Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]DANFS, 'Alkes (AK-110)' - verbatim NHHC page text (live URL returned 404 on 2026-09-20; text verified against Wayback capture 2025-02-21 and the hazegray/losthistory transcription of DANFS Vol. IA, p. 188) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS 'Alkes (AK-110)' entry, full text; mirror https://losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/auxil/ak110.htm (DANFS Vol. IA, p. 188); spec cross-check https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/AK/AK-110_Alkes.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Alkes (AK-110): 'A star in the constellation Crateris.' Spec block: dp. 14,550; 441'6" x 56'11" x 28'4"; 12.5 k.; cpl. 206; a. 1 5", 8 20mm., 1 .30-cal. mg.; cl. Crater; T. EC2-S-C1. Originally named Increase A. Lapham; laid down 10 June 1943 under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1584) at Richmond, Calif., by the Permanente Metals Corp.; launched 29 June 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Chester P. Kenman; acquired by the Navy 5 October 1943; converted for naval service by the Hurley Marine Works, Oakland, Calif.; renamed Alkes (AK-110) 6 October 1943; commissioned at Oakland 29 October 1943, Comdr. W. H. Wight in command. Service narrative: shakedown then Pearl Harbor as base; December 1943 Gilbert Islands run with TU 16.15.1 (Makin Island 16 Dec, Baker Island 31 Dec); Majuro Atoll 3 February 1944 unloading under ongoing landing operations; Marshalls/Gilberts with TG 16.12 from 12 March (Eniwetok, Kwajalein, Majuro, Tarawa, Makin); Guam 8 August-8 September 1944 discharging cargo and delivering fresh water to ships of the fleet; San Pedro alterations/repairs from 3 October; Ulithi fleet-issue-ship duty 13 December 1944 - 6 February 1945; San Pedro repairs March 1945; Ulithi 12 April - late May; Okinawa/Kerama Retto with TU 13.11.2, 28 May - 13 August 1945, issuing cargo to invasion-force units under numerous air attacks without serious damage; San Pedro fleet issue ship 14 September 1945 - early January 1946; Norfolk via Panama Canal 31 January; Baltimore 8 February; decommissioned 20 February 1946; returned to the Maritime Administration 27 February; name struck from the Navy list 12 March 1946; laid up James River as Increase A. Lapham; sold 26 October 1971 to Hierros Ardes S. A., Bilbao, Spain, for scrapping. Three battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1946; 1971-1972 (disposal)
- Population
- Wartime crew (complement 206 per spec block)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, construction milestones, service chronology, and disposal outline; contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information. Does not document the material scope of the Hurley Marine Works conversion between Navy acquisition (5 Oct 1943) and commissioning (29 Oct 1943). Three battle stars stated without naming campaigns; NavSource's campaign table (Marshalls, Marianas/Guam, Okinawa Gunto) matches the DANFS narrative dates but is a secondary attribution.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alkes-ak110-01
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[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - INCREASE A. LAPHAM Ship History Detail 2297 (incl. digitized vessel status card 380_01.png, reserve-fleet vessel-data card 2297_4278AF.jpg, tonnage/machinery note 2297_4278AB.jpg, and two further historical-document PDFs); ALKES (AK-110) Detail 12549 (empty stub) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 2297 milestone table + status-card scans (cards/380_01.png, cards/2297_4278AF.jpg, cards/2297_4278AB.jpg); Detail 12549
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory records: INCREASE A. LAPHAM Detail 2297 carries the full record - U.S. Official No. 243856, built 1943 by Permanente Metals Corp., Richmond, Cal., type EC2-S-C1, 7,176 gross / 4,380 net tons, bale capacity 499,573 cu ft (grain 562,608); milestones Entry/Acquisition 1946-02-27, Disposition/Withdrawal 1972-01-26, Fate 'Sold - Scrap'. Digitized status cards document: hull no. 1584; built 'PERMANENTE #2' 1943; completed 1943-07-16 and 'Basis to W.S.A. 7-16-43 10:00AM PWT @ Richmond, Cal.'; allocated same minute to Alaska Packers Assoc. under a GAA agreement at Richmond; then 'Navy Dept. (Renamed ALKES (AK-)' on form of agreement 'BB' (bareboat charter) at Oakland, Cal., 10-5-43 Noon PWT; 'WSA Reserve Fleet' Lee Hall, Va. 2-27-46 5:45PM EST, 'RENAMED: INCREASE A. LAPHAM'; sold '(Scrap)' under PD-X-919 for $71,520.00 10-26-71 to Hierros Ardes S. A., Spain, James River; physical delivery 1-26-72 9:30am EST. Card reverse: '2500 IHP, 2 WTB' (two water-tube boilers), draft 27'8-7/8". Reserve-fleet vessel-data card: present name INCREASE A. LAPHAM, former ALKES AK-110, type 'Mil. Aux. EC2', speed 11 knots, fleet 'JR', DWT 10,500, ownership WSA, termination port last voyage NORFOLK, L/B/D 422.8 x 57 x 34.8. ALKES (AK-110) Detail 12549 is a near-empty stub (labels 'Naval Auxiliary / AK Cargo Ship'; 442 ft / 57 ft; displacement 14,550 summer / 4,023 lightweight; Fate 'Sold - Scrap').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones, hull identity (ON 243856 = MCE 1584 = ex-AK-110, printed on the card), the WSA->GAA->Navy bareboat allocation chain, and the 1971-72 scrap sale; contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information and supports no asbestos claim. Status-card handwriting is partially legible (OCR-aided, read as images); speed field conflict (11 kt reserve card vs 12.5 status card/DANFS) and DWT variance (10,500 vs 10,575) noted in gaps. Two attached 'historical document' PDFs (~1.2 MB scans each) not separately examined.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alkes-ak110-02
