Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 1945), auxiliaries - transports (AP) section, per-hull rows for ARLINGTON AP-174 (shipscribe.com scan of the official BuShips publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 Auxiliaries - Transports (AP) tables pp. 200-202 (dimensions, personnel/limiting displacement, machinery, construction rows); vessel-name index entries 'Arlington (ex-Fred Morris) AP174' and 'Morris, Fred (now Arlington) AP174'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 3 carries a per-hull row for ARLINGTON AP-174 (ex-Fred Morris, ex-M.C. Hull 490): 417'9" overall / 395'0" waterline; extreme beam 60'0"; limiting draft 22'3"; trial speed 14.7 knots; 10,120 tons limiting displacement (12,930 trial); machinery 1 Westinghouse turbine, 4,000 shp, with 2 Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers at 450 psi / 750 deg F, single screw; authorized ship's company 26 officers + 323 enlisted; troop capacity 59 officers + 1,396 enlisted; largest boom capacity 30 tons; builder Consolidated Steel Corp., Wilmington, Calif.; acquired 17 Apr 1944; year built 1942; first commission 18 Apr 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Authoritative wartime BuShips publication naming this hull - confirms identity, machinery plant, manning, builder, and commissioning. OCR of the scanned table is columnar and partially garbled; values cross-verified against DANFS and shipscribe. Contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arlington-ap174-01
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[2]DANFS, 'Arlington I (AP-174)' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (Lou Ann Parsons and Robert J. Cressman, published 2016-07-01; live NHHC URL returns 404 - verbatim text retrieved via Internet Archive Wayback capture 20170619205754) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body text + spec block (Wayback capture 20170619205754 of https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/arlington-i.html)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC records: the steel-hulled C1B cargo ship Fred Morris was laid down 11 May 1942 at Wilmington, Calif., by Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp. under Maritime Commission contract (M.C. Hull 490); launched 10 Aug 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Clarence J. Coberly; delivered to Lykes Brothers Steamship Co. (DANFS reads '6 February 1943' - see gaps). Built for the South American cargo trade and named for a Lykes Brothers' employee; 'operated under civil auspices until taken in hand by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) for conversion to a Navy transport' (no takeover date given); renamed Arlington and classified AP-174 31 Jan 1944; 'Converted at the Todd Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Hoboken, N.J.'; acquired by Navy from WSA 17 Apr 1944; commissioned at the New York Navy Yard 18 Apr 1944, Cmdr. Louis G. McGlone in command. Shakedown Chesapeake Bay; departed Norfolk 22 May 1944 with USS Eversole (DE-404); Canal Zone 28-29 May; Pearl Harbor 13 Jun; casualties/troops to San Francisco, arrived 23 Jun; Seattle 3-6 Jul; flagship for Capt. Melville E. Eaton, Fleet Operational Training Command Pre-Commissioning Training Center - trained complements of 40 auxiliary ships to 18 Dec; Treasure Island Pre-Commissioning Center from 21 Dec through war's end - 53 further crews; ~25,000 men trained in all; last trainee crew off 15 Sep 1945. Magic Carpet: sailed 18 Sep for Okinawa, Tokyo, Yokosuka with 1,400 troops; Seattle 14 Nov; second Japan voyage via Adak and Attu, back Seattle 26 Dec 1945. To New York 13 Feb 1946 via San Diego and Panama Canal; decommissioned New York Naval Shipyard 20 Mar 1946, to WSA same day; stricken 28 Mar 1946. Renamed Fred Morris; under government ownership into the 1960s; laid up ~1950; scrapped Baltimore, Md., February 1965. Spec block: displacement 10,120; length 417'9"; beam 60'; draft 22'3"; 14.7 kt; complement 359; troop capacity 1,400; armament 1x5", 4x3", 4x40mm, 12x20mm; class Cape Johnson; type C1B.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1965
- Limitations
- Primary Navy historical entry - authoritative for service history, custody chain, and disposal. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page 404s (standing link rot, cf. BATCH-01); the Wayback capture is the verbatim NHHC text. DANFS's '6 February 1943' delivery date conflicts with the MARAD status card (2-26-43) and NavSource/shipscribe (26 Feb 1943) - discrepancy logged in gaps; DANFS complement/troop figures (359/1,400) differ from SDB (349/1,455) - also in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arlington-ap174-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USS Arlington (AP-174), file 09/22/22174 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 22174.htm - timeline entries, specifications block, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline corroborates DANFS and adds detail: callsign NDTH; Cape Johnson Class Transport; delivered to Lykes Brothers Steamship Co. 26 Feb 1943 at Los Angeles for transit to Hoboken, N.J.; converted for Naval service 13 Dec 1943; renamed Arlington and classified AP-174 31 Jan 1944; decommissioned 20 Mar 1946 New York Navy Yard; transferred to the Maritime Commission for lay-up NDRF James River Group, Lee Hall, VA (NavSource dates it 18 Aug 1946; the MARAD status card reads 8-19-46 12Mid. EDT); CO table - Cmdr. Louis G. McGlone 18 Apr 1944-17 Dec 1944, Cmdr. Patrick M. Rosseter 17 Dec 1944-20 Mar 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1965
