USS Almaack (AKA-10)

Evidence

12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).

1. [1]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 1945), auxiliaries - cargo ships, attack (AKA) section, per-hull rows for ALMAACK AKA-10 (shipscribe.com scan of the official BuShips publication) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB1945v3 AKA tables pp. 112-117 (name/dimensions p.112; personnel/limiting p.113; machinery p.114; gears/generators/fuel p.115; armament/cargo p.116; construction p.117); vessel-list entries 'AK27 ALMAACK (now AKA 10)' p.3 and 'AKA10 ALMAACK' p.4; name index (Almaack, ex-Executor, ex-M.C.); M.C. hull cross-index (M.C. Hull 104 now Almaack)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 3 carries per-hull rows for ALMAACK AKA-10 (ex-AK-27, ex-Executor, ex-M.C. Hull 104): 473'1" overall / 450'0" waterline; beam 66'0"; 18.6 knots; 8,600 tons trial / 15,265 tons limiting displacement; limiting draft 28'5"; 51 tons per inch immersion; authorized complement 46 officers + 380 enlisted; largest boom 30 t; cargo 373,150 cu ft non-refrigerated / 5,175 DWT; armament 1 x 5"/38 cal (D.P.) + 4 x 3"/50 cal (D.P.); machinery 1 Bethlehem Parsons turbine, 8,500 shp, 2 B. & W. header-type boilers at 450 psi / 750 deg F; Falk double-reduction gears; 2 turbo-drive 300 kW 120/240 V D.C. ship's-service generators; fuel 12,550 bbls; built Bethlehem S.B. Corp., Quincy, Mass., 1940; acquired 3 Jun 1941; first commission 15 Jun 1941. Index entries: 'AK27 ALMAACK (now AKA 10)' and 'AKA10 ALMAACK' in the vessel lists; 'Almaack (ex-Executor, ex-M.C. ...), AKA10' in the name index; 'M.C. Hull 104 (now Almaack) - AKA10' in the M.C. hull cross-index.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1945

   Limitations

   Authoritative wartime BuShips publication naming this hull - confirms identity, machinery plant, manning, builder, and commissioning. OCR of the scanned columnar tables is partially garbled; values cross-verified against DANFS and NavSource. Contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-almaack-aka10-01

2. [2]DANFS, 'Almaack' entry (AKA-10), Naval History and Heritage Command (verbatim transcription, HyperWar Foundation; live NHHC URL returns 404 - Wayback capture 20251209104133 also retrieved) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry body text + spec block (HyperWar dafs/AKA/aka10.html; Wayback capture 20251209104133 of history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/almaack.html)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NHHC records: laid down as steel-hulled, single-screw freighter Executor under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 104) on 14 Mar 1940 at the Fore River yard of Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass.; launched 21 Sep 1940, sponsored by Mrs. A. R. Winnett; delivered to American Export Lines 22 Oct 1940; two India voyages before acquisition. Acquired 3 Jun 1941, renamed Almaack, classified AK-27; converted at Tietjen & Lang Dry Dock Co., Hoboken, N.J.; commissioned 15 Jun 1941 at Army Transport Service Base, Brooklyn, Comdr. Thomas R. Cooley in command. Iceland convoys Jul-Nov 1941 (incl. the Wasp P-40 ferry convoy and Comdr. Cooley's independent-routing report endorsed by Admiral King); armed and repainted at Norfolk Navy Yard Dec 1941; convoy AT 12 to Belfast Jan 1942; Pacific transit Apr-Jun 1942 (TransDiv 2); repairs/alterations at Craig Shipbuilding Co., Long Beach, then Norfolk. Operation Torch: convoy KMFA1, 'Charlie-Red' beach off Algiers 8-11 Nov 1942 under repeated air attack. Torpedoed by U-155 15 Nov 1942 near Gibraltar - engine room, fire rooms, hold No. 5 and shaft alley flooded; 4 dead, 4 badly burned; 8 officers + 185 men removed to HMS Glaisdale; skeleton crew of 12 officers + 112 men kept her afloat; towed in by the British tug Jaunty with two trawlers, Gibraltar 17 Nov. Drydocked Gibraltar 3 Dec 1942; reclassified AKA-10 on 31 Jan 1943; towed home by fleet tug Arapaho (ATF-68) May 1943. Repairs and alterations at Norfolk Navy Yard over the following months - repainted overall Measure 11 Sea Blue and received new masts to handle the landing craft assigned the ship. Six Pacific amphibious operations: Kwajalein 31 Jan-4 Feb 1944; Saipan 15-24 Jun 1944 (shell hit on No. 3 LCM-3 killed S2c Bernard V. Camerlinck Jr.; 79-hour unload); Guam 22-29 Jul 1944; Leyte 20 Oct + 14 Nov 1944 (Wilkinson/Royal commendations; helped splash the 'Jill' attacking Catskill); Lingayen 9-12 Jan 1945; Iwo Jima 24 Feb-6 Mar 1945. Pearl Harbor repair/drydock periods Apr-May and Aug 1944; AmShip Co. of Alameda availability Jun-Aug 1945. Postwar: Samar/Subic Sep 1945; Nagoya Oct 1945; Portland Ore. Nov 1945; Tientsin Jan 1946; reported to Comdt. 3d Naval District 10 May 1946; decommissioned Brooklyn 23 May 1946; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 15 Aug 1946; removed from naval custody 12 Sep 1946; transferred to the War Shipping Administration. Six battle stars.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1940-1946

