USS Anaqua (YN-59)

Evidence

9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).

1. [1]research packet 1087-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-anaqua-yn59-pkt-1087-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, 'Anaqua (AN-40)' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (Robert J. Cressman, 15 March 2021; live page returned 404 on 2026-10-05; verbatim official text verified via Wayback capture 2024-05-26; classic pre-2021 DANFS text verified via Wayback capture 2012-10-26 - see gaps for date variances) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS Anaqua (AN-40) entry, full text (page footer 'Published: Tue Mar 16 ... 2021'; author line Robert J. Cressman, 15 March 2021); classic-page capture https://web.archive.org/web/20121026075335/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a8/anaqua.htm

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry for Anaqua (AN-40), 2021 revision by Robert J. Cressman: net tender YN-59 laid down 16 December 1942 at Everett, Wash., by Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.; launched 16 August 1943; sponsored by Miss Marian Swalwell; redesignated net-laying ship AN-40 on 20 January 1944; placed in commission 21 February 1944, Lt. James M. C. Tighe, D-VS, USNR, in command. Shakedown in Puget Sound 'in and about Seattle'; underway for Alaska 18 May 1944; reached Dutch Harbor 20 May; tended nets 'within the Alaska sector of the Seventeenth Naval District' for six months. 19 October 1944: caught by a 'williwaw' while hauling net gear from Cold Bay to Dutch Harbor - 35-foot seas, 128-mph winds for 28 hours; extensive damage; ordered back to the continental U.S. for availability. Reached Seattle 20 December 1944; dry dock at Lake Washington Shipyard, Kirkland, Wash. Underway 5 February 1945 for Naval Net Depot, Tiburon, Calif.; storm off Oregon (30 hours, 60-mph gusts, 30-foot seas) caused leaks through main and boat decks and several electrical fires below; additional availability at Tiburon, then repairs at Martinolich Shipyard, San Francisco. 11 March 1945 sailed with 'amphibious' net gear for Pearl Harbor; steering-engine failures en route; arrived 28 March; entered dry dock at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard for BuShips-directed steering-gear modification and hull re-caulking. 25 May 1945 sailed for the Marianas with freight; Eniwetok; Guam 16 June; Tinian gasoline-tanker moorings completed 22 June; Ulithi 26 June; four months maintaining anti-torpedo nets with five other net-laying ships; post-surrender trip to Yap to load Japanese ordnance gear; destroyed four mines (most likely Type 93s) with 20mm fire after they were cut by YMS-165. Helped remove 20 miles of anti-torpedo net at Ulithi, work completed 17 October 1945; departed with covered lighter YF-218 in tow; Saipan; nine-ship net-tender convoy diverted to Midway for fuel (arrived 5 November); Pearl Harbor 13 November; departed 16 November; San Diego 25 November; San Pedro for deactivation. Decommissioned at San Pedro 7 February 1946; stricken from the Navy Register 26 February 1946; sold 6 March 1946 to Robert J. Heffner, Santa Ana, Calif. Specs: dp. 1,460; 194'6" x 37'; dr. 13'6"; s. 12.1 k.; cpl. 56; a. 1 3", 2 20mm.; class Ailanthus.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1942-1946

   Population

   Crew (complement ~56 per DANFS/NavSource) for a ~24-month commissioned career; Everett-Pacific yard workers (construction); Lake Washington Shipyard, Martinolich Shipyard, and Pearl Harbor Navy Yard workers (three documented repair availabilities)

   Limitations

   Authoritative ship-specific history. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or survey information. Internal oddity: 'underway for Alaska on 18 May 1944 ... reached Dutch Harbor on 20 May' implies an impossible two-day transit - likely a month error in the source (classic DANFS gives no departure date; the six-month Alaska tour is consistent either way). Date variances vs the classic DANFS text (storm 19 vs 16 Oct; Pearl Harbor 28 vs 26 Mar; Nov arrival 13 vs 12 Nov) logged in gaps. Sale date (6 Mar 1946) conflicts with Shipscribe's Navy/MC records (Mar 1947) - carried in gaps, not resolved.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-anaqua-yn59-01

3. [3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Anaqua (AN-40) ex USS Anaqua (YN-59) (volunteer archive transcribing official records incl. spec data, awards display, crew photographs) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Anaqua AN-40 archive page: timeline block, specifications block, awards ribbon display, photo catalog (Paulson RM2 photos, San Pedro Jan-Feb 1946)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive page for USS Anaqua (AN-40) ex-YN-59: laid down as Yard Net Tender Anaqua (YN-59) 16 December 1942 at Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Everett, WA; launched 16 August 1943; redesignated Net Laying Ship (AN-40) 20 January 1944; commissioned USS Anaqua (AN-40) 21 February 1944; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during WWII; decommissioned 7 February 1946 at San Pedro, CA; struck from the Naval Register 26 February 1946; sold 6 March 1946 to Robert J. Heffner, Santa Ana, CA - 'fate unknown'. Specifications: displacement 1,460 t.(fl); 194'6" x 37' x 13'6"; 12.1 kts; complement 4 officers + 52 enlisted; armament one single 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, four twin 20mm AA mounts; boom capacity 12 t.; diesel fuel 760 bbls; two diesel-drive 60 kW 120V DC ship's service generators; propulsion two Busch-Sulzer BS-539 diesel-electric engines, single propeller 1,200 shp. Radio call sign NXFZ. Ribbon display: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal. Crew-contributed photographs (Glen Paulson RM2) show the after deck with double winch drums at San Pedro, January-February 1946.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1942-1946

