Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet mk-packet.md (9 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-big-chief-ix101-pkt-mk-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS (NHHC), 'Big Chief I' (Raymond A. Mann, 2006-02-06). Live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-29; verified via Wayback capture 2024-06-04. Canonical URL: https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/big-chief-i.html [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Big Chief I' entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records the hull (382 t, 150'0" x 30'1") as acquired by the Navy through the War Shipping Administration on 1943-05-05 'for duty in connection with the transportation of equipment and gear from [the] Navy Mine Depot, Yorktown [Virginia] consigned to merchant ships in the Chesapeake Bay area,' placed in service that day, designated IX-101 on 1943-05-11, assigned to the 5th Naval District, and employed the entire war 'disposing of overage and obsolete ammunition at sea' until placed out of service 1946-05-28; returned to WSA 1946-06-14; stricken 1946-07-03.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-05-05 to 1946-07-03
- Population
- Navy crew, 5th Naval District, 1943-1946 (complement 21 per DANFS spec line)
- Limitations
- Official Navy history, ship-specific. Establishes the mission profile (ordnance transport and at-sea ammunition disposal) and custody dates; contains no asbestos, materials, or refit detail. Does not establish exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-big-chief-ix101-01
-
[3]DANFS (NHHC), 'Iris V (Lighthouse Tender)'. Live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-29; verified via Wayback capture 2024-06-04. [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Iris V' entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records that the fifth Iris was 'a lighthouse tender built for the United States Lighthouse Service at Philadelphia in 1897,' transferred to the Navy with the entire Lighthouse Service by Executive Order of 1917-04-11, and returned to the Department of Commerce 1919-07-01 - the same hull later designated IX-101.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1897-1919
- Population
- USLHS/USCG tender crew; Navy crew 1917-1919
- Limitations
- Official Navy history confirming the WWI Navy period of this hull. Contains no asbestos or materials information; establishes identity continuity only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-big-chief-ix101-02
-
[4]MARAD Vessel History Database, BIG CHIEF (IX-101), detail 523 (Official No. 150754, built 1897 Neafie and Levy, 382 gross/253 net tons) and vessel status card scans: BIG CHIEF custody chain card and WWII Coast Guard radio-sealing report (documents BigChief_523_001/002.pdf and status card PDF) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD VesselHistory Detail/523; status card image and documents section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD's custody card records the federal custody chain: U.S. Navigation Co. -> U.S. Maritime Commission by requisition 1942-04-04 (New York, 9:30 AM); Maritime Commission -> War Department (Army) same day; War Department -> War Shipping Administration 1943-04-18; WSA -> Navy Department by bareboat charter 1943-05-05 at noon; Navy -> WSA 1946-06-14 at noon (Lee Hall, VA) for Reserve Fleet lay-up. The card header styles her 'BIG CHIEF (Motor Vessel)' - federal documentation that she was diesel-powered, not steam, throughout the 1942-1946 custody period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-04-04 to 1946-06-14
- Population
- Merchant crew (1942-43); Army salvage crew (1942-43); Navy crew (1943-46)
- Limitations
- Primary custody record; ship-specific. 'Motor Vessel' label establishes diesel propulsion during federal service but gives no engine detail and says nothing about insulation materials. Status-card OCR is imperfect - dates cross-verified against DANFS and the vesselhistory detail page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-big-chief-ix101-03
-
[5]Shipscribe, 'USS Small IX - Miscellaneous Types (3)' ship notes (compiled from Navy acquisition and registry records): IX-101 BIG CHIEF note [other_primary]
- Locator
- IX-101 BIG CHIEF ship note, IX091.html (shipscribe.com/usnaux/IX3/)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe's IX-101 note records: SecNav requested bareboat charter of the WSA-owned inland freight motor vessel BIG CHIEF on 1943-04-23; the vessel was built as merchant steamer PLYMOUTH (1897), commissioned as USLHS IRIS 1899-12-18 (606 tons, 153' x 30.1' x 13.3', 800 HP steam engine), under Navy control 1917-1919; decommissioned by the Lighthouse Service 1934-06-21; sold into merchant service as freighter BIG CHIEF and 'given a diesel engine in 1938'; taken over by the Army as a tug ca. 1942 and fitted for overseas service; delivered to WSA 1943-04-18; acquired for delivery of Mark 29 gear (reels of explosive hose, paravanes, etc.) from Naval Mine Depot Yorktown to WSA merchant vessels in Chesapeake Bay, manned by a naval crew because of the gear's confidential character; received no Navy conversion; dumped obsolete ammunition at sea into 1946; NDRF 1946-06-14; sold 1948-02 to W. S. Sanders, Norfolk; converted to menhaden fishing vessel B.O. COLONNA at Colonna's Shipyard, Norfolk, 1955; scrapped 1973.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1897-1973
