Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet au-packet.md (11 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-cadmus-ar14-pkt-au-packet-md
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[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Cadmus (AR-14)' - NHHC, updated Robert J. Cressman 2016-06-02; verbatim text via Wayback Machine capture (live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Cadmus (AR-14)' entry, full text (Wayback capture 20250202205155 of history.navy.mil)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Laid down 30 October 1944 at Tampa, Fla., by Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Inc.; launched 5 August 1945, sponsored by Mrs. B. P. Ward; commissioned 23 April 1946, Capt. J. M. Connally in command. Amphion class; spec block: displacement 6,266, length 492', beam 69'6", draft 27'6", 16 knots, complement 921, armament 2 5-inch. Atlantic Fleet repair ship homeported at Norfolk, Va.; first Atlantic crossing 3 September 1957 for NATO exercises with TF 88 out of Rothesay, Scotland; TF 63 replenishment missions during Mediterranean fleet exercises first half of 1958; returned to Norfolk 7 May 1958. Decommissioned 14 September 1971; delivered to the Maritime Administration, custody transferred ~11:30 a.m. 26 January 1972 into the James River NDRF; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 15 January 1974; disposed of via Security Assistance Program cash sale to the Taiwanese government 22 April 1974.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1974
- Population
- Ship's company (~921 complement); crews of repaired vessels alongside
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy service history; contains no asbestos, insulation, or hazardous-material information. Ship-specific operational history only. Live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-26 (standing NHHC link rot); text verified from the official page's Wayback capture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cadmus-ar14-01
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[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Cadmus (AR-14) - specification block, chronology, and photo documentation [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 09/25/2514, Specifications block, chronology, and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Amphion-class repair ship specification block: one Westinghouse steam turbine; two Foster Wheeler D-type boilers, 435 psi / 740 deg F; double Westinghouse main reduction gear; single propeller, 8,500 shp; four 750 kW turbo-drive and two 300 kW ship's-service generators; 16.5 knots (trial); complement 67 officers / 854 enlisted; two single 5"/38 mounts, four twin 40mm AA; largest boom capacity 30 t. Chronology matches DANFS: commissioned 23 April 1946; decommissioned 14 September 1971; struck 15 January 1974; sold under the Security Assistance Program to Taiwan 22 April 1974, renamed ROCS Yu Tai (A-521); final disposition fate unknown. Photo documentation includes US National Archives photo 19-N-120497 (sea trials off Tampa, 14 July 1946), NHHC photos NH 81596/81597, South Boston Naval Annex August 1960, and Naval Station Newport, R.I., 30 May 1970 with Nipmuc (ATF-157), USS Harlan R. Dickson (DD-708), and USS Norris (DD-859) alongside.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1995
- Population
- Ship's company ~921; repair-shop workforce and crews of alongside vessels
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archival page quoting Navy sources; consistent with DANFS and MARAD where they overlap. Equipment and spec data describe the plant only - no asbestos content stated or implied. Newport presence is photographic documentation of a port call/repair availability, not proof of the 1964 homeport transfer asserted in secondary sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cadmus-ar14-02
-
[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, Vessel History Database - CADMUS (AR-14), Ship History Detail 648, incl. digitized NDRF reserve-fleet status card (Form MA-383) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD Vessel History Detail 648 + status card image /cards/648_1211AF.jpg
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD record: year built 1944; MARAD type C2; AR Repair Ship; length 492 ft, beam 69.5 ft, summer displacement 16,900 tons. Status card (Form MA-383, 'Reserve Fleet - Ship Particulars'): builder 'Tampa SB Co., Inc.'; entered James River fleet 1-26-72 at 11:30 AM EST; withdrawn 4-22-74 at 10:45 EDT, reason 'Navy-Withdrawal'; tonnages light 8,800 / full 14,570; LOA 492', breadth 73'. Milestones: entry/acquisition 1/26/1972; disposition and withdrawal 4/22/1974. Corroborates DANFS disposal chain (decommission 1971 -> NDRF James River 1972 -> Security Assistance Program sale to Taiwan 1974).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1972-1974