   Population

   Crew (4 officers + 52 enlisted per NavSource)

   Limitations

   Volunteer-maintained archive transcribing official sources - used for propulsion/specification detail, awards, and call sign; consistent with DANFS on all shared dates but not re-verified against Navy primary documents. Contains no asbestos or materials information. Armament line (four twin 20mm) conflicts with DANFS (2 20mm) and with Shipscribe's class armament-evolution notes (single mounts; the 28 Apr 45 twin-mount order 'does not seem to have been implemented') - logged in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-anaqua-yn59-02

4. [4]Shipscribe.com, 'USS Ailanthus (AN-38) Class' data page (compiled from Navy BuShips/BuC&R and Maritime Commission records) [other_primary]

   Locator

   AN-38 class page: class data block, construction table row for AN-40, disposition table row for AN-40, ship notes entry 40, class notes (contract history, wood hulls, armament evolution, MC sales program)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts) Ailanthus-class (AN-38) data page, construction and disposition tables plus ship note for AN-40: ANAQUA ordered 12 May 1942, builder Everett Pacific SB, keel 16 December 1942, launched 16 August 1943, commissioned 21 February 1944. Disposition: decommissioned 7 February 1946; struck 26 February 1946; disposal 6 March 1947; fate 'MC/D' (Maritime Commission disposal); MA sale 3 March 1947. Ship note: 'Ex YN-59 20 Jan 44. Sold (delivered) by MC to Robert J. Heffner, Santa Ana, Cal. (date in Navy records is 6 Mar 47). Merc. ANAQUA 1948.' Class data: design Navy YN-57/AN-38; 1,175 light / 1,460 lim. tons; 194.5' oa x 37.0' e x 13.5' lim.; original armament 1-3"/50, 2-20mm (later 3-20mm from Apr. 1944, 4-20mm from Nov. 1944); complement 43 (1944); 12.1 kts; diesel electric, 1 screw, 1,200 HP. Class notes: built with Maintenance BuShips / FY1942 funds; wood hulls substituted for steel around 10 Apr 1942; YN 57-66 awarded to Everett-Pacific in May 1942 replacing cancelled PCE contracts (PCE 897-916); many class units disposed under the postwar MC small-vessel sales program.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1942-1948

   Population

   Everett-Pacific yard workers (construction); merchant crew of ANAQUA (1948+, undocumented)

   Limitations

   High-quality secondary compilation of official contract/design/disposal data. Confirms wooden hull and diesel-electric plant. Materially conflicts with DANFS on the sale date: Shipscribe's Navy/MC records give March 1947 disposal and document merchant ANAQUA in 1948, against DANFS/NavSource 'sold 6 March 1946' - carried in gaps, not resolved. Complement 43 conflicts with DANFS/NavSource 56 - logged in gaps. No asbestos or materials content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-anaqua-yn59-03

5. [5]NavSource Naval History, 'Net Tender Losses-Casualties-Close Calls-Enemy Action Ship Loss' page [other_primary]

   Locator

   Net tender casualties page, Ailanthus paragraph (ship-loss section)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource-compiled net-tender casualty history records that sister ship USS Ailanthus AN-38, 'the first numbered wooden Net Tender,' ran hard aground in the Aleutians 26 February 1944 and was declared a total loss - and that 'USS ANAQUA AN-40 took over her Alaskan duties.' Establishes the operational context for Anaqua's May-October 1944 Alaska-sector net-tending tour within the Seventeenth Naval District (per DANFS).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1944

   Limitations

   Secondary compiled narrative consistent with DANFS on the Alaska assignment; supplies the succession detail (Anaqua relieving the lost Ailanthus) that DANFS does not state. No asbestos or materials content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-anaqua-yn59-04

6. [6]DANFS, 'Anaqua (AN-40)' entry, NHHC (2021 Cressman revision, via Wayback) - repair-availability passages [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS Anaqua entry, paragraphs 4-6 (Lake Washington Shipyard; Martinolich Shipyard; Pearl Harbor Navy Yard drydock)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Three documented repair/drydock availabilities punctuate the ship's commissioned career (all per DANFS): (a) Lake Washington Shipyard, Kirkland, Wash., dry dock from 20 December 1944 for williwaw storm-damage repairs, completed early February 1945; (b) Martinolich Shipyard, San Francisco, for Oregon-storm damage (leaks through main and boat decks, electrical-fire damage below decks), February-March 1945; (c) Pearl Harbor Navy Yard dry dock from 28 March 1945 - BuShips-directed steering-gear modification and hull re-caulking - through late May 1945. These are documented ship-specific yard events; whether any involved asbestos-containing materials is not stated by the source.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1944-12 to 1945-05