- Population
- Navy crew, Naval Mine Depot Yorktown, 1943-1946
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of primary Navy records (SecNav/BuShips correspondence and registry data) rather than the primary documents themselves - treated as an archival lead and cross-check, not an independent primary source. Custody dates corroborated by the MARAD card; the 1938 diesel date, Mark 29 mission detail, and 'no Navy conversion' statement rest on this compilation pending NARA file retrieval. Asbestos consequence (removal of the original steam plant) is inference from the documented repowering, not a documented abatement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-big-chief-ix101-04
-
[6]Holland v. Pennsylvania R. Co., 47 F. Supp. 173 (E.D. Pa. 1942), CourtListener cluster 8876851 [court_record]
- Locator
- 47 F. Supp. 173-176; opinion text pp. 173-176 (collision narrative and disposition)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published admiralty opinion adjudicating the 1940-07-11 New York Harbor collision between libellant Holland's motor vessel Big Chief (bound Phillipsdale, RI to Pier 4, Hoboken) and the Pennsylvania Railroad tug Trenton with car-float in tow; Big Chief held without fault. This is plausibly the same hull during its 1939-1941 Pocahontas Coal Co. (S. Norman Holland) collier/bulk-freighter service, immediately before federal requisition.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940-07-11 (collision); 1942 (opinion)
- Population
- Merchant crew, July 1940
- Limitations
- NOT asbestos litigation - a collision liability opinion. Ship linkage rests on the libellant surname (owner S. Norman Holland), vessel name, motor-vessel description, and coastwise trade pattern; the opinion does not state an official number, so identity is strong but not formally proven. Concerns the pre-Navy merchant period.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-big-chief-ix101-05
-
[7]King v. The Vessel Fish Factory No. 1 (In re Libel of Horace T. King, t/a Hanover Iron Works), 132 F. Supp. 858 (E.D.N.C. 1955), CourtListener cluster 8738114 [court_record]
- Locator
- 132 F. Supp. 858; facts recited on vessel arrests and sale
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- District-court admiralty proceeding in the liquidation of Sanders Products Company (owner of fishing vessels Big Chief - the ex-IX-101 hull - and Fish Factory No. 1) after the death of president William S. Sanders on 1954-03-16; supply-lien libels were filed and the Big Chief was sold at marshal's auction for $23,000 (purchaser Norfolk Ship Salvage Co., 1954-09-07).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1954-1955
- Population
- Fishing crew and lien claimants, 1954-55
- Limitations
- NOT asbestos litigation - a maritime supply-lien/estate-liquidation proceeding. Documents the ex-Navy hull's disposition as a fishing vessel; contains no occupational-exposure or materials findings.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-big-chief-ix101-06
-
[8]Jett v. Merchants & Planters Bank (In re Libel of King v. Fish Factory No. 1), 228 F.2d 156 (4th Cir. 1955), CourtListener cluster 238089 (also indexed at 7011914) [court_record]
- Locator
- 228 F.2d 156 at 157-158 (background facts)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Fourth Circuit opinion in the Sanders estate liquidation naming the Big Chief among the corporation's fishing vessels: 'there were numerous outstanding supply liens against each of the firm's two vessels, the Big Chief and the Fish Factory No. 1 ... Immediately libels were filed; the Big Chief was sold for $23,000.' Appeal concerned attorneys' fees from the court registry fund; affirmed denial.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1955-12-22
- Population
- Creditor/estate proceedings, 1954-55
- Limitations
- NOT asbestos litigation - an attorneys'-fee dispute within maritime in-rem proceedings. Confirms the ex-IX-101 hull's post-Navy identity and 1954 sale price; no exposure or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-big-chief-ix101-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 sweeps 2026-09-29: "IX-101" type=o (18 hits, all text collisions - rule/section/docket strings, no vessel); "Big Chief" + vessel type=o (23 hits; vessel-relevant: Holland v. Pennsylvania R. 47 F. Supp. 173; King v. Fish Factory No. 1, 132 F. Supp. 858; Jett v. Merchants & Planters Bank, 228 F.2d 156; name collision: The Big Chief, 75 F. Supp. 496 (E.D. Mo. 1948) and In re Taylor, 82 F. Supp. 268 (E.D. Mo. 1949) - a 36-ft Mississippi River ferry towboat sunk at Caruthersville 1946-07-28, a different vessel); "Big Chief" + asbestos type=r (8 hits - asbestos bankruptcy dockets and unrelated matters containing the string, e.g. Maulson v. Salazar re Fort Berthold 'Big Chief's' business); plain "Big Chief" and "IX-101" type=r sweeps blocked by fleet pacing budget at cutoff [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-big-chief-ix101-06 through -09
