Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, 'Brontes' entry (AGP-17) - verbatim transcription via hazegray mirror; live NHHC URL returns 404 and no Wayback capture was located 2026-09-20 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Brontes' entry, spec block + full narrative (hazegray transcription, losthistory.net mirror; live NHHC page 404)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC records for this hull: 'Brontes, although reclassified AGP-17 14 August 1944, was launched 6 February 1945 as LST-1125 by Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, Ill.; sponsored by Mrs. June Elizabeth Reimer; and placed in reduced commission 17 February 1945; placed out of commission 10 March 1945; underwent conversion to a motor torpedo boat tender; and recommissioned as Brontes (AGP-17) 14 August 1945, Lieutenant W. B. Reanden, Jr., in command.' Service: underway for New Orleans 26 September 1945, arrived 3 October; Navy Day activities and torpedo-boat servicing; December 1945 to Washington, D.C. for the 'parade of torpedo boats' Victory Bond drive; departed 20 December 1945 for New York and pre-inactivation overhaul; decommissioned 14 March 1946; 'sold 1 April 1946.' Spec block: dp. 2179; l. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'2"; s. 11.6 k.; cpl. 119; a. 8 40 mm.; cl. Portunus.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Construction trades (Seneca 1944-45; Maryland Drydock Baltimore 1945); wartime crew (commissioned Aug 1945-Mar 1946)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and a spec block, not materials or asbestos content - supports no asbestos claim. Its 'sold 1 April 1946' conflicts with the Maritime Commission disposal date 28 March 1947 carried by shipscribe/NavSource; its 'cpl. 119' conflicts with the SDB accommodations figure (41+249); its CO spelling 'Reanden' differs from NavSource 'Rearden' - all flagged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brontes-agp17-01
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[2]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 1945) - AGP section per-hull rows for BRONTES AGP-17 [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 AGP subtables, printed pp. 60-65 (BRONTES AGP-17 rows across dimensions, personnel, machinery, armament, and construction tables) + name index
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips data for this hull: 'BRONTES (ex-LST1125) AGP17' - length 328'0" oa / 316'0" wl, extreme beam 50'0", trial speed 11.6 kts, trial displacement 3,960 t, limiting displacement 4,100 t, limiting draft 11'2", tons-per-inch immersion 34; total accommodations 41 officers + 249 enlisted; largest boom capacity 60 t; propulsion 2 propellers, G.M. Diesel 12-567A (ditto-inherited from the ANTIGONE row above), 1,800 hp; armament 2 quad 40mm mounts (main-battery column blank - the 3"/50 was deleted in the AGP 14-18 design group); builder Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Seneca, Ill.; keel laid 15 Nov 44; launched 6 Feb 45; first commission 17 Feb 45. Index entry reads 'Brontes (ex-LST1125) AGP17 - Auxiliary - Motor Torpedo Boat Tender.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Complement accommodations: 41 officers + 249 enlisted (design capacity incl. squadron personnel)
- Limitations
- Official design/datum table - documents machinery, dimensions, accommodations, and construction dates, not materials or asbestos content. Columnar OCR of a scanned official document; values cross-checked against DANFS, NavSource, and shipscribe. No boilers or steam machinery are listed - the plant is diesel. Does not establish what insulation materials were installed aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brontes-agp17-02
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[3]shipscribe.com U.S. Navy Auxiliary Ships - PORTUNUS (AGP-4) class page (Stephen S. Roberts compilation from BuShips, OpNav, and Maritime Commission records): construction/disposition tables, class notes, per-hull ship note for AGP-17 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PORTUNUS (AGP-4) class page - construction and disposition tables (AGP-17 rows), class notes, ship note AGP-17 BRONTES
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship note for this hull: 'Ex LST-1125 14 Aug 44. Ferry commission as LST-1125 17 Feb-10 Mar 45. Converted by Maryland DD, Baltimore. Sold by MC as LST-1125 for mercantile service, merc. BARBARA 1947. Lost 27 Oct 59 as XALAPA.' Class documentation: all Portunus-class units except AGP-5 were converted by Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore; Gibbs & Cox was design agent for the LST conversion designs; the class was designed with shops and equipment for maintenance of one MTB squadron; the last five units (AGP 14-18, including Brontes) received a modified design retaining bow doors and operating mechanism with enlarged forward repair-shop space, and a second 'A'-frame hoist was fitted to starboard on AGP-14 and AGP 17-18. Disposition table: decomm 14 Mar 46; strike 17 Apr 46; MC disposal/MA sale 28 Mar 47.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1959
- Population
- Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore conversion workforce (Mar-Aug 1945); merchant crews 1947-1959
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation built from BuShips/OpNav/MC primary records - well-corroborated against DANFS and NavSource for this hull, but itself not a primary document. Conversion scope is documented at class-design level; no hull-specific workscope or material itemization. Contains no asbestos statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brontes-agp17-03
