Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
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[1]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 1945), Auxiliaries — Rescue Tugs (ATR) section, per-hull rows for ATR-40 (shipscribe.com scan of the official BuShips publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 ATR section pp. 414-419 (class characteristics pp. 414-415; per-hull machinery row 36 p. 418; per-hull construction row p. 419)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 3 carries per-hull rows for ATR-40 (official number 36): built by Lynch S.B. Co., San Diego, Calif.; keel laid 26 Jan 1944; launched 2 Sept 1944; date of first commission 30 Apr 1945; engine manufacturer Prescott Co., vertical triple-expansion; boilers F.W. 'D' type (Foster Wheeler). Class-row data for the ATR 1-40 block: 165'5" oa / 155'0" wl, beam 33'4", 12.2 knots trial, trial displacement 1,312 tons, limiting displacement 1,315 tons, limiting draft 15'10", 1 propeller 1,600 shp, 2 boilers at 260 psi saturated, accommodations 5 officers + 47 enlisted, armament 1 x 3"/50 (D.P.), largest boom 4 t, 2 turbo-driven 60 kW 120 V DC ship's-service generators, fuel oil 1,620 bbls; footnote 'Wood hulls.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Authoritative wartime BuShips publication naming this hull — confirms identity, builder, machinery plant, manning, and commissioning date (30 Apr 45, resolving the '39 April' typo in derivative compilations). Contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-40-atr40-01
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[2]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts, 'Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy' auxiliary-vessels archival compilation), ATR-1 class page — construction table, disposition table, ship notes, class notes [other_primary]
- Locator
- Construction table row '40 ATR-40'; Disposition table row '40 ATR-40'; Ship Notes row 40; Class Notes paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts) ATR-1 class data page, compiled from National Archives and official Navy vessel records. Construction table, row ATR-40: ordered 1942-07-06; builder 'Lynch SB'; keel laid 1944-01-26; launched 1944-09-02; commissioned 1945-04-30. Disposition table, row ATR-40: decommissioned 1947-01-18; struck 1947-02-07; disposal 1948-08-02; fate MC/D (Maritime Commission disposal); MA sale 1948-08-02. Ship note 40: 'Sold (delivered) by MC to Walter H. Wilms, Detroit, Mich.' Class notes: on 1941-09-12 the BuShips chief wrote CNO on the 'need of rescue tugs to tow in disabled vessels'; on 1942-01-19 CNO directed construction of ATR 1-40 under the Maximum War Effort (1799-Vessel) Program; the Navy decided to build the class of wood with simple triple-expansion steam machinery so small shipbuilders and local machine shops could do the work; the design is attributed by one source to the John G. Alden firm; a follow-on batch (ATR 101-140) was switched to steel partly over tropical-shipworm concerns.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Limitations
- Expert secondary compilation transcribing official Navy and Maritime Commission records, not the primary documents themselves; its decommission/strike/disposal dates conflict with NavSource's 'unknown/1946' entries — adopted per record-table values, discrepancy logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazardous-material statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-40-atr40-02
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[3]Naval History and Heritage Command, 'Operation Crossroads: Composition of Joint Task Force One' (Navy Department Library online reading room), Task Group 1.2 / Task Unit 1.2.7 (Salvage Unit) list [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- TG 1.2 section, 'Task Unit 1.2.7 (Salvage Unit)' list — 'ATR-40 *' (asterisk = nontarget ship)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Naval History and Heritage Command's official 'Composition of Joint Task Force One' page for Operation Crossroads lists ATR-40 as a nontarget ship (*) in Task Unit 1.2.7 (Salvage Unit), Task Group 1.2 (Target Vessel Group), alongside ATR-87, ATA-180, ATA-185, ATA-192, and the ARS/ATF/ASR salvage vessels. TG 1.2's documented missions: prepare and place target vessels; salvage and provide rescue assistance to damaged vessels; evacuate ships at time of tests; furnish boats and boat crews; provide boats for radsafe reconnaissance and transport of initial inspection parties.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1946-01 to 1946-10 (operation period)
- Limitations
- Official NHHC roster naming this hull — establishes Crossroads assignment and role category, not daily movements. The canonical NHHC URL returns HTTP 404 (link rot documented in BATCH-01); cited via the 2016-12-22 Wayback capture of the NHHC page. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-40-atr40-03
-
