Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet ba-packet.md (5 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (identity
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-ard-9-ard9-pkt-ba-packet-md
-
[2]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 1945), Floating Dry Dock characteristics table, per-hull row for ARD-9 (shipscribe.com scan of the official BuShips publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 'Floating Dry Dock Characteristics' table, printed p. 606 (ARD-9 row, between ARD-8 and ARD-10)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 3 carries a per-hull row for ARD-9 in the floating-drydock characteristics table: designation ARD-9; nominal lifted capacity 3,500 tons; type consistent with the ARD-2 design (diesel-electric 'DD' plant, steel ship-form hull); length overall 485'8"; usable length about 413'6"; beam 71'0"; clear width about 49'; depth over blocks about 21'9"; construction dates 1943/1943. Values cross-verified against the Bureau of Yards and Docks official history's ARD-class description.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Authoritative wartime BuShips publication naming this hull - confirms identity, class dimensions, capacity, and construction year. The scanned table OCR is columnar and partially garbled; individual cell values were cross-checked against the BuDocks official history and NavSource spec block rather than read in isolation. Contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-9-ard9-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USS ARD-9, file 09/67/6709 (timeline + scanned primary artifacts: commissioning invitation and ceremony photographs; crew-contributed wartime photographs credited to Dale J. Flaherty EM3/c, USS ARD-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 6709.htm - timeline block, specifications block, awards table, photo captions (commissioning invitation, Tiburon/Milne Bay/Hollandia/New Guinea dockings, Keelung-era Wo Fu photos)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline and artifact record for this hull: laid down and launched dates unknown; commissioned USS ARD-9, 23 September 1943, at Pacific Bridge Co., Alameda, CA, LCDR Rommie Lee West USNR in command (commissioning invitation and ceremony photo scans carried on the page); towed to Milne Bay, New Guinea by the merchant tug Metamora, departing San Francisco 12 December 1943 and arriving 6 February 1944; wartime photographs show the dock moored at Hollandia, New Guinea in 1944 and docking U.S. Army coastal freighters F-117, F-122, and FS-156 in New Guinea waters 26-28 April 1944; transferred under the Security Assistance Program to the Republic of China October 1967 as Wo Fu (ARDS-5); struck from the Naval Register 15 April 1976; sold to the ROC in 1977. Spec block: 4,200 t light; 482'7" x 71'0" x 5'0"; complement 6 officers + 125 enlisted; armament 2 single 20mm mounts; awards American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal. NavSource explicitly records that no DANFS history exists for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1977
- Population
- ARD-9 crew (6 officers, 125 enlisted wartime complement)
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation hosting primary artifacts - detailed and internally consistent, non-official; commissioning date independently corroborated by NARA deck-log coverage (9/23/1943 start). The Milne Bay tow narrative is corroborated at higher resolution by a crewmember-derived account (56-day transit, convoy composition, equator crossing near 151 deg 50 min) reproduced from this archive - details carried in prose but not separately asserted here. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-9-ard9-02
-
[4]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List #44 (List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units), ship-number index - ARD-9 entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List #44, 'Ship Numbers' section, ARD-9 row (9/23/1943 - 12/31/1945)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's official deck-log inventory carries ARD-9 with log coverage 9/23/1943 - 12/31/1945 - independent official corroboration that the dock was placed in commission on 23 September 1943 and that a continuous wartime deck-log record exists for this hull through the end of 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Limitations
- The list confirms the logs' existence and date span, not their contents; the logbooks themselves are not digitized and were not reviewed. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-9-ard9-03
-
[5]Naval Vessel Register, inactive-hull quickfind list ('N' page, 'NO NAME' hulls), ARD 9 disposal entry (2016 Wayback capture of nvr.navy.mil) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wayback capture 20160927035925 of NVR SHIPSDETAIL_INACTIVE_N, ARD 9 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Naval Vessel Register's inactive-hull list records ARD 9 (NO NAME) with disposal date 01/01/1977 and disposition text 'Disposed of through the Security Assistance Program (SAP), transferred, cash sale, ex-US fleet hull foreign military sale case number assigned' - official confirmation of the sale mechanism and effective date following the 15 April 1976 striking.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1976-1977
- Limitations
- Official disposal record confirming the SAP cash-sale path and date; the live nvr.navy.mil SHIPSDETAIL page for this hull no longer exists (302 redirect/empty; hull disposed 1977, pre-dating current NVR online coverage), so the 2016 Wayback capture of the NVR page is cited. The strike date itself (15 Apr 1976) comes from NavSource; contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-9-ard9-04
-
[6]Library of Congress, Veterans History Project - Charles Phillip Riley, Jr. Collection (AFC/2001/001/91245) [other_primary]
- Locator
- LOC VHP item AFC/2001/001/91245 - service unit/ship, dates, and location-of-service fields
