Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]DANFS, 'Aludra I (AK-72)' - NHHC page (published 2015-06-16; live URL returned 404 on 2026-09-21; text captured from Wayback snapshot 2015-09-24) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS 'Aludra I (AK-72)' entry, full text (spec block; construction paragraph; three service/loss paragraphs)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Aludra I (AK-72): namesake 'A star in the constellation Canis Major.' Spec block: '(AK-72: dp. 14,250; l. 441'6"; b. 56'10"; dr. 27'9"; s. 11 k.; cpl. 198; a. 1 5", 1 3"; cl. Crater; T. EC2-S-C1)'. Construction: 'Robert T. Lincoln was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (MCE hull 437) on 28 October 1942 at Richmond, Calif., by the Permanente Metals Corp.; launched on 7 December 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy A. Rainbow; renamed Aludra (AK-72) on 30 October 1942; delivered to the Navy on 14 December 1942; and placed in commission at San Francisco, Calif., on 26 December 1942, Lt. Comdr. Dale E. Collins in command.' Service narrative: joined Pacific Fleet, shakedown, departed west coast 7 January 1943; Dumbea Bay, New Caledonia 29 January; Havannah Harbor, Efate Island, arrived 4 February; Espiritu Santo 11 February - 6 May; sailed with Brooks (APD-10) to Brisbane, arrived 11 May, took on cargo; sailed 17 May for Auckland, arrived 23 May, one week in port, left 30 May and returned same day for a steering casualty, underway again 31 May; port calls at Noumea and Guadalcanal; departed Guadalcanal 22 June bound for Espiritu Santo. Loss: 'At 0444 on 23 June, a torpedo fired by Japanese submarine RO-103 hit Aludra's port side and exploded. Approximately five hours later, at 0933, the cargo ship sank in over 2,000 fathoms of water. Two of her crew members were killed and 12 were wounded.' Awards: 'Aludra earned one battle star for her World War II service.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Ship's company (complement 198 per spec block); 2 killed / 12 wounded in the loss
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, construction milestones, service chronology, casualty figures, and loss narrative; contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information and prints no strike-from-Register date. Live NHHC URL 404 is the standing Batch-01 link-rot defect - canonical URL needs re-locating before production use.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aludra-ak72-01
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[2]Robert J. Cressman, 'The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II' (Naval Historical Center / NHHC publication), Chapter V: 1943 - 23 June entry (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USN-Chron 1943, '23 June, Wed.' Pacific section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC official WWII chronology (Cressman), Pacific entry for 23 June 1943: 'Japanese submarine RO 103 torpedoes and sinks cargo ship Aludra (AK-72) and torpedoes cargo ship Deimos (AK-78) while both are in convoy en route to Guadalcanal, 11 deg 26'S, 162 deg 01'E. Deimos, irreparably damaged, is scuttled by destroyer O'Bannon (DD-450), 11 deg 26'S, 162 deg 01'E.' Confirms the official loss date (23 June 1943), the official sinking position (11 deg 26'S 162 deg 01'E - the coordinate carried in this record's lat/lon fields), and the paired loss of sister Crater-class ship Deimos in the same RO-103 attack.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943-06-23
- Population
- Ship's company and convoy escorts
- Limitations
- Official NHHC chronology corroborating loss date and position; its 'in convoy en route to Guadalcanal' framing differs from DANFS (departed Guadalcanal bound for Espiritu Santo) - direction variant logged in the correction row; position is the attack position, not necessarily the foundering position. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aludra-ak72-02
