USS Amphitrite (ARL-29)

Evidence

8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).

1. [1]research packet bh-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-amphitrite-arl29-pkt-bh-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, 'Amphitrite III (ARL-29),' Naval History and Heritage Command - Wayback Machine capture 2024-05-25 of the live NHHC page (live URL 404 at access; link rot consistent with prior-batch notes) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Full entry text; stat line 'ARL-29: displacement 3,960 (trial); length 328'0"; beam 50'0"; draft 11'2" (limiting); speed 11.6 knots (trial); complement 253; armament 1 3-inch, 8 40 millimeter, 8 20 millimeter; class Achelous'; correction line 'Corrected and rewritten, Robert J. Cressman, 12 December 2007'

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry (NHHC page, Wayback capture 2024-05-25; live NHHC URL returned 404 at access date - standing link-rot note per BATCH-01; entry 'Corrected and rewritten, Robert J. Cressman, 12 December 2007'): Amphitrite (ARL-29), third ship of the name, was originally projected as the unnamed tank landing ship LST-1124, the name and classification approved 27 October 1944; laid down 6 November 1944 at Seneca, Ill., by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Works; launched 1 February 1945 (sponsor Miss Lillie Williams Kidd); placed in reduced commission 13 February 1945 for the voyage to Baltimore, Md., via New Orleans; decommissioned at Baltimore 3 March 1945. Converted by Bethlehem Steel's Key Highway Shipyard and placed in full commission 28 June 1945, Lt. Thomas S. Medford, USNR, in command. After shakedown in Chesapeake Bay and post-shakedown availability at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va., she loaded pontoons at Davisville, R.I.; put to sea 8 August 1945; Canal Zone 17 August; San Diego 31 August; departed San Francisco for Hawaiian waters 18 September; Pearl Harbor 27 September. Departed 7 October 1945 for Okinawa with Task Unit 13.11.97; first duty station Buckner Bay 14 October, performing 'a myriad of repair duties' (nickname 'The Mighty A') - arriving less than a week after typhoon Louise had swept Buckner Bay. At Buckner Bay until 17 March 1946, then Apra Harbor, Guam, to load cargo for Shanghai and Tsingtao, China. Departed Guam 9 June 1946 towing harbor tug Tlingit (YTB-497); Tsingtao 19 June, repair routine in the inner harbor; July 1946 round trip towing barrack ship APL-29 to Sasebo, Japan; remained at Tsingtao until 23 September; weighed anchor for Shanghai, repair duties until 25 November; then Marshall Islands, working at Kwajalein until 26 June 1947. Sailed for the west coast via Pearl Harbor (13-21 July), San Francisco (30 July), San Pedro (8 August). Decommissioned at San Diego 18 November 1947 'in [the] interests of the inactivation program'; 'placed out of commission, in reserve' 2 December 1947, Pacific Reserve Fleet San Diego berth. Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 1 July 1961; sold to River Equipment, Inc., of Memphis, Tenn., for scrapping 13 March 1962; delivered to purchaser 12 April 1962. Stat line reads 'ARL-29: displacement 3,960 (trial); length 328'0"; beam 50'0"; draft 11'2" (limiting); speed 11.6 knots (trial); complement 253; armament 1 3-inch, 8 40 millimeter, 8 20 millimeter; class Achelous.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1962

   Limitations

   Establishes identity, construction, ferry-commission transit, conversion, wartime departure, occupation/China-service repair stations, decommissioning, reserve layup, striking, and sale; contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement. DANFS-2007 dates (ferry commission 13 Feb, Baltimore decommission 3 Mar, in-reserve 2 Dec 1947, sale 13 Mar 1962) conflict with NavSource, Shipscribe-table, and Naval Cover Museum variants - all logged, none silently reconciled. No keel-laying city attribution beyond 'Seneca, Ill.'; no reclassification date earlier than 'approved 27 October 1944' (Shipscribe table prints 14 Aug 44).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-amphitrite-arl29-01