   Limitations

   Primary Navy historical entry - authoritative for service history, casualties, yard periods, and custody chain. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page 404s (standing link rot, cf. BATCH-01); the HyperWar transcription is verbatim DANFS text, and a Wayback capture of the official page (20251209104133) was also retrieved.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-almaack-aka10-02

3. [3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - USS Almaack (AKA-10) ex USS Almaack (AK-27) (1941-1943), file 10/02/02010 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 02010.htm - timeline, awards/campaign tables, specifications block, commanding-officer table, post-WWII merchant-service entries, photo credits

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource timeline corroborates DANFS and adds detail: awards/ribbon set (Combat Action Ribbon retroactive; China Service Medal extended; American Defense Service Medal 'A'; American Campaign; EAME 1 star; Asiatic-Pacific 5; WWII Victory; Navy Occupation Service Medal Asia clasp; Philippine Presidential Unit Citation; Philippine Liberation 2); TransRon Eleven (COMO D. W. Loomis USN) / TransDiv Thirty-One; campaign table (Tunisian operations 8 Nov 1942-9 Jul 1943; Kwajalein/Majuro 31 Jan-8 Feb 1944; Saipan 15-24 Jun 1944; Guam 22-29 Jul 1944; Leyte landings 20 Oct + 14 Nov 1944; Lingayen Gulf 9 Jan 1945; Iwo Jima 19 Feb-6 Mar 1945); occupation service Far East 27 Oct-13 Nov 1945; China service 6-30 Jan 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 12 Sep 1946 for NDRF Hudson River Group; merchant chain - sold 9 Sep 1947 to Shepard Line renamed SS Bunker Hill; resold Sep 1949 to American Export Lines renamed SS Excellency; returned to Maritime Administration 12 Mar 1964 (NDRF Hudson River); leased to American Export Isbrandtsen Lines 2 Sep 1965; returned 5 Oct 1967 (NDRF Suisun Bay, Benicia, CA); sold for scrapping 15 May 1970 to Nation Metal & Scrap Corp. Spec block: 5,500 t light / 15,265 t full; 473'1" x 66' x 27'2" max; 18.6 kts trial; 46 officers + 380 enlisted; 30-t boom; 5,175 DWT / 373,150 cu ft non-refrigerated; 1x5"/38 DP + 4x3"/50 DP + 8x.50cal; NSFO 12,550 bbls; 1 Bethlehem Shipbuilding Parsons-design steam turbine, 2 B&W header-type boilers 450 psi 750 deg F, double Falk main reduction gears, 2 turbo-drive 300 kW 120/240 V D.C. generators, single propeller 8,500 shp. NARA BuShips photos cited incl. 19-N-24419 (NY, 20 Jun 1941) and 19-N-55023 (Elizabeth River off Norfolk Navy Yard, 15 Oct 1943).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1940-1970

