Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
-
[1]DANFS, Astute (AM-148) (builder, dates, service narrative, MSF-148 reclassification, striking; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 7 December 1942 at Tampa, Fla., by the Tampa Shipbuilding Co.; launched 23 February 1943, sponsored by Mrs. M. L. Haney; commissioned 17 January 1944. After shakedown, transited the Panama Canal and joined the Pacific Fleet, then served on patrol and escort duty in Alaska waters during the latter part of 1944 and the first half of 1945. Decommissioned at Cold Bay, Alaska, 18 July 1945 and transferred to the Soviet Union under lend-lease; never returned. Reclassified MSF-148 on 7 February 1955; stricken from the Navy list 1 January 1983. Spec block: 650 t.; 184'6" x 33'0" x 9'9"; 14.8 kts; complement 104; 1 x 3" + 40mm.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1945; 1955; 1983
- Population
- Tampa Shipbuilding construction trades 1942-44; wartime crew (design complement 104); Soviet crew trainees at Cold Bay 1945
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Two details in the DANFS text are superseded by the NHC Project Hula monograph (ev-02): the Soviet designation (DANFS prints T-523; correct is T-333) and the transfer date (DANFS prints 18 July; Russell documents simultaneous decommission/transfer on 19 July 1945). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-astute-am148-01
-
[2]Russell, Richard A., Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan (Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, 1997), pp. 39-40, ISBN 0-945274-35-1 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Russell, Project Hula (NHC 1997), transfer table pp. 39-40
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Navy-published monograph based on U.S. and Russian archival records: Astute (AM-148) was transferred to the Soviet Navy at Cold Bay, Alaska, under Project Hula on 19 July 1945, with U.S. decommissioning, transfer, and Soviet commissioning occurring simultaneously; her correct Soviet designation was T-333 (the T-523 printed in DANFS belonged to the former USS YMS-144); T-333 departed for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, served in the Soviet Far East, and was scrapped in 1960.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1945-1960; monograph 1997
- Population
- Soviet crew of T-333 (1945-1960)
- Limitations
- Secondary scholarly monograph (Navy-published, drawing on NAVSHIPS 250-012 Ships Data 1949 and Berezhnoi's Soviet lend-lease reference) - authoritative for the transfer record but not a contemporaneous ship document. Contains no materials or asbestos information. Corrects rather than contradicts the DANFS record; both are carried.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-astute-am148-02
-
[3]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Astute (MSF 148) ex-AM-148 ex-AMc-125 (photo/data archive page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AM-148 archive page, ship history block + specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource archive record for this hull: originally planned as Astute (AMc-125); reclassified AM-148 on 21 February 1942; spec block lists two 1,710-shp ALCO 539 diesel engines, Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts; commanding officer LT A. E. Downing, USNR (May 1945); adds post-transfer Soviet details - renamed Kurchum 1 September 1955, reclassified a dispatch ship and later receiving ship BRN-9, scrapped 18 January 1960.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1960 (compiled)
- Population
- Construction trades 1942-44; wartime crew
- Limitations
- Private photo/data archive, not an official source: the AMc-125 designation, 21 February 1942 reclassification date, and propulsion spec are consistent with DANFS/official records but rest here on a secondary compilation. The Soviet-era details (Kurchum, BRN-9, 18 January 1960 scrapping date) are uncorroborated by any authoritative English-language source and are carried in gaps as unverified. No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-astute-am148-03
-
[4]Vilardebo v. Keene Corp., 431 So.2d 620 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983), No. 81-462, rehearing denied June 10, 1983 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text, 431 So.2d 620 at 620-621 (procedural posture; employment window)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published appellate opinion records an asbestos personal-injury action by Ruben Vilardebo, an employee of the Tampa Ship Building and Engineering Company whose allegedly hazardous employment ran 1941-1947 - the same yard and window in which AM-148 was built (laid down December 1942, commissioned January 1944). The trial court entered summary judgment for the defendant product manufacturers on statute-of-repose grounds (Fla. Stat. 95.031(2)) and, for three defendants, on failure to identify their products; the District Court of Appeal held the twelve-year repose bar unconstitutional as applied under Diamond v. E.R. Squibb and Overland Construction v. Sirmons.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1941-1947 (employment); 1983 (opinion)
- Population
- Tampa Shipbuilding yard employees 1941-1947
- Limitations
- Yard-level context, not a hull finding: the opinion documents asbestos litigation arising from the builder yard during the hull's construction window; it does not name AM-148, does not identify products aboard any vessel, and adjudicates a statute-of-repose question only - the underlying exposure allegation was never tried on the merits (discovery-stage record at most). CourtListener API was unavailable on 2026-09-22 (shared daily quota exhausted); opinion read via vLex.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-astute-am148-04
-
[5]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 the Navy's asbestos-protection program and its 1975/1979 insulation-removal policies covering the WWII-built fleet - program-level confirmation that Navy ship construction of Astute's era incorporated asbestos insulation and that the material was managed as a known hazard aboard Navy vessels.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull-specific; establishes era context for WWII Navy construction, not materials aboard AM-148. Does not establish individual exposure, quantities, or present-day presence. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-astute-am148-05
-
[6]Batch-1171 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live + mirrors), NHC Project Hula monograph, Naval Vessel Register, NavSource archive, CourtListener opinion/docket indexes, general web index [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-astute-am148-01 through sl-uss-astute-am148-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Astute under AM-148, AMc-125, MSF-148, or T-333 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener API sweep could not be completed on 2026-09-22 (authenticated 2,800/day quota exhausted on the shared key); web-index spot checks surfaced only name collisions (e.g., Astute Imaging trademark suits).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 2026-09-22
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the hull was built 1942-44 at a documented asbestos-litigation yard and spent its post-1945 life in Soviet service, where Western documentation does not reach. Does not establish that asbestos is or was not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener sweep remains open - logged as a gap, not a clean negative.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-astute-am148-06