Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[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-55-atr55-pkt-dm-packet-md
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[2]Shipscribe, USS ATR-1 class page (S.S. Roberts compilation of Naval Vessel Register / BuShips / Maritime Commission records): construction row - ordered 27 Nov 1942, Dachel-Carter SB, keel 27 Mar 1943, launched 18 Dec 1943, commissioned 26 Apr 1944; disposition row - decommissioned 4 Mar 1947, struck 4 Apr 1947, disposal 22 Sep 1947, fate MC/D (Maritime Commission disposal), MA sale 22 Sep 1947; ship note - 'Sold (delivered) by MC to Julius S. Gissel, Houston, Texas. Merc. SAN SABA (U.S.) 1947, burned off Sabine Bar 15 Oct 48 and beached.' [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe.com/usnaux/ATR/ATR01.html - Construction table row 55; Disposition table row 55; Ship Notes row 55; corroboration navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/ATR_55
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Construction and disposal record for this hull: ordered 27 Nov 1942; laid down 27 Mar 1943 at Dachel-Carter Shipbuilding, Benton Harbor, MI; launched 18 Dec 1943; commissioned 26 Apr 1944; decommissioned 4 Mar 1947; struck 4 Apr 1947; Maritime Commission disposal/custody 22 Sep 1947; sold (delivered) by MC to Julius S. Gissel, Houston, Texas; merchant SAN SABA (U.S.) 1947; burned off Sabine Bar 15 Oct 1948 and beached. NavalCoverMuseum corroborates the custody date ('Transferred to War Shipping Administration September 22 1947').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Dachel-Carter Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-44; wartime crew ~52
- Limitations
- Compiled specialist reference reproducing official Navy and Maritime Commission record data - the underlying registers were not sighted directly and the hull predates NVR online coverage, so the dates are carried as the compilation states them. Does not establish materials, asbestos content, or the fate of the beached hull after the October 1948 fire.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-55-atr55-01
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[3]NavSource Online, USS ATR-55 page (compiled official Navy data): commissioned 26 Apr 1944; decommissioned 'date unknown'; struck 'date unknown'; sold for commercial service 1947 as San Saba (U.S. flag); final disposition '5 October 1948, burned off Sabine Bay, TX'; awards - American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal (no battle stars, no theater assignment recorded); IRCS NFNZ; hull spec block (852 t lt / 1,360 t fl; 165'5" x 33'4" x 15'10"; 12.2 kts; one 3"/50 DP, two 20mm; complement 5 officers / 47 enlisted; one Fulton Iron Works vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine, two Babcock & Wilcox D-type boilers 250 psi sat., two 60kW 120V DC turbo-drive generators, single screw 1,600 shp); 'There is no DANFS history available for USS ATR-55' [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/09/40/40055.htm - hull entry, awards table, specifications block, single photo credit
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Service record for this hull: commissioned USS ATR-55 on 26 Apr 1944; documented awards are the American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal with no battle stars and no theater assignment recorded; sold for commercial service 1947 as San Saba; burned off the Texas coast Oct 1948. One photograph on file (moored pierside, probably at Dachel-Carter, circa Apr 1944).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Wartime crew ~52 (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive of official Navy data, not itself a government record. Its 'decommissioned date unknown / struck date unknown' lines are superseded by the dated Shipscribe disposal chain (ev-01); its burn date '5 October 1948 ... Sabine Bay' conflicts with Shipscribe's '15 Oct 48 ... Sabine Bar and beached' - ten-day/place-name discrepancy logged in gaps. No duty-station, campaign, or operational detail is given; wartime employment of this hull is otherwise undocumented here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-55-atr55-02
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[4]Shipscribe ATR-1 class notes (BuShips/CNO correspondence summarized): BuShips chief's letter to CNO of 12 Sep 1941 argued the need for rescue tugs to tow disabled vessels; CNO directed construction of ATR 1-40 on 19 Jan 1942 under the Maximum War Effort (1799 Vessel) Program and VCNO directed ATR 50-89 on 5 Aug 1942 using remaining program tonnage; the Navy deliberately specified wooden hulls and 'relatively simple triple expansion steam machinery' so small builders outside the main shipbuilding effort could produce them; design attributed by one source to the John G. Alden firm. HyperWar transcription 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' lists ATR-55 under 'Wooden-hulled Rescue Tugs, built to patrol convoy lanes.' [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe.com/usnaux/ATR/ATR01.html - Class Notes; https://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-at.html - ATR section listing ATR-55