   Population

   Yard workers at Lake Washington Shipyard (Kirkland, WA), Martinolich Shipyard (San Francisco), Pearl Harbor Navy Yard; ship's crew during availabilities

   Limitations

   Documents that the hull spent roughly four of its twenty-four commissioned months in yard availability at three yards - the periods of maximum material-disturbance potential aboard a WWII hull. The source names yards and scopes (steering gear, hull recaulking, storm damage) but says nothing about insulation, lagging, or asbestos; any asbestos involvement is era inference, not ship-proven. Pearl Harbor Navy Yard resolves to shipyards.json slug pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard; Lake Washington Shipyard (Kirkland) and Martinolich (San Francisco) have no dataset slugs - flagged in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-anaqua-yn59-05

7. [7]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 (DOI resolves to Wiley; publisher blocks automated fetch with HTTP 403 - persistent identifier cited, content verified at abstract level)

   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 program era under which this 1942-43 wooden net tender was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization across naval and merchant construction, including gaskets, packing, insulation, and fireproofing on diesel-driven as well as steam-driven hulls.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1940s era documented; article 1987

   Population

   WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or is aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. Diesel-electric plant and wood hull remove the boiler/steam-lagging pathway typical of steam auxiliaries; remaining era-typical applications (exhaust lagging, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, friction linings) are inference, not ship-proven.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-anaqua-yn59-06

8. [8]NARA Special List 44 (ship-name listing); National Archives Catalog naId 125370452 (muster rolls) and naId 77581344 (USS ANAQUA - War History) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Special List 44 ship-name listing, 'Anaqua (AN-40) 2/21/1944-6/30/1945' row; catalog.archives.gov/id/125370452 and /id/77581344 (record pages live; digital object URLs returned HTTP 200 on 2026-10-05); digitized deck-log index https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online - Anaqua not listed

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Archival record existence confirmed at NARA (contents not fully reviewed): (a) NARA Special List 44 ('List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947') inventories deck logs for Anaqua (AN-40) covering 2/21/1944-6/30/1945 - surviving-log dates, i.e., commissioning through mid-1945 (July 1945-February 1946 logs are outside this accession's listing). Anaqua does not appear in NARA's digitized Navy deck-log index, so these logs are held at Archives II (College Park), RG 24. (b) NARA catalog naId 125370452, 'Anaqua (AN-40), 2/21/44-2/7/46,' series 'Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities' - the ship's muster rolls for her full commissioned span, digitized via the NARA-Ancestry partnership (microfilm roll 198; catalog images verified live). (c) NARA catalog naId 77581344, 'USS ANAQUA - War History,' RG 38 series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' (series naId 4697018), microfilm roll A1971 (Micro Serial 151560), digitized via the NARA-Fold3 partnership (catalog images verified live) - the ship-submitted war history on which the 2021 DANFS revision draws ('her historian later wrote').

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Population

   Crew listed on muster rolls 1944-1946 (record population, not an exposure population finding)

   Limitations

   Record-existence finding only. Deck-log contents were not reviewed (not digitized in the Navy deck-log program); muster-roll and war-history scans are catalog-accessible but page-level content was not reviewed this session. These records are the likeliest primary sources for ship-specific material-handling, repair, and personnel detail. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-anaqua-yn59-07

9. [9]Batch-9231 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (two Wayback captures); NavSource AN-40 page and net-tender casualty page; Shipscribe AN-38 class data; NARA Special List 44 and National Archives Catalog; CourtListener API v4 opinion and RECAP docket searches (authenticated) [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-anaqua-yn59-01 through sl-uss-anaqua-yn59-12

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Anaqua / AN-40 / YN-59 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener searches returned only collisions: 7 opinion hits for 'Anaqua' (Anaqua, Inc. - a Boston IP-management software company - in employment/restrictive-covenant litigation including Anaqua, Inc. v. Bullard and Robert Half v. Billingham; incidental mentions in bankruptcy opinions); 86 dockets / 341 documents for 'Anaqua' of the same collision classes (Anaqua Inc. litigation, Anaqua Oil & Gas Inc., IP-case incidental mentions); and 954,523 opinion hits for 'AN-40' (the string tokenizes to 'an' + '40' and is non-discriminating - all page-1 hits inspected are unrelated reporter-cite and text collisions). The 'AN-40' docket query was blocked by the fleet-wide pace limiter (7 spaced retries over ~55 min) and is logged as an access gap, not a negative. None of the completed searches returned a vessel-related or asbestos-related result.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   2026-10-05

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942-43 naval auxiliary is era-consistent with asbestos-containing gaskets, exhaust lagging, electrical insulation, and friction products, and her three documented yard availabilities are material-disturbance events. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. Post-Navy merchant service (ANAQUA, 1948+) extends the undocumented window; fate unlocated.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-anaqua-yn59-08