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LOC Veterans History Project catalog record documents a U.S. Navy veteran, Petty Officer Third Class Charles Phillip Riley Jr., whose service unit/ship is USS ARD-9 (Auxiliary Repair Dock), with dates of service 1945-1946 and service locations listed as Philippines and Pacific Theater (battles/campaigns field includes Bataan) - official personnel-level corroboration that this dock and its crew operated in the Philippines in the war's final year.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Population
- USS ARD-9 crew members 1945-46 (veteran-documented)
- Limitations
- A veteran's collection record documents the servicemember's posted unit and theater, not a unit movement order; it corroborates Philippine service for ARD-9's crew 1945-46 but does not establish the dock's precise station(s) or dates of relocation. 'Bataan' is the veteran's own campaign listing and is not independently verified as an ARD-9 station event. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-9-ard9-05
-
[7]United Daily News (Lianhe Bao), Keelung report by Mou Yupei, 'Displacement 8,615-ton No. 5 Dock spent 42 years at Keelung' / 'walking its last mile - 71-year-old dock broken up' (2014), quoting Republic of China Navy official data; text preserved in a PIXNET reprint [reputable_press]
- Locator
- PIXNET reprint of the UDN Keelung report (2 articles); corroborating photo-essay https://flyingname.pixnet.net/blog/posts/10237901666
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A United Daily News report citing official ROC Navy data documents the postwar chain: ARD-9 (the former U.S. dock repair ship, built 1943) was decommissioned by the USN in 1947 and mothballed in 1949; the ROC Navy arranged a free lease with the U.S. in 1967; the dock was towed from the United States by the Pacific Fleet tug USS Cocopa (rendered 'TF101'/'AT-101' in the report) departing May 1968 and reaching Keelung in July 1968; underwater un-mothballing was completed at the Taiwan Shipbuilding Keelung yard, she was towed to Zuoying in September 1968 and commissioned 7 October 1968 as the Navy's Fifth Floating Dock under Navy First Shipyard; after a 1969 refit she moved north to Keelung's Niuchou harbor under Navy Third Shipyard in May 1972 (a second source dates the reassignment June 1973); she was reassigned to the Navy Logistics Support Command July 1999; she served as repair dock for ROCN vessels under 3,500 tons; decommissioned 1 November 2013; sold for scrap to Jianzhong Co. for NT$24 million in March 2014 and towed about one kilometer to the CSBC Keelung yard for dismantling.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1947-2014
- Population
- ROCN dock crews (peak ~80+; ~20+ by 2013); CSBC Keelung breaking-yard workers (2014)
- Limitations
- Reputable Taiwan press quoting official ROC Navy figures, read in translation via a verbatim reprint - the single best public source for the 1946-1967 U.S. lay-up and the ROC service chain, but not a USN primary record. Two internal discrepancies logged in gaps: the article's builder attribution ('San Diego Pacific company') conflicts with U.S. records (Pacific Bridge Co., Alameda), and the quoted 8,615-ton displacement conflicts with the U.S. 4,200-ton light figure (different measurement basis, unresolved). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-9-ard9-06
-
[8]Bureau of Yards and Docks, 'Building the Navy's Bases in World War II' (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1947), Chapter IX 'Floating Drydocks' - ARD-class design and internal-fit description (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription of the official history) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Chapter IX 'Floating Drydocks', Auxiliary Repair Dock section (pp. ~209-216 of the printed work)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The official BuDocks history describes the ARD type's internal arrangement in detail: eight pontoon ballast tanks plus five per wing wall and two bow tanks feeding two pumping plants of two 15,000-gpm vertical-shaft pumps each; two machinery decks above the safety deck - C deck carrying pump and valve motors, small machines, welding equipment and storage, B deck carrying the main diesel generators and heavy equipment plus crew quarters and messing; a hull repair shop in the bow; four railway-type diesel engines direct-connected to generators; bottom-hinged stern gate; nominal 3,500-ton lift, 485'8" x 71' overall, 49'4" clear, 21' over blocks. This is the machinery-and-accommodation configuration in which WWII-era naval construction commonly used asbestos-containing insulation on engine exhaust and machinery runs, gaskets and packing throughout the pump/valve ballast system, and insulation and fireproofing in quarters and work spaces.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1945 era documented; history published 1947
- Population
- ARD-class construction trades; ARD crew and repair workforce (era context)
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the official history describes the ARD type and does not name ARD-9, and it contains no materials or asbestos statements; asbestos presence aboard this hull is era/design inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, location, condition, present-day presence, or any individual exposure. ARD-9 does not appear by name anywhere in the chapter.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-9-ard9-07
-
[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 a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and emergency construction program under which this ARD-2-class floating drydock was built at a Navy contract yard (Pacific Bridge Co., Alameda) - 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 remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-9-ard9-08
-
[10]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 program type (Navy contract yard, 1943).
