Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet zcm-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-banshee-ix178-pkt-zcm-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, Banshee II (IX-178) (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page unavailable - 404 on access) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, Banshee II (IX-178), full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Second Banshee (IX-178), a tanker, built 1917 by William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Co., Philadelphia, Pa., as Harold Walker (later renamed W. G. Fairbanks); chartered from the War Shipping Administration 13 December 1944; commissioned 25 December 1944 at Milne Bay, New Guinea, LCDR F. H. Lemon in command. Served as station tanker at Humboldt Bay, New Guinea (25 January-25 March 1945); Morotai Island, N.E.I. (31 March-27 June 1945); and Manila Bay, Luzon (August-17 November 1945). Steamed to Subic Bay 18 November 1945 for pre-inactivation overhaul until 4 February 1946; decommissioned 5 February 1946 and returned to the War Shipping Administration the same day. One battle star for the Balikpapan operation (28 June-7 July 1945). Listed Navy figures: dp. 4,500 t.; l. 446'; b. 58'2"; dph. 33'4"; armament 1x4", 1x3".
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1917-1948 (entry coverage); commissioned period 1944-12-25 to 1946-02-05
- Population
- Ship's company Dec 1944-Feb 1946 (size not documented)
- Limitations
- Narrative/specification history only - contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials statement; does not establish or exclude asbestos aboard. Live history.navy.mil DANFS page returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-29; verbatim transcription cited. No complement or propulsion stated for IX-178 (the cpl. 89 figure in the same DANFS volume belongs to the Civil War Banshee I).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banshee-ix178-01
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[3]MARAD ShipHistory records - W. C. FAIRBANKS (Detail 11385) and BANSHEE (Detail 5689), U.S. Official No. 215152, incl. digitized vessel status cards and custody/redelivery record [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 11385 + 5689; status card scans (/cards/78Q_01.png, /cards/d6ccc5e8-...jpg); custody PDF /documents/f8dfd896-4164-4e3a-85a0-a61a994012cf.pdf; cross-ref PDF /documents/85aa0db7-...pdf
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD status card: steam tanker ('S. TANKER') W. C. Fairbanks, ex-Harold Walker; built by Wm. Cramp & Sons S. & E. Bt Co., Philadelphia; completed June 1917; DWT 11,500; gross 6,353; net 3,925; bulk capacity 76,900 bbls; speed 11. Custody/delivery chain: Sinclair Refining Co. to U.S. Maritime Commission, Boston, 10:00 A.M. 1-23-42 (time-form charter party agreement); WSA to U.S.S.R. under Lend-Lease at Los Angeles 5:00 P.M. 6-2-43 (renamed Emba); Los Angeles Tanker Operations, Inc. under General Agency Agreement from 2:00 P.M. 6-22-44, Los Angeles; WSA to Navy Department, bareboat, 9:00 A.M. 12-13-44, Milne Bay, N.G. ('now Banshee'); Navy Department to WSA, bareboat, 11:00 A.M. 2-5-46, Subic Bay, P.I. Requisition-title cost $742,265.50. Banshee name-card: 'BANSHEE (ex-W.C. Fairbanks) 215,152 - Tanker - SOLD ... for scrapping of hull to Asia Development Corp., Shanghai, China Jan. 28, 1948 as 1 of group of 15 vessels sold under PDX-402 for the lump sum of $271,000'; offered earlier for scrap under PDX-338 with no bids received; WSA declaration LV #178 dated Oct. 7, 1946; location Subic Bay Reserve Fleet; lightweight estimate 4,620 t., recoverable 3,465 t. Detail-5689 milestones show disposition/withdrawal 1/29/1948; companion W. C. Fairbanks card records delivery 3-3-48.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1917-1948
- Population
- Merchant crews 1917-1944 (incl. Soviet crew as Emba 1943-44); Navy crew 1944-46; Subic Bay Reserve Fleet caretakers 1946-48; scrapping workforce, Shanghai 1948
- Limitations
- Authoritative for dimensions, tonnage, custody chain, and disposal. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information - supports no asbestos claim. Card sets include data anomalies: MARAD 'Specific Type' field reads 'LNG Liquefied Natural Gas' (data-entry artifact for a 1917 oil tanker); the card image attached to Detail 5689 (5689_AF.jpg) displays an unrelated vessel's card (SS Badger Mariner). Sale-record date varies between the cards (contract group Jan 28-29, 1948; delivery Mar 3, 1948) - carried attributed, not merged.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banshee-ix178-02
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[4]HyperWar (ibiblio) transcription, 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 - IX Unclassified Vessels' register: 'IX-178 Banshee 1944 4500 ex-SS Fairbanks' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945, IX section, IX-178 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The wartime IX register lists IX-178 Banshee, commissioned 1944, displacement 4,500, ex-SS Fairbanks - corroborating the hull's identity, Navy designation, and merchant origin within the 1940-45 IX unclassified-vessel population.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940-1945
- Limitations
- Register-level listing corroborating identity only; contains no materials, condition, or service detail. Displacement figure restates the DANFS 4,500-ton figure, which conflicts with MARAD tonnage data (6,353 GRT / 11,500 DWT) - see record gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banshee-ix178-03
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[5]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 scholarship documents extensive asbestos use for insulation and fireproofing in U.S. WWII-era shipbuilding and repair. Banshee's steam propulsion plant (MARAD 'S. TANKER') and any wartime repair, conversion, or pre-inactivation overhaul work fall within the era when marine insulation products commonly contained asbestos; her 1917 construction predates the study's wartime-program scope, and earlier-era marine insulation practice is less specifically documented.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- WWII era documented; article 1987; hull built 1917
- Population
- WWII shipyard/repair workers and ship crews (class context); extends with caution to 1917-era construction trades
- Limitations
- Program/era-level documentation only - does not name this vessel, does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard, and does not establish quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. The 1917 build date is outside the article's WWII focus; application to original construction materials is inference.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banshee-ix178-04
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[6]Batch-4741 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC; MARAD ShipHistory status cards and custody record; NARA deck-log indexes; Naval Vessel Register; CourtListener opinion search [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-banshee-ix178-01 through sl-uss-banshee-ix178-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement or conversion contract, condition report, or hazmat disclosure naming this hull, and no asbestos litigation naming the vessel, was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The MARAD status cards and custody record contain custody, tonnage, and disposal data only - no materials or insulation statements.