   Limitations

   Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official; consistent with NHHC/SDB. Three date discrepancies vs DANFS/shipscribe are logged in gaps: laid down 15 Mar vs 14 Mar 1940; decommissioned 10 May vs 23 May 1946 (NavSource appears to carry the report-for-disposition date); stricken 16 Aug vs 15 Aug 1946. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-almaack-aka10-03

4. [4]Shipscribe U.S. Navy auxiliary ships data sheets, 'USS Almaack (AKA-10)' class page (Stephen S. Roberts compilation from Navy registers, BuShips/SCB design records, and MARAD files) [other_primary]

   Locator

   AKA-10 class page: characteristics block, construction table, disposition table, class notes (C3-E design history, Auxiliary Vessels Board), ship notes (AKA-10 row)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Ship-design compilation naming this hull: MC design C3-E; 7,074 t light / 15,265 t limiting; 473.1' oa / 450.0' pp x 66.0' x 28.4' lim.; armament evolution 1-5"/51 + 4-3"/50 (1942) to 1-5"/51 + 4-3"/50 + 8-12 20mm (1942) to 1-5"/38 + 4-3"/50 + 18 20mm (1943); complement 143 ('early?'); construction row - acquired 31 May 41, keel 14 Mar 40, launched 21 Sep 40, commissioned 15 Jun 41; disposition row - decommissioned 23 May 46, struck 15 Aug 46, disposed 12 Sep 46 (MC/D), MA sale 9 Dec 47. Class notes: FY 1942; C3-E among the first C3 types built under the Maritime Commission program - four ships (incl. AK-41) ordered Aug 1938; designed privately for American Export Line, shorter (473' vice 489-492') with an old-fashioned counter stern; package-freight design with smaller hatches and lighter cargo gear; initial quartet followed by four more C3-Es (incl. AP-67 and AKA-10) then 15 near-identical C3-S-A3s (APA-55 class); Auxiliary Vessels Board acquisition history (11 Feb 41 report; presidential directive; 26 May 41 order turning over 19 ships incl. AK 23-31). AK-27 received her armament at Norfolk Dec 1941 after her CO's appeal based on North Atlantic convoy experience; the single 25-t heavy boom at acquisition limited her to lighter tank lighters; 'probably fitted as an attack cargo ship' during the Craig Shipbuilding overhaul Jun-Jul 1942; the 1943 Norfolk torpedo-damage rebuild added quadrupod masts fore and aft (as in the AKA-15 class) with 30-t booms. Ship notes: ex merc. EXECUTOR (ID-5011B, completed 22 Oct 40); ex AK-27 1 Feb 43; torpedoed off Portugal 15 Nov 42, repairs completed at Norfolk Oct 1943; merc. EXECUTOR 1946 (MC), BUNKER HILL 1947, EXCELLENCY 1949; NDRF 1964-65 and 1967-70; sold by MA 15 May 70, to buyer 17 Jun 70, scrapped by 5 Oct 70.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1940-1970

   Population

   Bethlehem Fore River construction workforce (1940); Tietjen & Lang conversion workforce (1941); Norfolk Navy Yard workforce (1941, 1943); Craig Shipbuilding workforce (1942); Pearl Harbor NSY workforce (1944); merchant crews (1940-41, 1947-1967); NDRF caretakers (1946-47, 1964-65, 1967-70); 1970 breaking-yard workers

