Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet ds-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-atr-79-atr79-pkt-ds-packet-md
-
[2]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels 1945 (NAVSHIPS 250-012, Vol. III), 'Auxiliaries - Rescue Tugs (ATR)' spec table pp. 415-416 and per-vessel machinery/build tables pp. 416-419 (digitized scan hosted at shipscribe.com/pubs/SDB1945v3.pdf) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSHIPS 250-012 Vol. III, 'Auxiliaries - Rescue Tugs (ATR)' section: spec block p. 415; machinery table rows for ATR-79 p. 417-418; build table row for ATR-79 p. 419
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels 1945 (NAVSHIPS 250-012, Vol. III, official Navy publication, digitized scan) records USS ATR-79 in the ATR 50-89 spec group and in the per-vessel build and machinery tables: built by Camden S.B. & Mar. Ry. Co., Camden, Maine; keel laid 10 Jul 1943; launched 8 Sep 1944; date of first commission 9 Dec 1944; engine manufacturer Prescott Co., vertical triple-expansion; boilers Babcock & Wilcox 'D'-type (two boilers, 260 psi, saturated temperature per the class spec page); single propeller, 1,600 shp; two turbo-drive ship's-service generators, 60 kW each, 120 V DC; fuel oil capacity 1,620 bbls; trial speed 12.2 knots; trial displacement 1,312 tons; length 165 ft 5 in overall / 155 ft waterline; extreme beam 33 ft 4 in; largest boom capacity 4 tons; total accommodations 5 officers + 47 enlisted; armament one 3-inch/50-cal dual-purpose mount; footnote 3 on the spec page states the ATR 50-89 hulls were 'Wood hulls.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (publication period)
- Population
- Wartime crew - design accommodations 5 officers + 47 enlisted
- Limitations
- Official wartime publication (1945 edition, issued during the ship's commissioned period). Establishes identity, builder, milestones, machinery, accommodations, and 'Wood hulls' hull material. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazardous-material statement - this row supports no asbestos claim. The digitized scan is hosted on a private research site (shipscribe.com); content is the verbatim government document.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-79-atr79-01
-
[3]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'USS ATR-1 Class' compilation page - construction table, disposition table, and ship notes (data compiled from BuShips/NVR and Maritime Commission records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR-1 class page: construction table row ATR-79; disposition table row ATR-79 (Decomm. 20 May 46, Strike 8 Oct 46, Disposal 23 Jun 48, Fate MC/D, MA Sale 18 May 48); ship notes row 79
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe's ATR-1 class compilation (S. S. Roberts, U.S. Navy Auxiliary Ships series, compiled from Bureau of Ships and Maritime Commission records) gives the lifecycle not covered by wartime publications: ordered 27 Nov 1942; Camden SB; keel 10 Jul 1943; launched 8 Sep 1944; commissioned 9 Dec 1944; decommissioned 20 May 1946; struck 8 Oct 1946; Maritime Commission disposal ('MC/D'); sale awarded 18 May 1948; disposal recorded 23 Jun 1948. Ship note: 'Sold (awarded) by MC at Nordland, Wash., to John G. and Robert Pohl, Haworth, N.J.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation on a private research site, not itself an official publication - but a documented transcription practice from BuShips/NVR/MC primary records, and its construction milestones match the official NAVSHIPS 1945 build table exactly. The decommission (20 May 1946), strike (8 Oct 1946), and sale particulars (Nordland WA award site, buyer names, 18 May 1948 award) are single-source - no second accessible source confirms them; NavSource lists decommissioning date as unknown and places the MC sale at 'Seattle' rather than Nordland (conflict logged in gaps). Contains no asbestos statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-79-atr79-02
-
[4]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'USS ATR-1 Class' page - Class Notes (BuShips 12 Sep 41 letter to CNO; CNO direction 19 Jan 42; VCNO direction 5 Aug 42; wood-to-steel change approved 3 Jun 43) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR-1 class page, 'Class Notes' section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ATR-1 class program context (shipscribe class notes, compiled from BuShips correspondence): on 12 Sep 1941 the Chief of the Bureau of Ships wrote the CNO on the 'need of rescue tugs to tow in disabled vessels,' drawing on British rescue-tug experience; 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. To keep the program off the main Navy procurement track the Navy specified wooden hulls and relatively simple triple-expansion steam machinery - hulls buildable by small shipbuilders, engines by small local machine shops; one source attributes the design to the John G. Alden firm (a yacht designer that also produced wooden tugs). ATR 101-140 were changed to steel construction on CNO approval 3 Jun 1943 (the 143-ft ATA-174 class). The 80 wooden ATRs averaged 9.4 months keel-to-launch; ATR-79 took 14 months (10 Jul 1943 - 8 Sep 1944), consistent with the documented inefficiency of the wooden-ship program.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-1944
- Limitations
- Program-level narrative from a secondary compilation quoting/recounting BuShips correspondence; underlying letters are not independently reproduced here. Establishes why a wooden hull carried a steam plant and situates ATR-79 in the 50-89 order block - no asbestos statement, no ship-specific finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-79-atr79-03
-
[5]NavSource Naval History (volunteer archive), USS ATR-79 page 09/40/40079; Naval Cover Museum wiki, 'ATR 79' page (name/designation history and awards) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource ATR-79 page (milestones, spec block, awards line, call sign); navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/ATR_79
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource per-hull page for USS ATR-79 (09/40/40079): awards credited to the hull are the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal, with no campaign stars; international radio call sign NHUQ; first commanding officer LT D. J. McMillan; spec block reproduces the official class data (complement 5 officers + 47 enlisted; Prescott vertical triple-expansion engine; two B&W 'D'-type boilers 260 psi sat; two 60 kW 120 V DC generators; 1,600 shp; 12.2 kts; one 3"/50 DP + two 20 mm AA mounts; 4-ton boom). No photographs exist in the archive; the page states 'There is no DANFS history available for USS ATR-79.' The Naval Cover Museum page for ATR 79 independently confirms commission 9 Dec 1944, sale 23 Jun 1948 to John G. & Robert Pohl, and the same two awards, with no postmarks on file.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Limitations
