Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet dm-packet.md (2 sources cited) [museum_official]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (hull identity)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-atr-53-atr53-pkt-dm-packet-md
-
[2]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), USS ATR-1 class compilation from Naval Vessel Register / Bureau of Ships / Maritime Commission records - construction and disposition tables, ship note 53 [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR-1 class page: Construction table row 53; Disposition table row 53; Ship Notes entry for ATR-53
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ATR-53: ordered 17 Nov 1942; laid down 7 Dec 1943 at Colberg Boat Works, Stockton, CA; launched 1 Jul 1944; commissioned 11 Sep 1944; grounded during the 9 Oct 1945 typhoon at Okinawa but refloated; decommissioned 7 May 1946; struck 8 Oct 1946; Maritime Commission disposal - sale awarded 18 May 1948, disposed/delivered 20 Jul 1948, sold to David A. Fall, San Pedro, CA.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Commissioning crew (~51-52); construction workforce at Colberg Boat Works, Stockton
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of primary records (NVR, BuShips, MC disposal files) - standard authoritative reference for USN auxiliary hulls, but the underlying registers are not themselves digitized here. The typhoon-grounding note is not corroborated by the NHHC-published CINCPAC vessel-damage list (ATR-53 absent; see ev-03). Post-1948 fate unknown. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-53-01
-
[3]NavSource Online, USS ATR-53 photo archive page (compiled from official Navy records: commissioning, commanding officer, campaign credits, specifications) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive, USS ATR-53 (09/40/40053)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ATR-53 commissioned 11 Sep 1944, LT. B. M. Stevenson in command; assigned Asiatic-Pacific theater; credited with Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 30 Jun 1945) and one battle star; Navy Occupation Service (Asia clasp) 2 Sep - 16 Dec 1945; radio call sign NFFM. Specs (class block): 852 t light / 1,315 t full; 165'6" x 33'4" x 15'6"; 12.2 kts; 1x3"/50 DP, 2x20mm AA; complement 5 officers + 47 enlisted; Fulton Iron Works vertical triple-expansion engine, two Foster Wheeler 'D'-type boilers 200 psi, single screw 1,600 hp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Crew (~52 officers and enlisted)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not a primary document - NavSource itself reports decommissioning, striking, and disposal 'date unknown' where shipscribe's NVR-derived table supplies dates (7 May 46 / 8 Oct 46 / 1948 MC sale); shipscribe controls on disposition. Spec block is a repeated class-level block: boiler manufacturer differs across class pages (Foster Wheeler here; Babcock & Wilcox on ATR-1's page). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-53-02
-
[4]Naval Historical Center / NHHC, 'Typhoons and Hurricanes: Pacific Typhoon at Okinawa, October 1945' - reprints the CinCPac & POA report (Serial 0395 of 11 Feb 1946) including the vessel damage list (Wayback capture of history.navy.mil FAQ faq102-6.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- FAQ faq102-6.htm, vessel listing table (inline anchor), rows for ATR-9 and ATR-191
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documents Typhoon Louise at Okinawa on 9 Oct 1945: 12 ships and craft sunk, 222 grounded, 32 severely damaged in Buckner Bay (Nakagusuku Wan). The appended CINCPAC vessel list names ATR-9 (damaged) and ATR-191 (grounded) among 262 listed casualties - ATR-53 is not listed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-10-09
- Limitations
- Official history context for the storm event only. The CINCPAC-derived list does not name ATR-53, so the shipscribe grounding note (ev-01) stands uncorroborated by this source - possible causes (minor/rapid refloating, non-Buckner Bay grounding, or a source error in the compilation) cannot be resolved from public sources; logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-53-03
-
[5]Shipscribe ATR-1 class notes (design/procurement history, wooden hull decision, machinery) + NavSource class spec blocks + HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-45' tugs listing (NAVSHIPS 250-derived) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe class header + Class Notes; NavSource ATR-1/ATR-51/ATR-52/ATR-53 spec blocks; ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-at.html (ATR section)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The ATR-1 class comprised ~89 wooden-hulled rescue tugs procured under the Maximum War Effort program (ATR 1-40 FY1942; ATR 50-89 FY1943) and built by small yards to divert work from the main Navy effort; design attributed by one source to the John G. Alden firm. Machinery was a deliberately simple vertical triple-expansion steam plant (1,600 hp, single screw) with two 200-psi 'D'-type boilers. Insulation products on WWII-era steam machinery - boiler and steam-line lagging, gaskets, packing - were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber; the wooden hull removes hull-structural insulation pathways but machinery-space thermal insulation and gasketing remain era-typical candidates.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Construction trades at Colberg Boat Works (1943-44); engine-room crew aboard (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Class/design-level documentation: the sources describe the type's machinery and procurement, not materials aboard this specific hull, and none states 'asbestos.' Asbestos presence aboard ATR-53 is era inference only - not ship-proven, and quantity/location are not established. Wooden-hull construction argues a smaller asbestos footprint than a steel steam auxiliary, not absence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-53-04
-
[6]Batch-2980 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS index and direct entry; NavSource ATR-53 page; shipscribe ATR-1 class page; Shipbuilding History Colberg yard list; HyperWar NAVSHIPS 250-derived tugs list; NHHC typhoon FAQ (archived); CourtListener opinion + RECAP docket sweep; NARA catalog [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-53-01 through sl-uss-atr-53-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or official history naming ATR-53 was found in the public sources searched, and no DANFS entry exists for this unnamed auxiliary (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 1944 steam plant of this class was era-typical for asbestos-containing insulation and gasketing. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-53-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated, fleet-paced): queries "ATR-53", "USS ATR-53", "ATR 53" across opinion (type=o) and RECAP docket (type=r) indexes [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search API v4, queries run 2026-09-26 via authenticated fleet helper
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming ATR-53 located. Opinions: 2 hits, both name collisions - Avocent Redmond Corp. v. Raritan Americas (S.D.N.Y., patent; 'ATR-53' a product/code string) and Tasty Baking v. Ralston Purina (E.D. Pa. 1987, 653 F.Supp. 1250). Dockets: 3 hits - United States v. Rychener (D. Haw., criminal); Textron Innovations v. Toro (D. Del., patent); W.R. Grace & Co. Ch. 11 (Bankr. D. Del. 01-01139) where 'ATR-53' matched text inside the exhibit list to a motion to compel asbestos personal-injury questionnaire responses.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Every hit classified at its actual stage; all are name collisions or unverified string matches. The W.R. Grace bankruptcy docket-text match cannot be confirmed to reference the vessel (vs. a Bates/exhibit code) without retrieving the exhibit - not adopted as exposure evidence and logged as an unverified collision. 'No result' here means no located indexed opinion/docket - it does not prove no claim was ever filed (many asbestos matters never reach a published opinion or RECAP).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-53-06
-
[8]NARA RG-24 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' (1941-1992 series, NAID 594258) - WWII-era deck logs for ATR-53 (1944-46) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov, series NAID 594258 (search term 'ATR-53' / 'ATR-53 deck log' per NARA search guidance)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- ATR-53's WWII deck logs (commissioning through decommissioning, 1944-46), if extant, would record daily operations, the Okinawa/typhoon period, and any repair or material events; they reside in NARA's logbook series at Archives II, College Park.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Unretrieved: the National Archives Catalog search endpoint was not machine-reachable this session, so digitization status and exact file-unit identifiers are unverified. Deck logs record events, not insulation materials - asbestos content would be at most incidental. Retrieval is a future follow-up, not a located record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-53-07