATCH-01); the archived capture of the canonical DANFS page is cited instead. Contains no asbestos or insulation-materials statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alhena-aka9-01
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[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - ALHENA (AK-26/AKA-9), Ship History Detail 155 (incl. status-card scans); linked record ROBIN KETTERING, Detail 10591 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 155 header fields, Vessel Name History, Milestones table, Status Cards tab; Detail 10591 same official number
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database record for ALHENA (AK-26/AKA-9): year built 1941; U.S. Official No. 240362; shipyard Bethlehem-Sparrows Point; MARAD type C2; length 479.0 ft, beam 66.0 ft; vessel name history cross-links ALHENA (AK-26/AKA-9) with ROBIN KETTERING (ShipHistory Detail 10591, same official number, 'Sold - U.S. Operation'); milestones: Disposition 1947-05-12 and Withdrawal 1947-10-17; fate 'Sold - No Further Info'; four status-card scans on file (155_292BB/BF/AB/AF). Consistent with Navy delivery to the Maritime Commission 1946-09-12, NDRF layup at Jones Point, and merchant repurchase by Seas Shipping in October 1947.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1941-1947
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones. Milestone labels are terse ('Disposition'/'Withdrawl' [sic]) - read as disposition authorization and physical withdrawal from NDRF custody; status-card images not OCR'd this pass (see gaps). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. MARAD official number 240362 conflicts with the 240632 carried by secondary sources - MARAD controls.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alhena-aka9-02
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[3]Bureau of Ships, Navy Department, War Damage Report No. 27 (NAVSHIPS 27(374)), 24 May 1943 - USS Capella (AK-13) & USS Alhena (AKA-9) torpedo damage; HyperWar full-text mirror; NHHC online reading room indexes this report [other_primary]
- Locator
- Section III (Alhena Damage), paragraphs 23-41 and Plate II
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Bureau of Ships War Damage Report No. 27 (NAVSHIPS 27(374), dated 1943-05-24) is a ship-specific official engineering analysis of the 1942-09-29 torpedo damage: single torpedo struck the starboard shaft-alley recess at about frame 169 at 2359, 20 miles south of San Cristobal Island; fire broke out on the second deck, port side, in the crew's quarters, G.S.K. storeroom and small-stores compartment - 'clothing, bedding, linoleum, cork slab and bulkhead paint burned in these spaces'; porcelain insulation behind steering-engine pump-motor starting panels shattered; shell rupture about 25 by 35 ft; tail-shaft coupling bolts failed; towed by Monssen (DD-436) then Navajo (AT-64) to Espiritu Santo (arrived 10-07), then Noumea (10-20), then Sydney (11-20) for repairs. The report already styles the ship 'ALHENA (AKA9)' in May 1943. Ship-specific materials observations present: cork-slab insulation in crew's quarters; porcelain electrical insulation - neither is an asbestos statement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-09-29 to 1943-05-24
- Population
- Crew aboard at torpedoing (casualties per DANFS/NavSource); repair workers at Espiritu Santo, Noumea, and Sydney
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official damage/materials record, but contains NO asbestos statement: the only insulation materials it names are cork slab (crew's-quarters combustible load) and porcelain (electrical-panel insulation) - non-asbestos materials. It neither establishes nor excludes asbestos elsewhere aboard (machinery spaces are not described in materials terms). Hit time 2359 conflicts with DANFS 2354 - logged, not resolved. Does not establish exposure, quantity, or present-day material status.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alhena-aka9-03
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[4]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 program under which this Maritime Commission C2-S hull was built (1940-41, Bethlehem Sparrows Point) and repeatedly repaired/converted (1941 Hoboken; 1942-43 Sydney; 1944 San Francisco overhaul). Wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls and naval auxiliaries.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- 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 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-alhena-aka9-04
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[5]Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc. v. Commissioner, U.S. Tax Court (1965), CourtListener cluster 4701878 (opinion treats related Docket No. 3105-62, Seas Shipping Co.) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text: fleet table ('SS Robin Kettering C-2S 1941'); article 10 exclusion; $1,350,000 third-party sales