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[3]NavSource Online, Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Alkes (AK-110) index page (volunteer-compiled index citing BuShips/DANFS figures) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AK-110 page, specifications block, awards/campaign table, commanding-officer table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource service-ship archive page for Alkes (AK-110): Crater-class cargo ship; laid down 1943-06-10 as SS Increase A. Lapham (EC2-S-C1, MCE hull 1584) at Permanente Metals Corp., Richmond, CA; launched 1943-06-29; delivered to WSA 1943-07-16 and operated under GAA agreement by Alaska Packers Association; acquired by Navy 1943-10-05; converted at 'Huley' [sic] Marine Works, Oakland; commissioned 1943-10-29, CDR William H. Wight in command. Spec block: displacement 4,023 t. (lt) / 14,550 t. (fl); 441'6" x 56'11" x 28'4"; 12.5 kts trial; complement 16 officers + 190 enlisted; largest boom 50 t.; cargo 7,750 DWT, 400,000 cu ft non-refrigerated; armament 1x 5"/38 DP, 1x 3"/50 DP, 2x 40mm, 6x 20mm; fuel 7,285 bbls NSFO; propulsion one Joshua-Hendy vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine, two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers (220 psi, 450 deg), one 60 kW turbo-drive + three 20 kW recip-drive 120 V DC generators, single propeller, 2,500 shp. Campaign attribution: Marshall Islands (Kwajalein/Majuro 31 Jan - 8 Feb 1944), Marianas (Guam 8-10 Aug 1944), Okinawa Gunto (28 May - 30 Jun 1945); three battle stars. CO table lists Wight and LCDR Charles Lorraine Wickman with an impossible handover date '31 January 1943' (before commissioning - flagged, see correction row). Official photo captions: Navy Yard Mare Island photo nos. 7443-43, 7469-43, 7470-43 (broadside/plan views off San Francisco, 2 Nov 1943) and a BuShips photo underway in San Francisco Bay.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- Ship's company (206 per DANFS/NavSource breakout)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not an official publication - consistent with DANFS and the MARAD cards where they overlap (dates, displacement, complement, campaign list). Defects logged in gaps and the correction row: 'Huley' misspelling of Hurley Marine Works; impossible CO date '31 January 1943'; armament detail (3"/50 + 40mm fit) differs from the DANFS spec block, likely a different-date configuration; HyperWar's own compilation gives yet another figure set (cpl 198, 1,950 hp). No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alkes-ak110-03
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[4]U.S. Maritime Commission, Instruction Manual for Operating and Maintaining 2500 H.P. Triple Expansion Marine Steam Engines, EC2-S-C1 Cargo Vessels (mirrored excerpt) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Mirrored excerpt, engine-cylinder insulation section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission instruction manual for the EC2-S-C1 plant (the design type documented for this hull by DANFS spec block 'T. EC2-S-C1' and the MARAD status card 'Cargo EC2'/'Mil. Aux. EC2') describes cylinder insulation of magnesia under sheet-iron lagging; insulation products of this era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber, and period steam-system gaskets, packing, and insulation felts commonly contained asbestos. Liberty hulls were built to emergency USMC specifications during the period when the federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943
- Population
- Construction trades (Permanente/Kaiser Richmond Yard No. 2, 1943); Hurley Marine Works conversion workers (Oct 1943); Navy engine-room and maintenance crew
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual names the type, not this vessel, and does not itself state 'asbestos' content (magnesia lagging of the era was typically asbestos-fiber-reinforced, but the manual text is silent on fiber). The Navy AK conversion added armament and naval cargo/issue-ship outfit whose material scope is undocumented. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence (hull scrapped 1972), individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alkes-ak110-04
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[5]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 emergency program under which this EC2-S-C1 hull was mass-produced at Permanente Metals Yard No. 2 (the Kaiser Richmond emergency yard complex) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship; does not name this vessel or the EC2-S-C1 type 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-alkes-ak110-05
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[6]O'Neil v. Crane Co., 53 Cal. 4th 335 (2012), CourtListener opinion 844228 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 53 Cal. 4th 335 (No. S177401); cluster verified in batch-01
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- O'Neil v. Crane Co., 53 Cal. 4th 335 (2012): California Supreme Court 'bare metal' decision arising from a sailor's asbestos exposure aboard USS Oriskany (CV-34) - holds that a product manufacturer is not liable for harm caused by another manufacturer's asbestos-containing product used with its equipment. Establishes the doctrinal posture under which WWII-era Navy-ship asbestos product claims are litigated; for this hull the governing structure is the WSA-owned/Navy-operated bareboat ('BB') arrangement documented on the MARAD status card (sailors' claims proceed against product suppliers, not the government).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2012 (opinion); wartime exposure period
