Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]DANFS, 'Beltrami' (AK-162) revised entry by Timothy L. Francis, 24 February 2006 (Wayback capture of history.navy.mil/danfs/b4/beltrami-i.htm; live NHHC page returned 404 on all URL patterns tried 2026-09-20); earlier DANFS Vol. 1 edition read via verbatim transcription at losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/auxil/ak162.htm [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Wayback capture 2010-12-07, full Beltrami entry; hazegray ak162.htm, full entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- BELTRAMI (AK-162), named for Beltrami County, MN, was laid down under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 2107) on 1944-07-18 by Kaiser Cargo, Richmond, CA; launched 1944-09-26 (sponsored by Mrs. Marvin A. Thrash); acquired by the Navy and commissioned the same day 1945-01-04, Lt. Gerald W. Rahill, USNR. Fitted out at San Francisco; shakedown out of San Pedro from 1945-01-21 (crew familiarization with the ship's diesel engines noted); loaded frozen food 1945-02-08, lumber at Longview, WA (Weyerhauser Co.), Pearl Harbor 1945-03-01, Port Allen and Nawiliwili Bay, Kauai. Service Force, Pacific Fleet: sailed for the Solomons 1945-03-21; Guadalcanal 1945-04-03; Manus 1945-04-12; Ulithi 1945-04-25 to -29; San Pedro Bay, Leyte 1945-05-25 supporting the Okinawa campaign; Apra Harbor, Guam 1945-06-22 to -07-21; Ulithi through V-J Day; nine weeks passenger/cargo service in the Leyte area; departed San Pedro Bay 1945-11-08 for Shanghai (arrived 1945-11-16, occupation support) until 1946-01-27; San Francisco 1946-02-23; Panama Canal 1946-03-28; Norfolk 1946-04-08. Operation 'Nanook' (TF 68), Arctic weather-station resupply: sailed independently 1946-07-15; rendezvous with icebreaker Northwind (WAG-282) in Lancaster Sound 1946-07-25; Dundas Harbor, Devon Island; Thule, Greenland with Norton Sound (AV-11), Whitewood (AN-63), and sister ship Alcona (AK-157); Boston 1946-09-03. 1946-48: general cargo from Bayonne, NJ and Norfolk to stations from the Canal Zone to Argentia, Newfoundland, plus Guantanamo Bay, Bermuda, Roosevelt Roads. Three Mediterranean voyages (1949-02-11 to -04-15; 1949-10-08 to -12-02; 1951-06-15 to -08-07) and one British-ports voyage (Gibraltar, Plymouth, Londonderry, 1950-07-20 to -09-08). Thereafter Earle, NJ and Norfolk, shuttling passengers and cargo Guantanamo-Roosevelt Roads-Trinidad. Norfolk to Charleston late July 1955, arriving the navy yard 1955-07-29; in commission in reserve 1955-08-01; towed to Savannah 1955-08-28; decommissioned 1955-11-10; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 1960-04-01; transferred to the Maritime Administration 1960-06-21; sold for scrap to Hugo Neu Steel Products 1960-08-29.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Construction trades (Kaiser Cargo Richmond Yard 4, 1944); commissioned crew (~85); yard workers at Boston Navy Yard (1946 overhaul) and Charleston Naval Shipyard (1955 inactivation)
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, full service timeline, and disposition framing only - the DANFS entry contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information and supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page 404s on all patterns (standing link-rot issue from batch-01); citation is the Wayback capture of the NHHC page plus the verbatim hazegray transcription of the earlier Vol. 1 edition. The two editions disagree on several dates (Solomons departure framing; Shanghai arrival 16 vs 18 Nov 1945 and departure 27 vs 26 Jan 1946; arrival Norfolk 8 Apr vs 'Baltimore 9 Apr' 1946) - revised edition carried, conflicts logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-beltrami-ak162-01
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[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - BELTRAMI (AK-162), Ship History Detail 5702, with three digitized vessel status cards (MA-199 form) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 5702 milestones (Disposition and Withdrawl 8/1/1960); status cards /cards/74d48b31-dcae-4991-8431-57de130d3cc2.png, /cards/c5ffeb64-2d9b-4199-9762-affadc44871f.jpg, /cards/8902361b-5b5e-46f0-abb7-dc04dabfb44a.jpg
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD status cards document: vessel no. 0232840; MA hull MC-2107; builder's hull R4-64; type Cargo, design C1-M-AV1; 'Built: Completed Dec. 31/44 (Kaiser Cargo Inc., Rich. #4, Rich. Calif.)'; tonnage Gross 3805, Net 2123, DWT 4963, light displacement 3000T; 'Length (over-all) 300 ft, Beam 50 ft'; Location 'Charleston Group. Atlantic ResFlt., US NavBase, Charleston S.C.'; owner Navy Department. Disposal: '7/7/60 - Advertised Under PD-X-582 - Opened 7/28/60, Scrap Hull - USA'; '8/1/60 - Awarded to Hugo Neu Steel Products, Inc. (PD-X-582) Purchase Price $52,339.88 - Contract MA-2289'; operating-history rows show the hull delivered Navy Dept. to Maritime Adm. at Charleston Naval Base 11:25 am EST 8-29-60 ('Transfer') and Maritime Adm. to Hugo Neu Steel Products ('Purchased', remarks 'Scrap') in the same entry. A separate typed index card reads '(AKS-162) - USS BELTRAMI / See card BELTRAMI' (administrative cross-reference).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Atlantic Reserve Fleet custodial crews (1955-1960); scrapping workers (Hugo Neu Steel Products contract, 1960-61)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for custody chain, milestones, and tonnage summary; status cards are handwritten/typed scans - transcription best-effort (PD-X-582, MA-2289, $52,339.88 per card). The card's 'Length (over-all) 300 ft' conflicts with DANFS 338 ft 8 in and is likely a registered-length conflation; neither asserted. The card locates the hull 'Charleston Group, Atlantic ResFlt., US NavBase Charleston' and shows physical delivery at Charleston Naval Base 8-29-60, while DANFS/NavSource place her at Savannah from Aug 1955 - administrative vs physical siting unresolved (see gaps). The '(AKS-162)' card is a filing cross-reference; no reclassification is documented. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-beltrami-ak162-02
