Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. III, Auxiliary, District Craft and Unclassified Vessels (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 15 Apr 1945), Auxiliaries - Rescue Tugs (ATR) section - per-hull row for ATR-59 (shipscribe.com scan of the official BuShips publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 ATR section pp. 414-419: class data tables (p. 415), machinery manufacturers per-hull table (p. 418, row 46 ATR-59), construction table (p. 419, ATR-59 row under Delaware Bay S. B. Co., Inc., Leesburg, N.J.)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips publication carries a per-hull row for ATR-59 (row 46): built by Delaware Bay S. B. Co., Inc., Leesburg, N.J.; keel laid 22 Nov 43; launched 4 Sept 44; date of first commission 7 Dec 44; engine manufacturer Prescott Co., vertical triple-expansion; boiler manufacturer and type F.W. 'D' (Foster Wheeler D-type). Class-level data rows for the type: 165'5" oa / 155'0" wl, beam 33'4", trial speed 12.2 kts, displacement 1,312 t (average maximum load; 1,315 t limiting per accommodations table), limiting draft 15'10", accommodations 5 officers + 47 enlisted, armament 1 x 3"/50 cal (D.P.), largest boom capacity 4 t, fuel oil 1,620 bbls, one propeller, vertical 3-expansion engine 1,600 shp, 2 boilers at 260 psi saturated, two turbo-drive ships' service generators 60 kW 120 V D.C., and the class footnote 'Wood hulls.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Construction trades (Delaware Bay Shipbuilding, Leesburg NJ, 1943-44); wartime crew
- Limitations
- Authoritative wartime BuShips publication naming this hull - confirms builder, construction dates, commissioning, machinery manufacturers, and wooden hull. OCR of the scanned columnar tables is partially garbled; all values cross-verified against shipscribe compiled tables and NavSource. Boiler pressure reads 260 psi here vs '200 psi' in the NavSource spec block - discrepancy logged in gaps, official figure carried. Contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-59-01
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[2]Shipscribe U.S. Navy auxiliary ships data sheets, 'USS ATR-1 Class' page (Stephen S. Roberts compilation from Navy registers, BuShips records, and Maritime Commission files) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR-1 class page: characteristics block, construction table (ATR-59 row), disposition table (ATR-59 row), class notes (wood-hull decision, procurement history), ship notes (ATR-59 row)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled register data naming this hull: ATR-59 ordered 27 Nov 1942 (the ATR 50-89 group directed 5 Aug 1942 by VCNO under the Maximum War Effort / 1799-Vessel Program); built by Delaware Bay S.B., keel 22 Nov 43, launched 4 Sep 44, commissioned 7 Dec 44. Disposition row: decommissioned 27 Mar 46; stricken 17 Apr 46; disposal to Maritime Commission (MC/D) - MA sale entry 22 Nov 46, disposal date 14 Dec 46. Ship note for ATR-59: 'Sold (delivered) by MC to A. K. Wilson Lumber Co., Los Angeles, Cal. Merc. MYRTLE E. WILSON 1947, scrapped 1952.' Class notes record that the Navy deliberately specified wood hulls and simple triple-expansion steam machinery so small shipbuilders and local machine shops outside the main steel-shipbuilding effort could build and power the tugs; the class design is attributed to the firm of John G. Alden.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1952
- Population
- Construction workforce (Delaware Bay Shipbuilding, 1943-44); MC disposal/custody personnel (1946); A. K. Wilson Lumber Co. merchant crew (1947-52); 1952 breaking-yard workers
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary transcription of official Navy register, BuShips, and MC/MARAD records - not the registers themselves; used where consistent with the official SDB 1945 per-hull row. The disposition-table columns place the MA sale date (22 Nov 46) ahead of the disposal date (14 Dec 46) - award-vs-delivery ordering not fully resolved, both carried as printed. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-59-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USS ATR-59, file 09/40/40059 (last updated 2023-11-10) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 40059.htm - timeline block, awards/ribbon bar, specifications block, image 094005901
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource file for this hull: laid down 22 Nov 1943 at Delaware Bay Shipbuilding, Leesburg, N.J.; launched 4 Sep 1944; commissioned USS ATR-59 7 Dec 1944, LT. F. H. Matthews in command; during WWII assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, Service Squadron Two; decommissioned 27 Mar 1946; struck from the Naval Register 17 Apr 1946; sold for commercial service 1947, named Myrtle E Wilson, U.S. flagged; final disposition scrapped 1952. Call sign NGFV. Ribbon bar (no battle stars shown): American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal. Spec block for this hull: Prescott Co. vertical triple-expansion engine, two Foster Wheeler 'D'-type boilers '200 psi, Sat', single propeller 1,600 shp; class dimensions 165'6" x 33'4" x 15'6"; complement 5 officers + 47 enlisted. Launching photograph 4 Sep 1944 credited to the National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors. 'There is no history available for USS ATR-59' - i.e., no DANFS entry exists for this unnamed hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1952
- Population
- Wartime crew (5 officers + 47 enlisted complement)
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - non-official but consistent with the official BuShips SDB 1945 row on dates, builder, and machinery manufacturers. Boiler-pressure figure '200 psi' conflicts with the SDB official value 260 psi (discrepancy logged in gaps; SDB carried). Service Squadron Two is the only documented WWII assignment; no operating locations or deployments detailed. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-59-03
