USS Boulder Victory (AK-227)

Evidence

10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).

1. [1]Walker, Mary P., 'Boulder Victory' (AK-227), Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval History and Heritage Command (entry dated 2005-12-20) - live NHHC page 404 on 2026-09-21; cited via Wayback Machine capture 2025-02-21 [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry text, full entry (specs block, namesake note, five narrative paragraphs, author/date line)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry for Boulder Victory (AK-227): laid down 1944-06-18 at Richmond, Calif., by Permanente Metals Corp. under Maritime Commission contract (MCV hull 536); launched 1944-08-31 sponsored by Miss Elsa Maxwell; transferred to the Navy and commissioned 1944-10-12, Lt. Comdr. Francis E. Church in command. Served as an ammunition supply vessel in the western Pacific - Ulithi and Kossol Passage (Palaus). On 1944-12-20 departing Kossol for Manus she struck a floating mine on her port side; the explosion tore an 18-by-32-foot hole in No. 3 hold (containing 5-inch projectiles); seawater extinguished the fires; only two shells exploded; no casualties but wartime operations ended. She unloaded ammunition at Kossol until 1945-02-08, steamed to Manus for floating-drydock repairs, was seaworthy again 1945-06-13, and reached San Francisco via Pearl Harbor, beginning a major overhaul by United Engineering Co. at Alameda on 1945-06-30. Postwar she carried supplies to occupation troops (Okinawa arrival 1945-10-30), embarked returning veterans, departed 1945-11-10, commenced demilitarization at San Francisco 1945-12-05, was returned to the War Shipping Administration 1946-01-04 and struck from the Navy list 1946-01-21. Merchant career per DANFS: Parry Navigation Co. 1946-47; laid up Wilmington, N.C., until 1951; Isbrantsen Co. then American-Hawaiian Steamship Co.; deactivated 1953 to storage at Suisun Bay until disposal in the mid-1980s. Specs line: dp. 15,580 (lim.); l. 455'0"; b. 62'0"; dr. 29'2"; s. 15.5 k.; cpl. 99; a. 1 5", 1 3", 8 20mm; cl. Boulder Victory; T. VC2-S-AP2.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1944-1946 Navy period; merchant career to mid-1980s

   Population

   Ship's complement (Navy, 1944-46); construction trades (Permanente/Kaiser Richmond Yard 1, 1944)

   Limitations

   Official compiled ship history; contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement and supports no asbestos claim. DANFS compresses the merchant custody chain - the MARAD status cards (ev-03) document additional operators (Dichmann Wright & Pugh, States Marine Corp., American Export Lines, Seas Shipping Co.) and a James River lay-up absent from the DANFS narrative, and give redelivery to the MC as 1946-01-04 vs. secondary compilations' 1946-01-11.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-boulder-victory-ak227-01

2. [2]USS Boulder Victory (AK-227) War Diary, October 1944 - November 1945 (NavSource-hosted scan of the contemporaneous ship-submitted war diary; original series held at NARA, RG 38) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Full scan, 48 pp., OCR'd at 150 dpi - esp. commissioning entry (1944-10-12), mine-damage entries (1944-12-20/27/29/31), ABSD-2 drydock (1945-05-07/06-02), United Engineering availability (1945-07-04 through 08-28, 09-18/30), Okinawa run (1945-10-30/11-30)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The ship's own war diary (48-page digitized scan of the monthly diaries submitted per CominCh/Cincpac directives, covering 1944-10-12 through 1945-11-30) records: commissioned 1944-10-12 'as a naval auxiliary, on a wartime loan, from Maritime Commission ... at Richmond Shipyards ... Outfitted by Naval Supply Depot, Oakland, California'; loaded cargo at Naval Ammunition Depot, Port Chicago (moved 10-19, completed 10-30) then Bay Explosive Area anchorage with a departure delay 'due to necessary engineering repairs'; departed early November via Eniwetok to Ulithi (entered 11-30); convoy Ulithi-Palau 17 reaching Kossol Passage berth 72 on 12-09. On 12-20 at 0850, underway from berth 40 in convoy for Manus (USS Renshaw DD-499 OTC, USS Patterson DD-392), an explosion on the port side of No. 3 hold flooded it immediately; divers of CTU 30.9.2 found an opening 'approximately 18 by 32 feet'; the ship was rendered unseaworthy with 2,386 tons of ammunition cargo submerged. Inspection 12-27 (Comdr. W. A. Moore) measured the damaged area ~15 x 20 feet spanning frames 58-70 around the turn of the bilge. She remained at Kossol Passage as an ammunition issue ship, discharging until 1945-02-08; passage to Manus at 7 knots (escort USS Vigilance AM-324), Seeadler Harbor 02-13; discharged cargo to USS Murzim (AK-95) and NAD Manus through March-April; drydocked in USS ABSD-2 at Seeadler Harbor 05-07 to 06-02 (temporary repairs completed 05-28); departed Seeadler 06-13 for Pearl Harbor (moored ~06-23), then San Francisco (anchored ~06-30/07-01). Docked at United Engineering Co., Ltd., Alameda 07-04 'for repairs and alterations,' drydocked in dock #1 through August 'undergoing battle damage repairs and alterations'; depermed, compass calibrated, full-power run 08-24; Navy Supply Oakland dock 08-28. Refresher training off San Diego 09-01 to 09-15; moored Pier #5 United Engineering/Encinal Terminal, Alameda 09-18 onward receiving cargo; departed ~10-10 for Eniwetok (10-24, discharged mail) and Buckner Bay, Okinawa (anchored 10-30). Discharged cargo, embarked returning veterans, departed ~11-10/11; arrived Los Angeles 11-25, Port Hueneme 11-27 discharging cargo to A.B.S.D. Port Hueneme through 11-30 (diary ends).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1944-1945