3. [3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Amphitrite (ARL-29) ex USS LST-1124, archive 10/19/1929; Shipscribe (usnaux.shipscribe.com), CORONIS (ARL-10) class page - construction/disposition tables and ARL-29 ship note compiled from official U.S. Navy data; Naval Cover Museum name/designation history [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource ARL-29 page (timeline, CO list, medal-period table, spec block, merchant disposition); https://usnaux.shipscribe.com/ARL/ARL10.html construction row (AMPHITRITE: reclas. 14 Aug 44; Chicago Bridge, Seneca; keel 6 Nov 44; launch 1 Feb 45; commiss. 28 Jun 45), disposition row (decomm. '1 Jan 47'; strike 1 Jul 61; disposal 16 Mar 62, sold), ship note 'Ex LST-1124 14 Aug 44. Ferry commission as LST-1124 13 Feb-7 Mar 45. Converted by Bethlehem Steel, Key Highway, Baltimore, Md. In USN reserve 1946-61. To buyer 12 Apr 62.'; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/AMPHITRITE_ARL_29 (ferry commission Feb 13-Mar 3 1945; 'Decommissioned January 1 1947'; 'Sold April 16 1962 to River Equipment, Inc. of Memphis, TN and renamed' TMT BISCAYNE; post office established 21 May 1945, disestablished 16 Sep 1947)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive (archive 10/19/1929, USS Amphitrite (ARL-29) ex LST-1124), Shipscribe CORONIS (ARL-10) class table/ship note, and Naval Cover Museum name/designation history: laid down as LST-1124 at Chicago Bridge and Iron Works, Seneca, IL, 6 November 1944 (Shipscribe class row confirms keel 6 Nov 44, launch 1 Feb 45, commission 28 Jun 45); placed in reduced commission (NavSource prints 23 February 1945; DANFS/Shipscribe/Naval Cover Museum print 13 February - logged), LT Thomas Stanley Sewell Medford, USNR, for transit to Baltimore; decommissioned at Baltimore (NavSource/Shipscribe print 7 March 1945; DANFS prints 3 March - logged) for conversion at Bethlehem Steel Key Highway Plant/Shipyard; recommissioned USS Amphitrite (ARL-29) 28 June 1945. NavSource medal-period table: Navy Occupation Service Medal 24 October 1945-17 March 1946 and 19 June-25 November 1946; China Service Medal (extended) 19 June-25 November 1946. Decommissioned (NavSource prints 18 November 1947 at San Diego, then 'out of commission, in reserve' 2 December 1947 - matching DANFS-2007; Shipscribe table column prints '1 Jan 47' and Naval Cover Museum 'January 1 1947' - logged). Laid up Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group. Struck 1 July 1961. Sold to River Equipment, Inc., Memphis, TN (NavSource 16 March 1962; Shipscribe disposal 16 Mar 62; DANFS 13 March; Naval Cover Museum 'April 16 1962' - variants logged); withdrawn from the San Diego Reserve Fleet Group/delivered to buyer 12 April 1962. Converted to barge TMT Biscayne 1963; final fate unknown (NavSource and Naval Cover Museum; DANFS frames the sale as 'for scrapping'). NavSource specs: 3,900 lt / 4,100 fl; 328' x 50'; draft 11'2" lim; 11.6 kt; 60-ton boom; complement 22 officers + 233 enlisted; one 3"/50, two quad 40mm, six twin 20mm; 2 x GM 12-567A diesels, Falk gears, 1,800 shp, twin rudders; diesel capacity 4,715 bbls. Photos include BuShips photo BS 85769 (Chesapeake Bay, 29 June 1945, Measure 31 camouflage) and the ship at anchor in the Whangpoo River off Shanghai circa September-November 1946 - photographic corroboration of the documented China-service repair station.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1963

