Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
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[1]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - APL-5 page (privately maintained archive reproducing official-source build/service data; page updated 2016-03-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- APL-5 page: awards line, class description line, build/service chronology, specifications block, and photo captions (Da Nang and Chu Lai circa 1965-66; San Diego 2004, 2005, 2011)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- APL-2 Class non-self-propelled barracks ship: built by Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, WA; ordered 1943-10-07; laid down 1944-07-08; launched 1944-11-14; completed by Everett Pacific Shipbuilding, Everett, WA; delivered 1945-11-05; served in South Vietnam, late 1960s; part of the CincPacFlt Berthing and Messing Program berthed at 'mole' pier, NavSta San Diego, CA. Awards: National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. As-built specs: 1,300 t light / 2,660 t full; 260.0 ft wl / 261.2 ft oa; beam 49 ft 2 in; draft 8 ft 6 in; crew 6 officers + 66 enlisted; troop berthing 583 enlisted; three diesel-driven 100 kW 450 V AC generators; fuel 1,000 bbl. NavSource notes no DANFS history exists for APL-5. Photo captions document APL-5 and an unidentified APL anchored off Da Nang harbor and APL-5 at Chu Lai circa 1965-66, and berthed at the San Diego 'mole' pier 2004-2011.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-2016
- Population
- crew (6 officers, 66 enlisted as built) plus embarked berthing population up to 583 enlisted
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archive, not a government repository - build figures corroborated against NVR and Shipscribe (keel, launch, delivery dates all match; 'ordered 07 Oct 1943' vs NVR award 10/01/1943 is a 6-day discrepancy logged in gaps). Award ribbons reproduce the hull's official ribbon entitlement. Contains no asbestos information and establishes no exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-5-apl5-01
-
[2]U.S. Navy, Naval Vessel Register (NAVSEA), Ship Details: NO NAME (APL 5); physical characteristics from Wayback capture 2020-11-01 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR ship-detail page shipId=23: VESSEL STATUS, MILESTONE DATES, PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS; Wayback capture web.archive.org/web/20201101094945/ for PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Naval Vessel Register record for hull APL 5 (shipId 23, UIC 01625, class 'APL 2', type 'BARRACKS CRAFT (N-S-P)'): status 'active, in service'; date status changed 1965-12-01 (consistent with reactivation for Vietnam deployment); builder 'Naval Shipyard Puget Sound'; award date 1943-10-01; keel date 1944-07-08; launch date 1944-11-14; delivery date 1945-11-05; commission, in-service, decommission, and strike fields all blank; custodian 'COMPACFLT BERTHING & MESSING PROGRAM, PEARL HARBOR, HI'; planning yard 'Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & IMF'; program manager 'PMS 300'; record last updated 2026-05-22. Suppressed physical-characteristics fields on the live page are visible in Wayback capture 2020-11-01: OA length 261 ft, WL 260 ft; extreme beam 48 ft, WL beam 49 ft; max navigational draft 10 ft; light displacement 1,220 t, full 2,660 t; steel hull, steel superstructure; no propellers or propulsion type; accommodations 6 officers / 792 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-2026
- Population
- berthing-barge residents: crews of ships in maintenance availabilities (rotating population)
- Limitations
- Official register, updated 2026-05-22 - the freshest status authority; directly rebuts the circa-2002 'removed from service' program-document statement (see ev-10). Blank commission/decommission/strike fields consistent with a noncommissioned service craft. Award date 10/01/1943 vs NavSource 'ordered 10/07/1943' - 6-day discrepancy in gaps. NVR enlisted accommodation figure (792) conflicts with as-built 583 - logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-5-apl5-02
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[3]Shipscribe.com, USS APL-2 Class construction data + class photographs page (compiled from official U.S. Navy Ships' Data / BuShips program records; photo source credited to U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command) [other_primary]
- Locator
- APL-5 row of the construction table; APL-5 entry in the per-hull Notes column; APL-5 photo caption at https://shipscribe.com/usnaux/APL/APL02-p.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe class construction table and hull notes for APL-5: ordered 1943-10-07; builder NYd Puget Sound; keel 1944-07-08; launch 1944-11-14; 'commissioned' (placed in service) 1945-11-05; note: 'To Everett Pacific SB for completion, contract 5 Apr 45. In service in reserve by Jan 47. On active duty in South Vietnam during the late 1960s. In service 2011 at San Diego.' Photo-page caption (NHHC image): APL-5 'shown in South Vietnam shortly after arriving there under tow with another APL in early 1966. This craft had spent much of the 1950s as barracks ship for the large floating dock AFDB-1.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-2011
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of official records (Shipscribe reproduces Ships' Data and auxiliary-vessels program documentation); dates agree with NVR and NavSource. The table's 'Commiss.' column heading is program shorthand - the craft was placed in service, not commissioned (NVR commission field blank). The AFDB-1 barracks detail and early-1966 arrival come from a single NHHC-sourced photo caption - flagged partial in gaps. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-5-apl5-03