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - ALUDRA (AK-72) Ship History Detail 12535 and ROBERT T. LINCOLN Ship History Detail 10581 (linked vessel-name-history records incl. shipwreck tables and one digitized status card) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Details 12535 and 10581 - field tables, shipwreck-information blocks, name-history links; status card cards/62Y_01.png (image present, not transcribed in this pass)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory records: ALUDRA (AK-72) Detail 12535 - Year Built 1943; Shipyard 'Permanente Metals Corporation'; General Type 'Naval Auxiliary'; Specific Type 'AK Cargo Ship'; MARAD Type 'EC2-S-C1'; length 442.00 ft, beam 57.00 ft; displacement 14,550.00 tons (summer) / 4,023.00 tons (lightweight); Fate 'Sunk - Torpedo'. Shipwreck information: Owner 'United States Navy'; Operator 'United States Navy'; Operator Agreement 'None (Direct Govt. Operation)'; Incident Date 'June 22, 1943'; Cause 'Sunk - Torpedo'; Cause Comments 'Sunk by the Japanese submarine HIJMS RO-103 by torpedo'; Conflict 'World War II'. Linked merchant record ROBERT T. LINCOLN Detail 10581 - Year Built 1942; same shipyard; General Cargo / Break Bulk; net tons 4,384.00, gross tons 7,181.00; shipwreck record: Operator 'Navy Department'; Incident Date 'June 22, 1943'; Cause Comments 'Torpedoed by Japanese submarine Ro-103 while en route to Espiritu Santo'; namesake paragraph (Robert T. Lincoln 1843-1926, Secretary of War 1881-85, Ambassador to the UK 1889-93); vessel name history links the two records; status card image 62Y_01.png present on Detail 10581.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Limitations
- Authoritative for hull identity (MCE-hull merchant name linked to AK-72), government custody (Navy, direct operation), technical tonnage/dimensions, and the fate classification. Incident Date reads 'June 22, 1943' on both records - one day earlier than DANFS and the NHHC chronology (23 June); the one-day variant is logged in the correction row and gaps. 'Year Built 1943' on the AK-72 record vs 1942 on the merchant record reflects delivery-vs-keel conventions. No asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aludra-ak72-03
-
[4]Shipscribe Online, 'USN Auxiliary Ships: Crater (AK-70) class' page (construction table + class notes); NavSource Online, Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Aludra (AK-72) index page (specs, awards, CO table, photo caption citing NHHC photo NH 104025) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe AK-70 class page - construction table row AK-72 and 'AK 70-79' class-note paragraph; NavSource AK-72 page https://www.navsource.net/archives/09/13/130072.htm (navsource.org fetch failed; navsource.net is the live domain)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary-compilation corroboration: Shipscribe's BuShips-derived Crater-class page lists AK-72 in the construction table (ALUDRA; acquired 14 Dec 42; Permanente Metals #2; keel 28 Oct 42; launch 7 Dec 42; commissioned 26 Dec 42 - all consistent with DANFS) and documents the class acquisition program for AK 70-79: 'On 3 Oct 42 Cominch directed the Auxiliary Vessels Board to consider' Commander South Pacific Force's urgent request 'that 10 Liberty (EC2) type ships be acquired, given a minimum conversion, and manned by Navy crews for use in the logistic support of forces in his area'; on 10 Oct 42 the Board recommended acquiring ten EC2 hulls then building in the San Francisco area 'at the average rate of one every ten days'; ships assigned to ComSoPacFor; 'In late November two LCM(3) tank lighters and four LCV landing boats were added to the standard fit' - consistent with NHHC photo NH 104025 showing this ship under way with four F4F Wildcat fighters and several landing craft as deck cargo. NavSource service-ship page for AK-72 adds: campaign table 'Consolidation of Solomon Islands - consolidation of southern Solomons, 16 June 1943' (the battle-star action); awards block (Combat Action Ribbon; American Campaign; Asiatic-Pacific w/ star; WWII Victory; Purple Heart '2-KIA and 12 WIA'); CO table 'LCDR. Collins, Dale Edmond' sole CO 26 Dec 42 - loss; call sign NXWU; 'Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown'; spec block (4,023 t lt / 14,550 t fl; 441'6" x 56'11" x 28'4"; 12.5 kts; complement 16 officers + 180 enlisted; cargo 7,800 DWT / 406,031 cu ft non-refrigerated; largest boom 50 t; armament 1x 5"/38 DP, 1x 3"/50 DP, 6x 20mm; fuel 7,285 bbls NSFO; one Joshua Hendy vertical triple-expansion engine, two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers 220 psi 450 deg, 2,500 shp, single screw; generators 3x 20kW recip + 1x 60kW turbo 120V DC).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Ship's company (198 per DANFS; NavSource breakout 16 officers + 180 enlisted); 2 KIA / 12 WIA
- Limitations
- Shipscribe and NavSource are compiled references (Shipscribe derives from BuShips/Auxiliary Vessels Board records), not government publications - consistent with DANFS and MARAD where they overlap (dates, builder, casualty figures). Machinery manufacturer detail, the detailed spec block, and the acquisition-program narrative are compilation-only. NavSource prints the loss as 22 June 1943 and 'laid down 2 October 1942' - both conflict with DANFS/yard records and are logged in the correction row. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aludra-ak72-04
