Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet aw-packet.md (7 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (identity as the first/experimental ARD floating drydock is certain; one date discrepancy flagged above).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-ard-1-ard1-pkt-aw-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - YFD-82 ex USS ARD-1 (file 09/67/67101), compiled from official records incl. NARA photo 80-G-455970 and NHHC photo NH 57633 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page header timeline, specifications block, commanding-officer roster, and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource archive page for YFD-82 ex-USS ARD-1 records the full milestone timeline: fabricated by Dravo, Pittsburgh, PA; assembled and launched at Dravo, Wilmington, DE (YN 1151); authorized 14 May 1930; contracted 9 March 1933 at cost $369,892.45; laid down 22 August 1933; launched 11 August 1934; towed to Philadelphia Navy Yard for fitting out 4 September 1934; accepted by the Navy 11 September 1934; towed by Bridge (AF-1) Philadelphia to San Diego 20 October-14 November 1934; commissioned USS ARD-1 22 January 1935; served San Diego 1935-1942; towed to Pearl Harbor by Pawnee (AT-74) 9-20 December 1942; served Pearl Harbor 1943-1946; towed Pearl Harbor to Charleston, SC by Mosopelea (ATF-158) 2-27 January 1946; reassigned to Naval Station Green Cove Springs, FL May 1946; Reserve Fleet 1948; arrived Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME for duty 12 December 1951; reclassified Yard Floating Dock YFD-82 April 1954; struck from the Naval Register 1 March 1969; declared excess and sold for $206,500 to Bromfield Corporation, United Shipbuilding Division, East Boston, MA, 24 June 1969; final disposition unknown. Specifications: 2,315 tons displacement; 393'6" oa; 60' beam; 5'1" draft; complement 37 (3 officers, 34 enlisted) as built, 107 in 1944; armament .50 cal MG (May 1942), 2x40mm + 2x20mm AA (Nov-Dec 1943); awards ADSM (Fleet clasp), American Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal; call sign NEKG. NavSource notes no DANFS history exists for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1933-1969
- Limitations
- NavSource is a secondary archive transcribing official data, not a primary source - milestone dates unverified against original documents; the 1944 complement of 107 is uncorroborated; no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information on the page - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-1-ard1-01
-
[3]Bureau of Yards and Docks, 'Building the Navy's Bases in World War II' (Washington: GPO, 1947), Chapter IX 'Floating Drydocks' - official agency history (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Chapter IX, pp. 209-210 - ARD-1 design and Pearl Harbor paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official Bureau of Yards and Docks wartime history records that in 1933 funds were obtained for one 2,200-ton dock and 'the Bureau designed and built the ARD-1' - a one-piece, ship-shaped dock, U-shaped in plan and cross-section, with a molded closed bow and a bottom-hinged stern flap gate operated by hydraulic rams; equipped with its own diesel-electric power plant, pumping plant, repair shops, and crew accommodations; 'the first drydock in any navy which was sufficiently self-sustaining to accompany a fleet into remote waters.' It records: 'The ARD-1 was towed to Pearl Harbor, where it was used successfully throughout the war. Thirty docks of this type, somewhat larger and incorporating many improvements adopted as a result of operational experience with this experimental dock, were constructed and deployed throughout the world during the war.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1933-1945
- Limitations
- Official agency history naming the hull; documents design intent, self-sustaining outfit, and Pearl Harbor war service. Contains no asbestos or materials statement - supports no asbestos claim. '2,200-ton dock' refers to the appropriated lift-capacity class, not measured displacement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-1-ard1-02
-
[4]Smith, William H. (Rear Admiral, USN Ret., design-officer participant), 'ARD-1, The Pioneer,' U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Vol. 93/7/773 (July 1967) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Article body; design, commissioning, and postwar paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings history of the dock records: the well was 361 ft x 40 ft with max 20 ft over the stern sill; overall 393.5 ft, 60 ft breadth, displacing about 3,600 tons; a $337,000 contract was awarded to the Dravo Contracting Company of Wilmington, Delaware for hull and machinery with only rudimentary crew quarters; a CNO letter of 7 December 1934 conferred ship status, assigned custody to Commander Base Force, and directed a crew of three officers and 34 men; the new crew reported just prior to commissioning day, 22 January 1935, and six days later made the first docking, taking destroyer Sicard (DD-346) on the blocks; the dock repaired Wasmuth (DD-338) at San Diego in June 1935 and went to Mare Island Navy Yard for her first real overhaul that winter; she lost commissioned status in May 1946, was towed from Pearl Harbor to Charleston, S.C. in late 1945, reassigned to Naval Station Green Cove Springs in May 1946, assigned to the Reserve Fleet 1948 (mothballing delayed to 1951 by funding), requested by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in 1951 and stationed there since (as of 1967), fixed to a pier; reclassified a district craft, YFD-82, April 1954.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1933-1967