   Limitations

   Compiled secondary transcription of official Navy register, design, and MARAD records, not the registers themselves; figures used where consistent with NHHC/SDB/NavSource. Four conflicts vs the other sources are logged in gaps (acquired 31 May vs 3 Jun 1941; AKA-10 reclassification 1 Feb vs 31 Jan 1943; MA sale 9 Dec vs NavSource 9 Sep 1947; complement 143 vs 426). The 'probably fitted as an attack cargo ship' statement is the compiler's inference - flagged as such here, not asserted as fact. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-almaack-aka10-04

5. [5]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - ALMAACK (AK-27/AKA-10) Ship History Detail 12538 and EXCELLENCY Ship History Detail 1505 (same hull, Official No. 240104), incl. scanned vessel status cards [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   ShipHistory Detail 12538 registry block and name-history links; Detail 1505 (EXCELLENCY) milestones table, status-card images 1505_2780AF/AB/BF and EXCELLENCY.pdf / EXCELLENCY-1.pdf scans

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD ShipHistory registry record for this hull: Year Built 1940; Official Number 240104; Shipyard 'Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding Division'; General Type Naval Auxiliary; Specific Type 'AK Cargo Ship'; MARAD Type C3-E; length 473.00 ft; beam 66.00 ft; net 3,957 t / gross 6,736 t; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; vessel name history ALMAACK (AK-27/AKA-10) / EXCELLENCY / EXECUTOR - a single hull under three registry entries. The EXCELLENCY record (Detail 1505) carries milestones Entry 3/12/1964 and Acquisition 3/12/1964 (NDRF Hudson River lay-up), Disposition 6/17/1970 and Withdrawal 6/17/1970 - matching the documented 12 Mar 1964 NDRF entry and the 17 Jun 1970 delivery to the scrap buyer. The scanned status card (O/N 240,104) records custody events: redelivery to Amer. Export Lines, Inc. 9/ /49 (the Sept 1949 resale); a same-day pair of noon entries 1-30-61 - Amer. Export Lines to Maritime Administration at Washington, D.C., and Maritime Administration back to American Export Lines at Baltimore, Md. (a title pass-through, probably trade-in related); and American Export Lines to Maritime Admin. 10/5/67 12:50 PM PDST at Suisun Bay marked 'GAA/LU' - the final lay-up. The card's reverse is annotated '(Missing)' - a second card is absent from the scan set; a separate card in the file reads 'EXCELLENCY ------------ See SAWOKLA' (a cross-reference to a different hull's card jacket).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1940-1970

   Limitations

   Authoritative MARAD registry plus handwritten status-card scans that are only partially legible and demonstrably incomplete (card 2 annotated 'Missing'; an unexplained 'See SAWOKLA' cross-reference). The 30 Jan 1961 same-day title exchange is documented only by the card - no narrative source explains it. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-almaack-aka10-05

6. [6]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 v3 machinery row for this hull + MC C3-E type data (shipscribe AKA-10 class page) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB1945v3 machinery table, AKA section (ALMAACK row); https://shipscribe.com/usnaux/AKA/AKA10.html class data and ship notes

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/design inference: this hull carried a single-screw geared-turbine steam plant (one Bethlehem Parsons-design turbine, 8,500 shp; two B. & W. header-type boilers at 450 psi / 750 deg F) built in 1940 under a Maritime Commission contract at Bethlehem's Fore River yard - the machinery configuration for which boiler and fireroom insulation, main and auxiliary steam-line lagging, turbine and generator lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and accommodation joiner insulation of the period were commonly asbestos-containing. Documented disturbance phases for this hull: the 1941 Tietjen & Lang naval conversion; the Dec 1941 Norfolk Navy Yard arming/overhaul; the Jun-Jul 1942 Craig Shipbuilding availability (shipscribe assesses she was 'probably fitted as an attack cargo ship' then); the 15 Nov 1942 torpedo hit that flooded her engine room, fire rooms, hold No. 5 and shaft alley, and the ensuing 1943 Norfolk Navy Yard rebuild with quadrupod masts and 30-t booms; Apr-May and Aug 1944 Pearl Harbor repair/drydock periods; the Jun-Aug 1945 AmShip Co. of Alameda availability; merchant service 1947-1967; NDRF lay-ups (Hudson River 1946-47 and 1964-65; Suisun Bay 1967-70); and the 1970 scrapping.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1940-1970