   Population

   Ship's complement 1944-45; ammunition-handling and Construction Battalion personnel at Kossol/Seeadler; ABSD-2 drydock crews; United Engineering yard workers (1945); embarked returning veterans (Nov 1945)

   Limitations

   Contemporaneous primary record read via OCR of typewritten carbon copies - partially legible in places; overlapping dates cross-checked against DANFS where possible. Full-text keyword search across the OCR returned zero hits for asbestos/insulation/lagging/magnesia/gasket/packing/pipe covering - an operational record, not a materials record; its silence on asbestos is expected and establishes nothing about materials aboard.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-boulder-victory-ak227-02

3. [3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - BOULDER VICTORY, Ship History Detail 574, incl. digitized vessel status cards 574_1061AF/BF/CF/DF and VJ_01/VJ_02 and document scans BoulderVictory_574_001.pdf (USCG waiver order) et al. [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   Detail 574 page (specs, milestones, fate, missions); /cards/574_1061AF.jpg (Suisun trade-out withdrawal), 574_1061BF.jpg (1957 UC thermal-stress withdrawal), 574_1061CF.jpg (James River 1952 entry), 574_1061DF.jpg (Wilmington 1948 entry + 1950 Mallory/Bethlehem repair withdrawal), VJ_01.png and VJ_02.png (typed vessel status card, full operator chain); /documents/BoulderVictory_574_001.pdf (NAVCG-2633 waiver order)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD ShipHistory Detail 574 (BOULDER VICTORY; O.N. 246572; VC2-S-AP2; built Permanente Metals Corp. 1944; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; missions listed: World War II, Korean War) plus the record's seven digitized status-card/document scans document the custody chain at document level: Navy Dept. returned to MC/WSA custody 1946-01-04 ~3:00 PM PST at San Francisco (loan basis); operators in sequence - Parry Navigation Co. (GAA San Francisco 1-4-46; Int.BB Houston 7-17-46; MC/BB New Orleans 12-13-46); Dichmann, Wright & Pugh, Inc. (GAA Norfolk 8-1-47); States Marine Corp. of N.Y. (MC/BB Norfolk 8-13-47; bareboat Baltimore 2-4-48 after a Long Beach redelivery ~10-47); Reserve Fleet entry Wilmington, N.C. 5-18-48 9:30 AM (fleet card 'Wilm. N.C. B-52-a'); withdrawn 10-6-50 9:50 AM 'Del. to C. D. Mallory & Co. for Beth. N.Y. Repair' (Bethlehem New York repair yard); Isbrandtsen Co. (GAA Wilmington 10-6-50; BB New York 1-11-51); American Export Lines (GAA New York 6-8-51); American-Hawaiian SS Co. (BB Boston 12-22-51); Reserve Fleet James River 10-1-52 3:20 PM EST; Seas Shipping Co., Inc. (GAA - fleet card annotates 'GAA-MSTS') James River 4-2-53 11:35 AM EST; Reserve Fleet Suisun Bay 10-29-53 11:40 AM PST; withdrawn to American President Lines (GAA) 5-20-57 9:15 AM PDST 'for testing - inactive' (fleet card: 'Thermal Stress Investigation ... University of California'); returned to Reserve Fleet (deactivated) Suisun Bay 9-3-57 12:30 PM PDST; 'Trade-out scrap ship (delivered to C.J.W. Shipping & Trading Co.)' 11-28-83 11:28 AM PST, MARAD disposition/withdrawal milestone 12-1-83, pursuant to exchange contracts MA-11438/11439 dated 10-13-83 (for AMERICAN RACER, AMERICAN RELIANCE, U.S. Lines, Inc.). A scanned U.S. Coast Guard NAVCG-2633 waiver-order document (1946, Parry era) records the operator's request for a temporary certificate of inspection to dispatch the newly taken-over vessel to the East Coast 'for reconditioning.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1946-1983

