Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet crew-df-packet.md (6 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: PHANTOM — real identity: none — hull was never named** (listed "ATA-221" only)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-ata-221-ata221-pkt-crew-df-packet-md
-
[2]Stephen S. Roberts, shipscribe.com - 'USS ATA-174 (later Wateree) Class' page: construction table (ATA-221 row), disposition table (ATA-221 row), class notes (ATA 219-238 lend-lease block), and ship notes (ATA-221 row) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Construction table row '221 | ATA-221 | 20 Nov 44 | Levingston SB, Orange | 17 Jan 45 | 18 Feb 45 | --'; disposition row '221 | ATA-221 | -- | 26 Feb 46 | 5 Jul 46 | MC | 5 Jul 46'; ship notes ATA-221 entry; class notes paragraphs 2-3
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- shipscribe ATA-174-class construction, disposition, and ship-note records for ATA-221: ordered 1944-11-20 under the 20-tug FY1944 block (ATA 219-238); built by Levingston Shipbuilding, Orange, Tex.; keel laid 1945-01-17; launched 1945-02-18; never commissioned; struck 1946-02-26; disposal 1946-07-05 via MC sale. Ship note: accepted and delivered 1945-12-11; sold (delivered) by the Maritime Commission to the Government Purchasing Commission of the Soviet Union, Washington, D.C.; enrolled on the Soviet Navy list as MB-44 on 1946-04-09; in the Baltic Fleet at Baltiysk 1947-05-15; redesignated MB-24 on 1949-05-16 and SS-10 (rescue ship) on 1957-11-26; stricken 1965-09-12.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1965
- Limitations
- shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts) is the standard compiled reference for U.S. auxiliary vessels, built from BuShips/NVR/MC sources - authoritative for identity, milestones, and the designation chain, but a compilation rather than a digitized primary document. The Soviet-service sequence (MB-44 enrollment 1946-04-09 preceding the 1946-07-05 MC delivery; Baltiysk 1947; redesignations 1949 and 1957; stricken 1965) is credited by Roberts to Russian-language source Berezhnoy and is carried as compiled - no Soviet primary record was reviewed. No asbestos, materials, or insulation statement anywhere on the page; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-221-ata221-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Service Ship Photo Archive, ATA-221 page 09/38/38221 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Chronology block, specifications block, photograph table (093822101.jpg, Jane's Fighting Ships 1964-65 caption, contributor Robert Hurst)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive page for ATA-221: laid down 1945-01-17 by Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, TX; launched 1945-02-18; 'Canceled by the War Shipping Administration in 1945'; struck from the Naval Register 1946-02-26; sold to the USSR and redesignated MB-24; final disposition 'fate unknown.' Specifications block: 835 t. light / 1,360 t. full load; 143 ft; beam 33'10"; draft 13'2" limiting; 12 kts; one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount and two single 20mm AA mounts; 4-ton largest boom; 5 officers / 40 enlisted; 1,300 bbls diesel; two GM 12-278A diesel-electric engines, single Fairbanks-Morse reduction gear, two 60 kW 120V DC ship's service generators, single propeller 1,500 shp. Page carries a photograph of ex-ATA-221 in USSR service as salvage and rescue tug MB-24, from the 1964-65 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1965
- Limitations
- NavSource is the standard reputable photo-archive compilation, not an official record. It prints 'MB-24' (the post-1949 redesignation; the initial Soviet designation was MB-44 - see correction row ev-07) and its 'Canceled by the War Shipping Administration in 1945' line compresses the actual sequence (accepted/delivered 1945-12-11, then MC sale to the USSR 1946-07-05; only the ATA-229-233 contracts were canceled in Aug 1945). Speed prints 12 kts vs the 13.0-kt SDB design figure. No asbestos content on the page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-221-ata221-02
-
[4]shipbuildinghistory.com (Tim Colton), 'U.S. Navy Ocean Tugs AT ATA ATF ATR' table - ATA-221 row; Levingston Shipbuilding yard page [other_primary]
- Locator
- auxat.htm ATA table, row 'ATA | 221 | | Levingston SB | Orange TX | 835 | 143 | 1946 | Sold 1946 to USSR as MB 44'; yard page http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/levingston.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- shipbuildinghistory.com U.S. Navy ocean-tug table row: 'ATA 221 - Levingston SB, Orange TX - 835 - 143 - 1946 - Sold 1946 to USSR as MB 44' - corroborates the builder (Levingston, Orange), the 143-ft/835-ton class dimensions, the 1946 sale to the USSR, and the initial Soviet designation MB-44. The site's yard history notes Levingston was 'the Navy's leading builder of ocean tugs' in WWII, producing more than any other U.S. yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Limitations