-
[4]All Hands (U.S. Navy official magazine), November 1966 issue, 'Manhattan in Miniature' (p. 8-9, story/photos by George L. Eldridge, YN3(JO), USN) and 'Noah's Ark of Chu Lai' (p. 9) - verbatim reproduction hosted by the Gamewardens Association (TF-116) archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- allhands8.html ('Manhattan in Miniature') and allhands9.html ('Noah's Ark of Chu Lai'), November 1966 issue
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- All Hands magazine, November 1966 (official U.S. Navy magazine), two articles: (a) 'Manhattan in Miniature' - the Navy tug USS Manhattan (YTB-779) steamed from Da Nang to Chu Lai to retrieve APL-5, which was needed at Da Nang 'to house the many personnel reporting for duty at the U.S. Naval Support Activity, Da Nang'; at Chu Lai the tug freed APL-5 from the mud, pusher boats nudged her outside the harbor, and Manhattan towed her ~500 ft astern to an anchorage in Da Nang harbor. (b) 'Noah's Ark of Chu Lai' - APL-5 moored at the LST ramp at Chu Lai; 260 ft x 48 ft; no main propulsion; came 'from the Reserve Fleet, Guam, pulled by an oceangoing tug via Yokosuka, Japan, where she was recently outfitted to care more comfortably for the men of the naval supply activity'; berthing for 700 Navymen; crew of 92 commanded by LTJG Charles R. Newkirk and four other officers; canvas awnings across the boat deck; 'mounts for 4-inch/50 caliber machine guns for defense' (sic - see gaps); stainless-steel galley equipment, modernized head facilities, air-conditioned living spaces; crew's lounge doubled as Sunday chapel served by NMCB-4 chaplain John C. Haney Jr.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1966
- Population
- APL-5 crew of 92 (LTJG Charles R. Newkirk commanding) plus ~700 embarked Navymen of NSA supply activity
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous official Navy journalism - primary source for the hull's 1966 Vietnam berthing role, locations (Chu Lai LST ramp; Da Nang anchorage), and the grounding/tow event. Wikipedia's derivative summary reverses the tow direction ('guided her to her berthing area in Chu Lai'); the primary text records the tow FROM Chu Lai TO Da Nang. '4-inch/50 caliber machine guns' is the magazine's phrasing - inconsistent with class armament (4 x 20mm per Shipscribe); logged in gaps. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-5-apl5-04
-
[5]Shipscribe.com, USS APL-2 Class page - Class Notes (reproducing Auxiliary Vessels Board and BuShips program correspondence) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class Notes section, 'APL 2-13' paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- APL-program origin: on 1943-06-11 the Auxiliary Vessels Board recommended building a 2,000-ton barracks barge for each EC-2 repair-ship conversion (ARG 4-13, ARV 1-2) to house repair-force personnel for three-shift operation; the craft were standard non-self-propelled 260-ft Navy covered barges with a two-story barracks superstructure in place of the usual warehouse, fitted with a raised bow and skegs aft for ocean towing; APL-5 belongs to the APL 2-13 group ordered 1943-10-07 under the FY 1944 program.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- WWII repair-force personnel intended to be housed aboard (program intent)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation naming the group to which this hull belongs; describes design intent and procurement rationale, not materials. No asbestos or materials statement. Does not by itself establish APL-5's pairing with a specific repair ship.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-5-apl5-05
-
[6]Consolidated era inference - WWII Puget Sound Navy Yard construction of the APL-2 design (two-story barracks superstructure on a covered-barge hull); BuShips-era auxiliary construction practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class technical data (APL-2 design, PSNY build 1944-45; NavSource/NVR spec blocks)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a 1944-45 Navy-yard-built non-self-propelled barracks craft: absence of boilers and a steam plant removes the dominant marine asbestos pathway (steam-system lagging); asbestos-relevant applications concentrate in the two-story accommodation superstructure and hotel services - bulkhead/joiner and accommodation insulation (the dominant interior material aboard a purpose-built berthing craft), deck coverings and tile, galley and messing-equipment insulation, heating and plumbing pipe insulation, electrical cable insulation - plus diesel-generator exhaust lagging and gaskets and winch/mooring brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-present
- Population
- Puget Sound Navy Yard construction trades (1944-45) and Everett Pacific completion workers (1945); assigned crew; rotating berthing populations incl. ~700 at Chu Lai/Da Nang (1966+) and ship-availability crews at San Diego
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull material schedule, insulation specification, or asbestos survey located for this craft. The berthing mission made accommodation insulation the dominant interior application, but its fiber content is not documented for this hull; repeated habitability modernizations (1966 Yokosuka outfitting; later San Diego service) may have replaced original materials. Establishes no quantities and no individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-5-apl5-06
-
[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 period and program under which this 1944-45 Navy-yard-built accommodation craft was constructed - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard American-built hulls.
