Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet ay-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (DANFS-derived text via Wikipedia; NVR cited as — real identity: USS ARD-29; renamed USS Arco 28 March 1967
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-arco-ard29-pkt-ay-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Arco I (ARD-29)' entry, NHHC (live URL 404 on 2026-09-26; 2021-04-30 Wayback capture used) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Arco I (ARD-29)'; canonical URL https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/arco-ard-29-i.html (404 at access; Wayback capture 2021-04-30)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ARD-29, an ARD-12-class floating repair dock (l. 491'8", b. 81'0", dr. 5'8" light / 33'3" submerged), was constructed in 1944 at Alameda, Calif., by the Pacific Bridge Co. and employed at the Naval Repair Base, San Diego, in late 1944 and early 1945. Early in 1945 the dock received modifications at the Kaiser Cargo yard, Richmond, Calif., for advanced-base assignment; commissioned 1945-06-23 (Lt. Hector Phillips, USNR). After a month at Everett, Wash., she departed 22 July 1945 under tow for the Central Pacific via Kwajalein, towed by Wateree (ATF-117) from 24 August, arriving Guam 2 September; operated at Guam and later Okinawa until late 1946, then Pearl Harbor to the beginning of 1959; towed back to Guam for the last 12 years of Navy service. Named Arco 1967-03-28. Loaned to the Imperial Iranian Navy 1971-11-01; struck from the Navy list late in 1977; still on the Iranian Navy active list as Drydock No. 400 as of end of 1984.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1984
- Population
- Dock crew; ship-repair trades working aboard docked vessels
- Limitations
- Authoritative official history; contains no asbestos, materials, insulation, or condition information - supports identity and service timeline only. DANFS 'late in 1977' stricken date conflicts with NVR-derived secondary figures of 1976-09-15 (struck) and 1977-03-01 (sold) - logged in gaps. The 1 July 1944 in-service date in secondary sources is not in this DANFS text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arco-ard29-01
-
[3]Bureau of Yards and Docks, Building the Navy's Bases in World War II, Vol. I, Ch. IX 'Floating Drydocks' (GPO 1947; HyperWar/ibiblio mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ch. IX, 'Auxiliary Repair Dock' section (pp. 215-218 of the printed volume)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official Bureau history describes the ARD type as mobile steel unit docks of ~3,500-ton normal lifting capacity for destroyers, submarines, and small auxiliaries, each carrying its own diesel-electric power plant (four railway-type diesel engines direct-connected to generators), two ballast pumping plants, and - above the safety deck in the wing walls - machinery decks with pump and valve motors, welding equipment, storage, a bow hull-repair shop, and crew quarters and messing facilities. No propulsion was fitted; docks were towed. ARD-29 belongs to the widened successor design (ARD-12 class) built after the early docks.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940-1946
- Population
- ARD crews; docked-vessel repair personnel (class context)
- Limitations
- Official class/design documentation, not a hull record - establishes the spaces and machinery aboard ARD-type docks where era-typical insulation materials were used, but names no asbestos product and does not document this hull's fit-out in particular.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arco-ard29-02
-
[4]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 program under which this steel auxiliary repair dock was built (1944) and modified for forward-area service (1945).