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc. v. Commissioner (U.S. Tax Court, 1965) is commercial tax litigation that names this hull in merchant service: the opinion's fleet table lists 'SS Robin Kettering, C-2S, 1941' among the Seas Shipping Co. (Robin Line) vessels; it documents Moore-McCormack's 1957 contract to buy the Robin Line fleet, its exercised option to exclude Robin Kettering and Robin Doncaster, and Seas's subsequent sale of both to unrelated third parties at $1,350,000 each - corroborating the 1957 sale under which the hull became SS Flying Hawk.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1957 transaction; opinion 1965
- Limitations
- Stage classification: published merits-level Tax Court opinion - but the subject is stock valuation for tax purposes, NOT asbestos or exposure. Classified 'other litigation' under the batch rubric; carried only as merchant-custody corroboration. It names the merchant hull (Robin Kettering), never the Navy designation, and contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alhena-aka9-05
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[6]Batch-1073 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback; NavSource; MARAD ShipHistory 155/10591 + status cards; Bureau of Ships War Damage Report No. 27; CourtListener API v4 name/hull/merchant-name searches; NVR; general web check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-alhena-aka9-01 through sl-uss-alhena-aka9-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Alhena (AK-26/AKA-9), SS Robin Kettering, or SS Flying Hawk was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener exact-name and hull-number searches returned only name collisions (persons/entities named 'Alhena'; commercial shipping cases) and no asbestos opinion; the Naval Vessel Register carries no entry (ships disposed before 1987 are not included). The ship does appear on law-firm marketing lists of Navy ships - excluded as non-evidence per batch rules.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 2026-09-22
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1940-41 C2-S steam hull that underwent combat-damage repairs and a 1942-43 attack-cargo conversion is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation; equally, the WDR-27-documented cork-slab insulation shows non-asbestos insulation materials were also used aboard. Does not establish presence or absence; establishes or defeats no exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alhena-aka9-06
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[7]DANFS via Wayback; NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Alhena (AKA-9) page; Shipscribe U.S. Navy auxiliaries AKA-9 page (S.S. Roberts compilation of Ships' Data); MARAD ShipHistory Detail 155; BuShips War Damage Report No. 27 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AKA-9 page (campaign table, awards, specs); shipscribe.com/usnaux/AKA/AKA09.html class and ship notes; MARAD 155 header
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies logged: (a) battle stars - DANFS text says 'five battle stars' while NavSource records six and lists six Asiatic-Pacific campaign engagements (Guadalcanal-Tulagi landings; capture/defense of Guadalcanal; Treasury-Bougainville; Saipan; Lingayen Gulf; Iwo Jima); unresolved. (b) AKA-9 redesignation - DANFS/NavSource 1942-11-26 during the Sydney conversion vs Shipscribe ship-note 'ex AK-26 1 Feb 43' (the fleet-wide AKA reclassification date). (c) DANFS web text 'departing Guadalcanal on 24 March 1945' precedes the June 1944 Saipan operation - a typo for 1944. (d) U.S. Official No. - MARAD 240362 vs Wikipedia 240632 (transposition); MARAD adopted. (e) torpedo-hit time - WDR 27 says 2359, DANFS says 2354. (f) Navy purchase - DANFS/NavSource 1941-05-31 vs Shipscribe 1941-05-30. (g) decommissioning location - DANFS 'there' (New York) vs NavSource Bayonne, N.J.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1941-1971
- Limitations
- Publication-level conflicts between authoritative sources; resolved only where a controlling source exists (MARAD for the official number). Battle-star count and the AKA-9 redesignation date are left unresolved between sources rather than forced. None of these sources carries asbestos content; this row establishes no exposure fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alhena-aka9-07
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[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 24 (Navy deck logs) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 19 BuShips records; RG 178 Construction Division; WDR-27 references (d)-(f) name the source letters
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room work or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) holds the WDR-27 source correspondence - C.O. Alhena action report AK26/A9/P2-4 serial 09 of 1942-10-07, C.O. Alhena war-damage report AK26/L11-1(011) of 1942-10-13, C.O. Navajo AT64/S94 of 1942-11-05 - plus BuShips conversion-plan files for the 1941 Tietjen & Lang (Todd) Hoboken conversion and the 1942-43 Sydney attack-cargo conversion, the likeliest repositories for hull-specific materials/insulation specifications; RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) construction/outfitting records for MC hull 74; RG 24 Navy deck logs for the commissioned period 1941-06 to 1946-05.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1940-1947 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-alhena-aka9-08