Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet crew-ct-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-bannock-at81-pkt-crew-ct-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS (updated entry, Raymond A. Mann, 6 March 2006), Bannock - construction, spec block, WWII service narrative (ARCHIVED copy: live NHHC page returned 404 on all candidate URLs, 2026-10-06) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Archived NHHC DANFS page (history.navy.mil/danfs/b2/bannock-i.htm, capture 2014-10-19) - entry text and spec block; corroborating 1959-edition transcription https://losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/volume_b/vol_b_02.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'Bannock (AT 81) was laid down on 3 August 1942 at Charleston, S.C., by the Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; launched on 7 January 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Katharine Carswell; and commissioned on 28 June 1943, Lt. Sam P. Morgan in command.' Spec block: AT 81: dp. 1,675 (f.); l. 205'0"; b. 38'6"; dr. 15'4" (lim.); s. 16.5 k. (tl.); cpl. 85; a. 1 3", 2 40mm.; cl. Cherokee. Remainder of 1943 and early 1944: towing along the east coast with trips to the West Indies and Brazil; late March 1944 joined a New York convoy for Britain, arrived Falmouth mid-April; invasion-preparation towing under Luftwaffe air raids, undamaged. Redesignated ATF 81 on 15 May 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1942-1944 (entry coverage through ATF-81 redesignation)
- Population
- Charleston Shipbuilding & Dry Dock construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-forward)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Cited via Wayback capture of the NHHC DANFS page - the live page returned 404 on 2026-10-06 for /danfs/b/bannock.html, /danfs/b/bannock-i.html, and the /content/history/nhhc/ path variant; this is an archived-source citation, not a live one. The 1959 Vol. 1 entry (hazegray/losthistory transcription) lacks the laid-down date and ends coverage at 1955; the updated Mann entry is the fuller source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bannock-at81-01
-
[3]DANFS (updated entry, Mann, 2006), Bannock - Normandy service, Pacific service, postwar reserve/recommissioning, lease to Italy, striking, and sale (ARCHIVED copy; live NHHC page 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Archived NHHC DANFS page, service narrative paragraphs 2-5 and closing line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS narrative for this hull: from D-Day 6 June through the third week of July 1944 she ran rescue, salvage, and repair operations for the invasion force, first at Utah Beach then Omaha Beach from early July. Departed Normandy 21 July; at Londonderry, Northern Ireland, took the damaged destroyer Nelson (DD 623) in tow, reaching Boston 26 August 1944. Towed out of Norfolk until mid-December, departing 14 December for the Pacific - Pearl Harbor 23 January 1945, a tow to Eniwetok (arrived 2 March), the Marianas (Guam to late March; Saipan tow to Iwo Jima; Guam 20 April), arrival off Okinawa 7 May. Remainder of 1945 towing among the Marianas, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima, shifting to occupation duties after mid-August; early 1946 added Hollandia, Milne Bay, Manus, Kwajalein. Pearl Harbor 1 April 1946; San Diego mid-May for pre-inactivation overhaul; Orange, Texas, end of January 1947; 'decommissioned by 21 February 1947'; reserve at Orange over four years. Recommissioned 11 September 1951, Lt. Wesley C. Dreman; four years Atlantic-coast and West Indies towing. 'In July 1955, she was placed out of commission again and berthed at New London, Conn.' Reserve until October 1962, 'at which time she was leased to Italy. On 1 December 1977, while she was still under lease, her name was struck from the Navy list. In May 1979, she was sold to the Italian government.' Two battle stars for WWII.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1944-1979 (entry coverage)
- Population
- Crew (1943-47, 1951-55); salvage/firefighting operations alongside USN and RN vessels, Normandy (Jun-Jul 1944); Pacific towing ops (1945-46); Orange reserve-fleet caretakers (1947-51, 1955-62); New London berth (1955-62)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos content. Decommission-date conflicts: the updated DANFS states 'July 1955' for second decommissioning vs 25 November 1955 in the 1959-edition DANFS, NavSource commanding-officer list, and NavalCoverMuseum; and 'by 21 February 1947' vs NavalCoverMuseum's 12 February 1947 - both variants logged in gaps. Archived-source citation (live page 404).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bannock-at81-02
-
