Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS ATR-61 page - ATR-1 class rescue tug; laid down 22 May 1943 Wheeler Shipbuilding Co., Whitestone, Long Island, N.Y.; launched 10 May 1944; commissioned 24 Jun 1944; decommissioned 1 Jul 1946 at Seattle, WA; struck 31 Jul 1946; sold 1948 as Alfred M. Carlson; final disposition 'abandoned in 1952'; class specification block; Asiatic-Pacific campaign table; awards list; USN photo of ATR-61 in San Francisco Bay, 1946 [other_primary]
- Locator
- USS ATR-61 archive page (09/40/40061), specifications block and photo caption (image 094006101, contributor Jack Spyker-Oles honoring G. Robert Oles SC3/c)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USS ATR-61 was an ATR-1-class rescue ocean tug built at Wheeler Shipbuilding Co., Whitestone, Long Island, NY - laid down 1943-05-22, launched 1944-05-10, commissioned 1944-06-24. Class specification: 852 t light / 1,315 t full; 165'6" x 33'4" x 15'6"; 12.2 kts; 4-ton boom; one 3"/50 DP and two single 20mm AA mounts; complement 5 officers + 47 enlisted; one Fulton Iron Works vertical triple-expansion steam engine, two Babcock & Wilcox 'D'-type boilers (200 psi saturated), two 60 kW turbo-driven ship's-service generators, single propeller, 1,600 shp. An official U.S. Navy photograph shows the ship underway in San Francisco Bay after passing under the Golden Gate Bridge in 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1952
- Population
- Wartime crew (5 officers, 47 enlisted class complement); Wheeler Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-44
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-run archival compilation transcribing official Navy records and photo captions - not itself a government record. No DANFS entry exists for this hull (NavSource states none available). Establishes no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-61-01
-
[2]NavSource USS ATR-61 page - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign table and awards/citations block (Navy Unit Commendation; American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 3 stars; WWII Victory Medal; Philippines Presidential Unit Citation; Philippines Liberation Medal with 1 star) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USS ATR-61 archive page, 'Asiatic-Pacific Campaign' table and awards block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ATR-61's documented Asiatic-Pacific service: Luzon operations - Lingayen Gulf landings 9-18 Jan 1945; Consolidation and capture of Southern Philippines - Mindanao Island landings 10-11 Mar and 17-28 Apr 1945, Visayan Island landings 26 Mar-1 Apr 1945; Borneo operations - Tarakan Island 27 Apr-5 May 1945, Balikpapan 28 Jun-7 Jul 1945. She earned the Navy Unit Commendation for service in the Salvage, Fire Fighting, and Rescue Unit, Service Force, Seventh Fleet, Philippine Islands area, 6 Jan-15 Feb 1945, and three battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-01-06 to 1945-07-07
- Population
- ATR-61 crew during Lingayen, Southern Philippines, and Borneo operations
- Limitations
- Campaign table is a compilation of the ship's battle-star awards - it documents qualifying presence in the named operation date windows, not day-by-day activity. No DANFS narrative exists to detail the hull's employment between campaigns; deck logs (see ev-uss-atr-61-05) cover Jun 1944 - Jun 1945 and are the primary-record path. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-61-02
-
[3]Shipscribe.com, U.S. Navy Auxiliary Ships - ATR-1 class register transcription (construction and disposition tables and per-hull ship notes transcribed from official Navy register/ships' data records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR-1 class page, Construction table (row 61), Disposition table (row 61), and Ship Notes (ATR-61 note)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Register transcription documents the hull's full lifecycle: ordered 25 Nov 1942 from Wheeler SB, Whitestone; keel 22 May 1943; launched 10 May 1944; commissioned 24 Jun 1944; decommissioned 1 Jul 1946; struck from the Naval Register 31 Jul 1946; delivered to disposal custody 23 Dec 1947 (fate code MC/D, Maritime Commission disposal; MA sale date 23 Feb 1947 as printed); ship note records 'Sold (delivered) by MC to North American Steamship Co., Seattle, Wash. Merc. ALFRED M. CARLSON 1949, scrapped 1962.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1962
- Population
- Wheeler Shipbuilding workforce (Whitestone NY, 1943-44); North American Steamship Co. merchant crew (1949+)
- Limitations
- Third-party transcription of official Navy register entries - terse register data; wartime operating assignments and any materials/insulation detail are not recorded. The printed MA sale date (23 Feb 1947) precedes the printed disposal/delivery date (23 Dec 1947) and conflicts with NavSource's 'sold 1948' and the merchant name date of 1949 - treated as a source discrepancy, not resolved. 'Scrapped 1962' conflicts with NavSource 'abandoned 1952' - logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-61-03
-