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official; consistent with NHHC on milestones. Two data defects logged in gaps: (a) 'Launched, 10 April 1942' is impossible (predates the documented 11 May 1942 keel-laying) - a typo for 10 August 1942; (b) it lists transfer to Lykes Brothers on decommissioning where DANFS/MARAD card show WSA return with Lykes as general agent. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arlington-ap174-03
-
[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - ARLINGTON (AP-174), Ship History Detail 13017, and linked FRED MORRIS record Detail 1745 incl. scanned vessel status card (FRED MORRIS.pdf / status-card image) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 13017 registry block; Detail 1745 milestones table and Status Cards/Documents tab (FRED MORRIS.pdf; card image 5ddf025f-15f2-4995-8aba-fe6853918268.jpg)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory registry records for this hull (Official Number 242741): Year Built 1943; Shipyard 'Consolidated Steel Corporation'; MARAD Type C1-B; ARLINGTON record General Type Naval Auxiliary / Specific Type 'AP Transport'; length 417.75 ft; beam 60 ft; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; name history ARLINGTON (AP-174) and FRED MORRIS linked as the same hull. The scanned vessel status card records the custody chain: completed 2-26-43; basis to W.S.A. 2-26-43 1:50PM PWT at Los Angeles from Lykes Bros. SS Co.; basis change at Hoboken, N.J., Dec 1943 (card reads 12-23-43 basis / 12-13-43 delivery entry, conversion work); Navy Dept. takeover at Hoboken 4-17-44 9:30AM (annotated 'now Arlington AP-174'); redelivery to Lykes Bros. (WSA-330) under GAA at Brooklyn, N.Y., 3-20-46 4:00PM; to Reserve Fleet at Lee Hall, Va., 8-19-46 - card notes she was 'used in part payment for purchase of Cape Lilibeo'; sold to Boston Metals Co. (Scrap), purchased at James River 4-20-64 2:35PM EST. Milestone table adds NDRF entry 8/19/1946, a 1961 custody/NDRF administrative entry (8/9/1961), disposition/withdrawal 4/20/1964, and a 6/27/1978 administrative disposition/withdrawal pair postdating the breakup.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1965 (registry entries to 1978)
- Population
- NDRF James River caretakers (1946-1964); Boston Metals breaking-yard workers (1964-65)
- Limitations
- Authoritative MARAD registry plus a handwritten status-card scan read visually (mostly legible; '12-23-43' basis vs '12-13-43' delivery-row difference noted). Establishes custody chain, NDRF lay-up, and the 1964 scrap sale - a primary disposal record. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. The 1978 milestone pair postdates destruction and is an administrative record artifact, not a vessel event.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arlington-ap174-04
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[5]Shipscribe U.S. Navy auxiliary ships data sheets, 'USS Cape Johnson (AP-172) Class' page (Stephen S. Roberts compilation from Navy registers, Auxiliary Vessels Board records, BuShips/SCB design records, and MARAD files) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AP-172 class page: characteristics block, construction table, disposition table, class notes (AP-171-175 program origin; conversion capacity; boat/Welin fit), ship notes (AP-174 row)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-design compilation naming this hull in the class tables: ARLINGTON AP-174 - acquired 17 Apr 44; keel 11 May 42; launched 10 Aug 42; commissioned 18 Apr 44; decommissioned 20 Mar 46; struck 28 Mar 46; disposal 20 Mar 46 'RTO' (returned to owner); MA sale 1 Apr 64. Ship note: 'Ex merc. FRED MORRIS (completed 26 Feb 43). Converted for WSA by Todd SYs, Hoboken, N.J., 23 Dec 43-17 Apr 44. To NDRF 19 Aug 46 as FRED MORRIS (traded in by owner in part payment for another ship). To buyer 20 Apr 64, scrapped by 14 Apr 65.' Class notes: the AP-171-175 program arose from the 30 Oct-23 Nov 1943 Auxiliary Vessels Board action making five WSA C-type cargo vessels available for Navy-manned troop transport in lieu of Liberty-ship conversions; conversion plans for CAPE JOHNSON and FRED MORRIS provided 70 officers + 1,350 troops (vs. 75 + 1,500 in the C2s), deck/hatch stowage for 2 LCM(3) + 4 LCVP; AP-174 received two Welin davits, later carried 4 LCM(3) + 10 LCVP, and 'spent much of her career as a training ship for APA crews.' Class data: MC C1-B; 5,668 t light / 10,120 t limiting; complement 265 (1944); Westinghouse turbine, 1 screw, 4,000 hp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1965
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Wilmington construction workforce (1942-43); Todd Hoboken conversion workforce (Dec 1943-Apr 1944)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary transcription of official Navy register, design-board, and MARAD records, not the registers themselves; figures used where consistent with NHHC/SDB/MARAD card. Its class-level complement (265, 1944) conflicts with SDB's per-hull row (349) and DANFS (359) - discrepancy logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos information; the conversion/disposal notes document custody/work events, not materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arlington-ap174-05
-