[4]Defense Nuclear Agency, 'Operation Crossroads — 1946,' United States Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Tests, Nuclear Test Personnel Review, DNA 6032F (Final Report, 1 May 1984; performing-org report KT-83-006(R); DTIC accession ADA146562), support-ship section 'ATR-40' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Support-ship activity summaries, pp. ~285-286 'ATR-40' section (crew/position/clearance block and dated itinerary)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Defense Nuclear Agency's official NTPR history of Operation Crossroads carries a dedicated support-ship section for ATR-40 with a day-by-day activity log compiled from deck logs and official reports. Summary block: crew size 68; Bikini Atoll arrival 1946-05-21; Bikini departure 1946-08-23; Shot ABLE position ~27 nmi (50 km) E; Shot BAKER position ~11 nmi (20 km) SE; decontamination location San Francisco; operational clearance 1946-12-17; final clearance 1946-12-21. Task unit: TU 1.2.7 (Salvage Unit) — 'salvaging, firefighting, and repair work on damaged target ships.' Documented itinerary includes: 1946-07-01 (Shot ABLE) entered the lagoon within hours, fought a fire aboard target ship USS Saratoga (CV-3), observed explosion aboard USS Independence (CVL-22), Geiger check alongside USS Current (ARS-22) — negative; 1946-07-06 towed target ship USS Salt Lake City (CA-25) and assisted towing USS Pensacola (CA-24); 1946-07-09 to 07-11 moored alongside target destroyer USS Hughes (DD-410); 1946-07-17 assisted moving USS Crittenden (APA-77) and Nagato; post-BAKER 1946-07-27 Geiger readings and washdown of Hughes; 1946-07-29 and 07-30 washed down USS New York's (BB-34) weather surfaces with monitors aboard; 1946-07-31 'foamed' New York; 1946-08-06 to 08-09 took radiological readings of and repeatedly washed down USS Pennsylvania (BB-38), provided pumps and a diver inspection of USS Palmyra (ARST-3); 1946-08-19 towed USS Mugford (DD-389) to Kwajalein; 1946-08-23 towed target submarine USS Skate (SS-305) from Bikini to Kwajalein; worked around Pennsylvania at Kwajalein 25-27 Aug.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1946-05-21 to 1946-12-21
- Population
- ATR-40 crew (68 per report) at Bikini/Kwajalein 1946
- Limitations
- Official DoD NTPR dose-reconstruction history — the strongest ship-specific document located. Establishes the hull's radiological working environment (repeated boarding-adjacent work on contaminated target vessels, washdowns using lagoon water) and Navy radiological-clearance record (San Francisco decontamination, clearances 17/21 Dec 1946). It contains no asbestos or materials information; its radiological findings do not establish or negate asbestos conditions. DTRA/DTIC hosts return HTTP 403 to automated fetch; full text confirmed via a mirror of the official PDF (sonicbomb.com document mirror) — canonical DTIC URL cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-40-atr40-04
-
[5]Defense Nuclear Agency, 'Operation Crossroads — 1946,' DNA 6032F (1 May 1984; DTIC ADA146562), Table 31 (p. 230) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Table 31, 'ATR-40' row; methodology text pp. 229-230
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- DNA 6032F Table 31, 'Reconstructed (calculated) dose for support ship crews, CROSSROADS,' row ATR-40: 68 personnel; Bikini departure 1946-08-23; reconstructed crew external gamma dose at Bikini departure 0.903 rem; ship clearance date 1946-12-17; cumulative dose at clearance 0.990 rem — among the higher reconstructed values in the support-ship table, consistent with the report's note that 'the tugs and salvage ships that worked among the target fleet' received higher exposures.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1946
- Population
- ATR-40 crew (68) — Operation Crossroads participants
- Limitations
- Reconstructed (calculated) external gamma dose from a 1984 dose-reconstruction model, not film-badge measurement; describes ionizing-radiation exposure only — radiological dose is a separate hazard axis from asbestos and this row supports no asbestos finding. It documents that the Navy itself tracked this hull's contamination and issued formal operational/final radiological clearances (17 Dec / 21 Dec 1946) before the 1947-01-18 decommissioning. Values 'subject to change' per the report's own caveat.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-40-atr40-05
-
[6]Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (Employee Education System), 'Veterans and Radiation' independent study course (released August 2004), Section 1: 'Recollection of F. Lincoln Grahlfs — Participation in Nuclear Testing' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Section 1, pp. 1-8 (Grahlfs recollection)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A crew member's firsthand account published by the Department of Veterans Affairs names this hull: F. Lincoln Grahlfs (leading quartermaster) was transferred to 'the USS ATR 40, a rescue tug' in April 1946 and went to Bikini for Operation Crossroads; the ship was 'attached to the salvage unit' and 'reentered the target area just a few hours after each of the two atomic explosions'; the crew lived aboard until 'mid-January' 1947 'when it was decommissioned'; at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard on Navy Day 1946-10-27 the ship carried a 'NO VISITORS' sign because 'the radiation hazard was too great to permit civilians aboard.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1946-1947 (recollection published 2004)
