Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, USS American Legion (AP-35/APA-17) - verbatim HyperWar transcription (live NHHC page unavailable) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full entry text; spec block: dp 13,729; l. 535'2"; b. 72'; dr. 31'3"; s. 17.5 k.; cpl. 682; trp. 1,644; cl. American Legion
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity and full service record: steel-hulled, twin-screw passenger-and-cargo steamship laid down 1919-01-10 under a USSB contract at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, NJ; launched 1919-10-11; delivered to USSB 1921-07-15. Sold to the Munson Line in a December 1925 package deal for the New York-South America run; Munson foreclosure 1939-03-13 left her laid up in the Patuxent River. Transferred by the Maritime Commission to the War Department 1939-11-28 (formally 1939-12-19) and rehabilitated/converted by Atlantic Basin Iron Works, Brooklyn, for Army transport service: Panama/Puerto Rico runs; the August 1940 Petsamo evacuation (Crown Princess Martha of Norway, 897 evacuees, and a Swedish Bofors 40 mm gun later adopted by the U.S. Navy); and the first U.S. troop movement to Iceland (July-August 1941). Acquired by the Navy 1941-08-22, classified AP-35, commissioned 1941-08-26, Cmdr. Thomas D. Warner in command. Overhauled at the Bethlehem Steel Co. yard, Brooklyn, into January 1942 after a brief New York Navy Yard mooring; engineering repairs at Boston Navy Yard, March 1942. Pacific from April 1942: landed elements of the 5th Marines in the Guadalcanal-Tulagi landings 7-9 August 1942 and embarked USS Quincy survivors after Savo Island; South Pacific troop/supply runs; reclassified APA-17 1943-02-01; training landings at Upolu and Paekakariki, NZ; Bougainville (Cape Torokina) landings 1943-11-01, grounding briefly under air attack. Returned to San Francisco 1943-12-08 (83,140 miles since New York); repairs into spring 1944. Served Transport Training Division, Amphibious Training Pacific, Coronado, through war's end; two postwar Pacific voyages (Pearl Harbor, Guam, Manila, Tacloban) ending San Francisco 1945-12-12. Decommissioned at Olympia, WA, 1946-03-28 and struck from the NVR the same day; turned over to the War Shipping Administration; sold for scrap 1948-02-05 to Zidell Ship Dismantling Co., Portland, OR. Awarded two battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1919-1948
- Population
- Army transport passengers and crew (1939-41); Navy crew (1941-46); embarked troops (up to ~1,644); shipyard workers at documented refit periods
- Limitations
- Authoritative service history; contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazardous-material statements and supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC DANFS page not located (tested slugs 404 on 2026-09-25); verbatim HyperWar transcription cited. Transcription contains an internal date error - 'Departing San Diego on 7 September 1943' for a voyage bracketed by 1945 dates (read 1945) - and scattered OCR artifacts in marginal digits; core narrative dates cross-check against MARAD and NavSource.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-american-legion-ap35-01
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[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - AMERICAN LEGION (APA-17/AP-35), Detail 209 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 209: header fields, Vessel Name History, Milestones, Ship Imagery
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Government custody record: year built 1921; U.S. Official No. 221478; builder New York Shipbuilding Corporation; type Naval Auxiliary / AP Transport; MARAD type USSB 1029 (EFC Design 1029); vessel name history AMERICAN LEGION (APA-17/AP-35) and BADGER STATE. Milestones: reserve-fleet entry 1947-04-23; sold 1948-01-28 under PD-X-395 contract; fate Sold-Scrap. Coast Guard photographs document the ship at San Francisco (1941) and undergoing renovations at Alameda, CA, 1944-04-05.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1919-1948
- Limitations
- Authoritative for custody milestones and design identity; contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information and supports no asbestos claim. Sale milestone 1948-01-28 (contract) vs DANFS/NavSource 1948-02-05 (scrapping sale) treated as contract-vs-completion dates. Registered length 518 ft vs DANFS overall 535'2" - different measures, not a conflict.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-american-legion-ap35-02
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[3]NavSource Online, Amphibious Photo Archive 03017 - USS American Legion (APA-17), ex-USS American Legion (AP-35), ex-USAT American Legion [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page body: command/campaign list, Awards, Specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Photo-archive record corroborating Navy identity: commissioned USS American Legion (AP-35) 1941-08-26, CDR Thomas D. Warner in command; converted to a Naval Transport at Atlantic Basin Iron Works, Brooklyn; redesignated attack transport APA-17 1943-02-01; TransRon 10 / TransDiv 1 flagship (CAPT B. Bartlett); campaigns - Guadalcanal-Tulagi landings 7-9 Aug 1942, Treasury-Bougainville (Cape Torokina) 1 and 13 Nov 1943; two battle stars. Specification block: two Westinghouse geared turbines; eight Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers, 265 psi 480 deg F; double Taylor main reduction gears; two propellers, 12,000 shp; complement 43 officers + 639 enlisted; troop capacity 107 officers + 1,537 enlisted; four 3"/50 DP mounts, two twin 40 mm, two quad 1.1", ten 20 mm AA (wartime fit). Decommissioned at Olympia, WA, and struck from the Naval Register (dates differ from DANFS - see gaps); sold for scrapping to Zidell Ship Dismantling Co., Portland, OR.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1919-1948
- Population
