Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Bitterbush' (AN-39) entry - HyperWar/ibiblio transcription (live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 at both URL variants on 2026-09-24) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Bitterbush entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry: laid down as Almond (YN-58); renamed Bitterbush 1943-04-03; launched 1943-06-30 by Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Everett, WA; sponsored by Miss Beverly Jean Miller; commissioned 1944-01-15, Lt. H. E. Harrocks, USNR, in command; reclassified AN-39 1944-01-20. Tended anti-submarine nets at San Francisco until 1944-11-29; moved to Iwo Jima via San Pedro, Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, and Guam; tended nets there until homeward passage 1945-09-17; decommissioned 1946-01-04; transferred to the Maritime Commission 1947-05-07 (other sources give 1947-05-06). One battle star for the Iwo Jima operation. Class data: 1,100 t displacement, 194'7" x 37' x 13'6", 12 kt, complement 56, one 3" gun.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, wartime employment, decommissioning, and disposal. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or crew-health information; supports no asbestos claim. Minor conflicts with other sources (sponsor name 'Beverly Jean Miller' vs 'Veberly Jean Miller'; CO 'H. E. Harrocks' vs 'Harry E. Horrocks, Jr.'; transfer date 7 May vs 6 May 1947) carried in gaps. NHHC canonical URLs (danfs/b/bitterbush.html and danfs/b/bitterbush-i.html) both returned 404 - standing link-rot issue noted in Batch-01 report.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bitterbush-an39-01
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[2]Shipscribe.com USS Ailanthus (AN-38) class page - reproduction of U.S. Naval Vessel Register entries and class characteristics [other_primary]
- Locator
- AN-39 Bitterbush row, construction table, disposition table, and Notes column
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Register-derived record: BITTERBUSH ordered 12 May 1942, keel 30 Nov 1942, launched 30 Jun 1943, commissioned 15 Jan 1944 at Everett-Pacific SB, Everett WA. Decommissioned 4 Jan 1946, stricken 21 Jan 1946, transferred to Maritime Commission 6 May 1947. 'Sold (awarded) by MC to A. Navarro, Barnett Shipping Co., New York. Merc. CIUDAD BOLIVAR 1948, burned off Puerto Rico 27 May 54.' Class data (AILANTHUS AN-38 design Navy YN-57/AN-38): 1,175 t light / 1,460 t limited; 194.5' oa x 37' x 13.5'; diesel-electric, 1 screw, 1,200 hp; 12.1 kt; original armament 1-3"/50, 2-20mm.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1954
- Limitations
- Private-site reproduction of official Naval Vessel Register data - content is register-derived but the site is a secondary mirror, not a .mil domain. Establishes the post-Navy chain (MC disposal, merchant identity Ciudad Bolivar, 1954 loss by fire) with no asbestos information. Complement shown (43, 1944 class figure) differs from the ship's documented 56 - period/design figure vs. ship's crew, noted in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bitterbush-an39-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Bitterbush (AN-39) page - volunteer archive compiling official USN register data and Bureau of Ships photographs [other_primary]
- Locator
- AN-39 page: chronology, campaign table, specifications, photo captions citing NARA RG-19-LCM 19-N-91554
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource service-ship archive: laid down 30 Nov 1942 as yard net tender Almond (YN-58) at Everett-Pacific; renamed Bitterbush 3 Apr 1943; launched 30 Jun 1943; commissioned 15 Jan 1944, LT. Harry E. Horrocks, Jr., USNR; reclassified AN-39 20 Jan 1944; Iwo Jima operation (assault and occupation) 20 Feb-16 Mar 1945; decommissioned 4 Jan 1946 at Mare Island Navy Yard; struck 21 Jan 1946; one battle star; transferred to Maritime Commission 6 May 1947; sold for commercial service 1948; destroyed by fire off Puerto Rico 27 May 1954. Specification sheet: 1,460 t full load; two Busch-Sulzer BS-539 diesel-electric engines; two 60 kW 120 V DC ship's service generators; single propeller 1,200 shp; 1x3"/50 DP, four twin 20mm AA; complement 4 officers + 52 enlisted; 12 t boom; 760 bbl diesel. BuShips photos of the ship at San Francisco 12 Nov 1944 catalogued as US National Archives RG-19-LCM nos. 19-N-91554 et al.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1954
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive - authoritative for the compiled register/photo data it cites (BuShips photos carry real NARA identifiers) but is itself a secondary compilation. Machinery spec (diesel-electric, no steam plant) bounds the ship's insulation profile; contains no asbestos information and supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bitterbush-an39-03
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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
- AJIM 11(3):359-373, article and abstract
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: Bitterbush was built 1942-44 at a Navy-funded emergency shipyard (Everett-Pacific, Port Gardner Bay) during the period when the U.S. government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding and asbestos was a standard insulation/fireproofing material in U.S. naval and merchant construction. A diesel-electric auxiliary of this size would have had no boiler/steam-main insulation load; era-typical asbestos applications for the type would have been exhaust and machinery-space lagging, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, and joiner bulkhead panels.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class/era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or its class and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. The diesel-electric plant (verified ship-specific, ev-03) means the steam-era boiler-lagging driver does not apply; residual era-typical applications remain inference.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bitterbush-an39-04
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[5]Batch-1786 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC, Shipscribe NVR mirror, NavSource, NARA catalog, MARAD ShipHistory, CourtListener opinion and docket indexes [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bitterbush-an39-01 through sl-uss-bitterbush-an39-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement record, hazmat disclosure, or docketed litigation naming USS Bitterbush, YN-58, AN-39, or merchant identity Ciudad Bolivar was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was destroyed by fire off Puerto Rico on 27 May 1954, so no present-day condition record can exist.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard during her 1944-46 Navy or 1948-54 merchant service - 1942-44 Navy construction was era-typical for asbestos use. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. NARA deck logs/war diaries (RG 24/RG 38) and Maritime Commission disposal file remain unsearched in paper form.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bitterbush-an39-05