Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS Bellatrix' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'USS Bellatrix' returned 0 results (2026-10-07)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Limitations
- zero-hit search; absence of hits is not proof of no litigation
- Evidence ID
- uss-bellatrix-af62-cl-name-opinion
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[2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS Bellatrix' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'USS Bellatrix' returned 5 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed; name query may match same-named vessels
- Evidence ID
- uss-bellatrix-af62-cl-name-docket
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[3]CourtListener opinion search: 'AF-62' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'AF-62' returned 4349 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed
- Evidence ID
- uss-bellatrix-af62-cl-hull-opinion
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[4]CourtListener docket search: 'AF-62' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'AF-62' returned 67122 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed
- Evidence ID
- uss-bellatrix-af62-cl-hull-docket
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[5]Naval History and Heritage Command, DANFS online entry 'Bellatrix II (AF-62)' (author Raymond A. Mann, dated 23 Feb 2006) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Wayback capture of NHHC page; live URL 404s on 2026-09-20 (NHHC link rot, standing defect from Batch-01). Entry absent from printed DANFS auxiliaries transcription (hazegray index lists AF-60/-61/-64, not AF-62) - online-era addition.
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry 'Bellatrix II (AF-62)': laid down 16 Oct 1944 at Oakland, Calif., by Moore Drydock Co. under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1207) as Fleetwood; launched 4 Dec 1944; delivered to the Maritime Commission 21 Jun 1945; operated by United Fruit Co. in the North Atlantic until Oct 1946, then transferred to Pacific Far East Line for Pacific cargo runs incl. Alaskan waters; served MSTS after April 1958; transferred to the Navy 22 Aug 1961 and converted at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard; renamed Bellatrix, designated AF-62, 13 Oct 1961; commissioned 18 Nov 1961 (Comdr. Nathan E. Dozier). First WestPac deployment departed San Francisco 3 Mar 1962 incl. logistics support at Christmas Island for JTF-8 nuclear-test operations and underway/in-port replenishment of 7th Fleet units (Yokosuka, Sasebo, Subic Bay, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong); concentrated on Vietnam-coast support after Aug 1964; decommissioned and stricken 30 Sep 1968 at Hunter's Point, Calif.; earned five battle stars for Vietnam service. Stat block: dp. 14,180 (f.); l. 460'; b. 63'; dr. 26'; s. 16 k.; cpl. 292; cl. Alstede; T. R2-S-BV1.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1968
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, construction milestones, operators, deployments, and disposal decision. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazardous-materials statement; supports no asbestos claim. Stat-block figures are Navy-era values.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-af62-01
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[6]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - BELLATRIX (AF-62), Ship History Detail 5699 (incl. digitized status card scan 18d413fb) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 5699 fields, milestone table, status-card PDF
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record for BELLATRIX (AF-62): year built 1945; shipyard 'Moore Shipbuilding Company'; general type Naval Auxiliary, specific type AF Store Ship; MARAD type R2-S-BV1; length 459.08 ft, beam 63 ft, net 3,483 tons, gross 6,177 tons; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; milestones Disposition 3/24/1969 and Withdrawl 3/24/1969; vessel name history links BELLATRIX (AF-62) and FLEETWOOD; mission: Vietnam War.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1945-1969
- Limitations
- Authoritative for MARAD custody milestones, dimensions/tonnage, and scrap-sale outcome; does not name the scrapping buyer or price, and contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-af62-02
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[7]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - FLEETWOOD, Ship History Detail 1570, incl. digitized vessel status cards [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 1570 milestone table; status-card scan text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record for FLEETWOOD: U.S. Official No. 248053; general type General Cargo, specific type Combination Refrigerated; MARAD type R2-S-BV1; built 1945 by Moore Shipbuilding Company; missions listed World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War; fate 'Transferred - U.S. Govt.' Milestones: Entry/Acquisition 12/5/1944 and 10/21/1948 (latter consistent with the status card's Suisun Bay reserve-fleet layup). Digitized status card traces the custody chain: USMC Production Div -> United Fruit Co. (delivered 6-21-45, Oakland, GAA) -> Coastwise (PFE) Lines (10-20-46, New York) -> General SS Corp. (10-12-48, San Francisco) -> Reserve Fleet (10-21-48, Suisun Bay) -> Pacific Far East Line -> Maritime Admin. -> Navy Dept. (8-22-61, Seattle, 'Term-Trans MA/Navy'); card head: 'FLEETWOOD (R2-S-BV1) O.N. 248,053 (Renamed: BELLATRIX)'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1945-1961
