Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]Shipscribe U.S. Navy auxiliary ships data sheets, 'USS APc-1 Class' page - class notes (procurement history) and construction/ship-note rows (Stephen S. Roberts compilation from Navy registers and BuShips/CNO records); corroborated by NavSource APc-1 page [other_primary]
- Locator
- APC-1 class page: class notes (CNO 19 Jan 42 / BuShips Feb 42 / CNO 13 Apr 42 / DCDB 20 Apr 42 / category created 22 Apr 42), construction table APc-1 row, ship note 'Ex AMc-164'; https://www.navsource.net/archives/09/23/23001.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity correction: this hull was ordered as coastal minesweeper AMc-164 (contracted 19 Feb 1942 at Herreshoff Mfg.) under the 19 Jan 1942 CNO direction for AMc 150-199. BuShips issued a modified 103-ft design for the batch in Feb 1942, but on 13 Apr 1942 the CNO requested the 50 vessels as 'raider transports, AP'; the District Craft Development Board recommended the change 20 Apr 1942 and the category 'Coastal transport (small), APc' was created 22 Apr 1942. AMc 150-199 became APc 1-50 (not respectively); APc-1 is the ex-AMc-164. The hull was therefore never built or commissioned as a minesweeper - no commissioned 'USS AMc-164' ever existed; the minesweeper designation is a planned-contract identity only.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1941-1942
- Limitations
- Establishes identity and designation correction only - not an asbestos finding. Shipscribe is a compiled transcription of official records, not the registers themselves; NavSource corroborates ('Originally planned as Coastal Minesweeper AMc-164'). A contemporary Bristol Phoenix item (17 Jul 1942) still called the craft 'minesweepers' locally - informal usage, not the official designation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-164-amc164-01
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[2]Herreshoff Marine Museum, HMCo Construction Record entry #425p (APc1) - the builder's own construction record with cited supplements [museum_official]
- Locator
- HMCo #425p record: particulars block, construction-record note, later-names/final-disposition lines, Bristol Phoenix quotation (Bristol Phoenix, 17 Jul 1942, p. 2)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder primary record for this hull: HMCo hull #425p, contract 1942-02-19, designed by McInnis, Eldredge; wood construction; LOA 103' 2.5", LWL 98' 6", beam 21' 2.5", draft 8' 3.625"; displacement 112.0 short tons; propulsion Superior diesel 400 h.p., single 3-blade propeller; built for U.S. Navy, contract amount $145,000; construction-record note 'U.S. Navy Troop Transports'; launch recorded 1942-7-8. Later names Comer Plummer (1947-) and Sea Contractor (1963-1965); last year in existence 1965; foundered 6 Feb 1965 in the Gulf of Mexico. Quoted Bristol Phoenix (17 Jul 1942) announces the christening/launch of '#425p APc1' for 18 Jul 1942, with Thomas P. Brightman performing the ceremony.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1965
- Population
- Herreshoff Mfg. construction workforce, Bristol RI (1942)
- Limitations
- Authoritative builder construction record - contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information and supports no asbestos claim. Its launch entry (1942-7-8) conflicts with the contemporary newspaper's announced 18 Jul ceremony and with shipscribe's 19 Jul - discrepancy logged in gaps, not silently reconciled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-164-amc164-02
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[3]NavSource Online, Small Coastal Transport (APc) photo archive - USS APc-1 (ex-AMc-164) page: service timeline, spec block, awards, commanding-officer table [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/23/23001: chronology block, spec block, 'Awards, Citations' table, 'Commanding Officers' table; DANFS note 'There is no DANFS history available for USS APc-1'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-specific service record: originally planned as Coastal Minesweeper AMc-164; laid down 18 May 1942 at Herreshoff Mfg., Bristol, R.I.; launched 9 Jul 1942 (per NavSource); commissioned USS APc-1 on 1 Oct 1942, LTjg. Francis E. Shine Jr., USNR, in command; assigned to the Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations during WWII; awards American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal; decommissioned 19 Feb 1946 at San Francisco; struck from the Naval Register 12 Mar 1946; transferred to the Maritime Administration in 1947 for disposal; sold 10 Jun 1947 to Fulton Construction Co., Houston, TX; acquired by Pure Oil Co., Port Arthur, TX, as oil-exploration vessel MV Comer Plummer; acquired 1963 by Tideland Specialty Co., Houston, TX, renamed MC Sea Contractor; foundered and sank 6 Feb 1965 in the Gulf of Mexico. Spec block: 100 t lt / 234 t fl, 103', beam 21' 3", draft 9' 3", 10 kts, four single 20mm AA mounts, complement 3 officers + 22 enlisted, one 400 shp National Supply Corp. MML-6 diesel, one shaft. Five commanding officers listed (Shine; Arensberg; Briere; Kennedy; Barlow).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1965
- Population
- Wartime crew (~25 by spec block) and embarked troops in the Southwest Pacific; post-sale commercial crews (1947-1965)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary photo archive reproducing official data - the most detailed ship-specific public record for this hull (no DANFS entry exists), but not itself a primary document. Contains no asbestos information. Launch date (9 Jul 42) and spec figures conflict with the builder record and shipscribe - logged in gaps. No battle stars listed for this hull (classmates APc-15/-22/-25/-26 earned stars; not claimed here).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-164-amc164-03