- Population
- ATR-40 crew, 1946-47
- Limitations
- A single crew member's retrospective account published in a VA training document — a recollection, not a contemporaneous record; corroborates the Crossroads assignment, the salvage-unit role, and the mid-January 1947 decommissioning (matching shipscribe's 1947-01-18). Contains no asbestos information. Cited via a public mirror of the VA/GPO document.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-40-atr40-06
-
[7]NavSource Naval History — Service Ship Photo Archive, USS ATR-40 page (file 09/40/40040), including US Navy photo caption via U.S. Naval Institute [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR-40 page: chronology block, awards line, specifications block, photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive page for USS ATR-40 (compiled from official records): laid down 1944-01-26 at Lynch Shipbuilding, San Diego, CA; launched 1944-09-02; commissioned 1945-04 (rendered '39 April 1945' — impossible date, a shared typo with the shipbuildinghistory Lynch yard table, which lists the same '39-Apr-45' delivery); LTjg. P.A. Tyndall in command; assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater during WWII; assigned to JTF-1 TU 1.2.7 Target Vessel Group — Salvage Units for Operation Crossroads, Bikini Atoll, July 1946; decommissioned date unknown; struck date unknown; 'disposed of in 1946, fate unknown.' Radio call sign NPGG. Awards: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal. Spec block: 852 t lt / 1,315 t fl; 165'6" x 33'4" x 15'10" (lim); 12.2 kts; 1-3"/50 DP + 2-20mm; complement 5/47; fuel 1,400 bbls NSFO; Prescott Co. VTE engine, 2 Foster Wheeler 'D'-type boilers 200 psi sat, 2 turbo 60 kW 120 V DC generators, 1,600 shp. Page carries an official U.S. Navy photo (contributed by U.S. Naval Institute) captioned 'USS ATR-40 at Bikini Atoll during Operation Crossroads, washing down the battleship USS New York (BB-34) ... after the atomic bomb test. The wash down was done using water from the contaminated lagoon.' Page states verbatim: 'There is no DANFS history available for USS ATR-40.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled transcription of official records. Its commissioning date ('39 April') is an impossible-date typo corrected against BuShips SDB (30 Apr 45); its 'disposed of in 1946, fate unknown' conflicts with shipscribe's record-table disposition (decomm 18 Jan 47, struck 7 Feb 47, MC disposal/MA sale 2 Aug 48 to Wilms) — adopted per shipscribe/BuShips, discrepancies logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos or hazardous-material statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-40-atr40-07
-
[8]Consolidated era/design inference — BuShips SDB 1945 v3 per-hull machinery row for ATR-40 + ATR-1 class notes (shipscribe ATR-1 class page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 p. 418 (ATR-40 machinery row 36) and pp. 414-415 (class plant data); https://shipscribe.com/usnaux/ATR/ATR01.html class notes
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull carried a single-screw vertical triple-expansion steam plant (Prescott Co. engine on two Foster Wheeler 'D'-type boilers at 260 psi saturated per BuShips SDB 1945) built at the peak of WWII asbestos usage at a small wooden-ship yard — the machinery configuration for which boiler insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and accommodation insulation of the period were commonly asbestos-containing. The wooden hull narrows structural scope relative to a steel combatant but does not change machinery-space practice. Documented disturbance/maintenance phases: wartime Pacific service 1945-46; radiological decontamination work at San Francisco late 1946 (scope undocumented — whether machinery insulation was disturbed is not established); Maritime Commission sale 1948.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1948+
- Population
- Construction trades at Lynch Shipbuilding San Diego (1944-45); wartime/Crossroads engineering crew; 1948 sale/delivery crews
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant and construction era — NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming ATR-40 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-40-atr40-08
-
[9]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at two Navy yards and two Navy contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' — i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in wartime naval-vessel construction of exactly this hull's era and type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard (whether Lynch Shipbuilding was among the surveyed contract yards is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-40-atr40-09
-
