Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]DANFS, 'Bellatrix I (AK-20)' (Timothy L. Francis, dated 2006-02-23; NHHC publication date 2024-04-12) - live NHHC URL 404s as of 2026-09-20; text verified via Wayback capture 20250207151113 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS > B > 'Bellatrix I (AK-20)' full entry, incl. spec header and narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official entry documents: C-2 freighter Raven laid down under Maritime Commission contract (M.C. hull 126) on 1940-11-20 at Tampa, Fla., by Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Inc.; acquired by the Navy 1941-04-16; renamed Bellatrix and designated AK-20 on 1941-04-25; launched 1941-08-15; commissioned 1942-02-17; reclassified attack cargo ship AKA-3 on 1943-02-01. WWII service: Guadalcanal landings 1942-08, reinforcement runs through 1943-01; Sicily (Operation Husky, Scoglitti) 1943-07; Tarawa (Operation Galvanic) 1943-11; Saipan (Operation Forager) 1944-06. Documented availabilities: Charleston Navy Yard fitting-out 1942-03 and repairs/interior alterations 1943-03/04; Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., San Francisco overhaul 1943-12-31 to 1944-03; Mare Island Naval Shipyard repairs/modifications 1951-52; San Francisco Naval Shipyard inactivation 1955-01/06. Decommissioned 1946-04-01 and 1955-06-03; struck from NVR 1946-05-01, 1960-06-06, and finally 1963-11-14; leased to Peruvian Navy under MAP as Independencia (NVR reinstated 1963-03-15), sold outright 1964-03-20; scrapped 1991-10; five WWII battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1940-1991
- Population
- Ship's complement (267 per entry header) plus embarked troops/passengers; yard workers during documented availabilities
- Limitations
- Official Navy history; contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information. Published entry carries internal typos ('15 September' where 15 October 1942 is meant; '16 March 1945' where 16 March 1944 is meant). Does not establish any exposure condition aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-aka3-01
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[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, Vessel History Database - BELLATRIX (AK-20/AKA-3), ShipHistory Detail 449 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 449 - vessel particulars, milestones, status cards
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD record: year built 1941; shipyard Tampa Shipbuilding Company; MARAD type C2; length 459 ft, beam 63 ft; summer displacement 14,225 tons, lightweight 7,480 tons; fate 'Transferred - Foreign'; milestones: Disposition 1951-08-27 (matching DANFS reacquisition 1951-08-27) and Withdrawal 1963-03-15 (matching DANFS NVR reinstatement/Peru lease date). Vessel name history lists RAVEN. Eleven USN photographs of antenna arrangements at San Francisco Naval Shipyard, February 1955, are attached to the record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1941-1963
- Limitations
- Milestone/custody and dimensional data only - no materials, insulation, or asbestos fields. Two status-card scans exist as image-only files without a text layer; their contents were not verified this pass.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-aka3-02
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[3]DANFS earlier printing, 'USS Bellatrix (AKA-20/AKA-3)' (HyperWar transcription of the Naval History Division text) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- HyperWar DANFS mirror, aka3.html - full entry incl. spec header
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The earlier DANFS printing conflicts with the modern entry on three points, resolved here in favor of the modern entry: (a) it dates the final decommissioning '3 June 1965' - a typo; the modern entry's sequence (inactivation reporting January 1955, five months' inactivity, out of commission 3 June) plus NavSource's commanding-officer listing establish 1955-06-03; (b) it prints complement 369 and 'cl. Bellatrix' where the modern entry gives complement 267 and 'class Arcturus'; (c) it credits five WWII battle stars plus one Korean-conflict star where the modern entry credits five WWII stars only (a Korean campaign star appears in secondary compilations).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1941-1955
- Limitations
- Correction row: records known discrepancies between DANFS printings so downstream readers do not propagate the '1965' typo or merge conflicting complement/class/battle-star figures. Bears on identity/history only - no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-aka3-03
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[4]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
- Journal article DOI landing page
- 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 Maritime Commission construction program under which this C-2 hull was built (Tampa Shipbuilding, 1940-41) and the Navy-yard system (Charleston, Mare Island, San Francisco) in which she was repeatedly repaired.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1940-1945
- Population
- WWII-era shipyard workers and ship crews (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level scholarship; does not name this hull, the C-2 type, or Tampa Shipbuilding specifically. Supports era context only - not evidence that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, and establishes nothing about quantities, locations, or present-day material.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-aka3-04
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[5]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (1979-10-18) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program and its insulation-removal policies with fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - program-level context for Navy-yard availabilities. Bellatrix's documented Navy-yard periods (Charleston 1942-43, Mare Island 1951-52, San Francisco 1955) predate the report's 1970s policy window but fall within the era of shipboard asbestos use it describes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1979 (report); covers policies 1975-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program level)
- Limitations
- Program-level report; fieldwork yards were not Bellatrix yards and the report postdates her Navy service. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches - product-page description used; full text not retrieved this pass. Establishes nothing about this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-aka3-05
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[6]CourtListener API v4 opinion-index searches: 'Bellatrix' (24 hits) and 'Bellatrix' asbestos (0 hits), run 2026-09-20 [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search results pages; classification detail in search_ledger sl-04 through sl-07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located in the opinion index. All 24 'Bellatrix' hits are name collisions or incidental mentions, classified: Washington Mutual Bank v. Bellatrix, 2 F. Supp. 2d 1458 (N.D. Cal. 1997) - in rem action against a different vessel, Official No. 696747; Davis v. United States, 827 F. Supp. 1576 (S.D. Ga. 1993) - injury aboard 'M/V Bellatrix'; Burger v. United States (Fed. Cl. 2001) - wage claim, 'U.S.N.S. Bellatrix' (T-AKR-288, a later, different ship); Avondale Industries v. International Marine Carriers (5th Cir. 1994) - 1989 allision by the MSC-era Bellatrix; United States v. Martin (3d Cir. 1940) - an earlier chartered steamship Bellatrix; remaining hits are incidental mentions or unrelated strings. Hull-number searches 'AKA-3' (3 hits) and 'AK-20' (1 hit) returned only unrelated collisions ('a/k/a' artifacts, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- opinions span 1940-2016; search date 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Opinion-index coverage only; the RECAP docket-level sweep and the exact-phrase 'USS Bellatrix' query were rate-limit blocked (HTTP 429, documented 50/hour limit) and logged as blocked in search_ledger. None of the located hits names hull AKA-3/AK-20 or involves asbestos; no finding of exposure exists in any located record. Search-stage classification, not an adjudicated result.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-aka3-06
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[7]Batch-1007 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404 + Wayback capture); HyperWar DANFS mirror; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 449 + status-card scans; CourtListener name/hull/asbestos queries; NARA Catalog; NavSource (lead only) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bellatrix-aka3-01 through sl-uss-bellatrix-aka3-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Bellatrix (AK-20/AKA-3) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - WWII-era construction and repeated Navy-yard availabilities are consistent with era-typical materials, but nothing ship-specific was located. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-aka3-07
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[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 181 (naval districts and shore establishments) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov record-group guide pages (024, 178, 181)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 deck logs for AK-20/AKA-3 covering 1942-1955 service; RG 178 Maritime Commission Construction Division files that may hold M.C. hull 126 (Raven) construction and outfitting papers; RG 181 records for the documented Charleston Navy Yard, Mare Island, and San Francisco Naval Shipyard availabilities.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - not evidence about this hull. NARA Catalog did not return machine-readable results this pass; digitization status of the AKA-3 deck logs is unverified; no box-level retrieval performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bellatrix-aka3-08