Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet dm-packet.md (1 sources cited) [museum_official]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-atr-54-atr54-pkt-dm-packet-md
-
[2]ShipScribe, USS ATR-1 Class data page - construction table (transcription of BuShips/NVR data); NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USS ATR-54 (09/40/40054) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ShipScribe ATR-1 class Construction table, row 54; NavSource page https://www.navsource.net/archives/09/40/40054.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ATR-54 was ordered 27 November 1942 and built by Dachel-Carter Shipbuilding Corp., Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Michigan (Saint Joseph per NavSource); keel laid 8 March 1943; launched 21 August 1943; commissioned as USS ATR-54 on 13 November 1943. ShipScribe's ATR-1 class page reproduces Bureau of Ships/Naval Vessel Register construction and custody data; NavSource's photo archive lists the same dates.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Construction trades, Dachel-Carter Shipbuilding (Benton Harbor, MI), 1943
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations of official records, not the primary documents themselves; no DANFS entry exists for this hull. A commercial yard list (shipbuildinghistory.com) gives a 15 Nov 1943 delivery vs. the 13 Nov 1943 commissioning date - minor variance, not material. Establishes identity and construction only; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-54-01
-
[3]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USS ATR-54 (09/40/40054) - specifications block and awards/campaign section [other_primary]
- Locator
- USS ATR-54 page: specifications list, campaign table, call-sign block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ATR-54 specifications (NavSource): ATR-1 class rescue tug, displacement 852 t. light / 1,315 t. full load; length 165 ft 6 in; beam 33 ft 4 in; draft 15 ft 6 in; speed 12.2 kts; armament one 3-inch/50 dual-purpose mount and two single 20 mm AA mounts; complement 5 officers and 47 enlisted; propulsion one Fulton Iron Works vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine, two Babcock & Wilcox 'D'-type boilers (200 psi), two 60 kW 120V DC turbo-driven ship's service generators, single propeller, 1,600 hp; international radio call sign NFKF. NavSource reports the ship was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East theater and participated in the Invasion of Normandy, 6-25 June 1944, earning one battle star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- USS ATR-54 crew (5 officers, 47 enlisted per source)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archive transcribing official Navy data (ONI/Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels-type figures); the Normandy campaign credit is independently confirmed by NAVPERS 15,790 (ev-03). Complement figures for this class vary by source (51 per ShipScribe 1944 class data; 32 per one secondary tug reference) - carried in gaps. Establishes machinery configuration relevant to era inference only; no asbestos content is stated or implied by the source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-54-02
-
[4]Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual, NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev. 1953), Part IV Section 2(16) - HyperWar/ibiblio transcription of the official manual [other_primary]
- Locator
- Part IV Sec. 2(16) ship table: 'ATR 54: 6 Jun 44 - 25 Jun 44 | E5'; operation definition list: 'Invasion of Normandy (including bombardment of Cherbourg) 6-25 Jun 44 | E5'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual (NAVPERS 15,790, Rev. 1953), Part IV, Section 2(16) 'List of Ships and Units eligible for Engagement Stars,' lists ATR 54 for 6 Jun 44 - 25 Jun 44 under engagement code E5; code E5 is defined in the same publication as 'Invasion of Normandy (including bombardment of Cherbourg).' This is the official Secretary of the Navy campaign-participation credit underlying the ship's one WWII battle star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-06
- Population
- USS ATR-54 crew
- Limitations
- Official manual content via HyperWar volunteer transcription - the multi-column table is OCR-flattened but the ATR 54 row and the E5 definition are unambiguous. Establishes campaign credit (presence in the Normandy assault area during the qualifying period), not the ship's day-to-day tasking; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-54-03
-
[5]Historical RFA (historicalrfa.org), RFA Red Dragon log transcription, entry for 1 June 1944 at Plymouth [other_primary]
- Locator
- RFA Red Dragon page, 1944 log entries, 1 June 1944 Plymouth entry
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A transcription of the RFA Red Dragon log records: '1 June 1944 at Plymouth USS ATR-13 and USS ATR-54 alongside to refuel,' placing ATR-54 in the Plymouth staging area five days before the Normandy assault.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-06-01
- Limitations
- Volunteer transcription of a Royal Fleet Auxiliary logbook entry; corroborates the ship's pre-invasion UK staging but documents no operations detail beyond the refueling alongside. Supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-54-04
-
[6]ShipScribe, USS ATR-1 Class data page - Disposition table row 54 and Ship Notes row 54 [other_primary]
- Locator
- ShipScribe ATR-1 class Disposition table and Ship Notes, ATR-54 rows
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ShipScribe disposition table for ATR-54: decommissioned 8 April 1946; struck from the Naval Register 10 June 1947; disposal 2 July 1947, fate 'FLC' (Foreign Liquidation Commission). The ATR-54 ship note reads: 'Withdrawn from MC sale by Navy 1 Oct 46. Sold (delivered) by FLC 2 Jul 47 to Cuba as 10 DE OCTUBRE.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1946-1947
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of Maritime Commission/Naval Vessel Register custody data. Conflicts with NavSource (ev-06): NavSource reports ATR-54 'disposed of in 1946, fate unknown' and attributes the Cuban name 10 De Octubre (R-6) to ATR-4; the hull-level attribution of the Cuban name is unresolved. Cuban service history and ultimate fate are undocumented in consulted sources. Supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-54-05
-
[7]NavSource USS ATR-54 page (09/40/40054) and USS ATR-4 page (09/40/40004); ShipScribe USS ATR-1 Class Disposition table and Ship Notes rows 4 and 54 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource ATR-54 disposition line; NavSource ATR-4 Cuban-service note; ShipScribe Disposition rows 4 and 54, Ship Notes rows 4 and 54
