Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 1007-packet.md (5 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-asheville-pgm84-pkt-1007-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Asheville III (PGM-84)' - full construction, Vietnam, and disposition narrative (live page verified 2026-10-04) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 15 April 1964 at Tacoma, Wash., by the Tacoma Boatbuilding Co.; launched 1 May 1965; sponsored by Mrs. R. E. Harris; commissioned 6 August 1966, Lt. Henry Dale in command. Fitted out at Tacoma to 17 September 1966; home port San Diego; post-shakedown availability at Long Beach Naval Shipyard 18 January - 14 March 1967; redesignated PG-84 1 April 1967; arrived Cam Ranh Bay 7 May 1967. Eight-year WestPac deployment 'marred by chronic material casualties and frequent repair periods'; Coastal Surveillance Force (Operation Market Time) and gunfire support; repairs at Subic Bay, Guam, Cam Ranh Bay, Vung Tau; Guam overhaul/restricted availability late 1970; ~2 months Guam repairs from 18 May 1971; Vietnam service to late March 1972 and briefly late 1972; South Pacific cruise Nov-Dec 1973; departed Guam 21 June 1974; Great Lakes Naval Reserve training out of Chicago from 28 October 1974; out of commission 31 January 1977 and simultaneously stricken; transferred to Massachusetts Maritime Academy 11 April 1977; 14 battle stars for Vietnam service. Spec block: dp. 240; l. 164'6"; b. 24'; dr. 9'6"; s. 40 k.; cpl. 24; a. 1 3", 1 40mm., 4 .50-cal. mg.; cl. Asheville.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1964-1977
- Population
- Tacoma Boatbuilding trades (1964-66); crew (1966-77); yard personnel at LBNSY and Guam availabilities
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. The narrative ends at the 1977 MMA transfer - post-1977 fate is not covered. First-CO given as 'Lt. Henry Dale' vs NavSource 'LT Harry Dale' - unresolved variant in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-asheville-pgm84-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Motor Gunboat/Patrol Gunboat Photo Archive, 'Asheville (PG 84) ex-PGM-84' - designation timeline, specifications, CO roster, photo captions (live page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/11084.htm header block, specifications block, CO roster, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 15 April 1964 by Tacoma Boatbuilding Co., Tacoma WA; launched 1 May 1965; commissioned USS Asheville (PGM-84) 6 August 1966; reclassified Patrol Gunboat PG-84 1 April 1967; decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register 31 January 1977; transferred to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy 11 April 1977; 'Fate unknown.' Specifications: displacement 240 t. (lt) / 285 t. (fl); 164'6" x 24'; speed 40 kts; complement 37; armament 1x3"/50 DP, 1x40mm, 2 twin .50 cal MG; CODOG propulsion - two 725hp 12-cylinder Cummins diesels + one GE LM-1500 gas turbine, two controllable-pitch propellers, 13,300 shp. Commanding-officer roster lists 11 COs (LT Harry Dale first, LT William D. Busching last through 31 January 1977). Photo captions place the hull at Ships Repair Facility, Yokosuka, Japan, c. 1968 and moored with Marathon (PG-89) and Crockett (PG-88) at the Naval Armory, Chicago, c. 1974.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1964-1977
- Population
- Crew (1966-77); SRF Yokosuka personnel (c.1968 photo-documented presence)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates corroborate DANFS but complement (37) conflicts with DANFS (24) and navypedia (28); see gaps. 'Fate unknown' after the 1977 MMA transfer. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-asheville-pgm84-02
-
[4]NavalCoverMuseum, ASHEVILLE_PG_84 - ship name and designation history, postmark record (live page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavalCoverMuseum ASHEVILLE_PG_84 'Ship Name and Designation History' table; postmark gallery
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Designation sequence confirmed: keel laid 15 April 1964; commissioned USS Asheville (PGM-84) 6 August 1966; reclassified PG-84 1 April 1967; decommissioned 31 January 1977; struck from the Naval Register 31 January 1977; transferred to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy 11 April 1977; 'Fate unknown.' Physical postal-cover record: a USPS machine-cancel postmark dated 14 January 1976 from Illinois (corroborating the Chicago-area Naval Reserve training duty), and a 31 January 1977 decommissioning cover (Locy type 2(n+)(USS), cachet by Tazewell G. Nicholson).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1976-1977 (postmarks); 1964-1977 (designation table)
- Population
- Crew and Naval Reserve trainees, Chicago (1974-77)
- Limitations
- Postal-history record - corroborates dates and the Chicago Naval Reserve period but carries no material or asbestos content; 'fate unknown' post-1977 agrees with NavSource.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-asheville-pgm84-03
-