- 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-5-apl5-07
-
[8]Gunn, Kyle, 'The Navy has a floating barracks that is somehow worse than living on an actual ship,' Task & Purpose (updated 2021-07-29) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Article, age/materials paragraph
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Defense-trade press (Task & Purpose, 2021) describes the Navy's then-current berthing-barge fleet: '13 of the service's current fleet of 18 were built between 1944 and 1946, back when lead paint and asbestos were industry standards.' APL-5 (built 1944-45 and listed active, in service on the NVR throughout the period) is within the described cohort.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2021
- Population
- sailors berthed on 1944-46-era berthing barges (fleet context)
- Limitations
- Journalistic characterization of the fleet cohort, not a hull record: names no individual craft, cites no survey or materials document, and 'industry standards' phrasing is era shorthand rather than a documented material finding for this hull. Does not establish asbestos aboard APL-5.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-5-apl5-08
-
[9]U.S. General Accounting Office, 'Navy's Berthing Facilities and Crewing Practices for Ships Undergoing Overhaul,' PLRD-81-41 (April 1981) [gao]
- Locator
- Enclosure I - berthing-barge inventory/capabilities table and narrative; digest page
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO report PLRD-81-41 (April 1981) documents the Navy's berthing-barge fleet: as of July 1980 the Navy reported 17 APLs in the service-craft inventory; 'The Navy acquired the 17 APLs during 1944 through 1946. They provide berthing, messing, administrative, and classroom facilities. Five APLs house 132 to 266 people, five house 267 to 449, and seven house 450 to 720.' GAO reported the Navy believed many older barges did not meet habitability standards and was acquiring new berthing barges. APL-5, in continuous service, was part of that 1980-81 inventory.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1980-1981
- Population
- overhaul crews housed aboard the Navy APL/YRBM berthing fleet
- Limitations
- Fleet-level program documentation; describes the APL inventory (of which APL-5 was part, per its continuous NVR service record) but does not name this hull individually. Contains no asbestos statement; habitability deficiencies described are program-level. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch; verified via Wayback Machine capture 2023-03-13.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-5-apl5-09
-
[10]GlobalSecurity.org 'Berthing Barge' page (reproducing a circa-2002 Navy B&M program status document) vs NVR shipId=23 and photographic record (NavSource; navysite.de APL-5 gallery) [other_primary]
- Locator
- GlobalSecurity berthing-barge page, program-status paragraph; NVR detail shipId=23; navysite.de/apl/apl5.htm gallery captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancy on mid-life status: a Navy Berthing & Messing program document reproduced on GlobalSecurity's berthing-barge page states that 'The fifty seven year old APL 5 has been removed from service as a result of two successive fires in her antiquated electrical systems' (57 years after the 1945 delivery dates the statement to ~2002). The official record contradicts permanent removal: the NVR has continuously listed the hull 'active, in service' (current record updated 2026-05-22), and photographic documentation places her in service at San Diego regularly thereafter - NavSource photos 2004/2005/2011; navysite.de photo log at Point Loma and Naval Base San Diego 2011-2012, 2014, 2016 (berthing the USS Milius (DDG 69) crew at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair), 2019, 2021, 2022 (berthing the USS Halsey (DDG 97) crew at Continental Maritime of San Diego), and July 2024.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2002-2026
- Population
- N/A - status reconciliation
- Limitations
- Reconciles a real documentary conflict: the ~2002 program document says 'removed from service'; the register and photographic record show continued (or restored) in-service status through 2026. Exact disposition of the ~2002 withdrawal (temporary removal for repair vs rescinded decision) is not documented in sources reviewed - logged in gaps. The electrical-fires detail is itself notable for habitability/material condition but is not an asbestos statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-5-apl5-10
-