   Population

   Bethlehem Fore River construction trades (1940); Tietjen & Lang conversion workforce (1941); Norfolk Navy Yard workforce (1941, 1943); Craig Shipbuilding workforce (1942); Pearl Harbor and Alameda yard workforce (1944-45); wartime crew (426 authorized complement); merchant crews (1940-41, 1947-1967); NDRF lay-up and 1970 breaking-yard workers

   Limitations

   Inference from the documented machinery plant and construction era - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming AKA-10/AK-27/MC hull 104 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation. Whether the 1942-43 torpedo-damage repair removed or replaced era insulation is undocumented.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-almaack-aka10-06

7. [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 construction and conversion work 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 construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard (whether Bethlehem Fore River or the conversion yards were among those surveyed 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-almaack-aka10-07

8. [8]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 construction program under which this C3-E hull was built and converted - 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-almaack-aka10-08

9. [9]Jackson v. A-C Product Liability Trust, 622 F. Supp. 2d 641 (N.D. Ohio, W.D., Mar. 31, 2009), No. 1:99-cv-10 (Zouhary, J.), 2009 WL 891754 - post-trial JMOL opinion; CourtListener URL backfill pending (API quota exhausted at research time) [court_record]

   Locator

   622 F. Supp. 2d 641 (N.D. Ohio 2009); opinion text (case background, verdict, JMOL analysis); collision resolved against NavSource/shipscribe merchant-name timeline and the MARAD status card (Suisun Bay lay-up 10/5/67)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Published maritime asbestos opinion naming 'the vessel Executor' - the single most dangerous name-collision surface for this record. A jury found Farrell Lines (successor owner of the vessel Executor) negligent in the mesothelioma death of wiper James Jackson, who served aboard 'the Executor' 11 Aug - 2 Dec 1969, and awarded $8M (reduced to ~$7.812M after set-offs); the district court then granted Farrell's post-trial JMOL, finding the Executor exposure evidence speculative. NAME COLLISION: the litigated Executor is the SECOND ship of that name - the 1945-built C3-S-A3 (MC hull 2252, Bethlehem Sparrows Point), scrapped 1976 - not this hull, which had been renamed SS Excellency in September 1949 and was laid up in the NDRF at Suisun Bay throughout Jackson's 1969 service period.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1969 (alleged service); 2009 (opinion)

   Limitations

   Two independent reasons this row is not exposure evidence for this hull: (1) the vessel is a different hull (different MC hull number, different builder yard, different timeline - this hull was renamed Excellency and in NDRF lay-up during the litigated service period); (2) even for the correct hull, the opinion granted the defendant's post-trial JMOL - a merits-level negative for that plaintiff, not an exposure finding (litigation-stage discipline). Does not establish or defeat anything about asbestos aboard AKA-10.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-almaack-aka10-09

10. [10]NavSource Online: Light Cargo Ship (AKL) Photo Archive - Almaack (AKL-39) ex USAV FS-283 (1944-1951), file 09/14/1439 [other_primary]

    Locator

    NavSource 09/14/1439.htm timeline and spec block; shipbuildinghistory.com Wheeler Whitestone yard list (FS-283 row)

    Finding type

    vessel_history

    Finding

    Almaack (AKL-39) is a completely different hull sharing only the name: laid down 1944 as U.S. Army Design 381 freight-supply vessel FS-283 at Wheeler Ship Building, Whitestone, N.Y.; U.S. Coast Guard-manned USAV FS-283 in WWII Pacific service; acquired from the Army by the U.S. Navy 12 Dec 1951, renamed Almaack (AKL-39) and loaned to the Republic of Korea the same day - she never served as an active unit of the U.S. Navy; returned to U.S. naval custody Jan 1960; struck from the Naval Register 1 Feb 1960; scrapped c. 1969. Recorded here solely to prevent conflation with USS Almaack (AK-27/AKA-10), the C3-E attack cargo ship (this record).