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[4]Shipscribe 'USS APc-1 Class' page - APc-1 construction-table row, ship note, and class characteristics block (compiled from official Navy/MARAD records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- APC-1 class page: characteristics block, construction table (APc-1 row), ship notes (APc-1 row)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class-table row for this hull: APc-1 ordered 19 Feb 42, builder Herreshoff Mfg, keel 18 May 42, launched 19 Jul 42, commissioned 1 Oct 42. Ship note: 'Ex AMc-164. Sold (delivered) by MC to George Fulton, Fulton Construction Co., Houston, Texas. Merc. COMER PLUMMER 1947.' Class characteristics: 161 t light / 258 t limiting; 103.25' oa x 21.25' x 9.25'; original armament 4-20mm single; complement 21 (1944); 10 kts; diesel 400 HP, one screw (some class units 500 HP).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Construction trades (1942); crew (1942-1946)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary transcription of official records, not the registers themselves; figures used where consistent with the builder record and NavSource. Complement '21 (1944)' conflicts with NavSource's '3 officers, 22 enlisted' - logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos information; the sale note documents a custody event, not materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-164-amc164-04
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[5]Consolidated era/design inference - documented plant and construction for this hull (HMCo Construction Record #425p; NavSource spec block; shipscribe class data) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HMCo #425p particulars (wood construction; Superior diesel 400 h.p.); NavSource spec block (MML-6 diesel); shipscribe class notes (boom/outfit description)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull was a wooden-hulled, 103-ft small coastal transport driven by a single 400 hp diesel on one shaft - built in 1942 at the peak of wartime asbestos usage but WITHOUT the steam plant (boilers, fireroom, steam lines) around which the documented WWII shipboard asbestos applications concentrated. Residual class-era inference only: diesel engines of the period commonly used asbestos-containing gaskets, packing, and exhaust lagging; incidental joiner/compartment insulation and winch/windlass brake linings (the class carried a 2-ton boom on the foremast) could contain asbestos in era construction.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1965
- Population
- Herreshoff construction workforce (1942); wartime crew; post-sale commercial crews
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant and construction era - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming this hull was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation. The wooden/diesel configuration makes even the era inference materially weaker than for steam vessels.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-164-amc164-05
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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 study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and emergency construction program under which this wooden diesel transport was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding.
- 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 scholarly documentation; does not name this vessel or class. The documented use concentrated on insulation-heavy construction; this small wooden diesel craft sits at the margin of that population - included for era context only. Establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-164-amc164-06
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[7]Batch-1512 search ledger (this record): NavSource APc-1 page; shipscribe APc-1 class page; Herreshoff Marine Museum HMCo #425p construction record; NHHC/DANFS (no entry exists); CourtListener API v4 (quota-blocked); indexed-web litigation checks incl. merchant names; NVR; MARAD ShipHistory; shipyards.json yard lookup [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-amc-164-amc164-01 through sl-uss-amc-164-amc164-09
- 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 AMc-164, APc-1, Comer Plummer, or Sea Contractor was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No DANFS entry exists for this hull (NavSource states; NHHC index page unreachable 2026-09-22). CourtListener API v4 was daily-quota throttled (HTTP 429, 2800/day exhausted by prior batch work) at research time - the opinion/docket index check is incomplete and logged as blocked, not as a clean negative. Indexed-web checking surfaced only non-qualifying material: reference citations for the merchant names and unrelated asbestos-litigation name collisions (USS Badger, PSNSY cases). NVR carries no record (pre-1987 disposal outside coverage). MARAD ShipHistory surfaced no record for this hull (search endpoint errored; site-index check negative - an incomplete check).
- 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 materials inference applies however thin, and the undocumented 1947-1965 commercial phases are unexamined for materials. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. Litigation negative coverage is limited by the CourtListener block.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amc-164-amc164-07
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[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships), RG 24 (Navy deck logs); MARAD disposal/sale records; Herreshoff Marine Museum HMCo archive (Bristol, RI) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html ; /groups/024.html ; herreshoff.info construction-record database
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): BuShips records for the Feb 1942 modified AMc 150-199 design specifications and the Apr 1942 CNO/DCDB APc redirection correspondence and contract files (RG 19) - the strongest potential per-hull material source; Navy deck logs for USS APc-1, 1942-1946 (RG 24, NARA College Park); the Maritime Commission/MARAD 1947 disposal and sale file for the Fulton Construction transaction (disposal-era documentation lead); Herreshoff company records beyond the digitized #425p page (Herreshoff Marine Museum) - build correspondence for HMCo hulls 425p-430p may carry material specifications.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1947 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-amc-164-amc164-08