Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 373-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: Queue: USS Bowdoin IX-50 → VERIFIED — real identity: USS Bowdoin (IX-50). Type: two-masted auxiliary schooner (only American schooner built specifically for Arctic exploration; 66 GRT, gaff-rigged).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-bowdoin-ix50-pkt-373-packet-md
-
[2]National Park Service, National Historic Landmark nomination, 'Bowdoin (Arctic Exploration Schooner),' NRHP 80000411 (prepared by James P. Delgado, June 30, 1989), Section 7 [nps]
- Locator
- NHL nomination Section 7, 'Bowdoin as built, maintained, and modified' and 'Present condition and appearance of Bowdoin'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHL nomination construction record: 1921 two-masted auxiliary schooner, U.S. Official No. 221251, 66 GRT/15 NRT, 210 tons displacement, 88 ft x 20.2 ft beam x 9.4 ft depth of hold; built almost entirely of white oak with greenheart ice sheathing and an 1,800-lb steel beak piece; baldheaded schooner rig, 2,900 sq ft canvas; auxiliary engine driving a single screw - original 60-hp Fairbanks Morse oil engine (capable of burning crude oil, kerosene, or seal oil), replaced in the 1970s with a 190-hp Cummins diesel; accommodations were 14 forecastle berths plus 9 midships berths. Documented modifications: 1970s engine/generator/wiring replacement, 1978 Douglas fir mainmast, 1980-84 in-kind rebuild (ballast, frames, stem, keelson, planks, deck) at Maine Maritime Museum under Jim Stevens of the Goudy-Stevens Yard, East Boothbay.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1921-1989
- Limitations
- Establishes wooden construction and propulsion - no boilers or steam plant - plus the repair history that replaced original machinery. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowdoin-ix50-01
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[3]National Park Service, NHL nomination, 'Bowdoin (Arctic Exploration Schooner),' NRHP 80000411, Section 8 [nps]
- Locator
- NHL nomination Section 8, significance narrative and notes (cites USS Bowdoin IX-50 ship's history file, Naval Historical Center; USCG 'The Coast Guard at War: Greenland Patrol II' pp. 34, 36, 38, 44)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHL nomination significance narrative: the only auxiliary schooner built in the United States specifically for Arctic exploration; MacMillan made 26 of his 29 Arctic voyages in her; between 1921 and 1954 she logged more than 200,000 miles and 24 trips beyond the Arctic Circle with about 300 crewmembers. Purchased by the U.S. Navy in May 1941; commissioned 16 June 1941 with Lt. Cmdr. MacMillan, USNR, commanding; served on the Greenland Patrol assisting defense of Greenland and surveys for Army air bases on the ferry route to Britain; after 27 months placed in reduced commission October 1943; decommissioned 16 December 1943; stricken from the Navy list May 1944; sold January 1945 and refitted for Arctic exploration. Post-war: Mystic Seaport 1959-1967 (deteriorated); Schooner Bowdoin Association 1967, leased to Capt. Jim Sharp; Maine Maritime Museum restoration 1980-84; Outward Bound lease 1987-88; Maine Maritime Academy 1989 on two-year lease with purchase option.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1921-1989
- Population
- Bowdoin crews (exploration-era civilian complement of scientists/students; wartime Navy crew complement not stated)
- Limitations
- Establishes service timeline and ownership chain. Nomination's 1989 lease framing differs from MMA's 'purchased 1988' - carried as discrepancy. Voyage counts differ across sources (see gaps). No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowdoin-ix50-02
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[4]Bowdoin College, Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum - 'The Schooner Bowdoin' educational resource page [museum_official]
- Locator
- Arctic Museum schooner page (design rationale, construction description)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum (Bowdoin College) institutional history: MacMillan conceived the vessel after the 1913-17 Crocker Land Expedition; hired William H. Hand to design her and Hodgdon Brothers of East Boothbay to build her; launched 1921 named for Bowdoin College; at 88 ft/21 ft the smallest vessel designed expressly for Arctic work; double-planked, double-framed white oak with five-foot greenheart ice belt and 1,800-lb steel nosepiece; purpose-built to ride up on ice pans rather than resist them.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1913-1921 (design/construction context)
- Limitations
- Corroborates design/construction from the institution holding MacMillan's archive; secondary museum narrative, not a survey. Its '60 tons' figure differs from the nomination's 66 GRT - tonnage conventions differ; not material. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowdoin-ix50-03
-
[5]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Bowdoin (IX-50)' entry - transcribed at NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NavSource IX-50 page, DANFS section; canonical NHHC DANFS URL returned 404 on 2026-09-29 (same link-rot pattern logged in Batch-01 report)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS-derived service record (transcription): Navy purchased Bowdoin 22 May 1941 and placed her in commission as IX-50 on 16 June 1941, Lt. Cmdr. Donald B. MacMillan, USNR, in command; assigned to the South Greenland Patrol (did not report at Ivigtut), providing services for air-base site surveys and construction; October 1941 the patrol's two portions merged into Greenland Patrol, Task Group 24.8 under CinCLant; Lt. (j.g.) Stuart T. Hotchkiss commanding from 1 March 1942; placed in reduced commission 23 October 1943; out of commission at Quincy, MA, 16 December 1943; struck from the Navy list May 1944; sold as a hulk 24 January 1945 through the Maritime Commission's War Shipping Administration.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Wartime Navy crew (complement not stated)
- Limitations
- DANFS text via transcription mirror - canonical NHHC page not live; stricken date is stated as 14 May 1944 in some renderings and 16 May 1944 in others (discrepancy carried in gaps). Establishes WWII employment only; no asbestos, materials, or alteration detail - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowdoin-ix50-04
-
[6]Maine Maritime Academy - Schooner Bowdoin waterfront pages (Bowdoin Facts, Bowdoin History, Hull Restoration Project, Deck Restoration Project) and 2016 press release [museum_official]
- Locator
