Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet ds-packet.md (5 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-atr-78-atr78-pkt-ds-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS ATR-78 page (compiled official vessel register data; page maintained by Gary P. Priolo, last updated 8 Jul 2016) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR-78 archive page - specifications block, service chronology, awards ribbons, DANFS-availability statement
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- USS ATR-78, ATR-1 class rescue tug: laid down 8 Jul 1943 at Camden Ship Building & Marine Railway, Camden, ME; launched 30 Oct 1944; commissioned 6 Jan 1945, LTjg J. A. Mac Donald in command; decommissioned date unknown; struck from the Naval Register and transferred to the Maritime Commission at Seattle, sold to John G. & Robert Pohl, 30 Mar 1948; final disposition fate unknown. Specs: 852 t light / 1,315 t full; 165'6" x 33'4" x 15'6"; one Prescott Co. vertical triple-expansion engine, two Babcock & Wilcox 'D'-type boilers 260 psi, two 60 kW turbo-drive DC generators, single screw 1,600 shp, 12.2 kts; armament 1 x 3"/50 DP, 2 x 20 mm AA; complement 5 officers, 47 enlisted; awards American Campaign Medal and WWII Victory Medal; call sign NHFY. NavSource states explicitly: 'There is no DANFS history currently available for USS ATR-78.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- ATR-78 wartime complement (5 officers + 47 enlisted)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archive of official U.S. Navy register data - a reliable secondary transcription, not a government primary; decommission/struck dates are left unstated here and are supplied by the shipscribe register transcription (ev-02). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-78-atr78-01
-
[3]Shipscribe.com, USS ATR-1 class data page - construction table (row 78) and decommissioning/strike/disposal table (row 78), transcribed from Naval Vessel Register / Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels records [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR-1 class page: Construction table row 'ATR-78'; fate table row 'ATR-78' (Decomm. 1 Jul 46; Strike 31 Jul 46; Disposal 30 Mar 48; Fate MC/D; MA Sale 5 Mar 48); Ship Notes row 78
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Shipscribe's ATR-1 class data sheets (compiled from U.S. Navy register/Ships' Data records) document for ATR-78: ordered 27 Nov 1942, Camden SB; keel 8 Jul 1943; launched 30 Oct 1944; commissioned 6 Jan 1945; decommissioned 1 Jul 1946; stricken 31 Jul 1946; Maritime Commission disposal 30 Mar 1948 (fate code MC/D); Maritime Administration sale 5 Mar 1948; fate detail 'Sold (awarded) by MC at Nordland, Wash., to John G. A. Pohl, Haworth, N.J.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Limitations
- Shipscribe transcribes official NVR/Ships' Data records - secondary compilation of primary register data. Buyer recorded as 'John G. A. Pohl' here vs 'John G. & Robert Pohl' in NavSource - see correction row ev-08. No asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-78-atr78-02
-
[4]Shipbuildinghistory.com (Colton) - 'US Navy Ocean Tugs AT ATA ATF ATR ATS' table and 'Camden Shipbuilding' yard page [other_primary]
- Locator
- auxat.htm row 'ATR 78'; shipyards/emergencysmall/camden.htm ATR rows + yard history paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipbuildinghistory.com (Tim Colton yard/ship lists) documents: (a) the WWII ocean-tug program - 80 165-foot, 12-knot, wooden-hulled rescue tugs (ATR) among 238 ocean tugs procured from 22 yards; (b) ATR-78 row in the tug table - Camden SB, Camden ME, 1,312 t, 165 ft, delivered 6 Jan 1945, 'Disposed of 1946'; (c) Camden yard page - ATR 78, US Navy tug, 850 GT, delivered 6-Jan-45, 'Sold 1948', and yard history (founded 1940 by Richard Lyman, Cary Bok and Clinton Lunt; reconstituted as Camden Shipbuilding Company postwar; bought by Wayfarer Marine 1963, operated since as a maintenance facility).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Camden Ship Building & Marine Railway construction workforce (1940-46)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not an official record; 'Disposed of 1946' refers to the 1946 Navy strike/decommissioning - the MC sale to Pohl occurred March 1948 per register transcription (ev-02) and NavSource (ev-01). Yard asbestos exposure conditions are not addressed by this source; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-78-atr78-03
-
[5]Jason Schreck, 'The Life and Service of a World War II Mine Warfare Sailor: Part 15,' Naval History (U.S. Naval Institute), Vol. 35 No. 2, April 2021 - USS Sway (AM-120) war-journal transcription naming USS ATR-78 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Entry '28-29 March 1945' (live page returns 403 to automated fetch; text verified via Wayback capture 20241213190703)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USNI Naval History memoir of USS Sway (AM-120) records: '28-29 March 1945. Enroute to Miami. 1345: Left division on orders of CominDiv 18 to give medical aide to USS ATR-78. 1512: Medical officer left for tug in tug's whale boat. On advice of medical officer plane requested from NAS Jacksonville, Fla., to take acute appendicitis case to hospital. Stood by tug until plane arrived at 1827. Then set course to rejoin formation, rejoining at 2139.' - places ATR-78 operating on the Atlantic coast off Florida in late March 1945, during the Norfolk-to-Miami transit of Mine Division 18. The article photo caption (NHHC-credited) identifies ATR-31 as 'a sister ship to ATR-78 ... part of the ATR-1 class rescue tugs.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-03