- Navy crew (complement 682); embarked troops (capacity 1,644)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-curated archive reproducing official records; contains several internal errors (launch '11 October 1921' post-dates delivery; Army acquisition '21 February 1939' pre-dates the Munson foreclosure; decommissioning 20 March vs DANFS 28 March). Dates adopted only where they concur with DANFS/MARAD; conflicts carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos or materials statements; supports no asbestos claim. 'Harris Class Transport' grouping conflicts with the DANFS spec block 'cl. American Legion' - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-american-legion-ap35-03
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[4]NavSource specification block (propulsion plant) read together with the DANFS-documented yard periods - NavSource 03017 + ibiblio DANFS apa17.html [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 03017 Specifications block; DANFS yard-period narrative (1939-40 ABIW; 1941 Bethlehem Brooklyn; 1942 Boston NY; 1943-44 Alameda)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The hull's documented plant is a full-power steam installation - eight Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers (265 psi, 480 deg F) driving two Westinghouse geared turbines, 12,000 shp, twin screw - built 1919-1921 and repeatedly refitted 1939-1944 (Atlantic Basin Iron Works conversion; Bethlehem Steel Brooklyn overhaul; Boston Navy Yard repairs; Alameda refit). Steam plants and marine insulation of this construction and refit era were typically manufactured and installed with asbestos-containing boiler, steam-line, turbine, gasket, and packing materials.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1919-1948
- Population
- Construction trades (Camden, 1919-21); conversion/overhaul yard workers (Brooklyn, Boston, Alameda 1939-44); engine-room crew
- Limitations
- Era/design inference, not ship-proven: no hull-specific insulation survey, specification, or materials list was located for this vessel. Does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, in what quantity, where, or that any individual was exposed. Does not establish present-day content - the hull was scrapped in 1948.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-american-legion-ap35-04
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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
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documenting that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era covering this hull's Army conversion (1939-40), Navy overhaul and repairs (1941-44), and wartime service, and the documented operating environment of government transport vessels like this one.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- 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 and does not establish that asbestos was or was not aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. Covers the wartime-era yard periods, not the 1919-1921 original construction.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-american-legion-ap35-05
-
[6]Batch-2119 search ledger (this record): CourtListener opinion and docket searches by exact name and both hull numbers; DANFS; MARAD ShipHistory 209; NavSource 03017 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-american-legion-ap35-01 through sl-uss-american-legion-ap35-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener returned zero opinions for the exact string 'USS American Legion'; bare hull-number searches ('AP-35' - 53 hits, 'APA-17' - 66 hits) returned only acronym collisions (Administrative Procedure Act citations, case-number strings) with no maritime or asbestos content in the results reviewed; name-plus-asbestos searches returned only litigation involving the American Legion veterans' organization or its local posts - every hit classified a name collision, none qualifying. The vessel was scrapped in 1948, so no preservation-era documentation can exist (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1919-1921 steamship repeatedly refitted through 1944 is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. The vessel name is an extreme search-collision term (the national veterans' organization): a case naming the ship could exist under phrasing not yet queried, and MDL-875-era pleading vessel lists are not fully indexed by opinion search. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-american-legion-ap35-06
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[7]USMC historical monograph, 'Marines in the Central Solomons' (HyperWar transcription), bibliography footnote citing U.S.S. American Legion action reports: 'APA17/A16-3/A9-8/over OF10 Serial 0400; 5 Nov 43. Confidential. (29554). Bougainville 1-T.' + COMSOPAC War Diary, 1-31 October 1943 (MC Historical Section files) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USMC-M-NSol-I bibliography/source-note section (APA17 action report serial 0400, 5 Nov 43); NARA RG 24/38/19 record-group guides
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Hull-level primary records survive and are citable: the ship's own action reports for the Bougainville operation (APA-17 serial 0400, 5 November 1943) were used by the official USMC monograph and sit in Marine Corps Historical Section files. For materials/exposure research the open leads are NARA RG 24 (deck logs), WWII war diaries and action reports (RG 38), and Bureau of Ships plans/records (RG 19) for AP-35/APA-17; Army Transport Service records for the 1939-41 USAT period; and MARAD status cards (digitized, already in Detail 209) for disposal.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1941-1948 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and file-unit mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific or materials 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-american-legion-ap35-07