Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, APL-12 page (chronology and specification block) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource APL-12 page, chronology and specification block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- APL-12 (APL-2 class non-self-propelled barracks ship, nickname 'The Biltmore'): built by Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, MA; ordered 15 January 1944; laid down 5 August 1944; launched 4 September 1944; delivered and placed in service 24 October 1944, LT(jg) L. R. Brant, USNR, in charge; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. Towing itinerary: Boston to San Diego with APL-11 by ATA-214 beginning 13 November 1944 (broke loose 18 November; recovered by Umpqua ATO-25, delivered to Miami 22 November); San Diego to Pearl Harbor with APL-11 by ATA-201, 26 January-12 February 1945; Ulithi to San Pedro Bay, P.I. by Chowanoc (ATF-100), 19-24 May 1945; departed Leyte for Okinawa in tow of Arikara 23 September 1945; tow lost in heavy seas ~240 miles SE of Formosa 30 September 1945; intentionally beached on Yonakuni Shima, Okinawa during Typhoon Louise 2 October 1945; refloated by Preserver (ARS-8) and Moctobi (ATF-105) 24 October 1945; given limited repairs for local use; intentionally destroyed with demolition charges 26 January 1946; struck from the Naval Register 25 February 1946. Spec block: 1,300 tons light / 2,660 full load; 261.2 ft overall; beam 49 ft; draft 8 ft 6 in; complement 5 officers + 66 enlisted; accommodations 6 officers + 583 enlisted; three diesel-drive 100 kW 450 V A.C. ship's-service generators; diesel capacity 1,000 bbls. NavSource shows no images for APL-12 and states no DANFS history is available.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Crew (5 officers + 66 enlisted); berthed personnel (capacity 583 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archival reference, not a primary document; the towing chronology is consistent with shipscribe but the Okinawa-event dates conflict (grounding 2 Oct vs 9 Oct; refloat 24 Oct vs 25 Oct; destruction 26 Jan vs 27 Jan - see gaps). NavSource text prints 'Arikara (ATF-99)' while its own link resolves to the ATF-98 page - treated as a typographical error, not an additional tug. No asbestos, materials, or condition content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-12-apl12-01
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[2]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), USS APL-2 Class reference page - construction/disposition tables, class notes, ship notes [other_primary]
- Locator
- APL02.html construction table row 12; disposition table row 12; ship note APL-12; class notes 'APL 2-13'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe tables and ship note for APL-12: ordered 15 Jan 44, builder NYd Boston, keel 5 Aug 44, launched 4 Sep 44, in service ('Commiss.') 24 Oct 44; ship note: 'Completed 23 Oct 44, delivered 24 Oct 44. Grounded in typhoon at Okinawa, 9 Oct 45, refloated 25 Oct 45 and given limited local repairs for local use. Destroyed 27 Jan 46.' Disposition table: strike 25 Feb 46, disposal event dated 9 Oct 45, fate 'Lost.' Class notes establish the type: standard non-self-propelled 2,000-ton 260-foot Navy covered barges with a two-story barracks built on top; Machinery listed as 'None'; the APL 2-13 group was recommended by the Auxiliary Vessels Board 11 Jun 43 to berth repair-force personnel supporting EC-2 repair-ship conversions on a three-shift basis.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Scholarly compilation from official records (NVR, BuShips, Auxiliary Vessels Board papers), not itself a primary document. Grounding date 9 Oct 45, refloat 25 Oct 45, and destruction 27 Jan 46 each conflict with NavSource by 1-7 days (see gaps). No asbestos, materials, or insulation content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-12-apl12-02
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[3]National Park Service, 'Ships Built by the Charlestown Navy Yard' dataset (Boston National Historical Park Preservation Specialist Stephen P. Carlson; from his Charlestown Navy Yard historic resource study) [nps]
- Locator
- nps.gov article + downloadable CSV 'CNYShipsBuiltWeb' rows: 'Biltmore' cross-reference and 'No Name / Barracks Ship / APL-12'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NPS Charlestown Navy Yard construction dataset lists APL-12 under the 'No Name' convention: Type 'Barracks Ship', hull APL-12, keel laid 1944 Aug 5, launched 1944 Sep 4, commissioned-column entry '1944 Sep 24', fate 'Stricken 1946'. A footnote attached to the Boston-built barracks barges records they were 'Informally named The New Yorker, Biltmore, and Statler, respectively, during World War II service'; the dataset cross-references 'Biltmore ... see No Name (APL-12)', 'The New Yorker ... see No Name (APL-11)', and 'Statler ... see No Name (APL-32)'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Authoritative NPS compilation from NVR and yard records. The '1944 Sep 24' commissioned-column entry conflicts with the 24 October 1944 in-service date given by both NavSource and shipscribe's ship note (completed 23 Oct, delivered 24 Oct) - carried as an unresolved date conflict; the October date is adopted. No asbestos, materials, or insulation content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-12-apl12-03