[10]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 World War II, the era and program under which this hull was built (keel laid 1944, commissioned 1945), and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization fleet-wide — including aboard small naval auxiliary hulls built at emergency-program yards such as the one that built this tug.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article published 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and Navy crews (class/era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel, this builder, or this ship type, and does not establish that asbestos was fitted aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-40-atr40-10
-
[11]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List 44 — Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations (ship-number index, archives.gov PDF); NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 24 / RG 19 / RG 178 / RG 357 [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL-44 ship-number list: ATR-39 '1/10/1945 6/30/1945' followed by ATR-43 — no ATR-40 entry; RG guides at archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/{024,019,178,357}.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 (Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, arranged by ship number) does NOT index deck logs for ATR-40 — the ship-number list runs ATR-39 directly to ATR-43 (ATR-41/42 were British transfers; ATR-40's absence leaves its logs unindexed in this list). Sibling hulls are indexed (e.g., ATR-39, coverage 1/10/1945-6/30/1945), so the gap is real for the hull, not a formatting artifact. Archival leads not retrieved (research-room or reproduction order required; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for ATR-40 for 1945-04-30 onward (RG 24 lineage; possibly held outside the SL-44 accession — the published list's coverage ends 6/30/1945 and the hull's Apr-Jun 1945 logs are absent from it); BuShips ATR-1 design records/Booklet of General Plans (RG 19); Maritime Commission/Maritime Administration disposal file for the 1948-08-02 sale to Walter H. Wilms (RG 178/357) — the most promising lead for the hull's post-Navy condition documentation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1948 records
- Limitations
- Index-level finding only: SL-44's omission of ATR-40 may reflect accession boundaries (commissioned 1945-04-30, only ~2 months of wartime-period logs) rather than absence of records — deck logs may exist under other accessions. No box-level retrieval performed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-40-atr40-11
-
[12]CourtListener API v4 search endpoint (type=o and type=r), query "ATR-40", executed via /Users/charlesfletcher/devin-prompts/cl-auth-search.py [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-40-atr40-10 and sl-uss-atr-40-atr40-11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweeps executed for the exact hull string "ATR-40" via the required authenticated fleet helper (2026-09-26). Opinion index (type=o): 0 results (HTTP 200, count=0). Docket index (type=r): 7 dockets returned, all reviewed — every hit is a name collision, none vessel- or asbestos-related: (1) Lloyd's underwriters certificate number '0475/ATR040'; (2) a pro se prisoner complaint; (3) a Maryland highway-project EIS attachment; (4) a pro se Ninth Circuit filing; (5-6) Chinese Drywall MDL product/accounting exhibits; (7) an insurance-removal exhibit. No qualifying asbestos litigation and no litigation of any kind naming this vessel was located in CourtListener's indexes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Both indexes swept to completion. Zero opinion hits and zero vessel-related dockets exclude indexed federal activity but not state-court filings, unindexed dockets, MDL-875 pleading-stage references, or claims that never litigated. 'ATR-40' collides with non-vessel strings (insurance certificate numbers, medical-device model names) — the collisions were classified, not counted as hits.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-40-atr40-12
-
[13]Batch-2975 search ledger (this record): BuShips SDB 1945 v3 per-hull rows; shipscribe ATR-1 class page; NavSource 40040; NHHC JTF-1 composition; DNA 6032F; VA VHA 'Veterans and Radiation'; NARA SL-44; MARAD ShipHistory; NVR; CourtListener opinion+docket sweeps; shipbuildinghistory Lynch yard table; shipyards.json [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-40-atr40-01 through sl-uss-atr-40-atr40-16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum/NPS documentation, or litigation naming ATR-40 was found in the public official sources searched. There is no DANFS entry for this hull (NavSource confirms none exists); NARA SL-44 does not index its deck logs; MARAD ShipHistory search returned server errors (and a 1948 MC-disposed unnamed tug is unlikely indexed); the Naval Vessel Register categorically excludes vessels disposed before 1987. The hull's best-documented hazard is radiological (Operation Crossroads), not asbestos. See search_ledger.
- 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 steam auxiliary is era-consistent with asbestos-containing machinery insulation, and the hull's 1948 commercial sale and undocumented final fate leave no modern survey window. Does not establish that asbestos is or was present or absent; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-40-atr40-13