Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Bering Strait' (Robert J. Cressman, 9 February 2006), history.navy.mil DANFS entry via Internet Archive capture 2006-09-05; NHHC Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons Vol. 2, Appendix 5 (seaplane tender list) corroborates 19 July 1944 commissioning [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry paragraphs 1-3 (namesake, characteristics line, construction); corroborating: https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/dictionary-of-american-naval-aviation-squadrons-volume-2/pdfs/Appen5.pdf
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Bering Strait (AVP-34), a Barnegat-class small seaplane tender, was laid down 7 June 1943 at Houghton, Washington, by Lake Washington Shipyards; launched 15 January 1944; sponsored by Mrs. George F. Cornwall; and commissioned at the builder's yard 19 July 1944, Comdr. Walter D. Innis in command. DANFS characteristics: displacement 2,592 tons (trial); length 310'9"; beam 41'2"; draft 13'6" (limiting); speed 18.2 knots (trial); complement 367; armament 3x5", 8x40mm, 8x20mm, 6x.50-cal machine guns, 2 depth charge tracks.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Limitations
- Live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 on 2026-09-26 (standing NHHC link rot); text is a verbatim 2006 capture of the official history.navy.mil entry, consistent with the hazegray DANFS Vol. I transcription and the live NHHC aviation-squadrons appendix. Wikipedia and NavSource secondary pages give 6 June 1943 as laid-down date against DANFS 7 June 1943; DANFS is carried, discrepancy logged in gaps. No asbestos or materials content in these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bering-strait-avp34-01
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Bering Strait' (Robert J. Cressman, 9 February 2006); DANFS Vol. I short entry (hazegray transcription) adds that between 15 March and 30 December 1945 her planes rescued 193 airmen and sailors [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry paragraphs 4-17 (operations narrative) and closing awards line; hazegray transcription: https://www.hazegray.org/danfs/volume_b/vol_b_05.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- World War II service: shakedown off the west coast (17 August-13 September 1944); repairs and alterations at Terminal Island Naval Drydocks; operated a seaplane base at Kuhio Bay, Hilo (October-November 1944) tending PBM-3D detachments of VPB-25 and VPB-26; organized air-sea rescue task group with VH-3; radar picket and fighter-director duty in the Marianas including Operation Michigan (January-February 1945); B-29 lifeguard rescues February-March 1945 credited by the 313th Bombardment Wing with returning 50 combat crewmen; coordinating control tender at Kerama Retto during Operation Iceberg (April-June 1945) directing 268 missions rescuing 105 men of 39 squadrons, going to general quarters 154 times and downing with her guns a 'Jake' floatplane and a kamikaze on 21 June 1945; Chimu Wan duty July-September 1945; occupation duty at Sasebo until relieved 30 December 1945. Awarded three battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Ship's company (DANFS design complement 367) and embarked VH-3 squadron personnel during the cited operations
- Limitations
- Operational history only; contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials statement and no repair-scope detail for the Terminal Island availability. Rescue and mission counts are as printed in DANFS. The Vol. I short-entry '193 airmen and sailors' figure (15 March-30 December 1945) was confirmed via search-indexed hazegray text; the hazegray page did not open to direct fetch on 2026-09-26.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bering-strait-avp34-02
-
[3]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Bering Strait' (Robert J. Cressman, 9 February 2006) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry final three paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Postwar and disposition: decommissioned at Alameda Naval Air Station 21 June 1946; loaned to the Coast Guard 14 September 1948 with designation WAVP-382; operated 23 years as a Pacific weather ship based first at Seattle then Honolulu; reclassified high endurance cutter WHEC-382 on 1 May 1966; name struck from the Navy list and permanently transferred to the Coast Guard 26 September 1966; participated in Market Time coastal surveillance off South Vietnam; transferred to the Republic of Vietnam Navy 1 January 1971 as Tran Quang Khai (HQ-02); fled to the Philippines April 1975; formally acquired by the Philippine government 5 April 1976 as Diego Silang (PF-9); laid up June 1985.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1946-1985
- Limitations
- Covers custody and service chronology only; no asbestos, materials, condition-survey, or disposal-hazmat content. Philippine Navy recommissioning as PF-14 (1987) and final discard July 1990 come from secondary sources consistent with the USCG Historian's Office note 'disposed of in July 1990 (by scrapping?)'.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bering-strait-avp34-03
-
