Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet ln-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Balduck — hull DE-716, reclassified APD-132 on
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-balduck-de716-pkt-ln-packet-md
-
[2]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 1945), auxiliaries - high speed transports (APD) section, per-hull rows for BALDUCK APD-132 (ex-DE-716) (shipscribe.com scan of the official BuShips publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 APD tables beginning p. 286 - dimensions, displacement/personnel, machinery, generators/fuel, armament, and construction rows for APD132; consolidated index entry 'Balduck (ex-DE716) APD132 - Auxiliary - High Speed Transport ... 286'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 3 carries per-hull rows for BALDUCK APD132 (ex-DE716): 306'0" overall / 300'0" waterline; extreme beam 37'0"; trial speed 23.6 knots; trial displacement 1,650 tons; limiting displacement 2,130 tons; tons-per-inch 20; limiting draft 12'7"; accommodations 12 officers + 192 enlisted; troop capacity 12 officers + 150 enlisted; largest boom 10 tons; armament 1 x 5"/38 cal. (D.P.) + 3 twin 40mm A.A. mounts; machinery 2 propellers, G.E. turbo-electric engines, 12,000 shp, 2 'D' Express-type boilers at 435 psi / 750 deg F; no main reduction gears; ship's service generators 2 x 300 kW turbo (450 V A.C.) + 2 x 40 kW turbo (120 V D.C.); fuel 2,216 bbl fuel oil + 93 bbl diesel; construction row - Defoe S. B. Co., Bay City, Mich.; keel laid 17 Jun 44; launched 27 Oct 44; first commission 7 May 45.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Authoritative wartime BuShips publication naming this hull - confirms identity, machinery plant, manning, armament, builder, and key dates. OCR of the scanned table is columnar and partially garbled ('BALDICK' in the armament table); values cross-verified against DANFS and NavSource. Contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-balduck-de716-01
-
[3]DANFS, 'Balduck (APD-132) 1945-1975' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (Robert J. Cressman, written 2005-12-16, published 2016-09-01; live NHHC URL returns 404 - verbatim text retrieved via Internet Archive Wayback capture 20240623182618) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body text (Wayback capture 20240623182618)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC record for this hull: laid down 17 Jun 1944 at Bay City, Mich., by Defoe Shipbuilding Co. as DE-716; reclassified high speed transport APD-132 on 17 Jul 1944; launched on Navy Day 27 Oct 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Mary Verhougstraete; commissioned at New Orleans 7 May 1945, Lt. Robert T. Newell USNR. Guantanamo shakedown; post-shakedown availability Norfolk Navy Yard; Norfolk departure 2 Jul 1945 (130 passengers); Panama Canal 7 Jul; San Diego 16 Jul; sailed 16 Aug with UDT 23; Okinawa 3 Sep; supported 7th Infantry Division occupation landings at Jinsen (Inchon) and Tsingtao; ordered home 19 Oct; arrived San Diego 7 Dec 1945; 19th Fleet inactivation reporting 15-24 Jan 1946; out of commission in reserve 31 May 1946; towed to San Pedro by Koka (ATA-185) Jan 1949, overhaul to Mar; recommissioned San Diego 5 Nov 1953 (Lt. Comdr. Carl E. Olson); WestPac 2 Sep 1954; Passage to Freedom - Haiphong 15 Oct 1954 as ComPhibRon 5 then ComPhibRon 1 flagship; Lt.(j.g.) Thomas A. Dooley MC USNR sampan-rescue incident 22 Dec; relieved by Cook (APD-130) 20 Jan 1955; Tachen Islands evacuation - with TF 77, embarked Ambassador Rankin, MAAG Formosa chief, and correspondents 10 Feb 1955 to Keelung; further WestPac tours Aug 1955-Mar 1956 and Feb-Sep 1957; home port to Long Beach 26 Nov 1957, inactivation from 29 Nov; out of commission 28 Feb 1958; redesignated LPR-132 1 Jan 1969; struck from Navy list 15 Jul 1975; sold to National Metal and Steel Corp., Terminal Island, Calif., turned over to buyer 16 Dec 1976, broken up.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1976
- Limitations
- Primary Navy historical entry - authoritative for service history, custody chain, and disposal. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page 404s (standing link rot, cf. BATCH-01); the Wayback capture is the verbatim NHHC text. Two internal inconsistencies logged in gaps (San Diego arrival 7 Dec vs old-DANFS 7 Nov 1945; Haiphong VIP-hosting dates as extracted postdate the 20 Jan relief - likely 'January' misprint).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-balduck-de716-02
-
[4]DANFS (earlier published text), Balduck (APD-132) - verbatim transcription, HyperWar Foundation/ibiblio mirror [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, spec block + service narrative (ibiblio HyperWar transcription)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Earlier DANFS record: namesake biography (Cpl. Remi August Balduck, USMC, b. Detroit 30 Mar 1918, KIA 9 Nov 1942 Guadalcanal, posthumous Navy Cross); spec block - dp. 1,390; l. 306'; b. 36'10"; dr. 13'9"; s. 23.6 k.; cpl. 204; a. 1 5"; cl. Crosley. Reclassified APD-132 17 Jul 1944; launched 27 Oct 1944 by Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.; commissioned 7 May 1945, Lt. R. T. Newell, Jr., USNR. Departed Oceanside 16 Aug 1945; Okinawa 3 Sep; occupation of Korea and Tsingtao to 12 Oct; departed 19 Oct for San Diego 'arriving 7 November'; Transport Division 112 - five San Diego-San Pedro personnel voyages; out of commission in reserve San Diego 31 May 1946; recommissioned 5 Nov 1953, Amphibious Control Division 12; repairs/overhaul San Francisco Naval Shipyard 8 Dec 1953-25 Mar 1954; Amphibious Control Division 11; UDT and ASW training; departed San Diego 1 Sep 1954 for Yokosuka / Amphibious Transport Division 31; Haiphong 14 Oct 1954 evacuation support; Tachen Islands 9 Feb 1955 with TF 77; 1-17 Mar Yokosuka-San Diego; Yokosuka 15 Sep 1955 (printed '1985' - see gaps), Japanese/Philippine waters, returned San Diego 23 Mar 1956; continued San Diego ASW/amphibious training.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Limitations