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[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory document file for BELTRAMI (AK-162) - scanned U.S. Coast Guard radiogram, form CG 9619 (Rev. 12-47), February 1949 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD ShipHistory Detail 5702, Documents tab, 'BELTRAMI.pdf' (single page)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship-specific primary document in the MARAD file: a U.S. Coast Guard radiogram (form CG 9619) from USS BELTRAMI (AK-162)(N), radio call sign NEFU, message 232030Z Feb [1949], to Commandant Coast Guard, reporting merchant seaman Willard Hiram Wilson (identification no. 256033D1) 'TRANSFERRED AT SEA FROM SS GULF RAY TO THIS SHIP ON 16 FEB', diagnosis peptic ulcers, condition 'GOOD UNTIL TODAY WHEN IT SUDDENLY BECAME CRITICAL', requesting next-of-kin notification (Mrs. Ralph Therault, Lakewood, RI). Handwritten Coast Guard routing notes read 'due Casablanca 2/25 - Norfolk 3/18', consistent with DANFS's first Mediterranean voyage (1949-02-11 to -04-15, Casablanca a listed port).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1949-02
- Population
- Merchant seaman Willard Hiram Wilson (embarked patient); Beltrami crew handling at-sea transfer
- Limitations
- Ship-specific primary artifact corroborating the Feb 1949 Mediterranean voyage, the ship's passenger/seamen-embarkation role, and at-sea transfer practice; the scan is a handwritten/stamped form read directly (message number and dates partially manuscript). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-beltrami-ak162-03
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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
- 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 Maritime Commission program under which this C1-M-AV1 hull was built (Kaiser Cargo, Richmond, 1944) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls. For this diesel-powered design, era-consistent applications run to exhaust/machinery insulation, gaskets, packing, joiner and refrigeration insulation, electrical insulation, and brake linings rather than boiler/steam-line lagging.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- 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, does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, and establishes neither quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, nor causation. The application list is type-level inference, not a survey of this ship; no C1-M-AV1 outfitting manual or ship-specific materials document was located in this pass.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-beltrami-ak162-04
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[5]Batch-840 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live + mirrors); MARAD ShipHistory Detail 5702 incl. status cards and document file; CourtListener API v4 (throttled - see ledger) and degraded site-index sweep; NVR; NARA record-group guides; NavSource corroboration [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-beltrami-ak162-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Beltrami (AK-162), MC hull 2107, or MARAD vessel 0232840 was found in the public sources searched. The litigation sweep is partial: the CourtListener API v4 was rate-limited at query time (HTTP 429, 125/day quota already exhausted by same-day batch work), and the degraded site-index sweep surfaced only name collisions - Beltrami County, Minnesota litigation (Belcourt v. Beltrami County Jail, D. Minn. 0:22-cv-01865; Cahill v. Beltrami County, 224 Minn. 564 (1947); In re County of Beltrami probation officer, 311 Minn. 310 (1976)); Beltrami Enterprises, Inc. (Pennsylvania coal-mining company - 709 F.2d 1490 (3d Cir. 1983) insurance dispute, EPA TSCA-III-302 order, M.D. Pa. bankruptcy); Louis J. Beltrami v. Special Counsel (11th Cir. 2006, employment); and W.R. Grace bankruptcy claim documents - none naming the vessel. No qualifying asbestos case located; a full docket-level sweep remains open.
- 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 - a 1944 Maritime Commission hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the hull was scrapped domestically in 1960 (scrapping-era exposure undocumented). Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Litigation coverage is incomplete pending a full CourtListener sweep.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-beltrami-ak162-05
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[6]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 181 (Naval Districts and Shore Establishments), RG 24 (Navy deck logs) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov guide-fed-records groups 178 and 181; archives.gov/research/military/logbooks
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): RG 178 Construction Division records may hold MC hull 2107 outfitting/material records for the Kaiser Cargo Richmond Yard 4 contract; RG 181 district/shore-establishment records cover the Boston Navy Yard overhaul period (spring 1946, plus a probable second Boston yard period May-July 1949 per a NavSource photo caption) and the Charleston Naval Shipyard inactivation availability (Jul-Nov 1955); RG 24 deck logs cover the unusually long commissioned period (1945-1955) including Operation Nanook and the Mediterranean voyages.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1960 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents in these series is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-beltrami-ak162-06