[11]Batch-2505 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NVR (live + Wayback); Shipscribe; All Hands Nov 1966; GlobalSecurity B&M page; navysite.de; VA ship list; GAO PLRD-81-41; NHHC/DANFS; MARAD ShipHistory; NARA catalog; CourtListener opinion and docket searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-apl-5-apl5-01 through sl-uss-apl-5-apl5-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, FOIA release, or docketed case naming APL-5 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener sweeps (authenticated, fleet-paced): opinion '"APL-5"' returned 11 hits - all name collisions (tribal-court docket number 'APL-05-01', 'Apl. 5' April-date abbreviations in 19th-century reporters, Texas appellate docket prefixes); opinion '"USS APL-5"' returned 0; opinion '"APL-5" asbestos' returned 0; docket '"APL-5"' returned 70 hits - all collisions (American President Lines 'APL Co.' marine contract cases, Apple Inc. litigation exhibit labels, form numbers); docket '"USS APL-5"' returned 0. No DANFS entry exists. See search_ledger.
- 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 hull in berthing service for 80+ years has necessarily been through repeated habitability modernizations whose materials records are not public, and no Navy asbestos-management disclosure for this craft was located. 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-5-apl5-11
-
[12]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VBA), 'Navy and Coast Guard Ships Associated with Service in Vietnam and Exposure to Herbicide Agents' (ship list maintained for VA regional offices under 38 CFR 3.307(a)(6)(iii); verbatim 2021 copy hosted by VFW Florida; current eligibility framework at va.gov) [other_primary]
- Locator
- VA ship list, alphabetical section - 'Barracks Barge' entries; va.gov Agent Orange eligibility page (P.L. 116-23 12-nautical-mile provision)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- APL-5 is NOT named on VA's 'Navy and Coast Guard Ships Associated with Service in Vietnam and Exposure to Herbicide Agents' ship list (2021 edition verified) - the only named barracks barges are 'Barracks Barge (APL-26)' and 'Barracks Barge (APL-30),' both Category I inland-waterways entries. Her documented Vietnam moorings (Chu Lai LST ramp, Da Nang harbor anchorage) did not qualify her for the named list; the general 12-nautical-mile offshore presumption under the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-23) applies to qualifying vessel service regardless of list membership.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- list current through 2021 edition; statute P.L. 116-23 (2019)
- Population
- Veterans embarked aboard APL-5 in Vietnam, 1966 and after
- Limitations
- This is a HERBICIDE-exposure determination regime, not an asbestos record - absence from the named list does not bear on asbestos aboard this hull and does not defeat a Blue Water Navy Act claim; it documents only that VA's ship-specific inland-waterway/docking determinations do not include this craft.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-5-apl5-12
-
[13]NARA deck-log program pages and Guide to Federal Records - RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 181 (Naval Districts and Shore Establishments), RG 24 logbook series descriptions; NARA-VA deck-log digitization notice [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov deck-log program pages; guide-fed-records RG 19 / RG 181; catalog.archives.gov probe for 'APL-5' (no digitized log located)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): APL-5 deck logs for the Vietnam era and later (NARA RG 24 / Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, College Park; the NARA-VA digitization project has scanned 1956-1978 Navy deck logs under the Blue Water Navy Act but no digitized APL-5 log was located in the online catalog - logbooks are filed by vessel designation and craft logs are inconsistently cataloged); NSA Da Nang / NSAD Chu Lai command histories and operation reports (NHHC archives) may document arrival/departure dates for the Chu Lai-Da Nang berthing assignments; BuShips APL-class plans and material specifications (NARA RG 19); Puget Sound Navy Yard hull construction records (RG 181, NARA Seattle); COMPACFLT B&M Program / NAVSEA PMS 300 maintenance, habitability, and docking-overhaul records for the hull (not public).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1978 records (logs/build); program records undated
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Deck logs would fix Vietnam arrival/departure dates but rarely carry materials data; yard work packages are the likelier asbestos-bearing records. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-apl-5-apl5-13