USS Asterion (AK-63)

Evidence

8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).

1. [1]DANFS, 'USS Asterion (AK-63)' - verbatim HyperWar transcription (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Naval History Division); live NHHC URL returned 404 on 2026-09-21 at all candidate slugs and the Wayback CDX service was offline at query time [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS Asterion (AK-63) entry, full text including AK-100 spec block (dp. 6,610; l. 382'3"; b. 46'1"; dr. 21'6"; s. 10 k.; cpl. 141; a. 4 4", 4 .50-cal. mg., 4 .30-cal Lewis mg., 6 dcp.)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry for USS Asterion (AK-63): built as Evelyn, 'a steel-hulled, single-screw steamer,' laid down 1912-01-17 by Newport News (Va.) Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. for the A.H. Bull Steamship Line; launched 1912-05-09; delivered 1912-06-11; 30 years carrying passengers and freight between the U.S. eastern seaboard and the West Indies. WWI: inspected by the 3d Naval District 1918-01-09 and assigned Id. No. 2228 but not taken over; carried a Navy armed guard detachment 1918-01-31 to 1918-11-11. Acquired by the Navy from the Bull Line early 1942, renamed Asterion and classified AK-100 'strictly a cover' for Q-ship duty, like sister Atik (AK-101, ex-Carolyn); given concealed main battery, machine guns and depth-charge gear; placed in commission at the Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard early March 1942, Lt. Comdr. Glen W. Legwen Jr. in command. Sailed 1942-03-23 with Atik; Atik was torpedoed and sunk by U-123 on 1942-03-27 with all hands; Asterion went to her aid and found only wreckage. Second cruise from 1942-04-04: witnessed the torpedoing of tanker SS Comol Rio by U-154; ~10 days later rescued the 55-man crew of a torpedoed British merchantman off Cape Hatteras, landing them at New York 1942-04-18 under secrecy cautions. Cruises three through six ranged Key West, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas and the Windward Passage; redesignated AK-63 1942-09-25; seventh cruise to Trinidad (departing 1942-12-26, returned New York 1943-01-10). Over ensuing months underwent 'an extensive overhaul, involving the strengthening of her whole structure and modification of her armament'; from 1943-09-04 operated with American submarines in training at New London. On 1943-10-14 Admiral King decided the Q-ship effort 'had achieved nothing'; 1943-12-16 ordered to Boston for transfer to the Coast Guard. Turned over to and commissioned by the USCG at Boston 1944-01-12 as WAK-123, converted to a weather ship; struck from the Naval Vessel Register 1944-01-22; weather patrol on Atlantic stations 3 and 4 until decommissioned 1944-07-20; turned over to WSA for disposal April 1946; 'sold to the Boston Metals Co. on 10 September 1946 and was subsequently scrapped'; one battle star for WWII service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1912-1946

   Population

   Ship's company (complement 141 per spec block); Portsmouth Navy Yard conversion workforce (1942); overhaul workforce (1943); USCG crew (1944)

   Limitations

   Authoritative for identity, milestones, Q-ship service chronology, redesignation, CG transfer, and disposal outline; contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information whatsoever. States acquisition 'from the Bull Line' - the MARAD status card (ev-02) documents the fuller chain (Bull -> WSA bareboat -> Navy sub-bareboat -> requisition purchase). Disposal date (1946-09-10 'sold') conflicts with the MARAD card's 1946-03-01 sale - carried in gaps. Spec-block length 382'3" conflicts with the 328-ft figures on the MARAD card, shipscribe, and NavSource - carried in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-asterion-ak63-01

2. [2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - ASTERION Detail 5680 (status card 5680_AF.jpg) and EVELYN Detail 7904 (status card 26D_01.png; six USCG photos; register microfilm Evelyn_7904_001.pdf) [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   ShipHistory Detail 5680 + Detail 7904 milestone tables; status-card scans cards/5680_AF.jpg and cards/26D_01.png; document Evelyn_7904_001.pdf