[5]Jacob v. Plastics Engineering Company (PLENCO) et al., No. 1:2019-cv-00108, U.S. District Court for the District of Guam (filed 2019-06-20; Nature of Suit: P.I.: Asbestos; 28 U.S.C. sec. 1332 diversity; jury demanded); complaint's ship list per Aguon, 'Former ship repair worker sues over asbestos exposure,' Guam Daily Post, June 2019 [court_record]
- Locator
- Justia docket report 1:2019cv00108 (complaint, answer, scheduling entries); Guam Daily Post article_b5a84700 (June 2019): complaint narrative and ship list
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- A docketed federal asbestos personal-injury case names this hull in its complaint ship list. Plaintiffs Eusebio V. and Marta A. Jacob sued Plastics Engineering Co. (PLENCO) and Rockwell Automation, Inc. (individually and as successor to Allen-Bradley Co. LLC and Rostone Corp.), alleging strict liability for asbestos-containing products (thermoset molding materials; controllers, circuit breakers, switches and other electrical equipment with asbestos parts). Per contemporaneous Guam Daily Post reporting of the complaint: Jacob was a journeyman electrician at the Navy Ship Repair Facility on Guam 1962-1985, diagnosed with mesothelioma August 2018, and alleges he 'was repeatedly exposed to great quantities of asbestos, asbestos dust and fibers when he installed asbestos gaskets in their respective equipment on the USS Asheville, USS Banner, USS Brister, USS Engage, USS Fortify, USS Grasp, USS Haverfield, USS Impervious, USS Inflict and USS Ponchatoula.' Within the 1962-85 window the only commissioned USS Asheville was PGM-84/PG-84 (PG-21 sunk 1942; PG-101/PF-1 stricken 1946; SSN-758 not laid down until 1987) - and this hull's DANFS-documented Guam base and frequent Guam repair periods (ev-01, ev-05) align with the alleged exposure setting. Docket confirms the case and its asbestos nature-of-suit code; the vessel list is a pleading-stage allegation, not an adjudicated finding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1962-1985 (alleged exposure window); 2018 (diagnosis); 2019 (filing)
- Population
- Guam Navy Ship Repair Facility journeyman electrician (1962-85); by extension, yard personnel working aboard ships under repair
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation only: the complaint's ship list alleges exposure locations; nothing was adjudicated and no exposure finding was made as to this or any hull. The complaint text and Exhibit A ship list were not directly examined - the list is reported by the Guam Daily Post (reputable press) and the docket itself names only parties. Hull identification as PG-84 (not another Asheville) is by era/geography elimination - airtight on dates but still inferential. Justia's retrieved docket ends 6 August 2019 (answer filed; scheduling conference set 24 Sept 2019); all later history - outcome, settlement, dismissal - is unretrieved (PACER). Does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor any crew member's exposure - the claimant was a yard worker working aboard during repairs.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-asheville-pgm84-04
-
[6]DANFS-documented repair availabilities for this hull: Long Beach Naval Shipyard post-shakedown availability (18 Jan - 14 Mar 1967); Guam overhaul + restricted availability (late 1970); Guam repairs ~2 months from 18 May 1971; repeated repair periods at Subic Bay, Guam, Cam Ranh Bay, Vung Tau (1967-72); NavSource photo placing her at Ships Repair Facility, Yokosuka, c. 1968 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative (LBNSY availability; Guam repairs 1970, 1971; repair-port list); NavSource 12/11084 photo caption (SRF Yokosuka c.1968)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- This hull repeatedly underwent repair availabilities at naval repair facilities: Long Beach Naval Shipyard Jan-Mar 1967 (post-shakedown); multiple Guam repair periods including a late-1970 overhaul/restricted availability and nearly two months from 18 May 1971; repair periods at Subic Bay, Cam Ranh Bay, and Vung Tau; and SRF Yokosuka c. 1968 (photo-documented). DANFS describes the WestPac tour as 'marred by chronic material casualties and frequent repair periods.' These availabilities place yard workers aboard the hull - the same exposure setting (ship-repair trades working on ship equipment) alleged in the Jacob complaint.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1967-1974
- Population
- Ship-repair trades at LBNSY (1967), Guam SRF (1967-74), SRF Yokosuka (c.1968), Subic Bay/Vung Tau/Cam Ranh Bay facilities
- Limitations