-
[5]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 the DANFS spec block 'T. EC2-S-C1' and the MARAD record 'MARAD Type EC2-S-C1') 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
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Construction trades (Permanente Metals/Kaiser Richmond Yard No. 2, 1942); 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's 'minimum conversion' for AK 70-79 (per Shipscribe class notes) added Navy fittings but no documented insulation change. Does not establish quantity, individual exposure, or causation; the hull lies in >2,000 fathoms, so present-day presence is moot.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aludra-ak72-05
-
[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 emergency program under which this EC2-S-C1 hull was mass-produced at Permanente Metals' Richmond No. 2 yard (one of the Kaiser Richmond emergency yards) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- 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 scholarship; does not name this vessel or the EC2-S-C1 type and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aludra-ak72-06
-
[7]California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Kaiser Richmond Shipyard / Richmond Harbor Restoration Project site page (Site ID 400137001); Atlas shipyards.json yard record 'kaiser-shipyards' (evidence tier 3) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DTSC Kaiser Richmond Shipyard project page; shipyards.json 'kaiser-shipyards' entry
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The builder site of this hull - the former Kaiser shipyard at Richmond, CA (Permanente Metals Yard No. 2 was one of the four Kaiser Richmond emergency yards) - is a California DTSC-documented cleanup site under the Richmond Harbor Restoration Project, with asbestos-containing materials documented in site soils and structures. Establishes that the construction yard itself is a documented asbestos site; the Atlas shipyards.json entry 'kaiser-shipyards' carries the yard-level asbestos products list (insulation, fireproofing, hull insulation, boiler components, pipe coverings).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942 (construction); remediation documentation later
- Population
- Construction trades at the Kaiser Richmond yards (1942)
- Limitations
- Yard-level environmental record, not a hull record - documents asbestos at the construction site decades later; establishes nothing about materials installed aboard MCE hull 437. Distinct-site caution carried from the yard record: NIOSH HHE 77-24-366 concerns Kaiser Marine Facility Vallejo, NOT Kaiser Richmond. Does not establish exposure or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aludra-ak72-07
-
[8]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 operator structure is direct Navy operation (MARAD: 'None (Direct Govt. Operation)'), so any claims would proceed against product suppliers, not the government.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- 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 Aludra, AK-72, or Robert T. Lincoln 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-aludra-ak72-08
-
[9]DANFS Aludra (AK-72) entry vs NHHC Official Chronology (23 June 1943 entry), NHHC Online Library photo page (usnsh-a/ak72), MARAD ShipHistory Details 12535/10581, Kaiser No. 2 yard table, Shipscribe AK-70 class table, NavSource AK-72 page, Wikipedia infobox [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text; Kaiser No. 2 yard table row hull 437 (shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/kperm2.htm and merchantships/2libertyships2.htm); NHHC photo page caption (ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-a/ak72.htm); NavSource AK-72 page; MARAD Details 12535/10581 shipwreck blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Date/figure conflicts resolved or flagged. (a) Laid down: DANFS prints '28 October 1942', corroborated by the Kaiser No. 2 yard table (28-Oct-42) and Shipscribe's construction table (28 Oct 42); NHHC's photo caption says 'late October 1942'. Wikipedia's infobox and NavSource print '2 October 1942' - a truncation of '28 October'; carried as 1942-10-28. (b) Loss date: DANFS and the NHHC official chronology give 23 June 1943 (torpedoed 0444, sank 0933); both MARAD ShipHistory shipwreck records and NavSource print 22 June 1943 - carried as 1943-06-23 per the official narrative; the one-day variant is unresolved at record level and logged in gaps. (c) Complement: DANFS 198 vs NavSource 16 officers + 180 enlisted (196) vs Wikipedia 205 vs Shipscribe class figure 133 (1944) - DANFS carried. (d) Convoy direction: Cressman prints 'in convoy en route to Guadalcanal'; DANFS, the NHHC photo page, and the MARAD merchant record say she had departed Guadalcanal bound for Espiritu Santo - DANFS framing carried. (e) DANFS itself records the rename (Aludra, 30 October 1942) two days after keel-laying - a normal MARCOM-program reassignment, not an error.