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD ShipHistory records for ASTERION (Detail 5680) and EVELYN (Detail 7904), U.S. Official No. 210004, with two digitized vessel status cards read ship-specifically: (a) EVELYN card - built by Newport News S.B. & D.D. Co., Newport News, VA, completed 6-1912; DWT 5,031; gross 3,140; net 2,443; 'Basis to W.S.A. 2-8-42 7:00PM EST @ Portsmouth, N.H. from A. H. Bull & Co. BB' (bareboat); allocated 'Navy Dept.' on 'Sub BB' at Portsmouth, N.H., 2-8-42 7:00PM; second allocation line 'Navy Dept. (Name of vessel was not changed by the Navy)' on 'Purch.' agreement, delivered 9-27-43 Noon - '9-27-43 Noon EWT ... FROM A. H. Bull & Co. R. Purch.' (requisition purchase); 'Returned to USMC from Navy' 3-1-46; 'Sold to Boston Metals Co PDX-113 ... Scrap' 3-14-46. (b) ASTERION card (annotated 'Ex-Evelyn') - 'Sold for non-operation purposes to Boston Metal Co. Mar. 1, 1946 under PDX-113 for $13,770'; built 6-1912; dimensions 328' x 46' x 25'6"; gross 3,140, DWT 5,031, displ. 6,610, LWT 1,579; acquisition 'Requisition Title - $247,587.00'; owner line 'Coast Guard - Dec'l NMRDAL #620 dated 10/31/44'; location 'Coast Guard Curtis Bay Yard.' MARAD web milestones: Disposition 3/1/1946; Withdrawal 3/1/1946; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; WWII mission flag. Evelyn record carries six digitized USCG surveillance photographs dated 1941-09-13, 1942-05-04, 1942-05-25, 1942-07-06, 1942-08-18, and WWII-undated - the Q-ship's masquerade imagery - plus a low-legibility merchant-register microfilm scan (Evelyn_7904_001.pdf).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1912-1946

   Limitations

   Authoritative for government custody milestones, hull identity (ON 210004 links the Evelyn and Asterion records), tonnage/dimension figures, the 1942 WSA->Navy sub-bareboat chain, the 1943-09-27 requisition purchase price ($247,587), Coast Guard custody at Curtis Bay Yard (Oct 1944), and the PDX-113 scrap sale ($13,770). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information and supports no asbestos claim. Internal inconsistency: Asterion card and milestones date the sale 1946-03-01 while the Evelyn card's sale entry reads 3-14-46 (return-to-USMC 3-1-46); DANFS says 1946-09-10. Buyer spelled 'Boston Metal Co.' on the Asterion card vs 'Boston Metals Co' on the Evelyn card - noted, not reconciled.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-asterion-ak63-02

3. [3]NavSource Online, Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Asterion (AK-63)/USCGC Asterion (WAK-123) index page (volunteer-compiled); 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' WAK-123 spec block (HyperWar transcription of the official compilation); U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office photo page VIRIN 200422-G-G0000-0004; NHHC Online Library caption NH 102439 (via HyperWar mirror) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource AK-63/WAK-123 page, specs + awards/campaign tables + photo captions (read via Wayback capture 2025-01-21; live fetch failed); https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/WAK/WAK-123_Asterion.html; https://www.history.uscg.mil/US-Coast-Guard-Photo-Gallery/igphoto/2002285997/; https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/sh-civil/civsh-e/evelyn.htm

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource service-ship archive page for USCGC Asterion (WAK-123) / USS Asterion (AK-63/AK-100) / SS Evelyn (ID-2228): call sign NRMX; masquerade call sign WKCE used while posing as 'SS Evelyn'; Asterion-class cargo ship; commissioned March 1942 at Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H., LCDR Glen Walker Legwen Jr. in command; redesignated AK-63 1942-09-25; decommissioned 1944-01-12 at Boston Navy Yard; struck 1944-01-22; commissioned USCGC Asterion (WAK-123) 1944-01-12; assigned to CINCLANT January-July 1944, homeported Boston, weather patrol; USCG-decommissioned 1944-07-20 and turned over to the Maritime Commission; 'sold for scrapping, 1 March 1946, to the Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, MD., removed 10 September 1946'; one battle star; awards American Campaign Medal + WWII Victory Medal; campaign 'USS Asterion (SS Evelyn) A/S operation, 22 March 1942 to 31 January 1943.' Spec block: 6,610 t.; 328'2"; 46'1"; 21'6"; 10 kts.; cpl. 141; armament four single 4"/50 (2 concealed), two single 40mm AA (concealed), two single 20mm, one hedgehog (concealed), 24 Y-guns, 4 K-guns; propulsion one triple-expansion vertical steam engine, single propeller, 1,200 shp. 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-45' WAK-123 spec block (HyperWar) gives CG-era figures: 11 kts.; draft 20'; armament 3 4"/50 (2 concealed), 2 40mm (concealed), 2 20mm, 1 hedgehog (concealed), 24 Y-guns, 4 K-guns. USCG Historian's Office photo record VIRIN 200422-G-G0000-0004 captions her 'Asterion as the Q-Ship Evelyn, 10 May 1942' - photographed by a Coast Guard aircraft 16 miles east of West Palm Beach, FL (26-48N, 79-45W) on anti-submarine decoy duty, masquerading under her former identity. NHHC Online Library photo caption for NH 102439 confirms the 1918 inspection and registry ID 2228.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1912-1946