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[4]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List #44 (U.S. Navy ship deck logs by ship number), ATR-59 entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL-44 ship-number list, ATR-59 entry: '12/7/1944 - 6/30/1945'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List #44 (deck-log finding aid, by ship number) carries an entry for ATR-59: deck logs covering 12/7/1944 (commissioning) through 6/30/1945 are in NARA custody (RG 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel - the WWII-era deck-log series at College Park). These logs are the primary ship-specific record that could establish operating locations, machinery maintenance events, and personnel during the commissioned period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (log coverage); list accessed 2026-09-26
- Population
- Wartime crew (potential individual-level exposure documentation if logs were surveyed)
- Limitations
- Finding-aid confirmation that logs exist for this hull - the logs themselves were not retrieved (not digitized; research-room or reproduction order required, no spend authorized). Deck logs record positions, operations, and muster entries; whether they would contain insulation/materials or maintenance-of-ACM evidence is unknown until surveyed. Log coverage after 6/30/1945 (through the Mar 1946 decommissioning) is outside this list's range - later logs likely exist in RG 24 but are not confirmed here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-59-04
-
[5]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation, Naval Marine Archive mirror), 'Delaware Bay Shipbuilding, Leesburg NJ' yard page - production table and yard history [other_primary]
- Locator
- Yard page: history paragraph; production table row '251932 | ATR 59 | US Navy | Tug | 850 | 156 | 1945 | Sold 1947 as Myrtle E. Wilson'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard production table lists ATR 59: U.S. Navy tug, 850 tons, 156 ft, U.S. official number 251932, delivered to Navy 1945 (delivery/acceptance framing - the ship was commissioned 7 Dec 44), 'Sold 1947 as Myrtle E. Wilson.' Yard history: Delaware Bay Shipbuilding Co., Inc. formed 1920 by Dr. Malcolm Sharp; split in 1929 into Delaware Bay Shipbuilding (larger vessels) and Debasco Boat Works (smaller); yard stood on Main Street at Sharpstow Lane, Leesburg (site now Yank Marine's repair yard). The same yard also built ATR-13, ATR-14, and ATR-58 plus SC-class subchasers and AMc minesweepers - a small emergency wooden-ship yard typical of the ATR program's deliberately distributed construction base.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Delaware Bay Shipbuilding construction workforce (1943-45)
- Limitations
- Reputable specialist shipbuilding-history compilation (Colton) - consistent with official SDB and shipscribe on builder and hull; its 'delivered 1945' conflicts with the documented 7 Dec 44 commissioning (acceptance vs commission basis - flagged, not reconciled). Official number 251932 for the merchant Myrtle E. Wilson is from this table, not independently verified against USCG documentation. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-59-05
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[6]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 v3 machinery row for this hull (Prescott 3-exp. + 2 F.W. 'D' boilers, 260 psi sat.) + ATR-1 class design context (shipscribe ATR-1 class page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 machinery table, ATR section (ATR-59 row, p. 418); https://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ATR/ATR01.html class notes (wood-hull decision)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull carried a saturated-steam reciprocating plant (two Foster Wheeler 'D'-type boilers at 260 psi feeding a Prescott vertical triple-expansion engine, 1,600 shp) built in 1943-44 - the peak period of asbestos use in U.S. naval construction - at a small wooden-ship emergency yard. The machinery configuration is of the type for which boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and accommodation/galley insulation of the period were commonly asbestos-containing. The wood hull reduces but does not eliminate scope: asbestos content in this vessel type concentrated in the boiler/engine spaces and machinery consumables, plus brake linings on the towing engine and windlass. The hull's documented disturbance events - construction, wartime Pacific service, 1947-52 merchant service as Myrtle E. Wilson, and 1952 breaking - are the exposure-phase pathways.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1952
- Population
- Construction trades at Delaware Bay Shipbuilding, Leesburg NJ (1943-44); wartime engineering crew; merchant crew 1947-52; 1952 breaking-yard workers
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant and construction era - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, material schedule, or insulation contract naming ATR-59 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation. Wood-hull construction may have reduced some accommodation insulation scope versus steel auxiliaries; the direction and magnitude of that difference is itself undocumented for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-59-06
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[7]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 WWII - the era and emergency construction program under which this ATR-1-class rescue tug was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in ship construction.