[6]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 v3 machinery row for this hull + Cape Johnson class / C1-B type data (shipscribe AP-172 class page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 machinery table, AP section (ARLINGTON row); https://shipscribe.com/usnaux/AP/AP172.html class data
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull carried a single-screw steam-turbine plant (one Westinghouse turbine, 4,000 shp, two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers at 450 psi / 750 deg F) built at the peak of WWII asbestos usage at a Maritime Commission emergency yard - the machinery configuration for which boiler and fireroom insulation, main and auxiliary steam-line lagging, turbo-generator lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and accommodation joiner insulation of the period were commonly asbestos-containing. Troop-space outfitting (SDB wartime capacity 59 officers + 1,396 enlisted; conversion plan 70 + 1,350) added interior insulation scope. Post-Navy custody (James River NDRF lay-up 1946-1964) and Baltimore breaking 1964-65 are the disturbance-phase pathways for this hull; the Todd Hoboken conversion (Dec 1943-Apr 1944) is the build-phase disturbance event.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1965
- Population
- Construction trades at Consolidated Steel, Wilmington (1942-43); Todd Hoboken conversion workforce (1943-44); wartime crew and embarked troops/trainees (~25,000 cycled aboard, DANFS); NDRF lay-up and 1964-65 breaking-yard workers
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant and construction era - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming AP-174 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arlington-ap174-06
-
[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 era and emergency construction program under which this C1-B transport was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- 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-arlington-ap174-07
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[8]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 type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- 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 Consolidated Steel Wilmington or Todd Hoboken were among the surveyed contract yards is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized - see the 2026 critique at DOI 10.1177/10482911261446696.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arlington-ap174-08
-
[9]Batch-2101 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Wayback; NavSource 22174; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 13017 + Detail 1745 status-card scan; BuShips SDB 1945 v3; shipscribe AP-172 class page; CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches; VA BVA indexed decisions; indexed-web litigation checks [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-arlington-ap174-01 through sl-uss-arlington-ap174-11
- 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 Arlington / AP-174 / Fred Morris / MC hull 490 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener hits are name collisions - 'USS Arlington' opinions reference the unrelated USS Arlington (LPD-24): United States v. Smith (N-M Ct. Crim. App. 2021) and Rickert v. Rickert (Neb. App. 2019); 'AP-174' returns only reporter-citation noise (e.g., '51 Oh Ap 174') and unrelated docket/adversary numbers; 'Fred Morris' hits are person-name collisions. A contemporaneous Todd Shipyards workmen's-compensation appeal (De Graw v. Todd Shipyards Co., N.J. 1945-46) documents a pipefitter injured 20 Jan 1944 at the yard performing the Fred Morris-Arlington conversion; it contains no asbestos finding, and whether the opinion names the vessel is unresolved - the opinion text could not be fetched within the session's CL pacing budget (flagged in gaps). The VA BVA index's only Arlington-named decision (A23004288) concerns the second Arlington (AGMR-2, ex-Saipan CVL-48) - a different hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the ship's 1942-44 build/conversion era is squarely within documented naval asbestos use. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener opinion index covers published opinions only - unreported complaints, settled cases, and state trial dockets naming this hull could exist outside it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arlington-ap174-09
-
[10]National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) record groups - unfetched archival leads [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 24 (deck logs), RG 19 (BuShips), RG 178 (USMC); MARAD Office of Ship Operations historical files
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Unretrieved primary records likely to hold hull-level detail: NARA RG 24 deck logs for USS Arlington (1944-46); RG 19 BuShips C1-B design records and the vessel's Booklet of General Plans; RG 178 USMC construction-contract file for MC hull 490 (Consolidated Steel, Wilmington); Todd Shipyards Hoboken conversion work package (Dec 1943-Apr 1944); New York Navy Yard commissioning/decommissioning papers (Apr 1944, Mar 1946); MARAD/NDRF James River custody file and the Boston Metals Co. disposal file (disposal-era hazmat lead); reverse pages of the digitized MARAD status cards if held.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Leads only - no retrieval was performed and no claim in this record depends on these files. Whether any of them contains insulation/asbestos content is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arlington-ap174-10