   Population

   Ship's company (~141 per spec blocks); USCG crew (~CINCLANT assignment Jan-Jul 1944)

   Limitations

   NavSource and the HyperWar compilations are secondary sources - consistent with DANFS and the MARAD cards where they overlap (identity chain, dates, 6,610 t, 46' beam, complement 141). Conflicts logged in gaps: length 328'2" vs DANFS 382'3"; 4 vs 3 4"/50 guns across the two spec blocks; sale '1 March 1946 ... removed 10 September 1946' reconciles the DANFS-vs-MARAD date split but that reconciliation is NavSource's, not confirmed by a primary source. The USCG Historian photo page and NHHC caption are official records confirming the Q-ship masquerade and WWI inspection. No asbestos or materials information in any of these sources.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-asterion-ak63-03

4. [4]Fleischer, Walter E.; Viles, Frederick J. Jr.; Gade, Robert L.; Drinker, Philip, 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology 28:9-16 (January 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]

   Locator

   J Ind Hyg Toxicol 1946 Jan;28:9-16 (PubMed index record; text via reprint PDF)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Peer-reviewed industrial-hygiene study documents that amosite asbestos was 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels' during WWII - the era and program under which this hull received her documented Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard conversion (February-March 1942, concealed armament installation) and her documented extensive 1943 overhaul (structural strengthening and armament modification). The survey examined pipe-covering operations at two Government navy yards and two Navy contract yards and found asbestosis cases among career pipe coverers.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1946 (survey/publication); WWII-era exposure window matching this hull's 1942-44 yard periods

   Population

   Navy yard and contract-yard pipe coverers and insulation workers (WWII era)

   Limitations

   Era/program documentation, not a hull record - the surveyed yards are anonymized (Yards A-D) and Portsmouth is not identified; the article does not name this vessel. Documents that asbestos-containing pipe covering was standard Navy-vessel material in the period of this hull's conversion and overhaul; does not establish that asbestos was installed or disturbed aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, exposure, or causation. The paper's 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion is discredited (critiqued in Am J Ind Med 2026, doi:10.1177/10482911261446696); its materials identification (amosite in Navy pipe covering) is the uncontested portion relied on here.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-asterion-ak63-04

5. [5]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 program window covering this hull's 1942 Navy Yard conversion, her 1943 overhaul, and her January 1944 Coast Guard weather-ship conversion - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard vessels.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1940s era documented; article 1987

   Population

   WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarship; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. The hull's original 1912 construction predates the documented program window - asbestos content of her original merchant plant is a separate, older era inference not covered by this source.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-asterion-ak63-05

6. [6]Batch-941 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS via HyperWar; MARAD ShipHistory Details 5680/7904 + two status cards; NavSource + 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-45' WAK-123 spec block + USCG Historian photo VIRIN 200422-G-G0000-0004; shipscribe AK-63 class notes; CourtListener API v4 (blocked) + Google site:courtlistener.com check; general web litigation/asbestos search [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-asterion-ak63-01 through sl-uss-asterion-ak63-11

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming Asterion, AK-63, AK-100 (this hull), WAK-123, or Evelyn ON 210004 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The authenticated CourtListener API v4 was rate-limited on 2026-09-21 (HTTP 429, shared 2,800/day machine quota already exhausted by other batch work; backed off per discipline rather than retrying). A Google site:courtlistener.com check (partial coverage) returned only name collisions - Asterion Consulting expert-witness filings, Thomas v. Asterion, Inc. (N.D. Cal. 2010), and Novitex/Asterion acquisition litigation - no vessel or asbestos match. General web search surfaced only official/secondary history sources; no law-firm SEO ship-list presence for this hull was located. The hull was scrapped in 1946, predating federal asbestos NESHAP demolition rules.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   2026-09-21