- Secondary volunteer archives used for details the official record does not digitize (awards line, call sign, commanding-officer name). Milestone and spec values cross-check to the official NAVSHIPS Ships' Data 1945 table; awards/call sign are single-source secondary. Absence of campaign stars is consistent with stateside or Atlantic employment but does not prove a service theater - no operational narrative exists for this hull. No asbestos statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-79-atr79-04
-
[6]Plant details per NAVSHIPS 250-012 Ships' Data 1945 Vol. III (ev-01); era insulation practice per Corn & Starr 1987 (ev-06) and period marine-engineering practice for steam auxiliaries [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSHIPS 250-012 pp. 415-419 (documented plant); application inference at era level only
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The ship's documented machinery (NAVSHIPS 1945: two oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox 'D'-type boilers at 260 psi saturated steam feeding a Prescott vertical triple-expansion engine) is a full steam plant of the WWII period, on a hull built 1943-44. Steam plants of this era and type carried thermal insulation on boiler casings and steam drums and lagging on steam lines between boiler room and engine room, and period gaskets, packing, and insulation felts commonly contained asbestos; brake linings on the towing engine, winches, and windlass are a further era-typical application. The wooden hull carries less structural insulation than a comparable steel hull but does not change the machinery-space insulation regime.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Construction workers (Camden Ship Building & Marine Railway, 1943-44); wartime crew - engine/boiler-room ratings in particular
- Limitations
- Era-and-plant inference, not a hull record: the official spec establishes the machinery type but contains no materials or insulation statement, and no construction spec, survey, or photograph naming asbestos aboard this hull was located. Does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard, quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-79-atr79-05
-
[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 World War II - the program and era under which this wooden-hulled steam rescue tug was built - with wartime demand driving unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard naval and merchant 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 or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-79-atr79-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated, fleet-paced): opinion queries 'USS ATR-79' and 'ATR-79'; docket queries 'USS ATR-79' and 'ATR-79' [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search result sets; Yousef opinion cluster 8437415 (2d Cir. 2003); Martinez v. Aero Caribbean docket gov.uscourts.cand.244818; Stolt-Nielsen dockets 1:05-cv-02217 and 1:06-cv-00474
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener authenticated search (2026-09-26): opinions - 'USS ATR-79' 0 hits; 'ATR-79' 2 hits, both United States v. Yousef (2d Cir., 327 F.3d 56, filed 2003-04-04 - the World Trade Center bombing appeal; the string occurs in the opinion's record material, not as a vessel reference). Dockets - 'USS ATR-79' 0 hits; 'ATR-79' 3 hits: Martinez v. Aero Caribbean (N.D. Cal. 3:11-cv-03194, aviation crash complaint naming ATR the aircraft manufacturer among defendants, suitNature 310 Airplane) and two Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group FOIA suits (D.D.C. 1:05-cv-02217, 1:06-cv-00474) - all string collisions, non-ship, non-asbestos. Classification: no qualifying litigation; no complaint-stage, discovery, trial, or appellate asbestos record names this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- sweep run 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Search covers CourtListener's indexed corpus only; state courts and non-digitized federal dockets are outside coverage. All hits are string collisions ('ATR-79' as record text: an aircraft-maker defendant name in an aviation case, FOIA Vaughn-index material, and the WTC-bombing appeal) - none references the vessel. Had any hit been a complaint it would still be pleading-stage only; as it stands there is no litigation record at any stage for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-79-atr79-07
-
[9]Batch-3008 search ledger (this record): NAVSHIPS 1945 Vol. III; NavSource; Naval Cover Museum; shipscribe ATR-1 compilation; shipbuildinghistory Camden yard table; MARAD ShipHistory; CourtListener opinion sweep; NARA catalog check; HyperWar compilations [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-79-atr79-01 through sl-uss-atr-79-atr79-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum/environmental filing, or court finding naming USS ATR-79 was found in the public sources searched. There is no DANFS entry (the series covers only commissioned ships with assigned names), no NPS/HAER documentation, no MARAD Vessel History Database record (the hull never entered NDRF custody), and no photograph in the NavSource archive (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 1944 steam plant is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation. Equally, no affirmative claim can be made. The hull was sold into private hands in 1948 and is untraced thereafter, so no modern survey or abatement record can be expected. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-79-atr79-08
-
[10]NARA record-group mapping (RG 24 deck logs; RG 38 war diaries; RG 178 Maritime Commission; RG 19 Bureau of Ships) + shipbuildinghistory Camden yard profile for builder-record status [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Guide to Federal Records; shipbuildinghistory.com Camden yard table/history note
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (unretrieved - no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 deck logs for the commissioned period (Dec 1944-May 1946) would resolve the undocumented operational record; NARA RG 38 WWII war-diaries series may include a submission for this hull; NARA RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) disposal files would document the 1948 sale particulars and may carry a condition survey; Bureau of Ships records (RG 19) hold the 'Navy ATR-1' design and machinery specifications; Camden Ship Building & Marine Railway records are dispersed (wartime company reconstituted postwar as Camden Shipbuilding Company, failed 1963, site later acquired by Wayfarer Marine as a maintenance facility).
- 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; 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-79-atr79-09