[4]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Bannock (ATF-81) ex AT-81 - designation timeline, campaign table, specifications, commanding-officer list, disposal, and photo captions (live .net domain verified 2026-10-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/39/39081.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, commanding-officer list, and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down date unknown, Charleston Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.; launched 7 January 1943; commissioned USS Bannock (AT-81) 28 June 1943, LT. Sam P. Morgan; reclassified Fleet Ocean Tug ATF-81 15 May 1944; Invasion of Normandy 6-25 June 1944 as Task Group 122.3 Salvage and Fire Fighting Group (Wreck Dispersal Vessel); Okinawa Gunto assault and occupation 6 May - 30 June 1945; occupation service in the Far East 2 September 1945 - 22 January 1946; decommissioned 21 February 1947 Orange, TX, Atlantic Reserve Fleet Texas Group; recommissioned 11 September 1951; decommissioned 25 November 1955; 'Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown'; 'Transferred (sold) to Italy, 1 May 1979, under the Security Assistance Program'; 'Final Disposition, discarded by Italy, fate unknown.' Specifications: displacement 1,235 t. (lt) / 1,675 t. (fl); complement 5 officers + 80 enlisted; four GM 12-278 diesel-electric main engines, single Fairbanks Morse main reduction gear, three GM 3-268A auxiliary engines, single propeller 3,000 shp; two battle stars. Photo captions document: commissioning ceremony 28 June 1943 at the builder's yard; presence at the sinking of USS Meredith (DD-726) off Utah Beach 9 June 1944; change of command 25 September 1954 (LT. Yelton relieving LCDR. White); underway Chesapeake Bay c. 1954-55; ex-ATF-81 in Italian Coast Guard service drydocked at Genoa 26 January 1969; C.P. 451 Bannock in 1999; and C.P. 451 laid up at Naples in 'disarmament' per a Guardia Costiera message of March 2005.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1942-2005
- Population
- Crew (1943-47, 1951-55); Genoa drydock workers (1969); Italian Coast Guard/customs crew (to 2001); Naples lay-up personnel (2005)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track DANFS but the page lists the Naval Register striking as 'date unknown' where the updated DANFS supplies 1 December 1977. Photo captions document physical presence (commissioning, the Meredith scene, the 1969 Genoa drydock, the 2005 Naples lay-up), not work performed. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bannock-at81-03
-
[5]CNR (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche) Almanacco della Scienza, 'Dalla Bannock alla Gaia Blu' (Maurizio Gentilini, 2022-11-09) - operator-authoritative account of the ship's Italian research career; plus CNR centenario stub https://centenario.cnr.it/la-nave-oceanografica-del-cnr-bannock/ [other_primary]
- Locator
- Almanacco CNR article text, paragraphs on the 1962 cessione, conversion, campaigns, Ustica, 1977 striking, and 2001 disarmo
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The operator's own history of this hull's Italian career: on 4 April 1962 CNR president Giovanni Polvani announced the U.S. government's 'cessione in uso' of the AFT 81 Bannock - 'un robusto rimorchiatore oceanico classe Navajo... con propulsione diesel-elettrica General Motors' built at Charleston and launched 7 January 1943 - as a five-year renewable loan for marine research. The tug was converted at Genoa workshops into a research vessel with chemical, biological, and geological laboratories and ran a long series of Mediterranean oceanographic cruises (bathymetry, geomagnetism, seismic activity) credited with locating the submerged Giulia Ferdinandea island in the Strait of Sicily and the anoxic hypersaline basins off the Libyan coast; she was also used in the search for the DC-9 lost off Ustica. 'Solo nel 1977 venne radiata dal registro navale statunitense e definitivamente acquisita dal Cnr' - stricken from the U.S. naval register in 1977 and definitively acquired. From 2001 the ship entered disarmo with attempts at museum conversion in the port of Procida.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1962-2001
- Population
- Genoa conversion yard workers (1962-63); CNR crew and scientific parties (1962-2001)
- Limitations
- Operator-authoritative but retrospective institutional history; contains no asbestos or materials content. The CNR '1977' striking is consistent with the updated DANFS 1 December 1977; the definitive-acquisition framing differs in paperwork detail from the documented May 1979 sale - sequence noted in gaps. Does not document work scope of the 1962 Genoa conversion beyond laboratory fitting.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bannock-at81-04
-
[6]naviecapitani.it CP 451 Bannock page (secondary compilation citing Guardia Costiera official material) + NavSource Italian-service photo captions + MarineTraffic registry line IMO 6401438 [other_primary]
- Locator
- naviecapitani.it CP 451 - Bannock scheda; NavSource 09/39/39081.htm 'C.P. 451 Bannock' photo section; marinetraffic.org IMO 6401438 entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-CNR custody for this hull: from the early 1990s she was entrusted to the Italian Coast Guard, serving as oceanographic ship C.P. 451 Bannock for personnel training and research; a 1993 refit added a conference room and computing facilities; she was placed in disarmo in 2001 with a projected museum conversion, and an enthusiast account reported her still at Naples 'in un stato di decadenza sempre maggiore' as of 10 September 2013. NavSource photographs show her drydocked at Genoa 26 January 1969 in Italian Coast Guard service, in service as C.P. 451 in 1999, and laid up at Naples in 'disarmament' per a Guardia Costiera message of March 2005. MarineTraffic registry data lists IMO 6401438 (research vessel, built 1943) as laid-up.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1969-2013