   Limitations

   Secondary compilations of official records, not the primary documents themselves; none contains an asbestos or materials statement. Multiple date conflicts with the corrected DANFS-2007 narrative (ferry commission 13 vs 23 Feb 1945; Baltimore decommission 3 vs 7 Mar 1945; decommission 18 Nov/2 Dec 1947 vs '1 Jan 1947'; sale 13 vs 16 Mar vs '16 Apr' 1962) are logged in gaps rather than reconciled. Shipscribe ship note 'In USN reserve 1946-61' is a misprint - the ship was in full commission through November 1947. 'TMT Biscayne' barge identity rests on NavSource and Naval Cover Museum; DANFS says the sale was 'for scrapping' - the post-1962 record is thin and fate is listed as unknown.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-amphitrite-arl29-02

4. [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) [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 program under which this hull was built at Chicago Bridge & Iron Works, Seneca, IL (keel 6 November 1944, launched 1 February 1945) and converted to an ARL at Bethlehem Steel Key Highway Shipyard, Baltimore (decommissioned for conversion early March 1945, recommissioned 28 June 1945). For a 1944-45 diesel-propelled auxiliary of this type, era-typical asbestos applications included machinery and piping insulation, flange and valve gaskets, machinery packing, electrical insulation, deck coverings, and brake linings.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1945 construction/conversion era; article 1987

   Population

   WWII shipyard workers (Chicago Bridge & Iron, Seneca; Bethlehem Steel Key Highway, Baltimore) and ship's company (class context)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarship; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. Diesel propulsion (no boilers/steam plant) reduces but does not eliminate era-typical asbestos applications.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-amphitrite-arl29-03

5. [5]Shipscribe (usnaux.shipscribe.com), CORONIS (ARL-10) class notes (ARL 10-39 conversion design; ARL 25-39 program block; Gibbs & Cox design agent); NavSource ARL-29 specifications (60-ton boom, repair-ship outfit); DANFS service narrative (Buckner Bay, Tsingtao, Shanghai, Kwajalein repair duties) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Shipscribe class notes paragraphs beginning 'The Navy tended to list ARL 1-39 as a single class' and 'Gibbs and Cox was the design agent for all LST conversions'; ARL-29 construction/disposition rows

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   The Achelous-class conversion - documented for this design group by Shipscribe's class notes - converted the LST tank deck into machinery and engine repair, carpentry, electronics-repair, and hull-repair shops and storerooms; beginning with ARL-10 the design retained the bow doors, added facilities to embark and repair LVTs, moved the after kingpost and front end of the deckhouse forward, and enlarged repair-shop space. Amphitrite belongs to the ARL 25-39 program block authorized in the 2 May 1944 Auxiliary Vessels Board recommendation; 'many of the ships of the ARL 10-39 group were converted to ARL's at Bethlehem-Key Highway, Baltimore,' and Gibbs and Cox was the design agent for all LST-to-ARL conversions. DANFS documents this vessel performing repair duties at Buckner Bay, Okinawa (October 1945-March 1946, in the aftermath of typhoon Louise), Tsingtao inner harbor, Shanghai (through 25 November 1946), and Kwajalein (through 26 June 1947), plus towing assignments (harbor tug YTB-497; barrack ship APL-29 to Sasebo). Repair work on WWII-era landing craft is era-consistent with contact with asbestos-containing insulation, lagging, and gasket materials removed from or installed on serviced craft, but no located source specifies the materials handled aboard Amphitrite.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1945-1947

   Population

   ARL repair-department crew (machinery, engine, hull, electronics, carpentry divisions); crews of serviced craft (class context)

   Limitations

   The repair mission is documented ship-specific (DANFS); the materials involved are not. No source locates an asbestos-containing product aboard this hull or in its repair workload - the asbestos relevance of the repair shops is inference from the era and ship type, not a ship-specific finding. Does not establish exposure or causation for any individual.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-amphitrite-arl29-04