- Limitations
- Professional-journal narrative drawing on official records and the author's design-office participation. Full text fetch-blocked (HTTP 403) on 2026-09-26; content verified via two independent search-index verbatim excerpts - internal consistency high but not a complete-text pull. Contract figure $337,000 conflicts with NavSource's $369,892.45 (award vs. final cost, unresolved). No asbestos or materials content - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-1-ard1-03
-
[5]U.S. Navy, 'Ships of the United States Navy' / repair-ships pictorial section (wartime publication, HyperWar 'US Navy Repair Ships, 1940-1945' transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ARD - Floating Dry Docks pictorial caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A wartime U.S. Navy publication describes the type spread: 'Since 1942, numerous Floating Dry Docks have joined the pioneer 2,482-ton ARD-1 of 1934. Able to lift DDs and smaller vessels, the ARD-1 is 393'6" overall. Similar concrete ARDCs and dozens of newer ARDs are in service.' - wartime official confirmation of the dock in service and her role as prototype.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1945 publication era
- Limitations
- Wartime publicity-format publication naming the hull with 2,482-ton figure (third displacement variant - see gaps). Confirms wartime service generally but gives no station, dates, or materials information - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-1-ard1-04
-
[6]Cross-check of NavSource 09/67/67101 and BuDocks 'Building the Navy's Bases' ch. IX against Wikipedia 'USS ARD-1'/'Auxiliary repair dock' secondary text; Kerama Retto dock identity per DANFS 'Arapaho II (AT-68)' entry (NHHC) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS Arapaho entry (ARD-26/ARD-21 Kerama Retto towing, July-September 1945); NavSource timeline; BuDocks ch. IX
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Secondary-source discrepancies resolved against authoritative records: (a) Builder - Wikipedia and derivative pages credit the Pacific Bridge Company, Alameda, CA; USNI 1967 and NavSource both record Dravo (fabricated Pittsburgh, PA; assembled/launched Wilmington, DE, YN 1151). Pacific Bridge Company built later wartime ARDs - the attribution to this hull is a misattribution. (b) Kerama Retto deployment - Wikipedia's ARD article asserts ARD-1 'was taken to a forward Naval base at Kerama Retto, Okinawa' to repair kamikaze-damaged ships; the official BuDocks history states ARD-1 was at Pearl Harbor 'throughout the war,' NavSource's timeline shows Pearl Harbor 1943-1946 with no forward deployment, and DANFS (Arapaho AT-68) documents ARD-26 and ARD-21 - not ARD-1 - as the docks at Kerama Retto in mid-1945. (c) Commissioning - Wikipedia gives 19 December 1935 at Alameda; USNI 1967, NavSource, and the batch tasking all give 22 January 1935 (crew reported days prior; first docking 28 January 1935). Adopted: Dravo-built; commissioned 22 January 1935; Pearl Harbor-only wartime station.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1934-1945
- Limitations
- Corrects identity-level errors circulating in secondary sources (builder, commissioning date/place, wartime forward deployment). The correction itself is established by primary/official sources; the existence of the wrong claims is noted for the audit trail. No asbestos content in any source - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-1-ard1-05
-
[7]Corn, J.K. & Starr, J., 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' Am. J. Ind. Med. 11(3):359-373 (1987), DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700110311; Fleischer, W.E., et al., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J. Ind. Hyg. Toxicol. 28:9-16 (1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Corn & Starr abstract/article; Fleischer 1946 abstract (USMC-sponsored Navy-yards pipe-covering survey)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference only. This craft (completed 1934) carried a diesel-electric power plant, pumping plant, repair shops, storerooms, and crew accommodations within the bow and wing walls (per BuDocks official history). Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding of the era and that the Navy required asbestos-containing shipboard materials (Corn & Starr 1987); the USMC-commissioned 1944-45 industrial-hygiene survey found amosite 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels' (Fleischer et al. 1946). Typical applications for a craft of this type and era: machinery and exhaust lagging, pipe and valve insulation in service systems, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, and interior board/deck materials in berthing and shop spaces; the dock's wartime work - drydocking and repairing ships whose own systems carried era-typical asbestos insulation - is an additional documented activity context.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1934-1946
- Population
- ARD-1 crew (37 as built; 107 listed 1944); ships' crews and yard workers using the dock (San Diego, Pearl Harbor)
- Limitations
- Era/design inference, not a hull record - neither source names this craft. ARD-1 was completed in 1934, pre-dating the WWII emergency program these sources document, and had no steam propulsion plant - the boiler/steam-line inference applicable to combatant hulls is weaker here; inference covers outfitting, machinery-space materials, and wartime modifications/repair activity. Does not establish presence, quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-1-ard1-06
-