- 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 1917-built steam tanker in continuous service through the WWII era is consistent with era-typical insulation materials. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present, nor any individual exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banshee-ix178-05
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[7]DANFS IX-series station-tanker entries (e.g., Clifton III, IX-184; Arethusa IX-135 via DANFS) - verbatim transcriptions [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Clifton III (IX-184) full text; cf. IX-135 Arethusa (ex-Gargoyle) and IX-143 Silver Cloud entries/index listings
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entries document the Navy's WWII practice of bareboat-chartering elderly merchant tankers from the War Shipping Administration for use as mobile floating fuel storage / station tankers at Pacific advance bases - e.g., Clifton (IX-184), built 1913 as tanker Dilworth, transferred from WSA at Brisbane 31 May 1945 and commissioned 2 June 1945. Banshee (built 1917) is an instance of this program; Shipscribe groups IX-178 with IX-143 Silver Cloud as the two ex-Cramp 1917-design tankers taken up for it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (program period)
- Population
- Station-tanker crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program-level context for the vessel's role - these entries name other hulls, not Banshee, and contain no materials or condition information relevant to asbestos aboard any hull. Shipscribe/NavSource used as corroborating leads only, not cited as evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banshee-ix178-06
-
[8]NARA Special List 44 (Named Vessels): 'Banshee (IX-178) 12/25/1944-6/30/1945' entry in Logs of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations (RG 24); NARA digitized-deck-log index contains no Banshee/IX-178 entries [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Special List 44, 'Banshee (IX-178)' row; NARA 'Navy Deck Logs Available' index (absence); record-group mapping per archives.gov finding aids
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds paper deck logs for Banshee (IX-178) beginning 12/25/1944 (Special List 44 listing; the list's coverage for this ship runs through 6/30/1945, its general WWII cutoff), corroborating the DANFS commissioning date; the logs are NOT among NARA's digitized deck logs. Additional unretrieved paths: RG 248 (WSA vessel files) for the W. C. Fairbanks custody/charter records; RG 26 merchant logbooks distributed by port (Boston/Los Angeles); builder records for Cramp yard hull 440.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-12-25 forward (log coverage)
- Limitations
- Record-location lead only - establishes that records exist, not their contents; deck logs cover the commissioned period and would document shipboard activity but typically not materials condition. Not retrieved (not digitized; no in-person/reproduction spend authorized).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banshee-ix178-07
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[9]CourtListener API v4 searches, authenticated - "Banshee" asbestos (0 hits); "Banshee" opinions (65 hits, all collisions); "Banshee" dockets (324 hits, all collisions); "IX-178" (1 hit, collision); "W. C. Fairbanks" (2 hits, one case, collision) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-banshee-ix178-05 through -09
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweeps locate no asbestos or other litigation involving USS Banshee (IX-178). Opinion search '"Banshee" asbestos' returned 0 hits. The unqualified name search returned 65 opinion hits, all name collisions on review - person-surname criminal cases (United States v. Banshee, 11th Cir. 1996; Banshee v. Gunn, S.Ct. 2002), in-text folklore references, and 'The Banshee' (S.D.N.Y. 1863), the prize adjudication of the Civil War blockade runner Banshee I - a different vessel. Hull-number search '"IX-178"' returned one hit (Shultz v. Rice, 10th Cir. 1986, medical malpractice - string collision, not the hull). Merchant-name search '"W. C. Fairbanks"' returned two docketed opinions of one case (Ag Pro v. Sakraida, 5th Cir. 1971/1973, patent - collision). Docket search '"Banshee"' returned 324 hits, all collisions (prisoner petitions on the Banshee surname, bankruptcies, business names such as Banshee Industries LLC and The Irish Banshee Pub).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Establishes that no opinion or RECAP docket names this hull or its merchant names in the indexes searched. Absence of a case is not absence of claims: merchant-mariner and Navy-era asbestos claims typically proceed under owner/operator or product-manufacturer names, not hull names. Operator-level names (Sinclair Refining, Los Angeles Tanker Operations, War Shipping Administration) were not separately swept - any such hits would be operator-level context, not hull-specific findings.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banshee-ix178-08