[4]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'Bering Strait, 1948 - WAVP / WHEC-382, Radio Call Sign NBYG' (uscg.mil/history/webcutters; sourced from the Cutter Subject File, DANFS Vol. I, Scheina's U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft 1946-1990, and the Ship's Characteristics Card of 5 July 1966), via Internet Archive capture 2008-09-24 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Full cutter-file page: characteristics block and 'Ship's history' narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office cutter file: commissioned USCG 14 December 1948 (after conversion for Coast Guard use); stationed Seattle 14 December 1948-1954 and Honolulu 1954-1 January 1971 on law-enforcement, ocean-station, and search-and-rescue duty; January 1956 medevac from M/V Madaket; 13 February 1960 emergency repairs to Japanese training ship Toyama Maru off Palmyra Island; oceanographic experiments on Ocean Station Victor December 1964-January 1965 and 19 June-10 July 1966; 13 January 1965 relieved disabled cutter Matagorda and stood by disabled Liberian M/V Saint Helena; Coast Guard Squadron Three, Vietnam, 4 May 1967-18 February 1968; fought fire aboard Panamanian M/V Grand Ocean 24 February-1 March 1970; Coast Guard Squadron Three, Vietnam, 17 May-31 December 1970; transferred to South Vietnam 1 January 1971. Characteristics data: Fairbanks-Morse direct-reversing diesel main engines, 6,400 shp; full-load displacement 2,498 tons (1966); complement 10 officers, 3 warrants, 138 men (1966); armament 1x5"/38 Mk-12 plus ASW projector and torpedo launchers (1966). Disposition: 'disposed of in July 1990 (by scrapping?)'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1948-1971; disposition note to 1990
- Population
- USCG crew of 10 officers, 3 warrant officers, 138 enlisted (1966 characteristics data)
- Limitations
- Official Coast Guard Historian's Office compilation; live history.uscg.mil page returned 403 to automated fetch on 2026-09-26, so the archived uscg.mil capture is cited. Resolves the USCG commissioning date as 14 December 1948 (after conversion) against secondary listings of 14 September 1948 (the Navy loan date). No asbestos, insulation, hazmat, or abatement content. Final scrapping is stated with a question mark in the source and remains unconfirmed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bering-strait-avp34-04
-
[5]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons, Vol. 2, Appendix 5 (PDF hosted on history.navy.mil) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Appendix 5, seaplane tender table, AVP-34 line
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC's Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons Volume 2, Appendix 5 (list of seaplane tenders) records for AVP-34 Bering Strait: commissioned 19 July 1944; decommissioned 21 June 1946; transferred to USCG 14 September 1948 - corroborating the DANFS chronology against live NHHC-hosted text.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Limitations
- Content verified through search indexing of the official history.navy.mil-hosted PDF; direct fetch returned an empty body on 2026-09-26, so the pinpoint line was confirmed via indexed excerpt rather than a full-page read. Identity/milestone corroboration only - no asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bering-strait-avp34-05
-
[6]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List 44 - Named Vessels (vessel and station logbooks index) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44 alphabetical table, 'Bering Strait (AVP-34)' row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 (named-vessel Navy logbooks) indexes one Bering Strait (AVP-34) logbook span: 19 July 1944 - 30 June 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Index entry only; the logbook itself was not retrieved and its contents (including any materials or maintenance entries bearing on asbestos) are unknown. The indexed span ends 30 June 1945; later-war and postwar logbook custody for this hull is not covered by the indexed row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bering-strait-avp34-06
-
[7]National Archives, Ship Plan Index (Cartographic) and 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' guided topic [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ship Plan Index, 'Bering Strait' rows (NAIDs 153716203, 175668419, 175671412); asbestos guide https://www.archives.gov/research/military/navy/guided-topics/asbestos
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Ship Plan Index identifies three drawing/plan series for this hull under successive designations: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) Hull Series of Ship Engineering Drawings as WAVP-382 (NAID 153716203); RG 19 microfilm as AVP-34 (NAID 175668419); and RG 26 Cutter Plans After 1915 as WHEC-382 (NAID 175671412). NARA's asbestos research guide identifies RG 19 correspondence, insulation and lagging drawings (S39 file code), and general information books as the research path for shipboard asbestos questions.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1971 records
- Limitations
- The index identifies record series, not particular asbestos drawings, and no plan, information book, or correspondence file was retrieved; whether any of these records documents asbestos aboard this hull is unknown until surveyed. Index coverage under three different hull designations (AVP-34, WAVP-382, WHEC-382) reflects the ship's multi-service career.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bering-strait-avp34-07
-
[8]U.S. Government Accountability Office, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (18 October 1979), including Department of the Navy response [gao]
- Locator
- PDF pp. 10-11 (Navy response); GAO highlights
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The 1979 GAO report describes asbestos thermal insulation, gaskets, packing, deck materials, cabling, and other applications across Navy ships and summarizes Navy removal policy in the 1970s.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1970s reporting on earlier decades
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and ship crews (program context)
- Limitations
