Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]NavSource Naval History, USS APc-17 page (Service Ship Photo Archive; compiled from official Navy records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USS APc-17 page - construction/service chronology, awards bar, specifications block, commanding-officer list, launch photograph 092301701.jpg
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity and service record for this hull: originally planned as coastal minesweeper AMc-157; laid down 1942-04-14 at Camden Ship Building and Marineway, Camden, ME; launched 1942-08-08 (launch photograph captioned 'launching, 8 August 1942'); commissioned USS APc-17 on 1943-01-11 (LT. Converse Owen Smith, USNR). Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater; awards listed: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal - no battle stars, no campaign table. Six commanding officers carried: Smith (to May 1944), LTjg James A. Dunn (May-Sep 1944), LT Charles D. East (Sep-Dec 1944), LT Barclay Feather (Dec 1944-Jun 1945), LTjg Calvin O. Bell (Jun-Dec 1945), ENS F. Ellis Butterfield (Dec 1945 to decommissioning). Decommissioned 1946-03-09 at Naval Station Subic Bay, Philippines; destroyed 1946-03-14 by sinking in Manila Bay; stricken 1946-03-20. Spec block: 100 t light / 234 t full / 258 t limiting; 103'3" x 21'3" x 9'3"; 10 knots; one National Supply Corp. MML-6 diesel (300 shp), two 30 kW 120 V DC ship's-service generators, single propeller; four single 20mm AA mounts; diesel fuel 145 Bbls; troop capacity 66; complement 3 officers + 22 enlisted; call sign NCKC.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- 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. Its 8 August launch date conflicts with the ShipScribe construction table's 1 August (see gaps). Contains no asbestos information and supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-157-amc157-01
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[2]ShipScribe (Stephen S. Roberts), USS APc-1 Class page - construction table, disposal 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 17; disposal table row 17; Class Notes (procurement history); Ship Notes row 17
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Construction-record row: APc-17 ordered 1942-02-19 under the AMc 150-199 coastal-minesweeper program; built by Camden SB (keel 1942-04-14, launch 1942-08-01, commission 1943-01-11); decommissioned 1946-03-09, stricken 1946-03-20, disposal 'Dest.' (destroyed) 1946-03-14. Class procurement history documented from CNO/BuShips records: CNO directed 50 AMc-type hulls on 1942-01-19; BuShips issued specs for a lengthened (103-ft) modified design in February 1942; on 1942-04-13 CNO requested the 50 vessels be built as 'raider transports, AP'; the District Craft Development Board recommended the change 1942-04-20 and the 'Coastal transport (small), APc' category was created 1942-04-22; AMc 150-199 thus became APc 1-50 'though not respectively' - AMc-157 mapped to APc-17. Ship note: 'Ex AMc-157. Recommended for decomm. and sinking in Philippine Area 7 Jan 46, destroyed there in March.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Construction trades (Camden Shipbuilding, Camden ME, 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. Establishes that the AMc-157 designation was contract-level only - the craft was completed as APc-17 - and that the destruction was a deliberate Navy disposal (recommended 1946-01-07), not combat loss. Launch date here (1942-08-01) conflicts with NavSource (1942-08-08). Contains no asbestos information and supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-157-amc157-02
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[3]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List #44 (deck-log holdings by ship number) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL-44 ship-number index p.5, APC-17 row (1/11/1943-6/30/1945); no AMC-157 row present
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List #44 (Navy deck-log finding aid, indexed by ship number) lists APC-17 deck logs held at the National Archives covering 1943-01-11 through 1945-06-30 - i.e., commissioning through mid-1945. No AMC-157 entry exists in the index (the only AMC-15x row is AMC-15 Baxbill, a named earlier coastal minesweeper), consistent with the minesweeper designation being planning-only.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Limitations
- Finding aid only - the deck logs themselves were not retrieved or read, and their contents (ports, operations, any material/conditions notes) are unknown. Coverage in this index ends 1945-06-30 although the ship served to 1946-03-09; later log segments, if extant, may sit in other NARA accretions. Not an asbestos record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-157-amc157-03
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[4]ShipScribe USS APc-1 Class design notes (wood hull, diesel, 103 ft) + NavSource USS APc-17 specifications block (one National Supply MML-6 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 (this hull: National Supply Corp. MML-6, 300 shp) 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
- Population