- Authoritative for construction dates, spec block, and early career; predates the ship's later career (entry ends mid-service, covering through 1956). The transcription carries '1985' print-era typos for 1955 dates and a 7 Nov 1945 San Diego arrival that conflicts with the modern NHHC entry's 7 Dec - discrepancies logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-balduck-de716-03
-
[5]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - USS Balduck (LPR-132) ex-USS Balduck (APD-132), file 10/04/04132 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 04132.htm - timeline, awards block, spec block, CO table, disposal entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline corroborates DANFS and adds detail: Rudderow-class DE / Crosley-class high-speed transport; laid down 17 Jun 1944 as DE-716 at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City MI; commissioned 7 May 1945, LT. Robert T. Newell USNR; decommissioned 31 May 1946 San Diego, Pacific Reserve Fleet San Diego Group; recommissioned at San Diego (CO table reads 6 Nov 1953 vs DANFS 5 Nov - see gaps), LCDR Carl E. Olson; awards - China Service Medal (extended), American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, WWII Victory, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp), National Defense Service Medal; occupation/China service periods 3 Sep-21 Oct 1945 and China Service Medal 6-13 Feb 1955; decommissioned 28 Feb 1958; LPR-132 on 1 Jan 1969; struck Naval Register 15 Jul 1975; sold for scrapping 6 Dec 1976 for $60,000 to National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island, CA. APD spec block adds boiler manufacturer attribution (Babcock & Wilcox 'D' Express - printed 'Babcox'), 20mm and depth-charge armament detail, 4 LCVPs, 6,000 nm range at 12 kt; NHHC photo L45-18.05.01 (starboard bow, underway) documented for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1976
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official; consistent with NHHC/SDB where cross-checked. NavSource's 'Defore Shipbuilding Co' is a persistent misspelling (correct: Defoe, per SDB/DANFS). Boiler manufacturer attribution is NavSource-only - SDB gives 'D' Express type without manufacturer; logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-balduck-de716-04
-
[6]Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955-1957, China, Volume II, Document 108 - Telegram from the Ambassador in the Republic of China (Rankin) to the Department of State, header 'USS Balduck, February 10, 1955 - 8:38 p.m.' [other_primary]
- Locator
- FRUS 1955-1957, China, vol. II, doc. 108 - telegram header and footnote 1 (Dept. of State Central Files 293.9322/2-1055)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary State Department record naming this hull: FRUS doc 108 is a telegram transmitted from USS Balduck at Tachen on 10 Feb 1955 ('Ambassador Rankin at Tachen sends ... Sent through Navy channels'), reporting on the Seventh Fleet evacuation of the Tachen Islands - corroborating the NHHC narrative that Balduck operated at the Tachens from 9 Feb and embarked the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of China on the afternoon of 10 Feb for passage to Keelung, Formosa.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1955
- Limitations
- Confirms the ship's presence and role at the Tachen evacuation and the ambassador's association with the vessel; contains no materials or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-balduck-de716-05
-
[7]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 v3 machinery row for this hull (2 'D' Express boilers 435 psi/750 deg F; G.E. turbo-electric, 12,000 shp, twin screws) + Crosley-class/Rudderow-hull construction-era context [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 machinery table, APD section (BALDUCK row); NHHC DANFS for yard-event dates
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull carried a twin-screw turbo-electric steam plant (two 'D' Express boilers at 435 psi / 750 deg F feeding two G.E. turbo-electric engines, no reduction gears, 12,000 shp) built at a private Great Lakes yard at the peak of WWII asbestos usage - the machinery configuration for which boiler and fireroom insulation, main and auxiliary steam-line lagging, turbo-generator lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and accommodation joiner insulation of the period were commonly asbestos-containing. The on-the-ways DE-to-APD conversion added berthing for 12 troop officers + 150 enlisted, expanding interior insulation/joiner scope. Documented disturbance events for this hull: 1944-45 construction and APD fitting (Defoe, Bay City); post-shakedown availability Norfolk Navy Yard Jul 1945; San Pedro overhaul Jan-Mar 1949; San Francisco Naval Shipyard repairs/overhaul Dec 1953-Mar 1954; Long Beach inactivation Nov 1957-Feb 1958; Terminal Island breaking Dec 1976.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1976
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades (1944-45); wartime crew and embarked troops/UDT; Norfolk Navy Yard workers (1945); SFNSY workers (1953-54); Pacific Reserve Fleet caretakers (1946-53, 1958-75); National Metal & Steel breaking-yard workers (1976)
