Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]NavSource Naval History, USS APc-15 page (Service Ship Photo Archive; compiled from official Navy records), file 09/23/23015 [other_primary]
- Locator
- USS APc-15 page - construction/service chronology, awards block, campaign table, specifications block, commanding-officer list, commercial-service section, NARA photo identifiers 19-N-38017 and 80-G-52340
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity and service record for this hull: originally planned as coastal minesweeper AMc-155; laid down 1942-04-29 at Camden Ship Building and Marineway, Camden, ME; launched 1942-07-08; commissioned USS APc-15 on 1942-10-27 (LTjg Kemper Goffigon III, USNR). Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater; campaign credit Bismarck Archipelago operation, Arawe, New Britain, 17-18 and 25-26 December 1943; one battle star; Combat Action Ribbon retroactive (listed 1943-12-27); personal awards listed include Navy Cross (Goffigon), Silver Star (SM2/c Borneman), Purple Hearts - 2 KIA (MoMM2/c Siek, SK2/c Anderson), 10 WIA. Decommissioned 1946-03-19 at Seattle; stricken 1946-03-28; sold 1947-01-13 to Harold A. Jones / Vancouver Tug Boat Co., Vancouver BC - Canadian flag as Gulf Trader, then La Belle II (1948), Black Trader (1961); reported sunk in a Fraser River slough 1998. Spec block: 103'3" x 21'3" x 9'3", 10 knots, one GM 8-268A diesel single screw 400 shp, four single 20mm AA mounts, complement 3 officers + 22 enlisted, troop capacity 66. Four commanding officers listed through decommissioning.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1998
- Population
- Crew (3 officers + 22 enlisted); embarked troops (capacity 66)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a private archival compilation of official Navy data, not a government publication; no DANFS entry exists for this hull (NavSource states so explicitly), so dates and specs rest on this compilation rather than NHHC text. Keel/launch dates and WIA count conflict with other compilations (see ev-09). Contains no asbestos information and supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-155-amc155-01
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[2]ShipScribe (Stephen S. Roberts), USS APc-1 Class page - construction table, class notes, ship notes (compiled from BuShips/CNO/District Craft Development Board records and Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Construction table row 15 (Ord. 19 Feb 42, Camden SB, keel 6 Apr 42, launch 18 Jul 42, commiss. 27 Oct 42); disposal table row 15 (decomm. 19 Mar 46, struck 28 Mar 46, MC/D 13 Jan 47); Class Notes (procurement history); Ship Notes row 15
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Construction-record row: APc-15 ordered 1942-02-19 under the AMc 150-199 coastal-minesweeper program; built by Camden SB (table gives keel 1942-04-06, launch 1942-07-18, commission 1942-10-27 - conflicting with NavSource on keel and launch). Class procurement history documented from CNO/BuShips records: CNO directed 50 AMc-type hulls on 1942-01-19; on 1942-04-13 CNO requested the 50 vessels be built as 'raider transports, AP'; the 'Coastal transport (small), APc' category was created 1942-04-22 on the District Craft Development Board's recommendation; the design was the wood-hulled fishing-boat-derived type lengthened to ~103 ft; AMc 150-199 became APc 1-50, 'though not respectively'. Ship note for row 15: 'Ex AMc-155. Sold (delivered) by MC to Harold A. Jones, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Construction trades (Camden Ship Building and Marineway, 1942)
- Limitations
- Secondary scholarly compilation of primary BuShips/CNO records, not the records themselves; the class notes document the type program and the construction table names this hull. Keel (6 Apr vs 29 Apr) and launch (18 Jul vs 8/9 Jul) conflict with NavSource/Wikipedia - unresolved, logged in ev-09 and gaps. Establishes that AMc-155 and APc-15 are one hull. Contains no asbestos information and supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-155-amc155-02
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[3]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List #44 (deck-log holdings by ship number, RG 24 deck-log collection index) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL-44 ship-number index, 'APC-15' rows (10/17/1942-12/31/1944 and 2/1/1945-3/31/1945, pdftotext -layout verified); no 'AMC-155' row present; digitized-logs listing at archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (no APC-15 entry)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List #44 (Navy deck-log finding aid, indexed by ship number) lists APC-15 deck logs held at the National Archives in two blocks: 1942-10-17 through 1944-12-31, and 1945-02-01 through 1945-03-31. No AMC-155 entry exists in the index, consistent with the minesweeper designation never being an operating identity. Coverage gaps: January 1945 and April 1945 through the March 1946 decommissioning are unindexed. The NARA 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' page lists no APC-15 among digitized logs - the logs exist as physical holdings, undigitized.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (indexed coverage)