- Population
- Guardia Costiera crews and trainees (early 1990s-2001); Italian refit workers (1993); Naples lay-up/disposal workers (2001+)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (the page states its technical data came from the Guardia Costiera official site and U.S. sector sites); no asbestos content. The 1993 refit and early-1990s Coast Guard transfer are single-source details. IMO attribution carries a NERC vocabulary-platform warning of contradictory identity data - see gaps. Post-2013 disposition undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bannock-at81-05
-
[7]DPLA item record: 'USS BANNOCK - War Diary, 7/1-31/44' - Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories (NARA microfilm, Micro Serial No. 81809) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DPLA item a4d01503f4530a29d59ffdacfcc5acf5 (title 'USS BANNOCK - War Diary, 7/1-31/44'); NARA micro serial 81809
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A digitized operational record exists for this hull: the July 1944 war diary of USS Bannock - covering the period when she departed Normandy (21 July), shifted to Londonderry, and began the Nelson (DD-623) tow to Boston - is indexed in the Digital Public Library of America from NARA's WWII war-diary microfilm series (serial 81809). The series implies monthly war diaries for her commissioned periods, an operations-level archival lead for documenting her activities, locations, and availabilities.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1944-07
- Population
- Crew, July 1944 reporting period (lead only)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the war diary was not read for this record; its content (beyond existence in the series) is unverified. The DPLA item page and NARA catalog are JS-rendered and could not be fetched from this session (DPLA API HTTP 403); metadata transcribed from the search-index record. No asbestos content expected or established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bannock-at81-06
-
[8]East Carolina University, David Y. Taylor Papers finding aid - photograph album documenting Navy-funded construction of shipyard/repair facilities at Charleston, S.C., April 1942 - April 1943, including Charleston Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company contracts [other_primary]
- Locator
- ECU Digital Collections finding aid #1196, scope-and-content and historical-note sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- An archival lead at the builder-yard level: the ECU David Y. Taylor photograph album documents work at Charleston Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. (and neighboring yards) April 1942 - April 1943 - the exact window in which this hull was laid down (3 August 1942) and launched (7 January 1943) - including photographs of work crews, dry docks, piers, and plant facilities. Also documented: the yard's lineage (Pregnall Shipyard 1869; Valk & Murdoch; Charleston Dry Dock & Machine Co. 1919; Charleston Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Co. 1936; Navy takeover 1942, renamed Charleston Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.) - establishing that this hull's builder was a distinct private yard under wartime Navy control, not the Charleston Navy Yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Charleston Shipbuilding & Dry Dock work crews (1942-43)
- Limitations
- Builder-yard-level archival lead, not a hull record - the finding aid does not name this vessel and the album documents yard construction, not ship construction or materials. No asbestos content in the finding aid itself. Distinct-entity note is the primary value: prevents conflation of 'Charleston Shipbuilding & Dry Dock' with 'Charleston Navy Yard' in yard-level exposure attribution.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bannock-at81-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (Cherokee-class diesel-electric fleet tug, built 1942-43); NavSource specifications (4x GM 12-278 diesel-electric mains, FM reduction gear, 3x GM 3-268A auxiliaries, single screw); Corn & Starr AJIM 11(3) (see ev-uss-bannock-at81-09); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-uss-bannock-at81-10) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block and service narrative; NavSource specifications block; supporting era citations in ev-uss-bannock-at81-09 and ev-uss-bannock-at81-10
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-electric fleet ocean tug built August 1942 - June 1943 under the WWII U.S. naval-construction program sits squarely inside the documented asbestos-use era for American shipbuilding. Era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period: thermal insulation on hot machinery and piping, diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and brake linings on towing/winching machinery. As a diesel-electric vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply - but a 205-ft fleet tug's engineering spaces, generators, and exhaust trunks were small confined compartments of exactly the kind where era insulation concentrated. Her documented 1962 Genoa research-vessel conversion and 1993 refit are the kind of work events that would have disturbed any retained era materials.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1942-2001+