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancy identified: (a) NavSource's ATR-54 page states 'Decommissioned, date unknown; Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; Final Disposition, disposed of in 1946, fate unknown,' superseded by ShipScribe's documented custody chain (decomm. 1946-04-08, struck 1947-06-10, FLC delivery 1947-07-02). (b) NavSource's ATR-4 page attributes Cuban service as '10 De Octubre (R-6)' to ATR-4 (transferred 1946, sold 1952 to Marine Industries Ltd., Montreal, renamed Louise Simard), while ShipScribe assigns the Cuban name 10 DE OCTUBRE to ATR-54 and gives ATR-4 a direct Maritime Commission sale to United Towing & Salvage Co. (merchant Louise Simard, Canada, 1947). The two chains cannot both be correct; ShipScribe's custody-table sourcing is adopted for the record and the conflicting attribution is logged as unresolved pending Cuban registry or FLC/MC sale documentation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1946-1952
- Limitations
- Documents a discrepancy between two secondary compilations; resolution requires the underlying MC/FLC disposal records or Cuban naval registry. A 1947 FLC sale to Cuba is consistent with the parallel documented FLC sale of ATR-3 to Cuba (as 20 DE MAYO, 1947) on the same ShipScribe table. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-54-06
-
[8]ShipScribe USS ATR-1 Class notes (wooden-hull construction decision, triple-expansion machinery); NavSource USS ATR-54 specifications block [other_primary]
- Locator
- ShipScribe class notes paragraph 2 (wooden construction, simple triple-expansion machinery); NavSource spec block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The ATR-1 class design (of which ATR-54 is hull 54) was deliberately wooden-hulled to keep the rescue-tug program off the main Navy shipbuilding effort, with 'relatively simple triple expansion steam machinery' (ShipScribe class notes); the machinery aboard this hull was a Fulton Iron Works vertical triple-expansion engine with two Babcock & Wilcox 'D'-type 200-psi boilers (NavSource spec block). Steam plants of this era and type typically carried asbestos-containing boiler insulation, steam-line lagging, flange gaskets, and valve packing - the era-consistent asbestos application for this hull is confined to the machinery space and associated systems, not structural fireproofing.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1947 (ship's U.S. service period)
- Population
- Engine-room crew; construction/fit-out trades at Dachel-Carter (1943)
- Limitations
- No source names asbestos aboard this hull. The machinery description is ship-specific (NavSource); the asbestos content of that machinery is an era inference, not a ship-proven fact. Wooden-hull construction removes the structural-fireproofing pathway documented for steel hulls, so the inference is narrower than for combatant types. Does not establish quantity, location, condition, remaining material, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-54-07
-
[9]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 scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and program under which this wooden-hulled rescue tug was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard U.S. hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-54-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 search endpoint (type=o and type=r), queries run via fleet cl-auth-search helper 2026-09-26 [court_record]
- Locator
- type=o query 'ATR-54' -> 0 results; type=r query '"ATR-54" OR "ATR 54" OR "USS ATR-54"' -> 4 results, all unrelated by case name and nature-of-suit
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated, 2026-09-26): opinion search for "ATR-54" returned 0 results; docket search for "ATR-54" OR "ATR 54" OR "USS ATR-54" returned 4 hits, all classified name collisions - TABB v. District of Columbia (D.D.C. 2006, civil rights); Sklar Exploration bankruptcy (Bankr. D. Colo. 2020); Wilkinson v. Norfolk Southern Corp. (M.D. Pa. 2001, FELA); 1800 Smith Street v. Gencarelli (D.R.I. 2005, bankruptcy appeal). No opinion or docket names this vessel; no qualifying asbestos litigation naming the hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Covers CourtListener's indexed opinions and RECAP dockets only; state-court and unreported matters not indexed there are outside this sweep. Collision classification is based on case names, courts, and nature-of-suit metadata - underlying docket text was not reviewed line-by-line. A negative result does not prove no claimant ever alleged exposure aboard; it means no located litigation record names this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-54-09
-
[11]Batch-2981 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS; NavSource; ShipScribe; NAVPERS 15,790; MARAD ShipHistory; NARA Special List #44; CourtListener API v4 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-54-01 through sl-uss-atr-54-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no DANFS entry exists for ATR-54 (confirmed via NavSource and NHHC site search); the MARAD ShipHistory database contains no record for this hull (consistent with the Foreign Liquidation Commission disposal, which bypassed Maritime Commission custody); NavSource and ShipScribe records contain no asbestos statement; no survey, abatement contract, or hazmat disclosure naming the hull was found; the CourtListener sweep located no case naming the vessel (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 1943 steam-powered tug is era-consistent with asbestos-containing machinery insulation. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-54-10
-
[12]NARA Special List #44: 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' (ships listed by hull number) - ATR-54 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List #44 ship-number listing: 'ATR-54 11/13/1943 - 6/30/1945'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (holdings located, contents not retrieved - no spend authorized): NARA Special List #44 (ships' deck logs by hull number) lists ATR-54 deck logs covering 1943-11-13 to 1945-06-30 (RG 24, logs in NARA custody - the listing covers commissioning through the Normandy period); the ship's WWII war diary (RG 38 war-diaries series, some digitized via Fold3/NARA catalog) would document daily towage tasking in June 1944; Maritime Commission custody records and State Department Foreign Liquidation Commission disposal files would resolve the Cuban-sale discrepancy documented in ev-06.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1945 records
- Limitations
- The Special List entry verifies that logs for this hull exist in the listed date range; no box-level retrieval or digitization check was performed, and the logs' contents (and whether they mention materials or maintenance relevant to asbestos) are unknown until examined. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-54-11