Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 1945), Auxiliaries - Barracks Ships (APL) section, construction-table row for APL 14 (shipscribe.com scan of the official BuShips publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3, Auxiliaries - Barracks Ships (APL): characteristics table p. 318 (APL 2-34 row), construction table p. 319 (APL 14 row)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 3 carries a per-hull construction row for APL 14: built by Nashville Bridge Co., Nashville, Tenn.; keel laid 11 Sep 1943; launched 17 Jan 1944; date of first commission 29 Jun 1944. The type characteristics row (APL 2-34) gives 261'2" oa / 260'0" wl, 49'2" beam, ~2,660 tons (estimated full load; no limiting displacement or draft established), ship's company 5 officers + 66 enlisted, troop capacity 583 enlisted, and three diesel-driven 100-kW 450-VAC ship's-service generators; the footnote states these ships were non-self-propelled with no main propulsion machinery and no armament.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Ship's company (5 officers, 66 enlisted); up to 583 berthed repair-force personnel
- Limitations
- Authoritative wartime BuShips publication naming this hull - confirms identity, builder, dates, manning, accommodations, and generator plant. OCR of the scanned table is columnar and partially garbled; values cross-verified against NavSource and shipscribe. Contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim. The SDB 'no armament' footnote conflicts with NavSource's four 20mm AA spec - discrepancy logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-14-apl14-01
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[2]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - APL-14 ex YF-608, file 09/71/7114 (G. P. Priolo compilation; photo captions incl. US Navy photo NH 105655, NHHC) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/09/71/7114.htm - timeline, specifications block, awards block, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource records: ordered as YF-608 3 May 1943; reclassified APL-14 12 Aug 1943; launched 17 Jan 1944; towed Nashville-New Orleans 18-28 Jun 1944; delivered 29 Jun 1944; placed in service 4 Jul 1944, LT Harold E. Reice, USNR, in charge. Pacific tow chain: New Orleans to Canal Zone via Key West by WSA tug Watch Hill (14-30 Jul 1944); Canal Zone to Pearl Harbor by Watch Hill (5-28 Aug 1944); Pearl Harbor to Eniwetok (11-28 Sep 1944); Eniwetok to Ulithi by Lipan ATF-85 (12-20 Oct 1944); Ulithi to San Pedro Bay PI by Hitchiti ATF-103 (19-24 May 1945); Leyte to Okinawa (5-15 Sep 1945). Grounded on Baten Ko in Typhoon Louise, Okinawa, 9 Oct 1945, damaged beyond repair and recommended for stripping; placed out of service 4 Dec 1945; struck from Naval Register 21 Jan 1946; hulk sold by Foreign Liquidation Committee (FLC) May 1947. Photo caption (All Hands magazine, May 1945, US Navy photo): APL-14 'was used by the Navy in the Pacific to house personnel from Service Squadron 10.' Nickname 'Ritz Carlton'; ribbons: American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific, WWII Victory, Philippines Liberation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Ship's company; Service Squadron 10 repair personnel berthed aboard (Ulithi, 1944-45)
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation transcribing official USN data (Ships' Data, register entries, unit records) - detailed and consistent with SDB/shipscribe/NHHC but not itself an official publication; values carried here cross-verify with SDB 1945 v3. Its 'Laid down, 11 September 1944' is an evident typo (inconsistent with its own 17 Jan 1944 launch and the SDB/shipscribe 11 Sep 1943 keel) - flagged in gaps. Its four-20mm armament line conflicts with the SDB 'no armament' footnote - flagged in gaps. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-14-apl14-02
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[3]Shipscribe U.S. Navy auxiliary ships data sheets, 'USS APL-2 Class' page (Stephen S. Roberts compilation from Navy registers, Auxiliary Vessels Board / DCDB records, BuShips data, and NVR) [other_primary]
- Locator
- APL-2 class page: class notes (YF-604 group / APL 14-15 origin), construction table (APL-14 row), disposition table, ship notes (APL-14 entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Per-hull ship note: 'Ex YF-608 12 Aug 43. Completed 17 Jun 44, delivered 29 Jun 44, placed in service 4 Jul 44. Grounded in typhoon at Okinawa 9 Oct 45 (fetched up near ARL-5 and IX-110, q.v.) and recommended for stripping. Could not destroy because of nearby populated area. Hulk abandoned 22 Aug 46 and included by FLC in May 1947 in the Berry Sale.' Disposition table: decommissioned 3 Jan 46, struck 21 Jan 46. Class notes document the type as 'standard non-self-propelled 2,000-ton 260-foot Navy covered barges with a two-story barracks built on top,' and record that on 16 Jul 1943 the Auxiliary Vessels Board recommended converting two YF-604-group barges (YF 608-09) to Barrack Ship Transports (APL 14-15) to house repair parties assigned to ARG 2-3.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary transcription of official Navy register, board, and disposal records, not the registers themselves; consistent with SDB 1945 v3 and NavSource where they overlap. Its decommission date (3 Jan 46) conflicts with NavSource's out-of-service date (4 Dec 45) - flagged in gaps. Contains no asbestos information; documents the abandonment and sale of the hulk, not materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-14-apl14-03
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[4]Naval Historical Center (now NHHC), 'Typhoons and Hurricanes: Pacific Typhoon at Okinawa, October 1945,' publishing the CINCPAC report extract 'Typhoon "Louise" - The 9 October 1945 Storm at Okinawa' with Appendix III vessel-damage tabulation (live history.navy.mil FAQ URLs return 404 - verbatim text via Internet Archive Wayback capture 20100327153947) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- faq102-6.htm - CINCPAC report extract narrative (Nestor/APL 14/Ocelot passage) and Appendix III ('APL 14 - Grounded. Recommended for stripping.')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The CINCPAC report on Typhoon Louise names this hull twice: (1) narrative - at 1530 on 9 Oct 1945 the wind shifted, 'driving NESTOR's stern against APL 14, completely crushing the stern,' after which Nestor settled in 24 feet of water and at 1945 'all personnel and records were evacuated to APL 14'; (2) Appendix III damage table (based on progress reports to 19 Nov 1945) - 'APL 14: Grounded. Recommended for stripping.' Storm context documented: winds to 100 kt with 120-kt gusts, 30-35 ft seas in Buckner Bay; 12 ships sunk, 222 grounded, 32 damaged beyond shipboard repair; 36 dead, 47 missing, ~100 seriously injured.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-10-09 to 1945-11-19