- mainemaritime.edu/waterfront/schooner-bowdoin/ + /bowdoin-facts/ + /bowdoin-history/ + /hull-restoration-project/ ; /giving/completed-campaigns/deck-restoration-project/ ; /about-mma/press-releases/schooner-bowdoin-sets-sail-for-educational-cruises/ ; /mariner/issue2-2019/campus-currents/bowdoin-back-in-action/
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Maine Maritime Academy official pages: Bowdoin is the Official Vessel of the State of Maine (designated 4 August 1988) and flagship of the Vessel Operations and Technology program; purchased by MMA from the Schooner Bowdoin Association in 1988; USCG-certified sailing school and passenger vessel with crew of 16; three voyages above the Arctic Circle since 1988 (Nain 1990, Disko Island 1991, Umanaq 1994). Modern refits documented: 2015-16 deck restoration and systems upgrades at Lyman-Morse/Wayfarer Marine, Camden (deck, stanchions, ceiling timbers, engine rebuild, generator, refrigeration, electrical, main engine exhaust replacement; Andros Kypragoras Shipbuilding), funded by the $1.6M Bowdoin Centennial Campaign; 2018-19 hull restoration at Bristol Marine, Boothbay Harbor, replacing ~42 futtock sections and ~70 planks below the waterline.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1988-2019
- Population
- MMA cadets and crew (contemporary training population); restoration yard workers
- Limitations
- Establishes present status, custody, and modern work scope - extensive machinery/system renewal is relevant to whether any era materials could survive. None of the restoration disclosures mentions asbestos, hazmat, or abatement; supports no asbestos claim. 'Purchased 1988' (MMA) vs 'lease with option to buy 1989' (NHL nomination) carried as discrepancy.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowdoin-ix50-05
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[7]Batch-4816 search ledger (this record): NPS NHL nomination 80000411; MMA site pages; NavSource IX-50 DANFS transcription; MARAD ShipHistory; NVR; CourtListener name/hull/asbestos searches; live-web asbestos/abatement query [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bowdoin-ix50-01 through sl-uss-bowdoin-ix50-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, condition report, or docketed case naming USS Bowdoin (IX-50) or the schooner Bowdoin was found in the public sources searched - the NHL nomination's detailed construction narrative contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement; MMA restoration disclosures contain none; NavSource/DANFS contains none; MARAD ShipHistory has no record for the vessel; NVR does not cover pre-1987 disposals; CourtListener name and asbestos searches returned only name-collision results (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 - WWII naval outfitting of this auxiliary could have included era-typical asbestos materials (gaskets, exhaust lagging, wiring insulation) whose scope is undocumented, and no survey in either direction exists. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowdoin-ix50-06
-
[8]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
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed scholarship documents extensive use of asbestos as fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding and naval outfitting during WWII, the era of this vessel's 1941-1943 naval commission - the period when any asbestos-containing materials would most plausibly have been added to this hull (engine exhaust lagging, gaskets, electrical insulation, stove insulation).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level documentation of WWII shipboard asbestos generally; the study addresses production shipyards and steel/steam vessels - its relevance to a wooden sailing auxiliary is limited and inferential. Does not name this vessel, does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard, and establishes nothing about quantity, location, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowdoin-ix50-07
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[9]USCG 'The Coast Guard at War: Greenland Patrol II' (1945) via media.defense.gov (403 to automation); Naval Historical Center IX-50 ship's history file (per NHL nomination note 7); NARA WWII deck-log guidance [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHL nomination note 7 (cites ship's history file + Greenland Patrol II pp. 34, 36, 38, 44); media.defense.gov PDF URL (blocked); https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): (a) U.S. Coast Guard, 'The Coast Guard at War: Greenland Patrol II' (Historical Section, Public Information Division, July 15, 1945) - the official history of Bowdoin's WWII operating command, cited by the NHL nomination at pp. 34, 36, 38, 44; official PDF is posted at media.defense.gov but returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch. (b) USS Bowdoin (IX-50) ship's history file, Ships' History Branch, Naval Historical Center - cited by the nomination as its WWII source. (c) NARA WWII deck logs and any 1941 outfitting/conversion records for IX-50.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1941-1945 records
- Limitations
- Lead mapping only - the USCG PDF is confirmed to exist (live link on history.uscg.mil) but could not be fetched; the NHHC file and NARA logs were not surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding; whether any of these records addresses materials is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowdoin-ix50-08
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[10]Cross-source reconciliation: NHL nomination 80000411; NavSource IX-50 page; MMA Bowdoin History page; MMA 2016 press release [nps]
- Locator
- NHL nomination; navsource.org/archives/09/46/46050.htm; mainemaritime.edu/waterfront/schooner-bowdoin/bowdoin-history/
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved or carried: (a) stricken date - NavSource summary 'May 1944' vs DANFS-derived '16 May 1944' vs other renderings '14 May 1944'; month consistent, day unresolved. (b) MMA acquisition - NHL nomination (June 1989) records a 1989 two-year lease with option to buy; MMA history page records purchase from the Schooner Bowdoin Association in 1988. (c) Arctic voyage counts - nomination '24 trips beyond the Arctic Circle 1921-1954' vs MMA '26 voyages 1921-1954' vs secondary '29 lifetime / 28 trips'; counts differ by source and definition. (d) Official number rendered '22125' on NavSource vs '221251' in the nomination - nomination adopted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-2016
- Limitations
- Publication-level discrepancies in secondary framings; none affects identity or the asbestos posture materially. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowdoin-ix50-09