-
[4]DANFS, Moctobi (ATF-105) entry (verbatim HyperWar/ibiblio transcription; live NHHC page unavailable) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Moctobi entry, postwar service paragraph
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- DANFS records that Moctobi (ATF-105) 'sailed for Okinawa 14 October [1945] and for more than 2 months aided in salvaging and refloating many ships damaged by the recent vicious typhoons' - corroborating the Okinawa typhoon-salvage operation window in which NavSource records Moctobi and Preserver (ARS-8) refloated APL-12 (24-25 October 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-10-14 to 1945-12-24
- Limitations
- Corroborates the salvage-operation window only - the DANFS entry does not name APL-12 or any specific hull refloated; the attribution of APL-12's refloat to Preserver and Moctobi rests solely on NavSource. Establishes the storm-damage context, not any material fact about this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-12-apl12-04
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[5]Shipscribe APL-2 class data (design description, machinery 'None', complement, armament) applied to this hull as documented class member [other_primary]
- Locator
- APL02.html class data block (Machinery: None) and class notes
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The documented APL-2 design - a non-self-propelled covered barge with a two-story barracks deckhouse, machinery 'None', ship's-service power from diesel-driven generators - defines what could and could not have been aboard: no boilers, steam turbines, or steam distribution system, and therefore none of the boiler/turbine insulation or steam-line lagging that dominate asbestos profiles on powered hulls. Any asbestos aboard would have been confined to era-standard items such as generator exhaust lagging, gaskets and packing, electrical/wiring insulation, deck coverings, and building-type insulation or fireproofing in the barracks structure.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades (Aug-Oct 1944); crew and berthed personnel
- Limitations
- Inference from documented class design plus era practice - no material specification, survey, or as-built record for APL-12 was located. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not aboard, nor quantity, location, condition, or any individual exposure. The absence of a steam plant narrows but does not eliminate the era's candidate asbestos applications.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-12-apl12-05
-
[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 Navy-yard program under which APL-12 was built at the Boston Navy Yard in August-October 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- 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 or its class 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-apl-12-apl12-06
-
[7]Atlas shipyard dataset (shipyard-exposure-map/client/src/data/shipyards.json): boston-naval-shipyard entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json yard_id 'boston-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The builder yard for this hull - Boston Naval Shipyard (Charlestown Navy Yard) - carries a yard-level asbestos entry in the Atlas shipyard dataset: a litigation product-identification row documenting a worker's alleged exposure to John Crane gaskets and sealing materials at Boston Naval Shipyard (In re John Crane, Inc., Tex. App. 1st Dist. 2003), and WWII peak employment of 50,128 (1943).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- WWII era (yard context)
- Population
- Boston Naval Shipyard workforce (yard-level)
- Limitations
- Yard-level context only - establishes that asbestos litigation exists for the yard that built this hull, not that asbestos was installed aboard APL-12 or that any APL-12 worker was exposed. No asbestos claim about this hull is made from this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-12-apl12-07
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy's standing asbestos-control/removal policy dates from 1975 (removal only when insulation was damaged or required for repairs; modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas). APL-12 was destroyed in place in the Ryukyus in January 1946 - nearly three decades before that policy era - so no U.S.-custody abatement record or disposal-phase hazmat documentation is expected to exist for this hull, and none was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policy era vs. 1944-1946 existence of this hull