- Construction trades (1942); engine-room crew
- 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, or individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-157-amc157-04
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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
- historical_record
- 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 (class 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-157-amc157-05
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[6]PenBay Pilot, Barbara Dyer, 'Camden's wooden boat builders were perfectionists' (Walsh History Center/Camden Public Library sources); Walsh History Center catalog entry WHC 2010.52 (1943 NAS Brunswick official photograph of the yard); shipbuildinghistory.com WWII wooden-shipbuilders table (Camden Shipbuilding Co., B3-F1 barge contract) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- PenBay Pilot article text; https://hub.catalogit.app/walshhistorycenter/folder/entry/camden-shipyard-wwii ; http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/wwtwowood.htm (Camden Shipbuilding Co. rows)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder context: Camden Shipbuilding and Marine Railway Co. (Camden Ship Building and Marineway), Camden, Maine - a Penobscot Bay wooden-vessel yard started in 1941 by Cary Bok, Richard Lyman and Clinton Lunt on the site of an earlier yard; built wooden vessels for the U.S. Navy and for Britain under Lend-Lease, employed up to ~1,500 workers at wartime peak on two shifts, and also built four Maritime Commission B3-F1 wooden barges (Pine Tree I-IV, delivered May-Aug 1943). Naval architect Geerd Hendel designed for the yard, which closed in 1963. A September 1943 official NAS Brunswick photograph (Walsh History Center, Camden Public Library) shows several ships under construction in the yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1941-1963 (yard history); 1942 (this hull)
- Population
- Construction trades (Camden Shipbuilding, 1942)
- Limitations
- Documents the builder's identity, wooden-craft specialty, workforce, and wartime program - not conditions aboard this hull. The wooden-boatyard context is relevant to what materials pathway plausibly applied (no heavy steam-plant insulation), but nothing in these sources addresses asbestos; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-157-amc157-06
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[7]Batch-1504 search ledger (this record): NavSource APc-17 page; ShipScribe APc-1 class page; NHHC/DANFS index check; NARA SL-44; MARAD ShipHistory; NavalCoverMuseum; CourtListener API v4 (blocked) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-amc-157-amc157-01 through sl-uss-amc-157-amc157-10
- 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, and no DANFS entry exists. The Navy deliberately destroyed the hull in March 1946 (recommended for decommissioning and sinking in the Philippine Area 1946-01-07; sunk Manila Bay 1946-03-14) - 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 (see search_ledger) - litigation status is therefore unverified rather than confirmed negative.
- 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 - era-consistent materials could still have been present. Litigation coverage is incomplete: the CourtListener opinion/docket search could not be executed on 2026-09-22 due to API throttling and remains an open check. 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-157-amc157-07
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[8]ShipScribe USS APc-1 Class notes (AMc 150-199 redirected to APc; ship note 'Ex AMc-157') + NavSource USS APc-17 page; DANFS, Caravan (AM-157) entry (NHHC via Wayback capture; NavSource Caravan MSF-157 page corroborates) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- ShipScribe class notes + construction/disposal table row 17 + ship note 17; Wayback DANFS capture caravan.htm; NavSource http://www.navsource.net/archives/11/02157.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity correction and collision note: (a) AMc-157 was a planning/contract designation only - the type was redirected to APc transports in April 1942 (keel laid 1942-04-14, mid-redirection) and the hull was completed and commissioned solely as USS APc-17; it is a single hull, not two vessels. (b) AMc-157 must not be conflated with USS Caravan (AM-157), an Admirable-class steel minesweeper built by Willamette Iron & Steel Corp., Portland OR (originally planned as AMc-134, reclassified AM-157 1942-02-21; launched 1942-10-27, commissioned 1944-01-21, served the Marianas/Palaus, decommissioned Cold Bay 1945-08-16 and transferred to the Soviet Union as T-337; reclassified MSF-157 1955; scrapped 1960) - a completely different hull sharing only the numeral.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1960
- Limitations
- Prevents two real indexing errors: treating AMc-157 and APc-17 as separate hulls (they are one), and merging this record with USS Caravan AM-157 (a different ship). The DANFS Caravan entry is cited via a Wayback capture of history.navy.mil; the live NHHC page location was not verified. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-157-amc157-08