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant and construction era - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming DE-716/APD-132 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation. The disturbance events are documented; their asbestos scope is inference.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-balduck-de716-06
-
[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 two Navy yards and two 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 and type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- 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 (Defoe Shipbuilding was not among the surveyed yards) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized - see the 2026 critique at DOI 10.1177/10482911261446696.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-balduck-de716-07
-
[9]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 Rudderow-hull Crosley-class high speed transport was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- 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-balduck-de716-08
-
[10]Batch-4497 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Wayback; HyperWar/ibiblio DANFS transcription; NavSource 04132; BuShips SDB 1945 v3; FRUS 1955-57 v2 doc 108; CourtListener (partially blocked); indexed-web litigation checks; VA BVA index; NARA record-group guides; shipyards.json cross-check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-balduck-de716-01 through sl-uss-balduck-de716-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Balduck / DE-716 / APD-132 / LPR-132 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Indexed-web hits for 'Balduck' in litigation repositories are name collisions - party surnames Balduc (Balduc v. Gogebic County, W.D. Mich. 2:26-cv-00109) and Baldukas (Baldukas v. B&R Check Holders, D. Colo. 1:12-cv-01330) - not this hull; 'APD-132' queries return Albuquerque Police Department document noise. Law-firm marketing pages (simmonsfirm.com navy ship list; mesotheliomahelp.org destroyer-escorts page; asbestosnavy.com; freeasbestostesting.com; mesotheliomahope.com) name this hull on 'ships with asbestos' lists without primary support - excluded as a source per the no-law-firm-sources rule and logged in the batch report.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 turbo-electric steam transport is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the documented yard events (1945 Norfolk availability, 1949 San Pedro overhaul, 1953-54 SFNSY overhaul, 1957-58 Long Beach inactivation, 1976 breaking) are undocumented disturbance phases. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. CourtListener coverage is partial (see ev-11 and ledger): one clean authenticated exact-phrase opinion search returned zero results; broader sweeps were deferred on fleet pacing limits.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-balduck-de716-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated, fleet-paced helper cl-auth-search.py): opinions search, exact phrase "USS Balduck"; broader name/hull sweeps deferred [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py responses, 2026-09-29; search_ledger sl-06 through sl-07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep state at writing: the exact-phrase opinion search "USS Balduck" (type=o) returned a clean authenticated HTTP 200 with count 0 - no opinion names the ship. Subsequent sweeps ("Balduck" unqualified; "DE-716"; "APD-132"; docket/RECAP type=r) were deferred: the fleet-wide request budget (paced ~114/hr shared across sessions against a 2,800/day account quota) reported 'momentarily spent' on repeated spaced attempts through the session; per batch rules, no anonymous or out-of-band fallback was attempted. Residual litigation coverage rests on the one clean API result plus indexed-web checking (sl-08), which surfaced only name collisions.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Litigation coverage is incomplete by configuration: opinion full-text was swept only for the exact phrase 'USS Balduck' (0 hits); unqualified 'Balduck', hull-number, and RECAP docket sweeps were not run. An asbestos allegation naming this hull could exist in a docket not surfaced. Classified as a negative finding for API-visible opinion text only - not a certificate of no litigation; retry on budget reset is a logged gap.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-balduck-de716-10
-
[12]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 181 (naval districts and shore establishments - yard records); NHHC photographic file L45-18.05.01 for this hull (per NavSource attribution) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html ; /groups/181.html ; NHHC photo L45-18.05.01 per NavSource 04132
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for USS Balduck/APD-132 covering 1945-1958 (RG 24, NARA College Park - the Haiphong flagship period, the 22 Dec 1954 Dooley sampan incident, and the 10 Feb 1955 ambassador embarkation would appear there); BuShips records for the DE-716-to-APD-132 conversion and Crosley-class design files incl. the Booklet of General Plans (RG 19); Norfolk Navy Yard records for the Jul 1945 post-shakedown availability and San Francisco Naval Shipyard (Hunters Point) records for the Dec 1953-Mar 1954 overhaul (RG 181) - the most promising in-service disturbance-phase material leads; NHHC photo file L45-18.05.01; disposal-era records of the 1976 National Metal & Steel sale.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1976 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-balduck-de716-11