- Navy-wide program-level document; does not name AVP-34 or any Barnegat-class hull, identifies no product installed aboard this ship, and postdates both her Navy service (ended 1946) and her Coast Guard service (ended 1971). Listed product categories are research context only and are not entered as documented hull products.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bering-strait-avp34-08
-
[9]Naval Sea Systems Command, FOIA Electronic Reading Room - Asbestos Related Files (Navy qualified-products list summaries) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Reading-room table of asbestos-related QPL records with date spans
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NAVSEA's FOIA electronic reading room 'Asbestos Related Files' list includes Navy qualified-products specifications (QPLs) in force during the hull's construction and service era, among them: Insulation Felt, Thermal, Asbestos Fiber (QPL-15091, 1962); Gaskets, Metallic-Asbestos, Spiral-Wound for boilers (QPL-15342 series, 1961-1974) and for piping-system joints (QPL-16265, 1961); Packing, Asbestos Rod, High Pressure (QPL-17340 series, 1953-1968; QPL-33-P-16, 1950-1960); Asbestos Sheet, Compressed gasket material (QPL-17472 series; QPL-46 series, 1952-1981); and a shipboard boiler safety-valve specification (QPL-17462, 1953-1970) filed in the same asbestos-related list.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1950-1981 specification dates
- Population
- Navy construction/repair trades and crews (specification-era context)
- Limitations
- Specification-level records: they establish which asbestos material categories the Navy qualified for shipboard use during this hull's era, not what was installed aboard AVP-34. No hull-specific document for this vessel appears in the reading room list. Does not establish presence, quantity, location, or individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bering-strait-avp34-09
-
[10]Batch-3066 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (archived official page) + NHHC aviation appendix; USCG Historian's Office cutter file; NARA Special List 44 + Ship Plan Index + asbestos research guide; GAO HRD-80-2; NAVSEA asbestos reading room; CourtListener authenticated opinion query [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bering-strait-avp34-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, material schedule, abatement record, condition survey with hazmat content, or docketed case naming Bering Strait (AVP-34 / WAVP-382 / WHEC-382 / Tran Quang Khai HQ-02 / Diego Silang PF-9/PF-14) was found in the public sources searched - the DANFS entry and USCG Historian's Office cutter file contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement; NARA public indexes, GAO HRD-80-2, and the NAVSEA asbestos reading room contain no hull-specific entry; the completed CourtListener opinion sweep returned only name collisions and two zero-count no-results (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard: a 1943-44 wartime-built hull is era-consistent with installed asbestos-containing materials, and unexamined NARA plans, logbooks, and USCG cutter files could hold hull-specific material records. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. CourtListener sweep completed - see ev-11 limitations for sampling boundary.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bering-strait-avp34-10
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 (authenticated via cl-auth-search.py): opinions - '"Bering Strait" asbestos' (5 collision hits), '"USS Bering Strait"' (0), '"AVP-34"' (0); dockets - '"Bering Strait"' (256, all collisions in returned sample), '"AVP-34"' (2, both collisions); 2026-09-26 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bering-strait-avp34-08 through -10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener authenticated API v4 sweep completed. Opinion queries: (a) "Bering Strait" qualified with asbestos returned five hits, all name collisions, not qualifying asbestos litigation - Bering Strait School District v. RLI Insurance Co. (Alaska 1994, school-district insurance coverage); Estate of Josiah Wheeler v. Garrison Property & Casualty (9th Cir. 2023 and Alaska 2025, insurance-estate dispute referencing Alaska-region entities); Spears v. Shelter Mutual Insurance (Oklahoma 2003, insurance); Brodsky v. U.S. NRC (2d Cir. 2013, nuclear licensing); none names USS Bering Strait, AVP-34, WAVP/WHEC-382, or any vessel. (b) "USS Bering Strait" returned zero results. (c) "AVP-34" returned zero results. Docket queries: (d) "Bering Strait" returned 256 dockets, the 20 returned rows all Alaska-entity and unrelated collisions (Bering Strait School District litigation family, Bering Strait Citizens groups, Native Village of Unalakleet, and incidental-mention cases); none names the vessel. (e) "AVP-34" returned two dockets - Braman Motors v. BMW (S.D. Fla.) and Par Pharmaceutical v. Amneal (D. Del.), both alphanumeric-string collisions.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Sweep complete at opinion and docket level: no qualifying asbestos litigation, and no case of any kind naming this hull, is located in CourtListener. Collision risk is elevated because 'Bering Strait' is a geographic name shared by Alaska school districts and Native regional entities; all hits were classified down as name collisions. The docket query sampled the 20 highest-ranked of 256 hits; an unsampled docket could conceivably mention the vessel by name without asbestos context - CourtListener does not index state-court or MDL master-complaint hull lists comprehensively. No anonymous CourtListener request was made.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bering-strait-avp34-11