[4]ShipbuildingHistory (Tim Colton), Wheeler Shipbuilding Whitestone NY yard list - '255219 | ATR-61 | US Navy | tugboat | 850 | 165 | 24 Jun 1944 | disposed-of 1946 as Alfred M. Carlson'; yard history: Wheeler Yacht Co. Brooklyn founded by Howard E. Wheeler; Whitestone yard operated as Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp., built minesweepers then tugs and coastal freighters, closed 1948 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wheeler Shipbuilding Whitestone yard table row '255219 ATR-61'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent yard-list corroboration that ATR-61 (U.S. official number 255219) was built by Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp. at Whitestone, NY and delivered 24 Jun 1944 (delivery = commissioning date). The table's 'disposed-of 1946' aligns with the decommission/strike year rather than the register custody dates (MC disposal Dec 1947).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Wheeler Shipbuilding workforce (Whitestone, NY, 1943-44)
- Limitations
- Secondary reference work compiled from public records; 'disposed of 1946' uses the decommissioning year while register custody ran to Dec 1947 - discrepancy noted, not resolved. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-61-04
-
[5]National Archives, Special List #44 (logbooks of U.S. Navy ships and shore stations held by NARA), 'ATR-61 | 6/24/1944 | 6/30/1945' - verified by full-text extraction of the official PDF [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Special List #44, by Ship Numbers - row 'ATR-61'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds USS ATR-61 deck logs covering 1944-06-24 (commissioning) through 1945-06-30 - the hull's entire WWII operational period including the Lingayen, Southern Philippines, Tarakan, and Balikpapan campaign windows. Logs are research-room holdings, not digitized; they are the primary record path for daily operations, drills, equipment casualties, and any repair entries.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-06-24 to 1945-06-30 (record coverage)
- Population
- ATR-61 commissioning and wartime crew
- Limitations
- Confirms log coverage exists, not content - the logs were not retrieved; whether they contain any materials, repair, or insulation-relevant entry is unknown until surveyed in person or via reproduction order. Coverage ends 1945-06-30; the final year of commission (Jul 1945 - Jul 1946, including the Seattle decommissioning period) is outside the listed range in this edition of Special List #44.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-61-05
-
[6]Shipscribe.com, ATR-1 class notes - BuShips chief's 12 Sep 1941 letter to CNO on rescue-tug need; CNO directed ATR 1-40 construction 19 Jan 1942 under the Maximum War Effort (1799 Vessel) Program; VCNO directed ATR 50-89 on 5 Aug 1942; Navy decision to build the class of wood with relatively simple triple-expansion steam machinery so small shipbuilders and local machine shops could produce them; design attributed by one source to the John G. Alden firm [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR-1 class page, Class Notes section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class-level documentation of the ATR-1 design rationale: eighty 165-foot wooden-hulled rescue tugs with 1,600-hp vertical triple-expansion steam plants, built by small yards under the 1942 war program; the design deliberately used wood hulls and simple steam machinery to keep the rescue-tug program out of the main steel-ship effort. ATR-61 is a member of this class (ordered 25 Nov 1942, Wheeler Shipbuilding).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Small-yard construction workforce; rescue-tug crews (class-wide)
- Limitations
- Class-level history - documents the design decision (wooden hull, triple-expansion steam machinery) shared by all ATR-1-class hulls, not anything specific to ATR-61's construction materials beyond her documented class membership. No asbestos content stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-61-06
-
[7]NavSource ATR-61 specification block (propulsion: one Fulton Iron Works vertical triple-expansion steam engine; two Babcock & Wilcox 'D'-type boilers, 200 psi saturated; two 60 kW turbo-driven ship's-service generators; single propeller, 1,600 shp; fuel NSFO 1,620 bbls) + Shipscribe ATR-1 machinery line (1 screw, vertical triple expansion, 1,600 HP) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource ATR-61 page specifications block; shipscribe.com/usnaux/ATR/ATR01.html machinery line
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The hull's steam propulsion plant is documented ship-specifically (ev-01, ev-03): two oil-fired boilers supplying saturated steam at 200 psi to a reciprocating engine, built to Navy specification in 1943-44. Boiler insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, and machinery packing of this era and plant type commonly contained asbestos; towing/winching machinery carried brake linings of the same era. Typical applications for a plant of this type: boiler and steam-drum insulation; steam-line lagging in machinery spaces; gaskets and packing throughout the steam cycle; insulation in accommodation and galley spaces.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Construction trades (Wheeler Shipbuilding 1943-44); engine-room and deck crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Era/design inference only - no ship-specific insulation schedule, survey, or abatement record exists for ATR-61. The documented plant establishes a candidate asbestos pathway, not asbestos presence aboard this hull; the wooden hull reduces but does not eliminate candidate applications. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-61-07