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    correction

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-21

    Study period

    1944-1969

    Limitations

    Documents a different vessel for disambiguation only - nothing in this row evidences anything about this hull. The batch instruction's 'Almaack AKL-39 is a different hull' is confirmed by NavSource and shipbuilding-history yard lists (Wheeler FS-283, USCG-manned, to USN 1951 as AKL-39, to Korea 1951, returned 1960).

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-almaack-aka10-10

11. [11]Batch-973 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via HyperWar + Wayback; NavSource 02010; shipscribe AKA-10 class page; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 12538 + EXCELLENCY Detail 1505 + status-card scans; BuShips SDB 1945 v3; CourtListener (quota-blocked at research time); indexed-web litigation checks; VA BVA index; Naval Vessel Register [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-almaack-aka10-01 through sl-uss-almaack-aka10-11

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Almaack / AK-27 / AKA-10 / MC hull 104 / Executor (1940) / Bunker Hill / Excellency was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only published asbestos opinion surfaced by name searching - Jackson v. A-C Product Liability Trust re 'the vessel Executor' - is a resolved name collision (see ev-uss-almaack-aka10-09). VA BVA index check returned no decision naming the ship; NVR returns no record (hull left naval custody 1946, disposed 1970, pre-1987 coverage). Law-firm marketing pages (asbestos-ships.com dedicated hull page; sokolovelaw.com navy ship list naming 'USS Almaack') assert era-typical asbestos content for this hull without primary support - excluded as a source per the no-law-firm-sources rule and logged in the batch report.

    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 1940 C3-E steam auxiliary is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and her documented yard periods, the 1942 torpedo-damage rebuild, twenty years of merchant operation, three NDRF lay-ups, and the 1970 breaking are undocumented disturbance phases. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. CourtListener API name/hull sweeps were attempted but the authenticated daily quota (2,800/day, shared across batch agents on this machine) remained exhausted throughout the session - repeated spaced retries over ~95 minutes all returned HTTP 429, so the API sweep is honestly logged as blocked rather than negative; residual negative litigation coverage rests on indexed-web checking plus BVA/NVR checks.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-almaack-aka10-11

12. [12]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships), RG 178 (Records of the U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 357 (Records of the Maritime Administration); MARAD ShipHistory documents section for this hull [other_primary]

    Locator

    https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html ; /groups/178.html ; /groups/357.html ; https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/1505 (status-card scans)

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for USS Almaack 1941-1946 (RG 24, NARA College Park); BuShips records incl. C3-E / AK-27 / AKA-10 conversion plans and the 1942-43 torpedo-damage repair files at Norfolk Navy Yard (RG 19) - the most promising asbestos-scope lead, since flooding and rebuild of engine/fire rooms would have disturbed era insulation; USMC construction-contract records for MC hull 104 at Bethlehem Fore River (RG 178); MARAD/NDRF custody files covering the Hudson River lay-ups (1946-47, 1964-65), the Suisun Bay lay-up (1967-70), the unexplained 30 Jan 1961 title exchange, and the 1970 Nation Metal & Scrap sale (RG 357) - the sale file is the most promising disposal-era hazmat lead; the missing status card (2) and the 'See SAWOKLA' cross-referenced card for this hull's file (MARAD Detail 1505).

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-21

    Study period

    1940-1970 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-almaack-aka10-12