Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet ap-packet.md (5 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: APL-26 (nickname "Green Apple" per shipbuildinghistory/navalmarinearchive)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-apl-26-apl26-pkt-ap-packet-md
-
[2]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), U.S. Navy Auxiliary Ships - APL-2 class construction/disposition data tables, compiled from Navy register/records data [other_primary]
- Locator
- APL-26 rows in the Construction and Disposition tables; class header and Class Notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe APL-2-class construction and disposition tables: APL-26 ordered 29 January 1944; built by Pollock-Stockton Shipbuilding, Stockton, CA; keel laid 24 July 1944; launched 24 December 1944; commissioned 18 January 1946; stricken 1 November 1971; disposal March 1971 - transferred (Trf.). Class data: 1,300 tons light / 2,600 tons full load; 261.2 ft oa x 49.2 ft x 8.5 ft; complement 71 + 583 troops; original armament four 20mm; machinery none (non-self-propelled). APL-26 was an FY-1942-program unit (APL 11-13 and 23-26); class built as standard non-self-propelled 2,000-ton 260-foot covered barges with a two-story barracks superstructure, developed for long-distance ocean towing.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1975
- Limitations
- Recognized secondary data compilation drawn from official records; launch date (24 Dec 1944) conflicts with NavSource (29 Dec 1944) - unresolved. Pure chronology/design data; contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-26-apl26-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Service Ship Photo Archive - APL-26 (APL-17 class non-self-propelled barracks ship) [other_primary]
- Locator
- APL-26 page: chronology block, Vietnam campaign table, specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive entry for APL-26: laid down 24 July 1944 at Pollock-Stockton Ship Building, Stockton, CA; launched 29 December 1944; commissioned 18 January 1946; decommissioned and laid up in reserve in 1946; 14 Vietnam campaign credits listed 1967-1973; placed out of service (date unknown); transferred to South Vietnam and redesignated HQ 9050, March 1971; struck from the Naval Register November 1971; captured by North Vietnam April 1975; final disposition unknown. Specifications: 1,300 t light / 2,600 t full; 261 ft x 49 ft x 8 ft 6 in; complement 5 officers + 66 enlisted; accommodation 6 officers + 583 enlisted; armament as built 'none,' Vietnam-era four .50-cal machine guns, two '80MM' mortars, four .30-cal machine guns on 02 deck; three diesel-driven 100 kW 450 V AC ship's-service generators; 1,000 Bbls diesel fuel capacity. NavSource notes no DANFS history exists for APL-26.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1975
- Population
- Ship's crew and embarked troops
- Limitations
- Volunteer-edited photo-archive registry - the standard public registry for unnamed service craft (no DANFS entry exists). Launch date conflicts with Shipscribe (24 Dec); mortar caliber '80MM' is likely an 81mm typo; campaign list includes credits dated after the March 1971 transfer and November 1971 striking - flagged in gaps. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-26-apl26-02
-
[4]Sherwood, John Darrell, 'War in the Shallows: U.S. Navy Coastal and Riverine Warfare in Vietnam, 1965-1968' (Naval History and Heritage Command, 2015), official U.S. Government edition, ISBN 978-0-945274-76-6 [other_primary]
- Locator
- pp. 181-182 ('Afloat and Ashore Bases' - MRB composition), p. 190-191 area ('Green Apple' berthing narrative, n.108), p. 193 (man overboard near APL-26)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official NHHC history of U.S. Navy riverine warfare documents APL-26's Mobile Riverine Base role: by May 1967 the floating base consisted of air-conditioned command ships Benewah and Colleton, repair ship Askari, 'a non-self-propelled barracks barge (APL-26),' and a rotating logistic-support LST (initially Kemper County), together supporting 1,900 embarked troops of 2d Brigade, 9th Infantry Division and 1,600 TF-117 sailors for ten or more days. APL-26 - the 'Green Apple' - deployed with the MRF in April 1967 with transient berthing for 39 officers and 290 sailors and a permanent crew of 5 officers and 84 men; 'equipped with boilers for steam and hot water, evaporators for making 24,000 gallons of fresh drinking water daily, generators for electricity and air-conditioning, and six .50-caliber mounts for self-defense.' Vice Admiral Hooper (COMSERVPAC) visited in late April 1967. A sailor's man-overboard rescue near APL-26 in the My Tho River is recounted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1967-1968 (publication 2015)
- Population
- 5 officers + 84 enlisted permanent crew (per source); transient berthing up to 39 officers + 290 sailors; supported force ~3,500 (1,900 troops + 1,600 sailors) across the MRB
- Limitations
- Official NHHC operational history - ship-specific. Gives '226-foot-long' for the barge vs class-standard 261 ft (likely typographical), crew of 5 officers + 84 men vs NavSource 66 enlisted, six .50-cal mounts vs NavSource's four plus mortars - discrepancies logged in gaps. Documents boilers/steam plant aboard; no asbestos or materials content - fiber content of insulation is not established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-26-apl26-03
-
[5]LCDR Charles W. Lynch, USN (Ret.), 'APL 26: Barracks Barge with a Combat Role,' The Jackstaff News (1967), reproduced by the Mobile Riverine Force Association; cited as a source in Sherwood's NHHC official history (n.108) [other_primary]
- Locator
