Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
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[1]research packet iq-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-aroostook-cm3-pkt-iq-packet-md
-
[2]NHHC, DANFS, Aroostook II (Id. No. 1256), Vol. IA pp. 400-402 - canonical NHHC URL currently 404s; verified via Wayback capture 2025-12-09 and Haze Gray DANFS mirror [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Characteristics block and opening construction/acquisition paragraph; mirror https://losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/cm3.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Built as passenger steamship Bunker Hill by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia (Cramp hull 343); launched 26 March 1907, sponsored by Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald. Navy inspected 2 November 1917, acquired from Eastern Steamship Lines 12 November 1917, renamed Aroostook by General Order No. 343 (15 November 1917), assigned Id. No. 1256; commissioned at Boston Navy Yard 7 December 1917, Comdr. James H. Tomb. DANFS characteristics: 3,800 tons, 395 ft, 20 knots, complement 313.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1907-1917
- Limitations
- Historical narrative, not a materials survey; establishes identity and chronology only - no asbestos content. Live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-26; Wayback capture verified as containing the official text. Ships' Data 1919/1921 lists commissioning as 7 January 1918 (discrepancy unresolved).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aroostook-cm3-01
-
[3]NHHC, DANFS, Aroostook II (Id. No. 1256) - WWI conversion and North Sea Mine Barrage service [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Conversion paragraph through 'arrived at Hampton Roads two days after Christmas'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Converted to a 'mine planter' at Boston Navy Yard Dec 1917-Jun 1918 (wooden passenger superstructure removed; conversion through a severe winter). Sailed for Scotland 12 June 1918 with Shawmut, Saranac, and tender Black Hawk using then-novel underway refueling; arrived Cromarty Firth 28 June, joined Mine Squadron 1 on 16 July. By 30 September 1918 planted 2,510 mines over 4,066 miles of North Sea excursions. Returned Hampton Roads 27 December 1918.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1917-1918
- Population
- Conversion yard workers and crew (Boston Navy Yard, winter 1917-18); ~313 complement
- Limitations
- Documents the 1917-18 Boston Navy Yard conversion event (a period of heavy industrial work on this hull) but makes no materials or insulation statement; asbestos scope of the conversion is not established. Mine count and mileage are as reported by DANFS.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aroostook-cm3-02
-
[4]NHHC, DANFS, Aroostook II (Id. No. 1256) - 1919-1930 chronology [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- April 1919 alterations paragraph through 1930 fleet-operations paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- April 1919: Norfolk Navy Yard alterations fitted her as base ship for the NC flying boats (5,000-gal gasoline tanks, cradles for two Curtiss MF flying boats, berthing/messing modifications). Tended NC-1/NC-3/NC-4 at Trepassey Bay, Newfoundland; NC-4 departed 16 May, completed first transatlantic flight; Aroostook received the crew at Plymouth 31 May and carried the disassembled aircraft home. Transited Panama Canal August 1919, reached San Diego 1 September; served Pacific Fleet as aviation flagship/tender. Received designation CM-3 at start of a mid-1920 Mare Island availability when the Navy implemented its alphanumeric hull classification (17 July 1920). 1920s service under Capt. Henry C. Mustin: tended seaplanes along the West Coast, Panama, Mexico; plane-guard for the PN-9 Hawaii flight attempt (Aug-Sep 1925, search for Rodgers' downed PN-9 No. 1); Hawaii 1925 and 1928; plane-guard for Langley, Saratoga, Lexington.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1919-1930
- Population
- Crew and embarked aviation detachments (~313 complement era)
- Limitations
- Establishes yard alteration events (Norfolk 1919; Mare Island availabilities 1920, 1923, 1925, 1928) and tender duty; no materials content. Naval aviation support, not asbestos documentation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aroostook-cm3-03
-
[5]NHHC, DANFS, Aroostook II - disposition; plus Stephen S. Roberts, shipscribe 'Aroostook (CM-3) class' file (Navy-register-derived custody chain) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Final DANFS paragraphs; https://usnaux.shipscribe.com/CM/CM03.html class notes and ship notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Decommissioned at Puget Sound Navy Yard 10 March 1931 and inactive a decade. The Navy considered reactivation for cargo duty - reclassified AK-44 on 20 May 1941 - but found her unsuited; she never returned to commissioned service (photographed at PSNY 18 June 1941 during dismantling for the abortive effort). Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 5 February 1943; per shipscribe's record-derived account the hull was transferred to the Army through the War Shipping Administration 31 January 1943, passed to Metals Reserve Corp. for scrap sale, was acquired by Tony Cornero Stralla in 1946 and moored off Long Beach as the gambling ship Lux (registered name Bunker Hill), seized under court order January 1947, delivered by the Coast Guard to the Maritime Commission at Suisun Bay 24 July 1947, delivered to Basalt Rock Co. 17 October 1947, and scrapped by 15 December 1947.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1931-1947
- Population
- Puget Sound yard workers (1931 decommissioning, 1941 dismantling); 1947 demolition workforce (unidentified)