[8]Kolonel LN, Yoshizawa CN, Hirohata T, Myers BC, 'Cancer occurrence in shipyard workers exposed to asbestos in Hawaii,' Cancer Research 45 (August 1985), PMID 4016758; EPA Superfund site records HI6170024339 (Pearl Harbor Naval Complex) and ME7170022019 (Portsmouth Naval Shipyard) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PMID 4016758 abstract (Hawaii shipyard-worker cohort); EPA Superfund Enterprise IDs
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Stationing-yard context: ARD-1 operated at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard December 1942-January 1946 performing drydock repair work, and served at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME 1951-1969 as YFD-82. Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard is a documented asbestos-hazard site: EPA Superfund listing HI6170024339, and a peer-reviewed cohort study of 7,971 male Hawaii shipyard workers found mesothelioma mortality rates 11.6 times the state general-population rate (Kolonel et al. 1985). Portsmouth Naval Shipyard carries EPA Superfund ID ME7170022019 (delisted) and yard-level asbestos product documentation (pipe covering, block insulation, Kaylo, gaskets, packing, asbestos cloth, friction materials) in the companion shipyard dataset.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1946 (Pearl Harbor); 1951-1969 (Portsmouth); study published 1985
- Population
- Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard workforce (context); dock crew and ship-repair workers (unmeasured)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation only - the study population is shipyard workers, not dock crews, and nothing in these sources names ARD-1/YFD-82 or places a worker aboard the craft. Stationing at a documented-hazard yard does not establish exposure aboard this hull; supports no asbestos claim about the craft itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-1-ard1-07
-
[9]Batch-2549 search ledger (this record): NHHC site search; NavSource 09/67/67101; BuDocks official history; USNI Proceedings 1967; MARAD ShipHistory (blocked); CourtListener API v4 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ard-1-ard1-01 through sl-uss-ard-1-ard1-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS ARD-1, ARD-1, or YFD-82 was found in the public sources searched. No DANFS entry exists for this hull (NavSource states none; NHHC site search returns only postal-cover catalog references). MARAD ShipHistory public search could not be completed (POST-only form); the craft was a Navy unit sold directly to a commercial buyer in 1969 with no NDRF/ Maritime custody indicated, so a MARAD record is unlikely but unverified (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 1934-built craft that spent 18 years (1951-69) in repair service at a documented asbestos-era yard is era-consistent with retained or encountered asbestos-containing materials. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-1-ard1-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 search endpoint, opinion index: queries '"ARD-1" asbestos' (count 0), '"YFD-82"' (count 0), '"ARD-1"' bare (43 hits, all name collisions - classified non-qualifying) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ard-1-ard1-05 through sl-uss-ard-1-ard1-09
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, fleet-paced): '"ARD-1" asbestos' opinion search returned count 0; '"YFD-82"' opinion search returned count 0; bare '"ARD-1"' opinion search returned 43 hits, all token-level name collisions ('Ard' surnames, OCR hyphenation artifacts, unrelated statute docket numbers) - none reference a floating drydock, naval craft, or this hull. No qualifying asbestos-litigation opinion naming the hull or its later designation located. A combined '"ARD-1" floating/drydock/dry dock' query and RECAP docket-type searches were attempted but blocked by the fleet-wide pacing limiter - residual surface logged as partially swept, not clean.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Three opinion-index queries completed (two zero-count, one all-collisions), but the sweep is incomplete: '"USS ARD-1"', combined phrase searches, and docket-type (RECAP) queries were blocked by fleet-wide pacing (shared ~114/hr budget) and not completed. Zero results on completed queries do not foreclose unindexed complaints, unreported dispositions, or cases naming the craft under other forms (e.g., 'auxiliary repair dock', 'floating drydock', 'YN 1151').
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-1-ard1-09
-
[11]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (deck logs), RG 38 (CNO war diaries), RG 71 (Bureau of Yards and Docks), RG 181 (shore establishments / navy yards) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA record-group guides (online); photo identifiers via NavSource captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel) deck logs for USS ARD-1, 1935-1946, and WWII war diaries (RG 38); RG 71 (Bureau of Yards and Docks) mobile-dock design studies 1920-1930 and the Dravo construction contract file (YN 1151, appropriation 'Public Works of the Navy') - the likeliest source for outfitting/materials specifications; RG 181 (Naval Districts and Shore Establishments) Portsmouth Naval Shipyard records for the YFD-82 period (1951-1969), including yard maintenance/material records and the 1969 excess-sale file; NHHC photo NH 57633 (Wasmuth in dock, 25 June 1935) and NARA photo 80-G-455970 (dock under tow, Colon Harbor, 28 October 1934) already located as image references.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1933-1969 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-ard-1-ard1-10