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[4]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - USS Brontes (AGP-17) ex USS LST-1125 file 09/09/0917 [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/09/09/0917.htm - chronology, merchant service block, awards, commanding officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource chronology for this hull: laid down as LST-1125 15 November 1944 at Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Seneca IL; launched 6 February 1945; placed in reduced commission 17 February 1945 at Algiers, LA; decommissioned 10 March 1945 at Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore MD for conversion to a Motor Torpedo Boat Tender; recommissioned 14 August 1945 as USS Brontes (AGP-17), LT. William B. Rearden Jr., USNR, in command; decommissioned 14 March 1946; struck from the Naval Register 17 April 1946. Merchant service chain: sold for merchant service 28 March 1947, renamed MV GP-17, later the same year renamed MV Barbara; resold 1948 to Mineral Transport Corp., Liberia, renamed MV Diane, reflagged Liberian; resold 1956 to Transportes Maritimes, Mexico, renamed MV Xalapa, reflagged Mexican; driven aground 27 October 1959 at Manzanillo, Mexico by hurricane - constructive total loss. Callsign NJYW; awards American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1959
- Population
- Merchant crews 1947-1959 (GP-17/Barbara/Diane/Xalapa)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive citing DANFS and BuShips-derived data - consistent with the official sources for this hull; the ferry-commission location (Algiers LA) and merchant-service detail come from NavSource alone among the sources retrieved. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brontes-agp17-04
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[5]Consolidated era inference - BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v3 AGP-17 machinery row (diesel plant) + Gibbs & Cox AGP conversion design scope (shipscribe class notes) + WWII Navy-era amphibious-ship construction practice (cf. lst-1-class class profile, ev-lst-1-class-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 AGP-17 machinery row (diesel plant); shipscribe class notes (Gibbs & Cox conversion scope); class profile lst-1-class ev-lst-1-class-03
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this diesel-powered LST-hull tender conversion: no boilers, so the steam-lagging pathway does not apply; asbestos-relevant applications for the type are GM diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, electrical insulation and cable, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings. The LST-to-AGP conversion design (Gibbs & Cox) added interior rework - repair shops for an MTB squadron, expanded berthing - i.e., additional interior insulation scope typical of 1944-45 Navy conversion practice.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Chicago Bridge & Iron construction trades (1944-45); Maryland Drydock conversion workforce (1945); wartime crew
- Limitations
- Class/design-level inference only - no hull-specific material schedule, insulation spec, or survey was located for AGP-17. Nothing here establishes that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, in what quantity, or that any remains. Does not establish individual exposure or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brontes-agp17-05
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[6]Batch-740 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS live + mirrors; NavSource 0917; BuShips SDB 1945 v3; shipscribe AGP-4 class page; MARAD ShipHistory; CourtListener (blocked); indexed-web litigation checks; VA BVA index; NVR [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-brontes-agp17-01 through sl-uss-brontes-agp17-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Brontes / AGP-17 / LST-1125 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener API was rate-limited this session (HTTP 429, 125/day shared quota); indexed-web litigation checks surfaced only a name collision - Villa Charlotte Bronte, Inc. v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., a New York insurance-coverage case unrelated to the vessel - and a law-firm marketing listicle including USS Brontes on a generic AGP roster (freeasbestostesting.com) - excluded source class, no primary substantiation. No VA BVA decision naming the hull located; NVR has no record (hull disposed 1947, pre-1987 coverage); no MARAD vessel status card located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-45 diesel amphibious hull with a five-month tender conversion is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the conversion rework plus undocumented merchant-era refits are material-disturbance phases. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. Systematic CourtListener name/hull sweeps were not run via API (quota exhausted); negative litigation coverage rests on indexed-web checking only - logged honestly as partial coverage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brontes-agp17-06
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[7]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships), RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) / RG 357 (Maritime Administration) - record-group mapping only [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html ; /groups/024.html ; /groups/178.html ; /groups/357.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 19 BuShips records would hold the Gibbs & Cox AGP conversion design package and the Maryland Drydock conversion contract/workscope for this hull (incl. any insulation schedules); RG 24 deck logs cover the reduced commission (Feb-Mar 1945) and the AGP-17 commissioned period (Aug 1945-Mar 1946) and would fix movements and availability details; RG 178/357 Maritime Commission custody and disposal files would document the 28 Mar 1947 merchant-service sale and any material declarations; merchant-registry records (Lloyd's Register) cover the GP-17/Barbara/Diane/Xalapa chain and any refit history.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1959 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-brontes-agp17-07