- MRFA APL-26 page, full reproduced article text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous 1967 account: APL-26 spent roughly a year in mothballs in Seattle, WA; was modernized for Vietnam service in fall 1966 as a Service Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet asset; departed under tow three days before Christmas 1966, stopped at Subic Bay, and arrived Vung Tau on 22 February 1967. In April 1967 she began work for Task Force 117 as berthing ('hotel') for boat crews and 9th Infantry Division troops of the Mobile Riverine Force, moving on the Mekong Delta and Rung Sat waterways with tugs Kalispell (YTB-784) and Winnemucca (YTB-785). Describes two boilers for steam and hot water, evaporators making 24,000+ gallons of drinking water daily, generators for electricity and air conditioning, and a minor surgery ward and sick bay; crew nicknamed her 'Green Apple' and her whaleboat 'Apple Seed.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1966-1967
- Population
- APL-26 crew; embarked boat crews and 9th Infantry Division troops
- Limitations
- Period service-press article reproduced on a veterans' association site - adopted as a source by the NHHC official history (Sherwood n.108), which validates its provenance. Two-generator count conflicts with NavSource's three; yard/site of the 1966 modernization not named. No asbestos content - documents equipment aboard, not fiber content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-26-apl26-04
-
[6]NavSource Naval History - APL-26 awards/citations page (reproduced Presidential Unit Citation and Navy Unit Commendation texts) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 7126a page: PUC text (TF-117, 1969); NUC text (RIVFLOT ONE, 1967-68); NUC text (NSA Saigon) with APL-26 period annotation 1 Jul 69 - 30 Jun 71
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Unit-award citation texts reproduced by NavSource: Presidential Unit Citation to the U.S. Navy Element, Mobile Riverine Force (TF-117) for extraordinary heroism 25 January - 5 July 1969 (signed Richard Nixon); Navy Unit Commendation to River Assault Flotilla ONE for operations CORONADO I-IX, 19 June 1967 - 16 January 1968 (signed SecNav John H. Chafee); and the NUC to U.S. Naval Support Activity, Saigon, 16 March 1966 - 30 April 1972, annotated '[APL-26 - 1 Jul 69 - 30 Jun 71]' - the award window applicable to this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1967-1971
- Population
- Crew and embarked personnel during award periods
- Limitations
- Citation texts corroborate combat-service attachment and award windows; the 1 Jul 1969 - 30 Jun 1971 window extends beyond the documented March 1971 RVN transfer - the overlap is logged as a discrepancy in gaps rather than resolved. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-26-apl26-05
-
[7]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 'Navy and Coast Guard Ships Associated with Service in Vietnam and Exposure to Herbicide Agents' (VBA adjudication list, M21-1 pt. IV subpt. ii § 1.H.2.b); mirrored copy of the VA document [other_primary]
- Locator
- VA ships list, Category I (inland waterways): 'Barracks Barge (APL-26) [Sleeping Quarters]'; list status corroborated in BVA decisions citing M21-1 IV.ii.1.H.2.b (e.g., va.gov/vetapp16/Files3/1621886.txt)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs adjudication ships list 'Navy and Coast Guard Ships Associated with Service in Vietnam and Exposure to Herbicide Agents' (incorporated in VBA Manual M21-1, pt. IV, subpt. ii, § 1.H.2.b) lists 'Barracks Barge (APL-26) [Sleeping Quarters]' under Category I - ships that operated primarily or exclusively on Vietnam's inland waterways. Service aboard during the qualifying window conveys presumptive Agent Orange herbicide exposure for VA disability purposes without further proof of individual exposure.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1967-1971 service window; list current to its update cycle
- Population
- Veterans who served aboard APL-26 in Vietnam (herbicide presumption); the VA list framework covers crew, not embarked transient troops separately
- Limitations
- Herbicide (Agent Orange) presumption only - NOT an asbestos finding and not evidence of asbestos aboard. Establishes official adjudicated recognition of the hull's inland-waterway service and a live presumptive-exposure benefits pathway for its Vietnam-era crew; mesothelioma is expressly not an Agent Orange presumptive condition under current VA rules.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-26-apl26-06
-
[8]Era/type inference built on: Sherwood, War in the Shallows (NHHC 2015) equipment record; Lynch 1967 equipment record; Shipscribe APL-2 class data; Corn & Starr (1987) wartime shipbuilding documentation (ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- evidence rows ev-03, ev-04, ev-01 equipment/construction data
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference: APL-26 is a 1944-1946 wartime-program Navy auxiliary built under the Auxiliary Vessels Board program (recommended 11 June 1943 after the May 1943 presidential approval). Documented equipment aboard includes boilers with steam and hot-water lines, diesel generators, evaporators, and Vietnam-era air conditioning - the standard suite that in WWII-era Navy construction was typically insulated and gasketed with asbestos-containing materials; berthing joiner insulation and deck coverings of the era likewise commonly contained asbestos. Applicable applications for the type: boiler and steam/hot-water line insulation (lagging); valve and flange gaskets; machinery packing; insulation within berthing/joiner spaces; deck covering compounds.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1975
- Population
- Construction trades (Pollock-Stockton, Stockton, 1944-45); 1966 modernization yard workers (site undocumented); crew and embarked troops 1967-1971; RVN crew 1971-1975
- Limitations
- Equipment presence aboard this hull is ship-documented; asbestos content of that equipment and structure is era inference only - no source names asbestos aboard APL-26, and no survey, material list, or abatement record was located. Does not establish quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-26-apl26-07
-
[9]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 an insulating and fireproofing material in U.S. shipbuilding during World War II - the program era under which APL-26 was constructed (ordered January 1944, built July-December 1944) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipyards.