- Population
- Ship's company and berthed personnel during Typhoon Louise; USS Nestor (ARB-6) crew evacuated aboard
- Limitations
- NHHC-published verbatim extract of an official wartime fleet report naming this hull - authoritative for the loss event and stripping recommendation. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page unavailable (standing link rot, cf. BATCH-01); the Wayback capture of the Naval Historical Center page is the verbatim text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-14-apl14-04
-
[5]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 v3 type characteristics (APL 2-34 row) + shipscribe APL-2 class design notes + Nashville Bridge construction record (SDB construction table) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 p. 318 (APL 2-34 characteristics); shipscribe APL-2 class page (design and ship notes)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull was a standard WWII 2,000-ton 260-foot non-self-propelled covered-barge hull fitted with a two-story barracks block (berthing for 583), messing facilities, and a three-generator diesel-electric hotel-services plant, built at Nashville Bridge Co. in Sep 1943 - Jun 1944, the peak era of shipboard asbestos use. The plant and outfit configuration is of the type for which diesel generator exhaust/muffler lagging, heating-pipe and ventilation-duct insulation, galley equipment insulation, electrical insulation, joiner bulkhead insulation, and deck coverings were commonly asbestos-containing in wartime Navy construction. The documented disturbance pathway for this hull is the 9 Oct 1945 grounding, stripping, and 1946 abandonment - salvage and dismantling of wrecked craft being a recognized disturbance pathway for era materials.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Nashville Bridge construction trades (1943-44); ship's company and berthed repair personnel (1944-45); salvage/stripping crews at Okinawa (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented design, generator plant, and construction era - NOT a hull record. No materials schedule, insulation specification, or survey naming APL-14 was located; the hull was destroyed before any asbestos-survey practice existed. Establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-14-apl14-05
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[6]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at two Navy yards and two Navy contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in wartime naval-vessel construction of exactly this hull's era and type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard (whether Nashville Bridge was among the surveyed contract yards is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized - DOI 10.1177/10482911261446696.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-14-apl14-06
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[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
- 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 emergency construction program under which this Nashville-built covered-barge hull was produced - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding.
- 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 class and does not establish that asbestos was or is aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-14-apl14-07
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[8]Batch-2467 search ledger (this record): BuShips SDB 1945 v3; NavSource 09/71/7114; shipscribe APL-2 class page; NHHC/NHC Typhoon Louise report (Wayback faq102-6); CourtListener API v4 name/hull sweeps; VA BVA index; NVR; NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-apl-14-apl14-01 through -12 (incl. -08b)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, material schedule, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming APL-14, USS APL-14, or YF-608 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). There is no DANFS entry (noncommissioned service craft; NavSource carries the standard 'no DANFS history currently available' note). CourtListener exact-phrase 'USS APL-14' returned zero opinions; 'APL-14' returned only name collisions - APL Marine Services, Ltd. (the American President Lines entity) appearing as intervenor-defendant in Matson Navigation Co. v. U.S. Department of Transportation, D.D.C. No. 18-2751 - not this hull and not asbestos litigation. The NVR does not cover craft disposed before 1987. A VA BVA index check surfaced no decision naming the craft ('APL'/'APLA' medical-acronym collisions only).
- 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 1943-44 berthing barge with a diesel generator plant is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the documented stripping/abandonment of the hulk at Okinawa is an undocumented disturbance phase. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. CourtListener coverage complete via authenticated helper: 'USS APL-14' opinions 0 hits; 'YF-608' opinions 0 hits; 'APL-14' opinions 2 hits and dockets 38 hits - all name collisions, none asbestos-related.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-14-apl14-08
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[9]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships), RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - deck logs), RG 313 (Records of Naval Operating Forces - incl. service squadrons and salvage commands), RG 59 sec. 59.3.11 (Foreign Liquidation Commissioner records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html ; /groups/024.html ; /groups/313.html ; RG 59 section 59.3.11 (Foreign Liquidation Commissioner)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): BuShips design/contract records for the YF-604 group / APL-2 type including this hull's Nashville Bridge contract (RG 19); any deck log or officer-in-charge records for the in-service period 1944-45 (RG 24); Service Squadron 10 berthing records at Ulithi and ComServDiv 104 salvage/stripping records for the grounded hulk (RG 313); the Foreign Liquidation Commission 'Berry Sale' disposal file, May 1947 (RG 59, Foreign Liquidation Commissioner records) - the most promising disposal-era hazmat lead for the abandoned hulk at Okinawa.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1947 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-apl-14-apl14-09