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Class design record: the ATR-1 class was a wooden-hulled rescue tug type procured to patrol convoy lanes and tow disabled vessels, deliberately built of wood with simple triple-expansion steam machinery so that small yards could build them without competing with the main Navy program; 80 wooden ATRs were built at seven small yards including Dachel-Carter Shipbuilding, Benton Harbor. ATR-55 falls in the ATR 50-89 batch directed by VCNO on 5 Aug 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Limitations
- Class-level documentation only - establishes design intent, hull material, and machinery type for the class, not materials aboard this specific hull. The Alden attribution is flagged 'one source' by Shipscribe. Nothing here addresses asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-55-atr55-03
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[5]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - documents endemic WWII-era asbestos use and exposure in Navy steam plants and shipyards; machinery block per NavSource USS ATR-55 hull spec (two Babcock & Wilcox D-type boilers 250 psi, Fulton Iron Works vertical triple-expansion steam engine) [other_primary]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (description); navsource.net ATR-55 specifications block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: a 1943-44 steam-propelled wooden tug with two oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox 'D'-type boilers at 250 psi feeding a vertical triple-expansion engine would have carried era-standard asbestos insulation on boiler casings, steam piping, valves, and flange gaskets, plus machinery packing and brake linings on the towing engine/windlass; the wooden hull form removes the hull-insulation and heavy deck-covering categories typical of steel combatants. GAO HRD-80-2 documents that asbestos exposure was endemic to Navy steam machinery and shipyard work of the era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Dachel-Carter Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-44; engineering crew in service 1944-47
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No construction drawing, specification sheet, survey, or post-custody record names any material aboard ATR-55; wooden construction narrows but does not eliminate asbestos applications. Does not establish quantity, individual exposure, or legal eligibility. GAO product-page description used (full text returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-55-atr55-04
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[6]National Archives, Special List No. 44 (logbooks of U.S. Navy ships and stations, by ship number): index entry for ATR-55 covering deck logs 26 Apr 1944 - 30 Jun 1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/files/research/military/logbooks/sl-44-ship-number.pdf - 'ATR-55' entry under AT hull block (p. 11 of the index PDF)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's deck-log index lists logbook coverage for ATR-55 from 26 Apr 1944 (her commissioning date) through 30 Jun 1945. Deck logs for the balance of her service (Jul 1945 - Mar 1947 decommissioning) are not in this index and may exist in RG 24/RG 38 holdings at College Park.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- A finding aid establishes that logs exist and their coverage window, not their content; deck logs rarely record materials or insulation data and this lead was not pursued into the logs themselves. Alignment within the index verified against commissioned-date anchors for adjacent ATR-56 and ATR-54 entries.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-55-atr55-05
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[7]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep (2026-09-26): opinions "ATR-55" - 1 hit, name collision (Avocent Redmond Corp. v. Raritan Americas, S.D.N.Y. 10-cv-06100, patent/licensing, 'ATR-55' a product/model string); opinions "USS ATR-55" - 0; opinions "ATR 55" tug - 0; dockets "ATR-55" - 6 hits, all name collisions: Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group v. United States (D.D.C. 1:05-cv-02217) and Stolt-Nielsen v. DOJ (D.D.C. 1:06-cv-00474), FOIA actions with 'ATR' document/Vaughn-index codes; United States v. Fonoti (D. Haw. 1:04-mj-00342, criminal); Miroshnichenko v. Blackwood (N.D. Ill. 1:08-cv-00293); Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club v. FHA (D. Md. 8:22-cv-02597, administrative-record model strings); Salvagno v. Director (D. Conn. 3:17-cv-00318, habeas) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-55-atr55-06 through sl-uss-atr-55-atr55-07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation and no other litigation naming USS ATR-55 was located on CourtListener. The single opinion hit and all six docket hits on the hull-number string are name collisions in unrelated matters (patent product string, FOIA document codes, criminal and civil filings) - none references the vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a docketed federal case on CourtListener does not prove no claim was ever filed - state-court filings, settled claims, and unindexed pleadings are outside the index. The collision pattern also shows the bare string 'ATR-55' is an unreliable litigation identifier for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-55-atr55-06