6. [6]Batch-2620 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC via Wayback; NavSource 10/19/1929; Shipscribe CORONIS (ARL-10) class page; NVR SHIPDETAILS ARL-29; MARAD ShipHistory; Naval Cover Museum AMPHITRITE_ARL_29 [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-amphitrite-arl29-01 through sl-uss-amphitrite-arl29-13

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat-materials disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull under any identity (LST-1124; Amphitrite; ARL-29; barge TMT Biscayne) was found in the public sources searched - DANFS (Wayback capture of NHHC page), NavSource, Shipscribe, NVR (stub page; no detail record, pre-1987 disposal), MARAD Vessel History Database (no record; consistent with custody - Navy sold direct to commercial 1962, never in MARAD/NDRF custody), Naval Cover Museum, and secondary compilations.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   2026-09-26

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-built, program-converted LST-hull repair ship is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the hull passed to commercial barge service in 1963 with no public materials inventory. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-amphitrite-arl29-05

7. [7]NARA Guide to Federal Records and deck-log guidance: RG 24 Entry 118; RG 19 (Bureau of Ships); RG 181 (naval districts and shore establishments); digitized deck-logs program page [other_primary]

   Locator

   https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy and /military/logbooks/digitized-logs ; archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records groups 19, 24, 181

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized; record-group mapping only): NARA RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel), Entry 118 deck logs 1941+ at College Park - Amphitrite deck logs 1945-1947 are the primary day-by-day source and may record repair work, materials, and yard periods; National Archives Catalog digitized-logs program is the check path. RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) records cover the Bethlehem Steel Key Highway conversion contract and Gibbs & Cox LST-to-ARL design files (the Shipscribe class notes cite RG 19 Item S-15 Entry UD 1024-A for a related ARL conversion file). RG 181 (Naval Districts and Shore Establishments) covers Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group layup records and the Norfolk Navy Yard post-shakedown availability context.

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1962 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-amphitrite-arl29-06

8. [8]CourtListener API v4 search, type=opinion, q="Amphitrite" (15 results, all name collisions - none qualifying); q="ARL-29" (0 results); q="LST-1124" (0 results); q="TMT Biscayne" (0 results) [court_record]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-amphitrite-arl29-07 through sl-uss-amphitrite-arl29-10

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener opinion searches (type=o, API v4, authenticated helper): 'Amphitrite' returned 15 results - every hit classified as a name collision, none involving this hull or asbestos: corporate litigants (Amphitrite Corp. v. Commissioner, 16 T.C. 1140 (1951); Amphitrite Operating Corp. v. Amphitrite Corp., N.Y. App. Div. 1932; Amphitrite Corp. v. City of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 1941 - a floating hotel), 19th-century prize/admiralty vessels (United States v. The Amphitrite, 1830; The Orono / United States v. The Franklin / United States v. The Amphitrite, 1812), monitor-era Court of Claims contract disputes naming the earlier monitor warships (Myerle v. United States, 31 Ct. Cl. 105 (1896) - monitor Monadnock; W. Fleet Steele v. United States, Ct. Cl. 1884 - USS Quinnebaug), and incidental text mentions in unrelated real-estate, towing, tax, and bankruptcy opinions. '"ARL-29"' returned 0 results; '"LST-1124"' returned 0 results; '"TMT Biscayne"' (barge identity) returned 0 results. Only the type=r docket sweep for 'Amphitrite' remained blocked by the fleet-wide pacer at session end - see search_ledger; 'blocked' entries reflect pacing, not a finding.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   2026-09-26

   Limitations

   Opinion-text coverage only; a hit on the ship's name would still require classification (pleading allegation vs. adjudicated finding) - none located. 'Amphitrite' is a high-collision name (two earlier Navy monitors, 19th-century merchantmen, a Florida floating-hotel corporation) - all 15 hits were reviewed to case-name level and none references the ARL-29 hull. Absence of a docketed opinion does not prove no claim was ever filed or settled; merchant-era worker claims (post-1963 barge service) may sit outside CourtListener coverage, and the pacer-blocked sweeps are pending re-run.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-amphitrite-arl29-07