-
[8]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 program under which this wooden-hulled rescue tug was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in naval and merchant 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 or the ATR-1 class and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-61-08
-
[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program and its 1975/1979 insulation-removal policies, reflecting the service's WWII-era practice of extensive asbestos insulation in ships - the construction era and program under which this 1943-44 steam-powered auxiliary was built.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program/era-level documentation, not hull-specific; GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, unrelated to this hull or builder. Supports era context only; does not establish asbestos was or remains aboard ATR-61. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch on 2026-09-14 batch-01 pass) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-61-09
-
[10]Mystic Seaport Museum, Rosenfeld Collection - safety negatives 1984.187.59834 and 1984.187.59836, Wheeler Shipbuilding Corporation, Whitestone, Long Island, NY, 1944-03-21 (yard scenes; 165.5' rescue tug ATR-6 visible in background); Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society - B/W photo of tugboat ALFRED M. CARLSON, portside view (PastPerfect Online catalog) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Mystic Seaport objects 1984.187.59834 / 1984.187.59836 (Rosenfeld Collection); pugetmaritime.pastperfectonline.com vocabulary entry 'ALFRED M. CARLSON'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Museum photo archives document (a) the Wheeler Whitestone yard in operation on 21 Mar 1944 - during ATR-61's building-window fit-out period (launched 10 May 1944); the negatives show yard scenes with sister tug ATR-6 visible, not ATR-61 herself; and (b) a Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society catalog entry for a photo of the merchant tug ALFRED M. CARLSON - the hull's post-Navy identity in Seattle-area service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944 (yard negatives); post-1949 (merchant tug photo)
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - images not retrieved or analyzed; neither documents ATR-61 by name at the yard, and neither contains materials or asbestos information. The Rosenfeld sleeve identifies ATR-6, not ATR-61; proximity is chronological and geographic only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-61-10
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 sweeps, 2026-09-26 (authenticated, fleet-paced helper): opinion index q="ATR-61" returned 0 results; q="USS ATR-61" returned 0. Docket index q="ATR-61" returned 2 dockets - Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group Ltd. v. United States (D.D.C. 1:05-cv-02217, FOIA) and Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group Ltd. v. DOJ (D.D.C. 1:06-cv-00474, FOIA) - both name collisions ('ATR-61' appears inside Vaughn-index document text in unrelated FOIA litigation); q="USS ATR-61" returned 0. [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-61-07 and sl-uss-atr-61-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS ATR-61 / ATR-61 was located in CourtListener opinion or RECAP docket indexes. Every hit was classified: both docket hits are name collisions in unrelated FOIA litigation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- CourtListener coverage is not exhaustive - unreported state-court matters, settled cases, and PACER dockets outside RECAP are not fully indexed. Merchant-era (1947+) claims, if any, would run under owner/operator names (North American Steamship Co., Alfred M. Carlson), not the hull designation. Absence of a located case does not prove no exposure claim was ever filed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-61-11
-
[12]Batch-2989 search ledger (this record): NavSource ATR-61 page ('no DANFS history available'); NHHC DANFS direct URL attempts (HTTP 404 - standing link rot noted in BATCH-01); Shipscribe ATR-1 register transcription; ShipbuildingHistory Wheeler yard list; NARA Special List #44; Mystic Seaport Rosenfeld Collection; Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society; CourtListener opinion + docket sweeps; Naval Cover Museum (404 - no page); Naval Vessel Register (pre-digital disposal, out of coverage) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-61-01 through sl-uss-atr-61-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no insulation survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming ATR-61 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No DANFS entry exists for this hull. The vessel passed to private ownership by 1948 and generated no museum, park, or trust documentation that could carry materials disclosures.
- 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 1943-44 Navy steam plant is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation, and undocumented private disposal means any later abatement or stripping is invisible to public sources. Does not establish or defeat any exposure or legal claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-61-12