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation located naming USS Big Chief (IX-101) or this hull under any name. Every vessel-related opinion found is non-asbestos admiralty material (collision, liens, estate liquidation); every other hit is a name collision or an unrelated string match.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Sweep covers CourtListener's opinion and docket indexes as of 2026-09-29. Absence of a docketed asbestos case does not prove no claim was ever filed (state-court and pre-RECAP federal filings are under-indexed); plain-type docket sweeps were rate-limited at cutoff and are logged as a gap. Does not establish or defeat exposure or eligibility for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-big-chief-ix101-08
-
[10]Era inference anchored in primary records: MARAD custody card ('Motor Vessel'), Shipscribe IX-101 note ('given a diesel engine in 1938'), DANFS spec line; 1897 steam-plant description from Lighthouse Service records summarized in USLHS catalog and secondary-compiled registers (steel hull, single coal-fired boiler, 800-hp triple-expansion engine) [other_primary]
- Locator
- MARAD status card (motor vessel label); Shipscribe IX-101 note; USLHS vessel record (archives.uslhs.org/node/4592)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The as-built 1897 plant (single coal-fired boiler, triple-expansion steam engine) was of the era in which marine steam insulation was commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber (magnesia block lagging with asbestos content, steam-line insulation, flange gaskets, machinery packing). That plant was removed in the 1938 diesel conversion, so during 1943-46 Navy service the vessel was a diesel motor vessel; era-typical residual asbestos applications (gaskets, packing, any retained insulation, bulkhead/deck materials) cannot be ruled in or out.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1897-1938 (steam plant); 1938-1973 (diesel)
- Population
- Neafie & Levy construction trades (1897); USLHS tender crew (1899-1934); merchant crew (1939-46)
- Limitations
- Era/design inference only - no source states 'asbestos' aboard this hull in any period. The inference applies to the as-built steam configuration; the pre-Navy diesel conversion removes the principal asbestos-bearing system from the Navy-service configuration. Does not establish presence, quantity, individual exposure, or causation in any era.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-big-chief-ix101-09
-
[11]Batch-4671 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS; MARAD vesselhistory; Shipscribe IX notes; USLHS Lighthouse Research Catalog; Merchant Vessels of the United States 1942 register (ibiblio mirror); NARA Catalog war-diary records; CourtListener opinion/docket sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-big-chief-ix101-01 through -11
- 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 Big Chief (IX-101), USLHT Iris, SS Plymouth, MV Big Chief, or F/V B. O. Colonna was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- 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 - the hull predates digital-era documentation and its Navy service predates modern hazmat records. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-big-chief-ix101-10
-
[12]NARA Catalog WWII war diaries referencing Big Chief operations: NAV MINE DEP YORKTOWN VA, 8/1943 (catalog id 78140562, ~p.51, seven supply runs); COM 5 / NOB NORFOLK 5/1943 (id 134207577, ~p.79); NSB MOREHEAD CITY 4/1943 (id 134246686, ~p.7); COMGULFSEAFRON 9/1942 (id 133981530, ~p.75-79); COM 5, 12/1945 (id 77606620, ~p.39) and 1-2/1946 (id 77651897, ~p.48, two deep-water 'reject material' dumping trips); USS ROY O. HALE 6/1945 (id 101760272, records 1945-06-04 collision with Big Chief's cargo booms at Yorktown) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov IDs 78140562, 134207577, 134246686, 133981530, 77606620, 77651897, 101760272
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Scanned WWII war diaries in the NARA Catalog document Big Chief's month-by-month mine-depot supply runs and post-war ammunition disposal; these records may contain maintenance and material detail (including any insulation work) not yet page-verified.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-09 to 1946-02
- Population
- Navy crew and Naval Mine Depot Yorktown ordnance handlers, 1943-1946
- Limitations
- Catalog-level identification only - the scanned pages were not OCR-verified for this record, and the specific page positions derive from secondary-source citations to the same NARA files. Retrieving these scans is the primary path to ship-specific material detail; no asbestos content is asserted from them.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-big-chief-ix101-11