- 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; does not name this vessel or the ARD type and does not establish that asbestos was, or remains, aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arco-ard29-03
-
[5]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - consistent with era insulation typically remaining in place for decades aboard and around Navy hulls unless a yard period disturbed it. ARD-29's U.S. service (1944-1971) predates these policies entirely.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not this dock's stations or yards, and ARD-29 left U.S. custody in 1971 - before the reviewed policies took effect. Supports era context only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arco-ard29-04
-
[6]Amerace Esna Corp. v. United States, 462 F.2d 1377, 199 Ct. Cl. 175 (1972) (CourtListener cluster 8615611) [court_record]
- Locator
- Findings of fact 30(b), 39, 41 (commissioner's opinion adopted by the court), CourtListener opinion 8594496 within cluster 8615611
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- In a patent-compensation proceeding, the trial commissioner's adopted findings record that ARD-29 was among the dry docks the Navy authorized to use Eureka Chemical two-part flotation compounds for preserving ballast tanks (finding 30(b)), and that plaintiff calculated ARD-29's ballast tank surface at 138,600 square feet for a claimed 26,114-gallon treatment (finding 39) - the accounting period being 1952-09-08 to 1957-09-08, when the dock was stationed at Pearl Harbor.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1952-1957 (accounting period); opinion filed 1972-07-14
- Population
- ARD-29 crew; ballast-tank maintenance personnel
- Limitations
- Patent-litigation findings adopted by the court; document a ballast-tank preservation practice aboard this specific hull, not asbestos, not exposure, and not health conditions. The findings record authorized use of the compound; procurement records for ARD-29 itself were not in evidence (finding 30(b)). No asbestos content in the opinion.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arco-ard29-05
-
[7]COMSUBPAC / Submarine Squadron 11 official site, 'About Arco' page (ARDM-5 command page recounting the first ARCO, ARD-29) [other_primary]
- Locator
- csp.navy.mil/arco/About (fetch 403; content verified via indexed copy; Wayback captures exist 2016)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy page confirms: ARD-29 was the first drydock named ARCO; built by Pacific Bridge Co., Alameda; requisitioned 1944 and placed in service at Navy Repair Base San Diego; modified for forward Pacific refit sites; Guam arrival 2 September; one year Guam/Okinawa; then Pearl Harbor for twelve years; returned to Guam 1959; named ARCO 1967-03-28 under the Navy practice of naming auxiliary repair drydocks for towns associated with nuclear power generation or nuclear research (Arco, Idaho, near the Lost River nuclear reactor testing station); transferred to the Imperial Iranian Navy 1971-11-01; designated Drydock No. 400 by Iran, active as late as 1985; distinct from ARCO (ARDM-5), a different dock built 1983-86.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1985
- Limitations
- Official Navy page but contains typographical errors - commission date rendered '23rd of June 1946' (correct is 1945 per DANFS) and Guam arrival year '19046' (i.e., 1946 typo for 1945); 1985 active-status reference is uncorroborated by a dated primary record. No asbestos content. Page blocks automated fetches (HTTP 403); text verified via search-index snippet and prior Wayback captures.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arco-ard29-06
-
[8]Batch-2567 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC (Wayback capture), COMSUBPAC official page, BuDocks official history, MARAD ShipHistory, CourtListener name/hull sweep, Ships' Data 1945 vol. 3, general web sweep for asbestos/survey/abatement records [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-arco-ard29-01 through sl-uss-arco-ard29-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or asbestos/mesothelioma case naming ARD-29 or USS Arco was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener sweep (opinion and docket indexes, exact name and hull forms) returned one hull-specific hit - the 1972 patent case Amerace Esna v. United States - and otherwise only name collisions (Atlantic Richfield 'ARCO,' Arco Marine, unrelated docket-text matches). A competitor marketing site lists the hull on a generic auxiliary-ship asbestos page; banned source, not used.
- 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 steel repair dock with crew accommodations, machinery, and workshops is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the hull passed to Iranian service where condition records are not public. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arco-ard29-07
-
[9]NARA deck-log custody guidance (RG 24); Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels 1945 ed., vol. 3 (shipscribe.com digitization); NavSource ARD-29 photo archive (U.S. Navy photographs) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 24 deck-log guidance; shipscribe.com/pubs/SDB1945v3.pdf; navsource.org/archives/09/67/6729.htm (unofficial mirror of official photos)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no box-level pull performed): (a) ARD-29 deck logs, 1945-1971, RG 24 at NARA - would document operations, refits, and maintenance; (b) Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945 edition, vol. 3 lists 'ARD5-33' including ARD-29 in its index/deployment tables - digitized but OCR quality prevented reliable per-hull data extraction; (c) U.S. Navy photographs of ARD-29 republished at NavSource include the dock itself drydocked in Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Drydock No. 4 for repairs, April 1951, and crew photos at Submarine Base Pearl Harbor, January 1951 - originals presumably at NHHC/NARA under an NH photo number not yet identified.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1971 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and photo-source mapping only - nothing in this row is an asbestos finding; whether any of these records document insulation, abatement, or materials aboard this hull is unknown until surveyed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arco-ard29-08