- Limitations
- DANFS says 'transferred to the War Shipping Administration'; shipscribe's record-derived chain adds the Army transfer (31 Jan 1943), Metals Reserve custody, the Lux episode, and final delivery dates - a curated secondary compilation, not the primary record. No asbestos content anywhere in the disposition history; the 1941 dismantling work is documented as an event but its materials scope is unknown. Casino-phase detail relies on 1947-era newspaper accounts cited by shipscribe.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aroostook-cm3-04
-
[6]NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, 'Aroostook (AK-44) ex-CM-3' (Wayback capture 2025-02-15; specifications block); shipscribe Aroostook class file (Stephen S. Roberts, 2002-2012, compiled from Navy registers and Ships' Data) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block ('Propulsion: Eight single ended cylinderical boilers, two 3,500ihp vertical triple-expansion steam engines, two shafts'); shipscribe class notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Machinery record: eight single-ended cylindrical boilers and two vertical triple-expansion steam engines of 3,500 ihp each, twin shafts, 20 knots. Ship was built coal-fired as a package freighter; Cramp's added passenger accommodations and converted Bunker Hill (and sister Massachusetts) to oil fuel in 1912; Old Colony remained coal-fired. Ships' Data-era complements: 313 (DANFS line), 346 (1921), 354 (1929).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1907-1931
- Limitations
- NavSource/shipscribe are secondary compilations drawing on Ships' Data, Navy registers, and Maritime Commission cards - not primary documents; machinery figures consistent across both and with sister Oglala's documented plant. Establishes steam-plant configuration (boilers, engines, fuel type) relevant to era insulation practice; contains no asbestos statement. Complement figures are reference entries, not muster counts.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aroostook-cm3-05
-
[7]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, 'USS Aroostook (ID # 1256, later CM-3 and AK-44)' narrative header (ibiblio HyperWar mirror) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Narrative paragraph 'receiving the designation CM-4 in mid-1920' vs DANFS 'the ship received the alphanumeric hull designation CM-3'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NHHC Online Library photo-caption narrative for this ship states she received 'the designation CM-4 in mid-1920' - a typographical error; DANFS, Ships' Data, shipscribe, and all Navy-register-derived sources give CM-3 (CM-4 belonged to sister Shawmut/Oglala). Flagged so downstream consumers do not propagate the caption error.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1920
- Limitations
- A caption-level defect in an official NHHC page; the correct designation CM-3 is supported by DANFS and register data. No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aroostook-cm3-06
-
[8]NHHC, DANFS, Aroostook III (AOG-14) acquisition paragraph; consolidated with batch-1957 record uss-aroostook-aog14.atlas.json [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- AOG-14 acquisition paragraph (batch-929 verified indexed text); batch-1957 record on origin/batch-1957/uss-aroostook-aog14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Aroostook III (AOG-14) is a different hull - ex-MV Esso Delivery No. 11 (Newport News, 1938), acquired 1 April 1943 and commissioned as a gasoline tanker. No AOG-14 evidence is transferred to this vessel; name-only matches require hull/chronology disambiguation. Also distinct: Aroostook I (Civil War gunboat) and civilian namesakes (Bangor & Aroostook Railroad, Aroostook County, Aroostook Band of Micmacs).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Disambiguation only; no asbestos finding for either hull. AOG-14's own record is maintained separately.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aroostook-cm3-07
-
[9]Franke, K. & Paustenbach, D., 'Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: A state of the science evaluation (1900 to 1970),' Inhalation Toxicology 23(S3):1-20 (2011), PMID 22200078 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Article abstract and 'The Navy and Asbestos Thermal Insulation' section; era text quoted from published review
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed state-of-the-science review documents that amosite and chrysotile asbestos were used extensively as insulating materials aboard U.S. naval ships 'beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into the 1950s' for incombustibility, low thermal conductivity, light weight, and strength; suppliers followed government specifications prescribing asbestos content in insulation, gaskets, packing and similar materials. This hull's entire commissioned life (1917-1931) falls inside the documented window; the 1917-18 Navy conversion and period yard work would have followed period Navy machinery specifications.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1900-1970 documented; hull commissioned 1917-1931
- Population
- US Navy ship crews and yard workers, 1880s-1950s (era context)
- Limitations
- Era/program-level scholarly documentation; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. Authors' expertise is in exposure assessment (defense-side expert context noted in legal commentary) - substantive era claim is corroborated by period Navy specifications.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aroostook-cm3-08
-
