Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
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[1]CourtListener opinion search, queries: "AMCU-2"; "LCT-844"; "LCT(6)-844"; "LCT 844"; "AMCU" minesweeper asbestos; "Powell Bros" barge asbestos (API v4, via authenticated connector) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-01 through sl-06
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation, or litigation of any kind, naming this hull under any identity (AMCU-2, LCT(6)-844, LCT-844) was located in CourtListener. Searches run: "AMCU-2" (0 hits); "LCT-844" (0 hits); "LCT(6)-844" (0 hits); "LCT 844" (0 hits); "AMCU" minesweeper asbestos (0 hits); "Powell Bros" barge asbestos (0 hits, and in any case too generic to be probative for this specific hull).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Limitations
- Confirms no located litigation, not that none exists - CourtListener's opinion database is not exhaustive of unpublished trial-level dispositions or non-federal state-court filings outside its coverage, and unpublished/discovery-stage material may not be indexed. AMCU-2 and LCT(6)-844 are low-collision identifiers (unlike common names), so the zero-hit result is more probative here than for a common-name hull, but it still establishes no exposure, causation, or product finding either way.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amcu-2-amcu2-01
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[2]Search-engine-indexed summaries of NavSource Naval History, Mine Warfare Ship Photo Index, "AMCU-2" page; NOT independently fetched or read this session [other_primary]
- Locator
- WebSearch tool result summaries only; the underlying page could not be fetched directly this session (navsource.org: DNS resolution failure; navsource.net: blocked by network egress policy) and its text was never read in full - see limitations_note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Convergent secondary compilation (search-engine-indexed summaries of NavSource's AMCU photo archive page; not independently read from a primary source this session) reports: LCT(6)-844 laid down 1944-05-30 by Kansas City Structural Steel Co., Kansas City, MO; placed in service 1944-07-06 under ENS R. A. Thornton, USN; displacement 143 tons; propulsion three 675 bhp Gray Marine 6-71 diesel engines, three shafts, 10 knots; reclassified Coastal Minesweeper (Underwater Locator), AMCU-2, 1945-03-10; transferred to the War Shipping Administration, October 1947; registered 1961 to Powell Bros., Inc., Fort Lauderdale, FL, as the freighter Barge 28, out of Miami, FL; ultimate fate unknown.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1944-1961 (reported)
- Limitations
- UNVERIFIED. This row is a lead, not a confirmed finding: every fact in it comes from a search engine's paraphrase of a single secondary (non-official) compilation that this session could not fetch and read directly. history.navy.mil (DANFS) returned HTTP 503 on every attempt; nvr.navy.mil (Naval Vessel Register) returned HTTP 503; web.archive.org was unavailable to the fetch tool; military-history.fandom.com and r.jina.ai (attempted as a read-only mirror) were both blocked by network egress policy; catalog.archives.gov returned no renderable content. No independent primary-source confirmation of any date, name, builder, dimension, or disposition fact in this row was possible this session. Does not establish or bear on asbestos content in any way.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amcu-2-amcu2-02
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[3]Search-engine-synthesized summary drawing on secondary maritime-history compilations (List of mine warfare vessels of the United States Navy); page itself not independently fetched or read this session [other_primary]
- Locator
- WebSearch tool result summary only; military-history.fandom.com blocked by network egress policy (see search_ledger sl-08)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A separate general compilation describing the AMCU-1 through AMCU-6 program as a whole (distinct from the hull-specific NavSource page in ev-02) states: "The AMCU designation meant 'minesweeper, coastal underwater locator.' The unnamed AMCU-1 through 6 were converted LCT(6) landing craft, redesignated in October 1945, and out of service by 1947." This program-level date (October 1945) conflicts with the hull-specific reclassification date reported for AMCU-2 alone (1945-03-10, ev-02); this record does not resolve the conflict.
- Verification
- disputed
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1945-1947 (reported)
- Limitations
- Flags an unresolved internal date conflict between two secondary sources; neither this row nor ev-02 is independently confirmed against a primary source. Does not establish or bear on asbestos content in any way. Filed as a correction row so the conflict is visible rather than silently picking one date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amcu-2-amcu2-03
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[4]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); DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700110311; PMID 3555021 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 3555021 / Wiley DOI record; bibliographic details confirmed via WebSearch, full abstract text not retrievable this session (PubMed's live page returned only a cookie-consent wall to the fetch tool)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as fireproofing and insulating material across U.S. Navy and merchant shipbuilding during World War II, the era and program under which this LCT(6) hull was built (laid down 1944), and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding generally, including small-craft construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article published 1987
- Population
- WWII U.S. shipyard workers and Navy crews (class/era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of WWII shipbuilding asbestos use generally; does not name this vessel, does not describe LCT(6)-class construction or diesel small-craft engine rooms specifically, 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-amcu-2-amcu2-04
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[5]Class-specification inference from the reported LCT(6) propulsion plant (three Gray Marine 6-71 diesels, ev-02), cross-checked against general LCT(6)-class references (e.g. shipbuildinghistory.com, navalmarinearchive.com LCT(6) pages) confirming an all-diesel propulsion plant for the type [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class-type cross-reference only; not a hull-specific record
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- This hull's reported propulsion (three diesel engines, no boilers) distinguishes it from the steam-powered combatant and merchant hulls elsewhere in this dataset: diesel small craft of this era carried no boiler or steam-line lagging, so any period asbestos content would be limited to engine/exhaust lagging, gaskets, packing, and insulation felt rather than boiler insulation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1944
- Limitations
- Scopes what class/era asbestos inference can and cannot claim for this hull type; it is not itself an asbestos finding and does not establish that any of these components were present, contained asbestos, or remain aboard the hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-amcu-2-amcu2-05