- Documents presence at repair facilities, not what work was performed or which materials were disturbed. A repair availability is not an asbestos record; it establishes the setting in which ship-repair exposure claims arise. Yokosuka presence is photo-captioned (NavSource), not an official availability record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-asheville-pgm84-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block and build dates (1964-66, Tacoma Boatbuilding); NavSource/navypedia CODOG machinery fit (2x Cummins 875V12 diesels + 1x GE LM-1500 gas turbine); class literature - first USN gas-turbine ships, aluminum hulls with fiberglass superstructures (Wikipedia class article, secondary); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource specifications; navypedia class technical data; Wikipedia Asheville-class gunboat (secondary)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A small combatant built 1964-66 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a combatant of this size and period were machinery and exhaust-system lagging - the LM-1500 gas turbine's hot section and exhaust trunking especially - gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and fire-resistant outfit/deck material in confined spaces. As a CODOG ship she carried no boilers or steam system - the boiler/steam lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply. The all-aluminum hull and fiberglass superstructure reduced but did not eliminate era asbestos use: the applications remaining were mechanical/electrical, not structural fireproofing.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1964-1985
- Population
- Tacoma Boatbuilding trades (1964-66); crew (1966-77); ship-repair trades at documented availabilities; MMA-era personnel (1977+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The aluminum-hull/fiberglass-superstructure description rests on secondary class literature, not a builder's spec sheet for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-asheville-pgm84-06
-
[8]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 that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire construction (1964-66) and service era (1966-77).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, standing defect) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-asheville-pgm84-07
-
[9]Felton JS, 'Radiographic search for asbestos-related disease in a naval shipyard,' Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (1979), PMID 294186 - the Long Beach Naval Shipyard chest x-ray cohort (PMID metadata verified via NCBI E-utilities; yard-level record per shipyard-exposure-map dataset) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS availability dates; shipyards.json 'long-beach-naval-shipyard' asbestos_products_documented + cohort row; PMID 294186 (Felton 1979)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- This hull underwent post-shakedown availability at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, 18 January - 14 March 1967 (DANFS). LBNSY has yard-level asbestos documentation: the shipyards dataset records asbestos insulation, asbestos-cement pipes, asbestos cloth, asbestos floor tiles, ceiling tiles, wall insulation, and sprayed-on fireproofing, and a 1979 chest x-ray survey of 6,640 yard employees (88.6% of workforce) found 1,061 (16.0%) with asbestos-related radiographic abnormalities, rising to 37% at 22-26 years of service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1967 (availability); 1979 (cohort survey)
- Population
- LBNSY trades during the hull's 1967 availability
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation for a facility where this hull spent one documented availability - not a hull record. Establishes asbestos conditions at the yard, not aboard the ship, and not which materials were disturbed during this hull's availability. PMID landing page reCAPTCHA-blocked this session; bibliographic metadata verified via NCBI E-utilities.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-asheville-pgm84-08
-
[10]National Archives, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' - Asheville (PG-84) entry, digitized years 1966-1970 (catalog collection 594258) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online - 'Asheville (PG-84)' collapsible entry, years 1966-1970, catalog collection 594258
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's digitized-deck-logs index lists Asheville (PG-84) deck logs for 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1970 - primary monthly operational records covering fitting-out, shakedown, the LBNSY availability, transit to Vietnam, and the first years of Market Time operations including documented repair periods. These are the ship's own contemporaneous records and may hold repair/work detail not in DANFS; they are cited here as an unexamined archival lead, not read content.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1966-1970
- Population
- Crew and any yard trades recorded in monthly logs (1966-70)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the index confirms digitization, not content - no log page was read this session, and deck logs rarely name materials. Coverage ends at 1970; 1971-77 logs for this hull are not in the digitized set (RG 24 paper/other holdings). Index page verified live; individual catalog links land on a JS-rendered catalog.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-asheville-pgm84-09
-