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1943; 2026-09-21 (reconciliation)
- Limitations
- Reconciles conflicting published figures; does not itself bear on asbestos. DANFS and the primary yard records control the laid-down and loss dates; variant figures are retained in the record with their scope stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aludra-ak72-09
-
[10]Batch-947 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS via Wayback + NHHC Online Library photo page; NHHC Official Chronology; MARAD ShipHistory details 12535/10581; Shipscribe class page; NavSource via navsource.net; Kaiser No. 2 yard table; CourtListener API/HTML (blocked) + web-level case-law check; NARA Special List 44 index; name-collision opinion 512 F.2d 23 via law.resource.org [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-aludra-ak72-01 through sl-uss-aludra-ak72-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located or expected: the hull was sunk in action June 1943, so no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or museum documentation can exist, and no docketed case naming Aludra, AK-72, Robert T. Lincoln, or MCE 437 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Authenticated CourtListener API and HTML searches were blocked at research time (shared machine quota: 2800/day cap already consumed, ~2.5h to reset; HTML endpoint HTTP 403 - not retried into the ban per batch rules); web-level case-law search surfaced only a non-asbestos name collision on the LATER hull of the name: United States v. San Francisco Elevator Co., 512 F.2d 23 (9th Cir. 1975), a maritime wrongful-death indemnity dispute aboard 'a navy refrigerator ship, the USS ALUDRA' moored at NAS Alameda - that is USS Aludra (AF-55), a different hull (in service 1952-1969), and the opinion contains no asbestos content. Law-firm SEO list presence exists (asbestos-ships.com dedicated AK-72 page; freeasbestostesting.com auxiliary-ships list) - marketing compilations excluded per source rules; list presence is not documentation.
- 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 1942 EC2-S-C1 hull 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: the CourtListener opinion and RECAP sweeps could not be run to completion due to the shared machine rate limit; the web-level check is not a substitute.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aludra-ak72-10
-
[11]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (deck logs), RG 38 (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations records incl. action reports/war diaries), RG 178 (US Maritime Commission); NARA Special List 44 named-vessel log index; NHHC photo archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html and /24.html; archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/special-list-44-named (Aludra not found in index); NavSource caption citing NHHC photo NH 104025
- 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 Aludra (December 1942 - June 1943) would document daily operations, drills, and the casualty sequence; the NARA Special List 44 named-vessel index did not surface an Aludra entry in this search, so holdings are unverified. RG 38 action reports and war diaries for the 23 June 1943 loss: the CO's (or surviving officer's) action report, the ComSoPacFor war diary, and O'Bannon's (DD-450) report of the Deimos scuttling. RG 178 (Maritime Commission) construction file for MCE hull 437 - Permanente No. 2 contract and outfitting specifications, the closest a material schedule could come to this hull. BuShips minimal-conversion records for the AK 70-79 program (conversion scope). NHHC photo NH 104025 negative (the under-way photograph of record).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1943 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and repository mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents in these series is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aludra-ak72-11