- Limitations
- Finding aid only - the deck logs themselves were not retrieved or read, and their contents (stations, operations, repairs, any material/conditions notes) are unknown. SL-44 indexes physical holdings, not digitization status. Not an asbestos record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-155-amc155-03
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[4]Navy Cross citation, LTjg Kemper Goffigon III, USNR - General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 337 (April 1945); citation text reproduced at Home of Heroes; index note in David D. Bruhn, 'APc and FS Hall of Valor' compilation [other_primary]
- Locator
- Citation text (New Britain Island, 26 December 1943); https://davidbruhn.com/images/APc%20and%20FS%20Hall%20of%20Valor.pdf - 'USS APc-15: 26 December 1943' entry and clarifying note on the LCT(5) resupply echelon
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official award text documents the combat action for which this ship's commanding officer received the Navy Cross: 'Lieutenant, Junior Grade Kemper Goffigon, III, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service ... as Officer in Charge of a Landing Craft Tank (LCT(5), during amphibious operations at New Britain Island on 26 December 1943. Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Goffigon's LCT(5), was attacked by Japanese dive bombers and riddled by shrapnel that killed two men and wounded 16. He courageously disregarded his own painful injuries and ... immediately undertook strong protective measures to control damage and care for the wounded personnel. With the engineering plant and rudder badly damaged, he reassembled his remaining men and labored tirelessly for five hours in the combat zone to effect repairs which enabled his ship to return to a place of safety under her own power.' Bruhn's APc/FS award compilation indexes this action under 'USS APc-15: 26 December 1943' and notes that Goffigon was CO of APc-15 and task-unit commander of a resupply echelon including LCT(5)-type craft.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-12-26/27; award published 1945-04
- Population
- APc-15 crew and embarked personnel; LCT(5) resupply echelon crews (2 KIA, 10-16 WIA)
- Limitations
- Official citation text reproduced on private sites (Home of Heroes; Bruhn compilation) - the document is official but the reproductions are secondary carriers. Ambiguity preserved: the citation names Goffigon 'Officer in Charge of a Landing Craft Tank (LCT(5))' during the action, so the damaged craft may be the LCT he was embarked on rather than APc-15 herself; NavSource nonetheless lists the ship's Combat Action Ribbon retroactive to 1943-12-27 (one day off the citation date) and attributes the casualties to the ship. Casualty figures conflict: citation 'wounded 16' vs NavSource 'WIA 10' - logged, not resolved. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-155-amc155-04
-
[5]ShipScribe USS APc-1 Class design notes (wood hull, diesel, 103 ft, ~400 hp) + NavSource USS APc-15 specifications block (one GM 8-268A diesel, single screw) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class Notes (design derivation, wood hulls) and class characteristics block; NavSource spec block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Design-level asbestos-relevance inference for this hull type: the APc-1 class was a wood-hulled craft of ~103 ft powered by a single diesel on one screw with no boilers and no steam plant, so the dominant WWII naval-asbestos pathways (boiler insulation, turbine lagging, steam-line lagging) do not apply. Asbestos-relevant applications for a 1942 naval auxiliary of this type are limited to era-typical items: diesel exhaust-system lagging, engine gaskets and packing, electrical insulation/switchboard backing, deck-covering and non-skid compounds, adhesives/mastics, and friction linings on deck machinery.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1946 Navy service; 1947-1998 commercial life unexamined for materials
- Population
- Construction trades (Camden, 1942); engine-room crew; any later repair/refit workers (1942-1998 commercial life undocumented for materials)
- Limitations
- The wood-hull diesel platform is documented for the type; the list of asbestos-relevant applications is era inference, not documentation - no material survey, specification, or maintenance record names asbestos aboard this hull. Does not establish presence, quantity, location, condition, or individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-155-amc155-05
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[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 scholarship 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 1942 wooden auxiliary was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization across naval and merchant construction.