- Population
- Construction trades (Charleston, 1942-43); USN crew (1943-47, 1951-55); reserve-fleet caretakers (1947-51, 1955-62); Genoa conversion/refit workers (1962-63, 1969 drydock, 1993); CNR crews/scientists and Guardia Costiera crews (1962-2001); Naples lay-up/disposal workers (2001+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or abatement record located for AT-81/ATF-81 or C.P. 451. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Neither the Genoa conversion scope nor any Italian-era materials record was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bannock-at81-08
-
[10]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 1942-43 naval fleet tug was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in vessel construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- 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, its class, or its builder, 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-bannock-at81-09
-
[11]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, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire U.S. Navy construction (1942-43) and service era (1943-55, reserve to 1962).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, confirmed 2026-10-06) - content via product-page description, same standing limitation as prior batches.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bannock-at81-10
-
[12]Batch-2820 search ledger (this record): archived NHHC DANFS (updated Mann entry); losthistory/hazegray 1959-edition transcription; NavSource; CNR centenario + Almanacco; naviecapitani; DPLA/NARA war-diary index; ECU Taylor Papers; NVR; GAO product page; CourtListener API v4 (4 base queries + 1 justified variant); secondary web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bannock-at81-01 through -17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for any era of this hull: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, refit materials scope, or verified litigation naming USS Bannock (AT-81/ATF-81) or C.P. 451 Bannock was found in the public sources searched. Litigation sweep: CourtListener opinion search 'USS Bannock' returned zero; docket search returned 64 hits dominated by Idaho name collisions (Bannock County, W. Bannock St. Boise - 'Bannock' is an Idaho place/tribal name) plus one diversity-asbestos docket (Hultner v. Air and Liquid Systems, C.D. Cal. 2024) whose term-level match could not be confirmed to name the vessel - the asbestos-qualified variant 'USS Bannock asbestos' returned zero results. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying asbestos litigation and no primary-source asbestos documentation; the law-firm listicle layer that asserts asbestos aboard other hulls did not surface for this one.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 2026-10-06
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the hull's three documented disturbance events (1942-43 construction, 1962 Genoa conversion, 1993 refit) have no materials records in public sources. The Hultner docket match is unresolved at document level (no phrase 'USS Bannock' co-occurrence with 'asbestos' in indexed text). Deck logs and war diaries beyond the indexed July 1944 diary, yard work packages, Italian Navy/CNR technical files, and Naples disposal records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bannock-at81-11
-
[13]Disposal-status cross-check: Wikipedia USS Bannock infobox ('Fate: Sold for scrap, late 1950s') vs updated DANFS (leased to Italy October 1962; sold May 1979), CNR Almanacco (CNR service 1962-2001), NavSource (SAP transfer 1 May 1979; Naples lay-up photo 2005), naviecapitani (extant at Naples September 2013) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wikipedia infobox 'Fate' line (error); corrected by archived NHHC DANFS disposal paragraph, CNR Almanacco article, NavSource timeline/captions, naviecapitani 2013 status note
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: a widely-mirrored secondary-source infobox states this hull was 'sold for scrap, late 1950s.' That is impossible on the documented record: the updated DANFS records her leased to Italy October 1962, stricken 1 December 1977, and sold May 1979; the operator's own account (CNR) documents oceanographic service 1962-2001; and photographs place the hull at Genoa in 1969, in C.P. 451 service in 1999, and laid up at Naples in 2005, with an enthusiast report of her still extant there in September 2013. No scrapping event in the 1950s (or any documented scrapping at all) exists in the record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-06
- Study period
- 1955-2013
- Limitations
- Corrects a circulating disposal error, not a material claim. Wikipedia is cited here only as the source of the corrected error, never as an authority; the correcting record is DANFS + CNR + NavSource. Final disposition remains genuinely unknown after 2013 - the correction establishes only that she was not scrapped in the 1950s.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bannock-at81-12