- 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 Pacific Bridge Alameda was among the surveyed contract yards is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-9-ard9-09
-
[11]Batch-2576 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS (no entry exists); NavSource 6709; BuShips SDB 1945 v3 floating-drydock table p. 606; NARA Special List #44; NVR inactive list (Wayback); LOC Veterans History Project; UDN/ROC Navy data; CourtListener API v4 sweeps; VA BVA index; indexed-web litigation checks [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ard-9-ard9-01 through sl-uss-ard-9-ard9-12
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record or litigation located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS ARD-9 / ARD-9 / Wo Fu / ARDS-5 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No DANFS entry exists for this hull (NavSource states none; candidate NHHC URL 404). CourtListener authenticated API sweeps: exact-phrase 'USS ARD-9' opinion search returned count 0 (clean HTTP 200 - no opinion names the ship); 'ARD-9' opinion search returned 15 hits - all name collisions (Georgia bar-discipline opinions, Texas/Pennsylvania criminal appeals, an NLRB case, a 1938 interpleader; matched text is exhibit numbers, rule citations, and the surname 'Ard', with no maritime/asbestos content); 'ARD-9' docket search returned 133 hits dominated by the surname 'Ard' plus the token '9' - token collisions, none naming a Navy vessel. A law-firm marketing ship list (freeasbestostesting.com auxiliary-ships page) names ARD-9 without primary support - excluded source class. VA BVA index returned no decision naming the hull.
- 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 diesel-electric auxiliary repair dock is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and her 1949 mothballing, 1968-69 un-mothballing and refit, four decades of ROC repair-dock operation, and 2014 breaking are undocumented disturbance phases. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. The ROC-name 'Wo Fu'/'ARDS-5' CourtListener sweep was fleet-pace limited at research time (helper-enforced ~114/hr shared budget) and is logged as blocked, not negative; the completed 'USS ARD-9' (count 0) and 'ARD-9' sweeps cover the strings any U.S. case naming this hull would almost certainly contain.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ard-9-ard9-10
-
[12]NARA record-path mapping for this hull: Special List #44 confirms ARD-9 deck logs 9/23/1943-12/31/1945 (RG 24); WWII war diaries in the CNO/ONRL series (Fold3-digitized); RG 19 BuShips ARD-2-class design records; SAP/FMS transfer case file; ROCN/MND records for ARDS-5 [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/logbooks/sl-44-ship-number.pdf ; NARA RG 24 / RG 19 guides (archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records); catalog.archives.gov WWII War Diaries series
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for USS ARD-9 covering the full wartime commission 23 Sep 1943 - 31 Dec 1945 (RG 24, coverage confirmed by Special List #44); the unit's WWII war diary if filed (CNO Office of Naval Records & Library series, partially Fold3-digitized); BuShips RG 19 ARD-2-class design records and construction-contract file (Pacific Bridge Co. contract); the Security Assistance Program / foreign military sale case file covering the 1967 lease and 1977 cash sale to the Republic of China - the most promising transfer/disposal-era record; ROC Navy / Ministry of National Defense records for ARDS-5 Wo Fu, including the 1968-69 un-mothballing and refit at CSBC Keelung and the 2014 breaking documentation.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-2014 records
- Limitations
- Record-path 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-9-ard9-11