- 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 (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel, does not address small wooden auxiliaries specifically, and does not establish that asbestos was or is aboard this hull, nor quantity, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-155-amc155-06
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[7]shipbuildinghistory.com (Colton), Camden Shipbuilding yard page; Penobscot Marine Museum digital collection item LB2012.17.2031 (building/launching cradle, ca. 1960) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Camden yard page (history paragraph, Camden ME 44.20943,-69.05875); penobscotmarinemuseum.historyit.com item LB2012.17.2031
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder context: Camden Shipbuilding and Marine Railway Company was a small wooden-vessel yard started in 1940 at Camden, Maine by Richard Lyman, Cary Bok and Clinton Lunt; it built the four Camden-hulled APc coastal transports (APc-15 through APc-18) among wartime work, was reconstituted postwar as Camden Shipbuilding Company building fishing vessels and yachts, failed in 1963, and the site continues as Wayfarer Marine's maintenance facility. A circa-1960 Penobscot Marine Museum photograph shows the building and launching cradle in place.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1940-1963 (yard history); 1942 (this hull)
- Population
- Construction trades (Camden Shipbuilding, 1942)
- Limitations
- Documents the builder's identity, wooden-craft specialty, and site - not conditions aboard this hull. The wooden-boatyard context is relevant to which materials pathway plausibly applied (no heavy steam-plant insulation), but nothing in these sources addresses asbestos; supports no asbestos claim. The only litigation naming the builder located is a non-asbestos 1964 bankruptcy sales-tax dispute (search_ledger sl-14).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-155-amc155-07
-
[8]Batch-1502 search ledger (this record): NavSource APc-15 page; ShipScribe APc-1 class page; NHHC/DANFS index check; NARA SL-44 + digitized-logs page; NVR; NavalCoverMuseum; Nauticapedia; shipbuildinghistory tables; CourtListener API v4 (blocked) + web-index fallback; builder-litigation check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-amc-155-amc155-01 through sl-uss-amc-155-amc155-15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or museum record names this hull; no DANFS entry exists; and no verified docketed case naming AMc-155 or APc-15 was found in the public sources searched. The vessel does not appear in the Naval Vessel Register (NVR excludes vessels disposed of before 1987; struck 1946). The hull sank in 1998 - there is no surviving structure, museum custody, or reserve-fleet record from which a survey could be expected. CourtListener litigation searches were attempted but blocked by API rate-limit on the research date (search_ledger sl-06) - litigation status is therefore unverified rather than confirmed negative; a web-index fallback returned no vessel hits.