- Population
- WWII-era Navy sailors (class context)
- Limitations
- Doctrinal context only - the opinion does not name this hull, finds no asbestos conditions aboard any specific vessel, and establishes legal framework rather than exposure. No docketed case naming Alkes, AK-110, or Increase A. Lapham was located (see negative-finding row and search ledger). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alkes-ak110-06
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[7]Batch-799 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS via Wayback + hazegray/losthistory mirror; MARAD ShipHistory details 2297/12549 + three digitized status cards; NavSource; CourtListener API/HTML (blocked) + Google site: check + Google Scholar case-law check; HyperWar AK-110 compilation page; NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-alkes-ak110-01 through sl-uss-alkes-ak110-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming Alkes, AK-110, or Increase A. Lapham was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Direct CourtListener API and HTML searches were blocked by rate limiting on 2026-09-20 (shared machine quota, 125/day); a Google site:courtlistener.com check returned only name collisions (Alkermes pharma litigation) - no vessel match; a Google Scholar case-law check returned 'did not match any' for "Alkes" asbestos and a single name collision for "AK-110"/"Increase A. Lapham" (Goldsborough v. State, Del. Super. 2012 - 'AK-110' is a traffic-intersection location code). The hull appears on a law-firm SEO ship list (mesotheliomaasbestoshelpcenter.com) - marketing compilations excluded per source rules; list presence is not documentation.
- 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 1943 EC2-S-C1 hull operated to 1971-72 scrapping is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Litigation coverage is partial: CourtListener opinion and RECAP docket searches were not run to completion due to the 125/day shared rate limit; the site: and Scholar checks are not substitutes.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alkes-ak110-07
-
[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 178 (US Maritime Commission), RG 248 (War Shipping Administration); MARAD Detail 2297 attachments; Richmond Museum of History / Rosie the Riveter NHP collection leads [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov record-group guides 178/248 + deck-log guidance; vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov Detail 2297 document tab; photo numbers via NavSource index
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 WWII deck logs for USS Alkes (Oct 1943 - Feb 1946); NARA RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) and RG 248 (War Shipping Administration) files for MCE hull 1584, the 1943-07-16 Alaska Packers GAA allocation, and the 1943-10-05 WSA->Navy bareboat ('BB') allocation; NHHC/Mare Island photo nos. 7443-43, 7469-43, 7470-43 (indexed via NavSource); two 'historical document' PDFs attached to MARAD Detail 2297 (unexamined scans); Kaiser Richmond / Permanente Metals construction records held by the Richmond Museum of History and NPS Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front collections - the builder-yard archive for MCE 1584.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1972 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and collection 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-alkes-ak110-08
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[9]DANFS (Wayback + losthistory transcription) vs NavSource AK-110 page vs HyperWar AK-110 compilation vs MARAD ShipHistory details 2297/12549 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block + CO table; HyperWar AK-110 page spec list; MARAD Details 2297/12549; DANFS Vol. IA p. 188
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Cross-source reconciliation: (a) NavSource spells the conversion yard 'Huley Marine Works' - DANFS reads 'Hurley Marine Works, Oakland, Calif.'; DANFS carried as controlling. (b) NavSource's commanding-officer table gives CDR Wight's relief date and LCDR Wickman's assumption as '31 January 1943' - impossible (pre-commissioning; likely a 1945 or 1946 typo); the officer names are carried, the date is flagged not asserted. (c) HyperWar's own compilation page (not DANFS) gives 11,565 t full load, 30' draft, 11.5 knots, complement 198, 1,950 hp - conflicting with DANFS spec block/MARAD card (14,550; 28'4"; 12.5 k; 206; '2500 IHP'); DANFS/MARAD carried as controlling, HyperWar logged as a conflicting secondary. (d) Armament differs by source and likely by date: DANFS '1 5-inch, 8 20mm., 1 .30-cal. mg.' vs NavSource '1x 5"/38, 1x 3"/50, 2x 40mm, 6x 20mm' - figures carried separately, not reconciled. (e) MARAD splits the hull across two records: ALKES (AK-110) Detail 12549 is a stub; the merchant-name record INCREASE A. LAPHAM Detail 2297 carries the full card file - a database-name-history artifact, not two vessels.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Limitations
- Resolves naming, date, and specification inconsistencies visible across primary and secondary sources; does not affect identity or custody timeline materially. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-alkes-ak110-09