- Limitations
- Program-level context only - GAO HRD-80-2 does not name this hull or class; it bounds what documentation could exist, not what material was aboard. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - product-page description relied on per BATCH-01 standing note.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-12-apl12-08
-
[9]NARA Special List 44, named-vessel logbook inventory (archives.gov) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov SL44 ship-number listing, 'APL-12' rows
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 lists deck-log coverage for 'APL-12' in two runs - 10/24/1944-12/9/1944 and 1/1/1945-1/25/1946 - spanning essentially the whole of the craft's in-service life from delivery to the day before the recorded demolition (26-27 January 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-10-24 to 1946-01-25 (logbook coverage)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - holdings are undigitized/unpulled; deck logs record positions, tow configuration, grounding and salvage events, and personnel entries and may resolve the grounding/refloat/demolition date conflicts noted in gaps, but nothing is asserted from them. Retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-12-apl12-09
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket sweeps for 'USS APL-12' and 'APL-12' (authenticated, cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py attempts 2026-09-26; search_ledger rows sl-uss-apl-12-apl12-10 through sl-uss-apl-12-apl12-13
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweeps for this hull (authenticated, fleet-paced): '"APL-12"' opinion sweep returned 5 hits, all identifier collisions in unrelated matters - Puerto Rico appellate opinion (Reyes Arce v. Diaz Marrero, KLAN202400459), Milward v. Acuity Specialty Products Group (an asbestos opinion where 'APL-12' matches non-vessel tokens, not this hull), two City of Belmont v. Mississippi State Tax Commission tax opinions, and Smith v. American President Lines, 571 F.2d 102 (2d Cir. 1978), an employment/union matter where 'APL' is American President Lines. None names this vessel or is a qualifying asbestos case naming the hull. The '"USS APL-12"' opinion sweep and both docket-type sweeps remained fleet-paced (shared ~114/hr token budget exhausted at each attempt) - logged pending in the search ledger rather than assumed negative.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- sweep 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Collision-only results bound the indexed opinion record for the exact-string query; docket-level asbestos references can exist without indexed opinions, state-court asbestos dockets are incompletely indexed on CourtListener, and the 'USS APL-12' opinion sweep plus both docket sweeps remain pending (fleet pacing), so the sweep set is not fully exhaustive. The five collisions were classified from case names, courts, and record context - none is plausibly maritime or names the vessel. If pending sweeps surface hits later this row is revisable.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-12-apl12-10
-
[11]Batch-2465 search ledger (this record): NavSource APL-12 page and APL index, shipscribe APL-2 class page, NPS Charlestown construction dataset, NARA Special List 44, Moctobi DANFS (HyperWar), NHHC DANFS probes, NVR probes + Wayback availability API, HyperWar/ibiblio APL probes, hazegray, MARAD ShipHistory, Digital Commonwealth, marketing-list sweep, CourtListener attempts [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-apl-12-apl12-01 through sl-uss-apl-12-apl12-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for APL-12: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum documentation, or docketed asbestos case naming the hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was destroyed in place in January 1946 - before the Navy's documented asbestos-control program era (GAO HRD-80-2: standing removal policy dates from 1975) - so no U.S.-custody abatement or disposal material record is expected to exist.
- 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 Navy-yard-built hull is era-consistent with standard asbestos-containing construction materials. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present and does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. The 'USS APL-12' opinion sweep and the docket sweeps remain pending (fleet pacing), so the litigation arm of this finding is collision-only on the completed query rather than fully exhausted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-12-apl12-11