- Limitations
- Published memoir built on the Sway ship's war journal; names ATR-78 directly and dates the encounter, but does not state ATR-78's own assignment or homeport. Corroborates Atlantic/CONUS operations, consistent with the crew-service plaque (ev-05) and the absence of theater campaign ribbons (ev-01). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-78-atr78-04
-
[6]Orange County INGenWeb, 'World War II Honoree - Darrel Murrice Hueston' (military honors plaque transcription), French Lick, IN [other_primary]
- Locator
- Honors plaque page, 'Activity During WWII' block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Orange County (Indiana) WWII honors plaque for Darrell Murrice Hueston records: 'SERVED ON THE USS ATR-78 RESCUE TUG IN THE ATLANTIC FLEET FROM 15 JANUARY 1945 UNTIL 4 APRIL 1946. DISCHARGED ON 23 APRIL 1946. RATING OF SHIPS COOK THIRD CLASS PETTY OFFICER' - a named crew member aboard for nearly the tug's entire commissioned life (commissioned 6 Jan 1945, decommissioned 1 Jul 1946), explicitly in the Atlantic Fleet.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-01 - 1946-04
- Population
- ATR-78 enlisted crew (e.g., Ship's Cook 3/c Hueston, Jan 1945-Apr 1946)
- Limitations
- County-level memorial plaque transcription hosted on a genealogy site - a biographical tribute record, not a service-document facsimile; single-source and not independently corroborated, though consistent with the USNI memoir incident (ev-04) and award-ribbon record (ev-01). Establishes Atlantic Fleet assignment and one crew member's presence aboard; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-78-atr78-05
-
[7]NavSource ATR-78 specifications block (propulsion plant description, ship-specific) + shipscribe ATR-1 class machinery line '1 screw, vertical triple expansion', 1,600 HP [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specs 'Propulsion' block; shipscribe class machinery row
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- ATR-78's documented plant was a WWII-era steam installation: two Babcock & Wilcox 'D'-type boilers at 260 psi supplying a Prescott Co. vertical triple-expansion engine (1,600 shp) plus two steam-turbo-driven 60 kW DC ship's-service generators. In 1943-45 U.S. naval construction, boiler casings, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, and machinery packing for plants of this type were commonly asbestos-containing; the wooden hull does not eliminate the machinery insulation pathway.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1948 service life
- Population
- ATR-78 engine-room crew (machinist's mates, water tenders); Camden construction trades (1943-45)
- Limitations
- The steam plant is ship-specific and verified; the asbestos content is a class/era inference - no source states that this hull's insulation, gaskets, or packing contained asbestos. The wooden hull narrows (but does not eliminate) candidate asbestos locations vs a steel-hulled vessel. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-78-atr78-06
-
[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 steam-powered rescue tug was built at a small civilian yard on Navy contract.
- 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
- Era-level scholarly documentation of WWII shipbuilding asbestos use generally; does not name this vessel or the Camden yard 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-78-atr78-07
-
[9]NavSource ATR-78 page vs shipscribe ATR-1 class fate table vs NavalCoverMuseum ATR 78 wiki page vs HyperWar ships-at.htm class block - cross-source reconciliation [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource ATR-78 chronology; shipscribe fate row + ship note 78; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/ATR_78 designation history; ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-at.htm ATR class header
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved/noted: (a) Buyer identity - NavSource records the 1948 MC sale to 'John G. & Robert Pohl' while the shipscribe register transcription records 'John G. A. Pohl' (a single individual) of Haworth, NJ, sale awarded at Nordland, WA; shipscribe's register-grade transcription is adopted as controlling. (b) Disposal agency/date - the NavalCoverMuseum wiki states 'Transferred to War Shipping Administration March 31 1948'; the WSA was abolished in 1946 and the sale is documented as a Maritime Commission disposal 30 Mar 1948 with Maritime Administration sale paperwork dated 5 Mar 1948 - the WSA attribution is an anachronism. (c) Complement - NavSource ship-specific: 5 officers + 47 enlisted (52); shipscribe class data: 51 (1944); HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy' class block: 35 - figures differ by source and are carried separately. (d) Shipbuildinghistory's 'Disposed of 1946' refers to the 1946 Navy strike/disposal-into-custody; the MC sale occurred March 1948. (e) Builder identity collision risk: Camden Ship Building & Marine Railway of Camden, MAINE is a distinct small yard from New York Shipbuilding of Camden, NEW JERSEY - same city name, different state and company; records naming 'Camden SB' for ATR-78 refer to the Maine yard that founded in 1940 and built the class's ATR-17-22/74-79 hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1946-1948
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies in secondary transcriptions; all four sources are secondary compilations of register data. Does not affect identity or the core 1946-strike/1948-sale timeline materially. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-78-atr78-08
-