[10]Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran Exposure to Asbestos (Veterans Health Library) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 'Who's at risk?' section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- VA veterans-health guidance identifies service aboard older Navy ships and shipyard work as potential asbestos-exposure settings, including damaged pipe lagging - general-era background supporting Tier 2 classification only.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- Navy service era generally
- Population
- Navy veterans and shipyard workers (general)
- Limitations
- VA guidance does not name this vessel and establishes no installation, product, fiber type, condition, quantity, individual exposure, disease causation, or claim eligibility aboard this hull. Adopted from batch-929 upstream record (row ev-uss-aroostook-ak44-05), re-verified 2026-09-26.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aroostook-cm3-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 opinion search, queries '"Aroostook"' and '"USS Aroostook"'; supplemental hull-designation and docket queries logged in search_ledger [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion index, type=o; search_ledger sl-uss-aroostook-cm3-08/09/10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener API v4 opinion-index sweep (2026-09-26, authenticated, fleet-paced): 'Aroostook' exact-name returned 1,725 hits - all name collisions (Aroostook County, Aroostook Band of Micmacs, Bangor & Aroostook Railroad, Aroostook Medical Center); 'USS Aroostook' returned 0 hits; 'Aroostook' + asbestos/mesothelioma qualifier returned the same collision set. No opinion naming this vessel located. The vessel's only litigation-adjacent events are post-Navy-custody: Tony Cornero Stralla's 1946 gambling arrest and the January 1947 court order turning the hulk Lux (ex-Aroostook) over to the Coast Guard - non-asbestos matters documented in period press, not exposure findings.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26 sweep; coverage of underlying dockets uneven pre-1950
- Limitations
- Opinion-index coverage is not exhaustive: unreported trial-level filings, RECAP-only dockets, and pre-1950 district admiralty matters are thin in the index. Absence of an opinion is not absence of litigation; no zero-litigation conclusion is made. The Lux/Cornero actions are classified other-litigation context - the vessel was never the object of an exposure claim in the located record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aroostook-cm3-10
-
[12]Batch-3101 search ledger (this record) + inherited batch-929 ledger rows [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-aroostook-cm3-01 through sl-uss-aroostook-cm3-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, materials specification naming the hull, museum hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated exposure claim was found in the authoritative sources searched (NHHC/DANFS, NHHC photo catalog, Ships' Data editions via Google Books, NARA guides, MARAD/shipscribe disposition records - see search_ledger). Ship-specific asbestos documentation remains unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-21 / 2026-09-26 searches
- Limitations
- Bounded public-source negative finding, not proof of absence: a 1907 steam ship gutted and re-fitted for naval service in 1917-18 is era-consistent with asbestos insulation, but no hull-specific record was located. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aroostook-cm3-11
-
[13]NARA, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' guided topic; NARA Guide to Federal Records, RG 19 sections 19.3.x/19.4.x [other_primary]
- Locator
- Cartographic Branch (S39/S48), Bureau of Ships correspondence series, RG 24 deck-log guidance; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA research routes for hull-level asbestos evidence: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) ship engineering drawings 1874-1976 include S39 'Insulation and Lagging' and S48 'Piping' drawing sets filed by hull designation; RG 19 general correspondence (pre-1940 Construction and Repair and Engineering files; 1940-1945 general correspondence by Navy Filing Manual code) covers this hull's 1917-18 conversion, 1919/1920s alterations, and the abandoned 1941 AK-44 conversion study. RG 24 deck logs (1917-1931) can date significant work periods. None retrieved or digitized.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Series-level leads only; no vessel file, box, drawing, or correspondence item was retrieved. The guide's emphasis is 1941-1961; S39 drawing series covers 1874-1976 and is the best lead for the commissioned era. Existence of responsive hull-specific material is unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aroostook-cm3-12
-
[14]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images / photography catalog (ibiblio HyperWar mirror pages); NavSource photo captions for 19-N and NH series [museum_official]
- Locator
- Photo catalog narrative + captions NH 82902/NH 82911 (dry dock, Mare Island, 15 Nov 1923); 19-N-242xx June 1941 series per NHHC catalog index
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC photography catalog holds views of this ship as AK-44/ex-CM-3 at Puget Sound Navy Yard, June 1941, during dismantling for the abortive reactivation (19-N-24267 through 19-N-24272 lead per batch-929); NHHC Online Library pages document her 1917-19 conversion-era views (NH 57692, 57693, 57696, 57697, 95777) and 1920-40 tender-era views (NH 82902, 82911 dry-dock Mare Island 1923). Catalog entries are locator aids; the photographs were not examined and no material identification was attempted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1917-1943 imagery
- Limitations
- Photographs document repair/dismantling events and topside configuration only; no asbestos or insulation content is identifiable from catalog descriptions, and images were not inspected. Archival lead for visual documentation of 1941 dismantling scope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aroostook-cm3-13