- 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 - WWII-era construction practices leave residual uncertainty for gaskets, packing, electrical and engine-adjacent insulation even in a small wooden diesel craft, and the 1947-1998 Canadian commercial life is entirely undocumented for materials. Litigation coverage is incomplete because CourtListener was throttled (2,800/day shared quota exhausted); re-run is a documented gap. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-155-amc155-08
-
[9]Source-conflict reconciliation across NavSource APc-15 page, ShipScribe APc-1 class table/notes, shipbuildinghistory APc table, Wikipedia compiled article, NavalCoverMuseum, Navy Cross citation, and DANFS Capable (AM-155) entry via hazegray transcription [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/auxapc.htm 'APc 15' row ('Lost to air attack off New Georgia 1943' - erroneous); ShipScribe class ship-notes for APc-21 and APc-35 losses; hazegray.org/danfs/mine/am155.htm (Capable); en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_APc-15 ('APc-25' typo, Atlas engine claim)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Identity, collision, and source-error reconciliation: (a) ONE HULL, TWO DESIGNATIONS - AMc-155 was the ordered-as designation under the AMc 150-199 program; the April 1942 CNO/District Craft Development Board redirect completed her as APc-15, and she never served as a minesweeper. This record consolidates both designations; they are not two vessels. (b) NAME COLLISION - AMc-155 must not be conflated with USS Capable (AM-155), an Admirable-class steel minesweeper built by Willamette Iron & Steel Corp., Portland OR (laid down 1942-05-12, launched 1942-11-16, commissioned 1943-12-05, transferred to the USSR as T-339 in 1945) - a completely different hull sharing only the numeral (record uss-capable-am155). (c) PUBLISHED ERROR - shipbuildinghistory.com's APc table says APc-15 was 'Lost to air attack off New Georgia 1943'; every other source documents decommissioning 1946-03-19, striking 1946-03-28, sale 1947-01-13, and a Canadian career to a reported 1998 sinking. The erroneous entry appears to conflate APc-15 with a lost sister - APc-21 (lost off Arawe 1943-12-17, struck 12-31) or APc-35 (grounded off New Georgia 1943-09-22, struck 10-26). (d) DATE CONFLICTS - keel 4/29 (NavSource, NavalCoverMuseum, Wikipedia) vs 4/6 (ShipScribe construction table); launch 7/8 (NavSource) vs 7/9 (Wikipedia, NavalCoverMuseum) vs 7/18 (ShipScribe); unresolved - NavSource dates carried. (e) Wikipedia text errors - the compiled article says 'commissioned as APc-25' (obvious typo for APc-15) and lists an Atlas 6HM2124 engine (NavSource's ship-specific block says GM 8-268A). (f) ACTION-DETAIL VARIANTS - Navy Cross citation says 26 Dec 1943 and 'wounded 16'; NavSource lists CAR retroactive 27 Dec 1943 and 'WIA 10'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1998 records
- Limitations
- Documents publication-level discrepancies so the record is auditable; prevents two real indexing errors (treating AMc-155/APc-15 as separate hulls; merging this record with USS Capable AM-155). None of the conflicting figures bear on asbestos documentation. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-155-amc155-09
-
[10]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships, incl. RG-19-LCM photo series), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 80-G photo series; NavSource photo credits for 19-N-38017 and 80-G-52340; Nauticapedia registry entry 179077 [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL-44 'APC-15' rows; NavSource APc-15 photo captions (NARA identifiers); shipscribe.com/pubs/SDB1945v1.pdf (image-only scan); nauticapedia.ca APc-15 entry (registry 179077)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (a) NARA deck logs for APC-15 covering 10/17/1942-12/31/1944 and 2/1/1945-3/31/1945 (SL-44 indexed, RG 24 - the likeliest primary for stations, operations, the December 1943 action and repairs, and any material events); (b) two NARA-held U.S. Navy photographs of this hull - 19-N-38017 (RG-19-LCM, BuShips photo, builder's trials off Camden 1942-10-06) and 80-G-52340 (mid-1943, early green camouflage); (c) BuShips Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels 1945 Vol. I (NAVSHIPS 250-010) APc-class characteristics - official scan located but image-only, needs OCR/extraction; (d) the Maritime Commission disposal file for the 1947-01-13 sale to Harold A. Jones / Vancouver Tug Boat Co. (RG 178); (e) the Canadian vessel-registry file for official number 179077 (Library and Archives Canada / Transport Canada registers - the likeliest primary for the 1947-1998 commercial career and the 1998 sinking).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1998 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and identifier mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. The two photographs are documented to exist in NARA custody via NavSource captions; whether log segments for January 1945 or April 1945-March 1946 exist elsewhere is unverified. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-155-amc155-10