   Population

   Reserve-fleet lay-up/reactivation crews (Wilmington, James River, Suisun Bay); merchant crews of eight operators 1946-53 incl. MSTS-agency lift (Seas Shipping, Korea era); UC/APL test crews 1957; Bethlehem N.Y. repair-yard workers 1950-51; scrapping workers 1983-84

   Limitations

   Authoritative custody/operator record; card scans read via OCR - a few handwritten/OCR-ambiguous fields flagged in gaps (e.g., one card reads a fleet-entry year ambiguously, resolved against the typed VJ card). Cards are custody documents, not materials records - keyword sweep of all seven scans returned zero hits for asbestos/insulation/lagging/magnesia/gasket/packing; fleet-card 'stripping of vessel' and 'damages' fields are blank or illegible. Card 574_1061DB.jpg is a misfiled DANFS page for sister hull Private Sadao S. Munemori (AP-190) - noted so it is not misattributed. No asbestos content in the record.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-boulder-victory-ak227-03

4. [4]USS Boulder Victory war diary entries 1945-05-07, 05-28, 06-01/02, 06-13 (NavSource scan) vs. NARA photo 80-G-334493 caption as circulated via NavSource/Shipscribe ('US National Archives photo # 80-G-334493') [other_primary]

   Locator

   War diary May-June 1945 entries; NavSource/Shipscribe caption text for photo 80-G-334493

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Photo-caption discrepancy resolved against the contemporaneous record: the widely circulated caption of NARA photo 80-G-334493 locates the ship 'at Ulithi, 9 June 1945, after being drydocked there in USS ABSD-2.' The ship's war diary instead records drydocking in ABSD-2 at Seeadler Harbor, Admiralty Islands, from 1945-05-07 to 1945-06-02, with departure from Seeadler on 06-13 for Pearl Harbor; the diary contains no June return to Ulithi. On the caption date (06-09) the ship was at Seeadler Harbor, not Ulithi - the circulated caption's location is inconsistent with the contemporaneous record (the drydock and photograph are the same event; 'Ulithi' reads as a captioning error).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1945

   Limitations

   Resolves a location conflict between a later-compiled photo caption and the contemporaneous ship record; no material effect on the service timeline (the repair event itself is corroborated by both). No asbestos content in either source.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-boulder-victory-ak227-04

5. [5]Shipscribe.com, 'USS Boulder Victory (AK-227) Class' - construction table and class notes compiled from U.S. Navy Ships' Data (BuShips) / NVR data [other_primary]

   Locator

   Class notes paragraphs (FY 1944 acquisition narrative) and AK-227 construction row

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Shipscribe class notes (compiled from U.S. Navy Ships' Data/BuShips and Naval Vessel Register records): on 1944-09-23 CinCPOA requested ten Victory-type cargo ships for forward ammunition replenishment; CNO asked the Maritime Commission 09-27 for MCV hulls 535-544, MC slipped the assignment to hulls 536-545; the Auxiliary Vessels Board recommended SecNav approval 10-05. 'The ships were accepted by the Navy from the MC "as is," as completed merchant vessels without conversion, modifications, or even name changes' - i.e., this hull's Navy outfit was its completed MC merchant build; class notes also record a 14-officer/76-man crew design figure and that sisters (e.g., AK-233) later received 'tween-deck quarters, radar, and ordnance alterations in 1945.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1944-1945

   Population

   Class-level: crews of AK-227 through AK-254 series

   Limitations

   Compiled secondary transcription of official records, not the underlying document - verified as to what shipscribe publishes; the 'as is, no conversion' statement is class-level. It establishes the Navy did not refit these hulls on acquisition, so the outfit reflects the MC merchant build standard rather than a documented naval-spec insulation record. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-boulder-victory-ak227-05

6. [6]Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr, Gade RL, Drinker P, 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology 28:9-16 (January 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]

   Locator

   PubMed index record (PMID 21016030); article text 'Pipe Covering Material' section (amosite statement) read via a scanned copy of the journal article