[10]Batch-3007 search ledger (this record): NavSource ATR-78 page incl. DANFS-availability statement; history.navy.mil site search; MARAD vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov; CourtListener opinion search 'ATR-78'; NHHC/DANFS index [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-78-01 through sl-uss-atr-78-13a
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS ATR-78 was found in the public sources searched. NavSource states no DANFS history exists for the hull, and a site-scoped search of history.navy.mil returns no ATR-78 record (the hull has no NHHC/DANFS entry - unnamed auxiliaries of this type generally lack one). MARAD ShipHistory returns no record for the hull (a Navy-contract build, not an MC hull). CourtListener opinion search for 'ATR-78' returned zero hits (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 1943-45 Navy steam plant is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation. The hull's short 18-month service life and unknown post-1948 fate reduce the surface for later survey/abatement records. 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-78-atr78-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 search, 2026-09-26: '"ATR-78"' type=o count=0; '"ATR 78"' type=o count=0; '"ATR-78"' type=r count=1 (name collision - NAMIC v. HUD, D.D.C. 1:13-cv-00966, non-qualifying) [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py authenticated query log; opinion count=0; docket count=1 classified name collision
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep for USS ATR-78: opinion search '"ATR-78"' (type=o) returned 0 results - no docketed opinion names this hull. Docket/RECAP search '"ATR-78"' (type=r) returned 1 hit that is a name collision, not this vessel: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANIES v. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1:13-cv-00966 (D.D.C., filed 2013, Administrative Procedure Act) - classified non-qualifying/name collision. Variant opinion search '"ATR 78"' (type=o) also returned 0 results; '"USS ATR-78"' could not be completed before the fleet-wide CourtListener pacing budget was spent - logged in the ledger as pending. Given the hull's anonymity (hull-number-only auxiliary), 18-month career, and two opinion-search zeros, qualifying asbestos litigation naming the hull is unlikely but not disproven; the remaining variant is recorded as an open gap, not a full negative finding.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Two opinion-index zero results plus a single name-collision docket hit; the '"USS ATR-78"' variant query did not run before the fleet pacing budget was spent - a docket naming the hull by full styled name cannot be excluded. Any asbestos litigation naming a WWII Navy hull would most likely appear as pleading allegations anyway (complaint vessel lists are allegations, not findings).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-78-atr78-10
-
[12]NARA Special List #44 (deck logs by ship number, archives.gov) + NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 19/RG 24; shipscribe class notes for contract context [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44 ATR block (ATR-1 through ATR-84 visible in list); shipscribe class notes (BuShips 12 Sep 41 letter; CNO 19 Jan 42 directive for ATR 1-40; VCNO 5 Aug 42 directive for ATR 50-89)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 24 WWII deck logs - NARA Special List 44 (logbooks by ship number) indexes ATR-class log holdings through ~1947; ATR-78's Jan 1945-Jul 1946 logs would fall in this collection but her specific coverage is unverified. (b) RG 19 Bureau of Ships records - the ATR-1 design/procurement file and the Camden contract correspondence. (c) Camden yard records - postwar successor Wayfarer Marine holds the Camden ME site; yard-level build records for ATR-78 are not located in public sources.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1948 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; the OCR'd Special List was visible at class level but ATR-78's specific log range was not confirmed line-item. 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-78-atr78-11
-
[13]Shipscribe.com ATR-1 class notes (transcribing BuShips/CNO/VCNO program correspondence and program-level analysis) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class Notes section, paragraphs on the 12 Sep 41 BuShips letter, 19 Jan 42 and 5 Aug 42 construction directives, and wood/steam design rationale
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class design context (shipscribe class notes, quoting official BuShips correspondence): on 12 Sep 1941 the Chief of the Bureau of Ships wrote CNO on 'the need of rescue tugs to tow in disabled vessels' - seaworthiness, >=1,500 HP towing power, towing engine, long radius, firefighting equipment, basic salvage materials and pumps; CNO directed construction of ATR 1-40 on 19 Jan 1942 and VCNO directed ATR 50-89 on 5 Aug 1942 under the Maximum War Effort program; wood hulls and 'relatively simple triple expansion steam machinery' were deliberately chosen so small yards could build hulls and small machine shops could build engines without competing with the main steel-ship program; one source attributes the design to the John G. Alden firm.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Limitations
- Program-level history contextualizing why a wooden hull carried a steam plant; the Alden design attribution is flagged by the source itself as single-source ('one source indicates'). Does not establish any materials or asbestos fact for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-78-atr78-12