- 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 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-26-apl26-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 searches (authenticated): "APL-26" type=o; "APL 26" type=o; "USS APL-26 OR barracks barge APL-26" type=o; "APL-26" type=r [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-apl-26-apl26-08 through sl-uss-apl-26-apl26-11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener authenticated sweep (opinions and RECAP dockets): exact-hull queries 'APL-26' and 'APL 26' returned 4 opinion hits, all name collisions on the token - Milward v. Acuity Specialty Products (1st Cir. 2011, toxic-tort), American President Lines v. Zolin (Cal. App. 1995, shipping co.), Equitable National Bank v. Morrison (Ohio 1898) and Bertrand v. Barkman (Ark. 1852), both pre-dating the hull's existence; 'USS APL-26 OR barracks barge APL-26' returned 0; 'APL-26' docket search returned 28 hits, all unrelated entities (Apple Inc. litigation, American President Lines, APL Maritime, APL Microscopic). No qualifying asbestos litigation and no litigation of any kind naming this vessel was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Name-collision noise is high for a number-only hull designator; searches were exact-phrase where supported. Navy-service-craft asbestos claims typically run under government/shipyard or product-defendant names rather than hull numbers, so a hull-name search undercounts the true litigation surface. Absence of a located case is not proof no claim was ever filed (PACER full-text not exhaustively searched).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-26-apl26-09
-
[11]Pollock-Stockton Shipbuilding Co. v. Brown, 185 F.2d 37 (7th Cir. 1950), CourtListener opinion 225930 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 185 F.2d 37, decided 1950-11-08; search_ledger row sl-uss-apl-26-apl26-12
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Builder-level litigation surface (non-asbestos): Pollock-Stockton Shipbuilding Co. v. Brown, 185 F.2d 37 (7th Cir. 1950) - a genuine hit naming the hull's builder; a Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act review of a death-benefit award to the mother of employee Melvin L. Brehm, who fell from the top of a drydock on 23 December 1946 and died of his injuries. Documents the builder's postwar litigation posture under the LHWCA; contains no asbestos content and does not name this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1946-1950
- Population
- Pollock-Stockton yard employees (LHWCA context)
- Limitations
- Builder-level workers' compensation ruling - included to document the searched litigation surface for the yard that built this hull. Non-asbestos, non-hull-specific; establishes nothing about exposure aboard APL-26. Other Pollock-Stockton query hits were token matches or citing references, not builder litigation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-26-apl26-10
-
[12]Batch-2480 search ledger (this record): NavSource ship/awards pages; Shipscribe class tables; NHHC 'War in the Shallows' full text; MRFA/Lynch 1967 account; VA M21-1 ships list; CourtListener name/hull/builder searches; NVR; MARAD; NARA digitized-logs list [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-apl-26-apl26-01 through sl-uss-apl-26-apl26-15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials list, or docketed case naming APL-26 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull's capture by North Vietnam in April 1975 and unknown disposition place it outside every U.S. survey, NDRF, and disposal pipeline that generates asbestos documentation for other vessels.
- 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 hull built to 1944 wartime Navy specifications is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the unknown post-1975 disposition means no survey or scrapping record exists to confirm or refute. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-26-apl26-11
-
[13]NARA, 'Digitized Deck Logs' and 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' guidance pages; NARA RG 19/RG 181 finding-aid structure; San Francisco Maritime National Park Association (maritime.org) Booklet of General Plans index, APL-24 entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov digitized-logs list (APL-26 absent); maritime.org/doc/plans index (APL-24 booklet listing); RG guides
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - research-room or reproduction work, no spend authorized): (1) NARA RG 24 Navy deck logs - Vietnam-era logs were digitized under the 2019 NARA-VA Blue Water Navy agreement, but APL-26 does not appear on NARA's list of deck logs available in the Catalog (the only APL listed is APL-39/IX-502); 1967-1971 logs, if extant, sit in RG 24 at Archives II, College Park. (2) RG 19 Bureau of Ships records for APL construction/outfitting specifications. (3) RG 181 Twelfth Naval District records for the undocumented fall-1966 modernization (ship was in reserve in the Seattle/Puget Sound area). (4) maritime.org holds the 1944 'Booklet of General Plans' for sister ship APL-24 (APL-17 class, same builder) - the class's primary design document - but the file link did not resolve on 2026-09-26 (site restructure); asbestos annotations, if any, unknown.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1975 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and document 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-26-apl26-12