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   A contemporaneous U.S. Public Health Service/Navy industrial-health survey of pipe-covering operations in naval-vessel construction states: 'An important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite. This mineral is a magnesium iron silicate of variable composition. The name is the generic one for an asbestos type of fibrous mineral mined in South Africa' - documenting amosite asbestos as a standard pipe-covering constituent on U.S. Navy vessels during the era this hull was built and placed in Navy service. The survey found considerable dustiness from pipe-covering work at Navy contract yards and identified early asbestosis findings in pipe coverers.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   survey fieldwork 1943-45; published 1946-01

   Population

   Pipe coverers/insulators and construction trades at Navy contract yards (1940s)

   Limitations

   Era/class documentation, not a hull record - the study surveyed unnamed Navy contract and government yards and does not name this vessel; this hull was MC-built and taken over 'as is' (ev-05), so which insulation products were aboard is era inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, location, present-day presence (hull scrapped 1983-84), individual exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-boulder-victory-ak227-06

7. [7]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), PMID 3555021 [other_primary]

   Locator

   Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373; PMID verified via PubMed

   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 program under which this VC2-S-AP2 hull was mass-produced at a Kaiser/Permanente yard - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   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 or the VC2-S-AP2 type and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-boulder-victory-ak227-07

8. [8]Historic American Engineering Record, WINTHROP VICTORY (V-74), HAER No. CA-345 (National Park Service, 2007; historian Brian Clayton) [haer]

   Locator

   HAER CA-345 full written historical and descriptive data (LoC-hosted PDF, text-extracted and keyword-searched)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NPS Historic American Engineering Record documentation of the VC2-S-AP2 design (the same Maritime Commission design type as this hull), prepared on sister hull Winthrop Victory (V-74) at the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet: class significance ('the first of a new generation of general cargo ships'), dimensions (455'3" oa x 62' x 28'), construction program history, and type lineage from the Liberty design.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1943-45 design period; report 2007

   Limitations

   Documents a different hull of the same design; full-text keyword search of the report returned zero hits for asbestos/insulation/lagging/magnesia - the report does not address insulation materials and supports no asbestos claim; it establishes design identity and type context only.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-boulder-victory-ak227-08

9. [9]Batch-897 search ledger (this record): DANFS (Wayback), NavSource page + 48-page war-diary OCR sweep, MARAD ShipHistory Detail 574 + seven card/document scan OCR sweep, NVR hull lookup, web asbestos sweep, CourtListener attempts [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-boulder-victory-ak227-01 through sl-uss-boulder-victory-ak227-12

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, MARAD material note, or docketed case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Full-text keyword searches of the complete 48-page war-diary OCR and all seven MARAD status-card/document scans returned zero hits for asbestos, insulation, lagging, magnesia, gasket, packing, or pipe covering. Web-search hits naming the ship in asbestos ship-lists were law-firm marketing pages only and were excluded per source rules. The CourtListener litigation sweep could not be executed - the authenticated API daily quota was exhausted before this session (see ledger rows sl-07/sl-08); hull-name and hull-number litigation status is therefore unsearched, not a negative result.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   2026-09-21

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 VC2-S-AP2 steam hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing construction, and two documented yard events (1945 United Engineering battle-damage repair/alteration; 1950-51 Bethlehem N.Y. repair) leave alteration materials unexamined. Litigation status is affirmatively UNKNOWN this round (CourtListener blocked), not negative. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-boulder-victory-ak227-09

10. [10]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19, RG 24, RG 38, RG 178, RG 248 record-group mapping; NARA photo reference 80-G-334493 per NavSource caption [other_primary]

    Locator

    archives.gov record-group guides; NavSource photo caption citing 80-G-334493

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): NARA RG 38 holds the original WWII war-diary series the NavSource scan reproduces and RG 24 holds Navy deck logs for the commissioned period (may carry repair/upkeep detail); RG 19 / RG-80-G holds Bureau of Ships imagery including photo 80-G-334493 (the ABSD-2 drydock photograph) and possible damage-report photography; RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) and RG 248 (War Shipping Administration) hold MCV hull 536 construction and custody files; United Engineering Co. (Alameda) repair records would document the 1945 battle-damage repair scope; C. D. Mallory & Co./Bethlehem Steel New York records would document the 1950-51 repair-yard scope; University of California records would document the 1957 thermal-stress investigation for which the ship was withdrawn from Suisun Bay.

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-21

    Study period

    1944-1983 records

    Limitations

    Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-boulder-victory-ak227-10