[11]Washington State Dept. of Ecology cleanup-site record 3672, 'Tacoma Boatbuilding Ace Tank' (1840 Marine View Drive, Tacoma) - builder-site environmental record [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ecology cleanup site 3672 - site description, contaminants, periodic-review narrative
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The builder's yard has a public environmental record: Tacoma Boatbuilding used the Marine View Drive site for steel and aluminum shipbuilding/repair 1970-1992; 1991-96 testing found sandblast-grit metal contamination (arsenic, copper, zinc) in upland soil and Hylebos Waterway sediment, plus petroleum hydrocarbons in groundwater; cleanup completed 1998-99 under EPA consent order with an environmental covenant; third periodic review finalized (site visit April 2021). The public record names metals and petroleum - no asbestos listing appears in this record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1983-2024 (record/cleanup window)
- Population
- Yard workforce at the Marine View Drive site (1970-92); remediation workers (1998-99)
- Limitations
- Builder-site record, not a hull record: documents the yard's later (1970-92) contamination window, post-dating this hull's 1964-66 construction; the absence of an asbestos listing in this environmental record does not address construction-era asbestos use at the yard. Tacoma Boatbuilding operated from 1926; whether the 1964-66 build occurred at this same site is unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-asheville-pgm84-10
-
[12]Designation cross-check: NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum/DANFS designation sequences (PGM-84 -> PG-84 this hull); uss-natchez-pf2 atlas record (Natchez = PG-102 -> PF-2, ex-HMS/HMCS Annan K-297, Canadian Vickers); NCpedia 'Asheville, USS' (UNC Press, Encyclopedia of North Carolina) enumerating all four Ashevilles; navypedia class ship table [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/11084 designation line; uss-natchez-pf2.atlas.json hull_number field; NCpedia USS Asheville article; navypedia us_pt_asheville ship table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: primary-registry data carrying 'Natchez PG-84' is a name/hull error. Hull number PG-84 (ex-PGM-84) was exclusively USS Asheville, the lead Asheville-class motor gunboat - confirmed by DANFS, NavSource, NavalCoverMuseum, and the navypedia class table. USS Natchez was a different vessel entirely: PG-102 reclassified PF-2, a WWII-era Canadian-built River-class frigate (ex-HMS/HMCS Annan, K-297) - confusingly, that WWII pair is also styled an 'Asheville class' (PG-101/PF-1 Asheville + PG-102/PF-2 Natchez). Two separate 'Asheville classes' exist (1917 PG-21/22; 1966-71 PGM-84 class) plus the WWII PF frigate pair and SSN-758 - four ships named Asheville total, all different hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1977 (designation windows)
- Limitations
- Corrects a name/hull-registry error, not a material claim. The sibling Natchez record (uss-natchez-pf2) documents that hull's PG-102/PF-2 designations from its own primary sources. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-asheville-pgm84-11
-
[13]Batch-8636 search ledger (this record): DANFS live; NavSource 12/11084; NavalCoverMuseum; NARA deck-log index; NVR probe; navypedia; WA Ecology 3672; Justia/PACER-mirror docket; Guam Daily Post; CourtListener base queries via authenticated helper (paced); secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-asheville-pgm84-01 through -17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Aside from the Jacob complaint (ev-04), no ship-specific asbestos documentation of any other kind was located: no asbestos survey, no abatement contract, no hazmat or disposal-prep disclosure, no merits-stage or affirmed finding naming this hull. CourtListener exact-name opinion search returned one hit - Merson v. United States, 185 Ct. Cl. 48 (1968) - classified name collision (the 'Asheville' there is the U.S. Naval Special Hospital at Asheville, N.C., not a ship). The marketing layer does enumerate 'USS Asheville (PG-84)' as asbestos-bearing (mesotheliomaveterans.org patrol-boat list; asbestos.com Navy ship list; lungcancergroup.com; shraderlaw.com destroyer list) - all excluded by source policy; none carries primary sourcing. Whether the post-1977 breakup involved ACM handling is unrecorded - disposition itself rests on secondary sourcing (Silverstone via Wikipedia: Brownsville, TX, 1985) against NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum 'fate unknown.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - an eight-year Vietnam gunboat with chronic repair availabilities inside the asbestos-use era is an era-consistent candidate, and the Jacob allegation is precisely the kind of record that surfaces piecemeal (deck logs 1966-70 are digitized but unexamined; Tacoma Boatbuilding and Guam SRF work packages are undigitized leads). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-asheville-pgm84-12