- Reputable compiled shipbuilding record (Colton), corroboration-level - the underlying primary records are the BuShips/MC sources shipscribe compiles. 'MB 44' matches the initial Soviet designation in the shipscribe note; NavSource's 'MB-24' is the post-1949 designation - both are correct at different dates (see ev-07). No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-221-ata221-03
-
[5]Stephen S. Roberts, shipscribe.com - ATA-174 class page, 'Class Notes' section (FY 1943/1944 programs; lend-lease block; WSA disposal directive; postwar buyers paragraph) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class notes paragraphs 2-3, and the closing paragraph on the 14 former-Soviet tugs (names ATA 221 and 222 with Soviet designations)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Program context for the hull's unusual path: on 1944-11-18 CNO approved construction of 20 additional ATA-174-class tugs (ATA 219-238) expressly for Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union; the contract was awarded two days later and the vessels were officially assigned to the USSR by the Munitions Assignment Committee on 17 or 24 Jan 1945. The MAC assignment was retracted as the war ended (1945-07-10 for ATA 229-233, whose contracts were canceled in August 1945), and on 1945-10-31 (1945-09-14 for ATA 234-238) CNO directed that the remaining 15 tugs be accepted from the builders upon completion but - being surplus to Navy needs - not be commissioned, placed in caretaker status, and turned over to WSA for disposal after removal of equipment. The former Soviet-assignment tugs were sold to buyers worldwide, including the Soviet Union, 'which purchased the former ATA 221 and 222 as MB-44 (later MB-24) and MB-43 (later MB-25) respectively'; a reported third Soviet unit 'MB-26' (ex ATA-225) does not appear in the authoritative Russian source (Berezhnoy) 'and probably did not exist.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Cohort-level program history explaining why this hull was ordered, completed, and sold without commissioning; the closing sentence does name ATA-221 specifically, but the policy detail is class-level. Compiled source citing CNO/MAC actions; underlying directives not independently digitized here. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-221-ata221-04
-
[6]Consolidated era inference - BuShips SDB 1945 v3 machinery data via shipscribe ATA-174 design row (diesel-electric plant, no boilers) + era shipbuilding practice; era background: Corn & Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' Am. J. Ind. Med. 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe ATA-174 class page design block (machinery: 1 screw, G.M. diesel electric, 1,500 HP); AJIM article abstract
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a diesel-electric auxiliary tug of 1945 construction: no boilers, so the boiler-lagging pathway of steam contemporaries does not apply - asbestos-relevant applications are GM diesel exhaust lagging, engine and machinery gaskets and packing, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, deck coverings/tile, and brake linings on towing machinery and windlass. Peer-reviewed scholarship documents extensive asbestos use in WWII U.S. shipbuilding generally during this hull's construction era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1965; inference drawn from 1945 construction era
- Population
- Construction trades (Levingston Shipbuilding, Orange TX, 1945); no U.S. Navy crew (never commissioned); Soviet Navy crew (1946-1965)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-level asbestos record located for this hull. The machinery data confirm the plant type (diesel-electric, no boilers) but say nothing about insulation content. Establishes no quantities, no locations, no exposure for any individual. Notably this hull never carried a U.S. crew; wartime exposure relevance attaches to construction trades at Levingston (1945) and to the Soviet crew (1946-1965).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-221-ata221-05
-
[7]National Archives, Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Beginning Research; Cartographic Branch lines describing S39 and S48
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA advises that ship-specific asbestos research should review Bureau of Ships RG 19 correspondence and ship engineering drawings (the 'Hull Series,' arranged by hull number and Ship Material Group), especially S39 Insulation and Lagging and S48 Piping. These collections are the next archival leads for ATA-221; NARA also notes that deck logs and muster rolls 'provide no direct evidence of asbestos.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- The guide identifies possible record series, not a located ATA-221 drawing or any asbestos finding for this hull. Because ATA-221 was accepted but never commissioned and spent under four months on the U.S. register, any surviving hull file would most likely sit in BuShips construction/acceptance correspondence rather than in-service maintenance records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-221-ata221-06