- 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, class, or builder yard 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-59-07
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[8]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 Navy yards and 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.
- 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 Delaware Bay Shipbuilding at Leesburg was among surveyed-type operations is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-59-08
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[9]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated, fleet-paced): quoted-phrase opinion and docket sweeps for this hull [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 /search/?type=o and type=r, queries of 2026-09-26 (see search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-59-06 through sl-uss-atr-59-09)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation located: opinion searches returned zero results for the exact phrases '"ATR-59"' and '"USS ATR-59" OR "ATR 59"' and for '"Myrtle E. Wilson" vessel OR tug' (clean HTTP 200s, 2026-09-26). The unquoted query 'ATR-59' returns ~251 opinion hits that are tokenizer artifacts and name collisions (e.g., 'ATR' as form/docket shorthand; 'ATR 59' is also the product name of a modern Ammann soil rammer - not this hull). A docket-index (type=r) query for '"ATR-59"' returned 2 hits whose content could not be inspected because the fleet-wide pacing budget was spent at the time of this session - classified as probable collisions pending re-check; see search_ledger and gaps.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- A zero litigation result does not establish absence of exposure claims - many asbestos filings name defendants/products rather than hull numbers, and RECAP docket coverage is not exhaustive. The 2 uninspected docket hits are a residual uncertainty honestly logged; phrases were quoted to suppress collisions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-59-09
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[10]Batch-2986 search ledger (this record): BuShips SDB 1945 v3 (NAVSHIPS 250-012); shipscribe ATR-1 class page; NavSource 40059; NARA Special List #44; Shipbuilding History Delaware Bay yard page; NHHC/DANFS index; MARAD ShipHistory; CourtListener API v4; VA BVA index; indexed-web litigation checks [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-59-01 through sl-uss-atr-59-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation specification, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or court finding naming USS ATR-59 (or its merchant identity Myrtle E. Wilson / official no. 251932) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No DANFS entry exists for this unnamed hull (NavSource states no history available). Indexed-web checks surfaced no law-firm or marketing page asserting asbestos content for this hull - nothing required exclusion on that ground.
- 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 saturated-steam tug is era-consistent with asbestos-containing machinery insulation and consumables, and its 1947-52 merchant service and 1952 breaking are undocumented disturbance phases. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-59-10
-
[11]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships - design/construction records), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission - wartime disposal records); USCG merchant-vessel documentation files for official no. 251932 [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html ; /groups/178.html ; NARA SL-44 (ATR-59 entry); https://www.mrtheritagesociety.org/ships-boats-and-builders (launch photo credit)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for USS ATR-59 (RG 24, NARA College Park - coverage 12/7/44-6/30/45 confirmed by Special List #44; later coverage to the 3/46 decommissioning likely exists); BuShips design records and any Booklet of General Plans for the ATR-1 type (RG 19), the likeliest pre-digital source for a materials/insulation schedule; Maritime Commission surplus-vessel disposal file for the 1946-47 sale to A. K. Wilson Lumber Co. (RG 178 series); USCG merchant-vessel documentation for official no. 251932 (Myrtle E. Wilson, 1947-52); Delaware Bay Shipbuilding contract/launch records (yard records are not federal - local collections at the Maurice River Township Historical Society, which holds launch photographs of this hull).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1952 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-59-11