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones; status-card handwriting partially legible (OCR-aided) - intermediate operator/charter sequence read conservatively. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-af62-03
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[8]Cross-source reconciliation: NHHC DANFS entry vs MARAD ShipHistory/status cards vs secondary compilations (NavSource, Wikipedia) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text; MARAD Details 5699/1570 + status card; NavSource 09/06/0662; en.wikipedia USS_Bellatrix_(AF-62)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies documented: (a) MSTS assignment - DANFS says 'after April 1958' while NavSource gives 1 Jan 1958; DANFS controls, exact date unresolved. (b) Builder name - DANFS 'Moore Drydock Co.' vs MARAD field 'Moore Shipbuilding Company' (same Oakland yard; yard-dataset slug moore-dry-dock-oakland). (c) Scrap buyer - NavSource reports sale 24 Mar 1969 under MARAD contract PD-X-824 (27 Feb 1969) to 'Zidell Explorations Inc.' for $36,606.60; Wikipedia repeats the contract/price but spells buyer 'Ridell Explorations Inc.'; MARAD record confirms only the 3/24/1969 disposition/withdrawal dates - buyer name and price remain secondary-source detail. (d) Commercial-operator sequence - DANFS compresses the 1946-48 custody chain (United Fruit -> Pacific Far East Line) that the MARAD status card shows in more steps (Coastwise, General SS Corp., Suisun Bay layup); the card is more granular.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1945-1969
- Limitations
- Resolves framing conflicts by preferring primary sources (DANFS, MARAD) over secondary compilations; does not fully resolve the MSTS date or the buyer spelling. No asbestos content in any source compared.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-af62-04
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[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 federal wartime construction program under which this R2-S-BV1 hull was built (MC contract, Moore Drydock Co., laid down Oct 1944, delivered Jun 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1945 construction era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context); Moore Drydock construction trades; Fleetwood merchant crew; Bellatrix Navy complement
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or was not aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. No R2-S-BV1 design-level insulation specification was located - the class-era inference here is coarser than the design-manual basis used for Liberty-ship records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-af62-05
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[10]Batch-556 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 name search; MARAD Details 5699/1570; DANFS entry; web searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bellatrix-af62-04 through sl-uss-bellatrix-af62-07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull (AF-62, ex-Fleetwood, ON 248053) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener 'Bellatrix' opinion search returned 24 results; the 20 retrieved hits were classified: three confirmed name collisions (a fishing vessel Bellatrix ON 696747 in a 1997 in-rem case; the later namesake USNS/SS Bellatrix T-AKR-288 in Avondale Industries v. IMC 15 F.3d 489 (5th Cir. 1994) and Burger v. United States (Fed. Cl. 2001); a WWII-era foreign steamship Bellatrix in United States v. Martin (3d Cir. 1940)) plus unrelated admiralty/text matches - none names AF-62 or Fleetwood and none is asbestos litigation. Remaining 4 hits (page 2) and the 'AF-62' hull-number query were blocked by CourtListener's 125/day API quota (see search_ledger). General web searches ('AF-62' asbestos/mesothelioma; 'USS Bellatrix'/'SS Fleetwood' mesothelioma) surfaced no litigation association.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Negative finding is scoped to what was actually searched: name-search page 1 fully classified, page-2 tail and the AF-62 hull query unexecuted due to shared API quota exhaustion - those remain open leads, not searched-and-empty results. Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard; a 1944-45 wartime steam refrigerated-cargo hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing construction, but no hull-level proof exists. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-af62-06
-
[11]NARA: Digitized Deck Logs program page and Vietnam-era deck-log scanning notice (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks); NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/digitized-logs; .../logbooks/notice; .../guide-fed-records/groups/178.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (a) Deck logs for USS Bellatrix (AF-62), 1961-1968, are held in the Navy deck-log series at the National Archives at College Park; Vietnam-era logs were scanned by the VA under the Aug 2019 NARA-VA agreement implementing the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act and are being added to the National Archives Catalog in batches - digitization status of this ship's logs not verified (catalog API unresponsive during session). (b) U.S. Maritime Commission construction/contract records for MC hull 1207 (Moore Drydock contract, R2-S-BV1) may exist in NARA RG 178; outfitting/insulation specifications, if extant, would be the likeliest class-level asbestos documentation.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1968 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and program-level mapping only - no box-level or catalog-item retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-af62-07