-
[8]shipscribe ATA-221 ship note vs. NavSource ATA-221 page vs. shipbuildinghistory auxat row; Wikipedia ATA-214-class/Sotoyomo lists read for collision check only (not cited) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe ship notes (ATA-221, ATA-222, closing paragraph); NavSource 09/38/38221 headline and specs; shipbuildinghistory auxat ATA-221 row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source reconciliations. (a) Soviet designation: NavSource prints 'MB-24' and shipbuildinghistory prints 'MB 44' - both are correct at different dates: the shipscribe note (citing Berezhnoy) gives enrollment as MB-44 on 1946-04-09, redesignation to MB-24 on 1949-05-16, then SS-10 (rescue ship) on 1957-11-26; carried here as the operative chain. (b) NavSource's 'Canceled by the War Shipping Administration in 1945' compresses events - the shipscribe record shows acceptance/delivery to the Navy on 1945-12-11 and MC sale to the USSR on 1946-07-05; only the ATA-229-233 contracts were canceled (August 1945). (c) Speed: NavSource prints 12 kts; the SDB-derived design row gives 13.0 kts trial - the design figure is carried. (d) Wikipedia class lists print 'MB-24 (ex-ATA-221)' and also 'MB-26 (ex-ATA-225)' - shipscribe notes MB-26 does not appear in the authoritative Russian source (Berezhnoy) and probably did not exist.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1965
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies in favor of the most-detailed compiled source (shipscribe, citing Russian-language Berezhnoy for the Soviet sequence). No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-221-ata221-07
-
[9]National Archives, Special List #44, by Ship Numbers [other_primary]
- Locator
- PDF text-layer extraction: ATA entries run ATA-121 through ATA-217 (ATA-212 and ATA-213 also absent); no ATA-219-238 hulls appear; no ATA-221 entry
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 (WWII deck-log index by ship number) ATA run lists ATA-121 through ATA-217 with no ATA-221 row - WWII-era deck logs for this hull are not indexed in that accession, consistent with the hull never being commissioned (deck logs exist only for in-service vessels).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- Index covers WWII-era logs; checked 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence from the deck-log index confirms no WWII deck-log series for a hull that never entered service; it does not bear on asbestos exposure and does not exclude BuShips construction correspondence files (see ev-06).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-221-ata221-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 search (opinion and docket indexes) via cl-auth-search.py [court_record]
- Locator
- Attempts at ~15:07, ~15:11, ~15:14, and ~15:19 local each returned the shared-quota pacing message; queued per helper guidance rather than retried in a loop
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep attempted via authenticated fleet-paced helper (cl-auth-search.py): queries "ATA-221" (opinion + docket) planned, plus 'MB-44'/'MB-24' screening. The helper returned the fleet-wide pacing stand-down on each attempt this session - the sweep is PENDING, not a completed negative finding.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Pending - no CourtListener result exists either way for this hull. The vessel was never commissioned in U.S. service and left U.S. custody in 1946, so qualifying asbestos-litigation hits naming it are unlikely, but that expectation is not a search result.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-221-ata221-09
-
[11]Batch-2895 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS, HyperWar ships-at table, NavSource, shipscribe, shipbuildinghistory, MARAD ShipList, NARA SL44 and asbestos guide, NAVSEA reading room, NVR [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ata-221-ata221-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming ATA-221 (or its Soviet designations) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Consistent negatives: no DANFS/NHHC entry exists (the hull was never named or commissioned); the HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945' commissioned-ATA table ends at ATA-218 and contains no ATA-219-238 hulls; the MARAD Vessel History Database name list has no ATA-221 entry (the vessel never entered NDRF or retained Maritime Commission custody - it was sold directly abroad); no NVR disposed-vessel page exists.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1945 diesel auxiliary is era-consistent with asbestos in exhaust lagging, gaskets, deck coverings, and brake linings even without a boiler plant. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. The CourtListener leg of the sweep remains pending (ev-09).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ata-221-ata221-10