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1912 steam hull converted and overhauled in 1942-44 and scrapped in 1946 is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials and with undocumented handling. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Litigation coverage is partial: the opinion and RECAP sweeps were not run to completion due to the shared-quota 429; the site: check is not a substitute.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-asterion-ak63-06

7. [7]DANFS Asterion (AK-63) and Lynx III (AK-100) entries; MARAD ShipHistory Details 5680/7904/12309 + Evelyn status card annotation; NavSource redesignation date; batch-788 uss-lynx-ak100 and batch-557 uss-asterion-af63 records (sibling-worktree cross-reference) [other_primary]

   Locator

   DANFS ak63/ak101 entries; vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov Detail 5680/7904/12309; navsource.org 130063 + 130100 pages

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Identifier disambiguation: (a) 'AK-100' designated THIS hull only from her March 1942 commissioning until redesignation AK-63 on 1942-09-25 - it was a 'cover' cargo designation for Q-ship operations (DANFS). USS Lynx (AK-100) is a DIFFERENT hull: the Crater-class Liberty ship ex-SS Juan Bautista de Anza (MCE hull 1657, Calship 1943), commissioned 1943-07-26 (DANFS Lynx entry; batch-788 record uss-lynx-ak100). The assignments were sequential, not concurrent - the number was free before Lynx commissioned - but 'AK-100' in March-September 1942 records and indexes refers to Asterion. The pipeline's alias candidate 'USS Lynx [H:AK-100]' is therefore a designation collision, not a name alias of this hull; no second hull added and 'USS Lynx' is NOT carried in aliases. (b) USNS Asterion (T-AF-63), ex-SS Arcadia Victory (VC2-S-AP3, MCV-41, Calship 1944, ON 246329) is a distinct later hull (batch-557 record uss-asterion-af63). (c) MARAD ShipHistory tracks a third 'Asterion' built 1945 by Moore Shipbuilding (ON 247841, Detail 12309) - also distinct. (d) This hull's full identity chain: SS Evelyn (1912) -> USS Asterion (AK-100, Mar 1942) -> USS Asterion (AK-63, Sep 1942) -> USCGC Asterion (WAK-123, Jan-Jul 1944); the Evelyn status card's annotation '(Name of vessel was not changed by the Navy)' indicates the merchant-register name was retained through Navy service - consistent with her masquerade as 'SS Evelyn' (call sign WKCE).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1912-1973

   Limitations

   Resolves the pipeline's PRIMARY alias candidate ('USS Lynx [H:AK-100]') as a designation collision rather than a true alias, and separates both later same-name hulls (T-AF-63; MARAD 1945 ON 247841). No asbestos content in any of these sources; the correction affects search hygiene and cross-referencing, not the exposure assessment.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-asterion-ak63-07

8. [8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Navy deck logs) and RG 26 (Coast Guard); MARAD ShipHistory Evelyn Detail 7904 document Evelyn_7904_001.pdf; Portsmouth Navy Yard / BuShips records path per shipscribe class notes [other_primary]

   Locator

   archives.gov record-group guides; vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov documents/Evelyn_7904_001.pdf; shipscribe.com/usnaux/AK/AK63.html class notes (CNO dispatch 31 Jan 42; BuShips letter 12 Feb 42)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 WWII deck logs for USS Asterion (March 1942 - January 1944) and any war-diary submissions; NARA RG 26 Coast Guard records for WAK-123's weather-ship conversion and CINCLANT assignment; Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard 1942 conversion work records and BuShips contract files for the AK-100 preliminary conversion ordered by the 1942-01-31 CNO dispatch; Boston Navy Yard January 1944 transfer/weather-conversion files; Coast Guard declaration NMRDAL #620 (1944-10-31) cited on the MARAD card; the six digitized USCG surveillance photographs already retrieved via MARAD Detail 7904 (1941-1942); MARAD register microfilm Evelyn_7904_001.pdf (low legibility - merchant register extract not machine-readable).

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1912-1946 records

   Limitations

   Record-group and collection 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-asterion-ak63-08