- Population
- NDRF lay-up and withdrawal crews (1972-74)
- Limitations
- MARAD web detail names the builder 'Tampa Marine Corporation' while the contemporaneous status card reads 'Tampa SB Co., Inc.' and DANFS/NavSource give 'Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Inc.' - a yard-naming variance (the yard reorganized post-1947); the 1944-46 builder is recorded here as Tampa Shipbuilding. Contains no asbestos or hazmat information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cadmus-ar14-03
-
[5]Gordon v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., 990 F. Supp. 2d 311 (E.D.N.Y. 2014) (Bianco, J.) - CourtListener opinion 8730638 [court_record]
- Locator
- 990 F. Supp. 2d 311, opinion at fn.2 (decedent stationed aboard USS Cadmus) and removal record (equipment manufactured for USS Cadmus)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published federal-officer-removal opinion in an asbestos personal-injury action naming this hull. Per the opinion: the complaint alleged that James Gordon (U.S. Navy 1955-1975) 'was stationed aboard the USS Cadmus and the USS Detroit' and was exposed to asbestos aboard various ships from turbines and steam generators manufactured and supplied by defendants including CBS Corp. (successor to Westinghouse Electric), Foster Wheeler Energy Corp., and General Electric Co.; decedent died of lung cancer in 2010. Defendants asserted removal under 28 U.S.C. sec. 1442(a)(1) on the stated basis that they 'manufactured equipment for the USS Cadmus and USS Detroit' acting under Navy officers. The court denied plaintiff's motion to remand (removal proper, colorable Boyle government-contractor defense).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2014 (opinion); alleged exposure 1955-1975 career
- Population
- James Gordon (decedent, USN 1955-1975); ship's company 1955-1971 era
- Limitations
- Removal-stage jurisdictional ruling only - the court adjudicated forum, not exposure. The Cadmus service and exposure statements are complaint/record allegations; the equipment-manufacture statements are defendants' removal assertions (consistent with, but not proof beyond, the NavSource-documented Westinghouse turbine and Foster Wheeler boilers aboard). Does not establish asbestos was aboard this hull, individual exposure, causation, or any claimant's legal eligibility. Opinion verified via CourtListener API v4 (opinion 8713840/cluster 8730638).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cadmus-ar14-04
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[6]Chesher v. 3M Co., 234 F. Supp. 3d 693 (D.S.C. 2017) (Norton, J.) - CourtListener opinion 7324150; post-opinion disposition per Chesher v. Crane Co., No. 3:15-cv-2123, 2022 vacatur denial [court_record]
- Locator
- 234 F. Supp. 3d 693, 694-95 & n.4 (Crane interrogatory admissions); 2022 vacatur order (Dkt. 326), Chesher v. Crane Co., No. 3:15-cv-2123-RMG (D.S.C.)
- Finding type
- litigation_product_id
- Finding
- Published summary-judgment opinion in an asbestos mesothelioma action. Plaintiff James Wilson Chesher (former machinist mate and commissioned officer, U.S. Navy 1965-1989) alleged exposure during maintenance on valves and de-aerating feed tanks. Per the opinion's footnote: 'Crane admits to supplying valves to the USS Cadmus, USS Fox, USS Mahan, and USS Pratt' (Answers to Interrogs. 20); Crane separately admitted it 'enclosed asbestos-containing gaskets, packing, or discs inside of certain of its valves.' The court found the evidence sufficient to raise a genuine issue of fact that Crane valves were used on all the ships Chesher served on - USS Cadmus among them - and denied Crane's motion for summary judgment (Feb. 13, 2017). Subsequent docket history per the 2022 vacatur opinion: plaintiff's expert excluded after a Daubert hearing (Mar. 31, 2017); Crane's renewed summary-judgment motion granted Mar. 29, 2018; judgment entered for Crane; no appeal; Rule 60(b)(6) vacatur motion denied 2022.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2017-2022 (opinions); alleged exposure during 1965-1971 overlap
- Population
- James W. Chesher (USN 1965-1989; mesothelioma); ship's company 1965-1971 era
- Limitations
- Discovery-stage product identification, not a merits finding: Crane's interrogatory admission establishes valve supply to this hull, and its separate admission covers 'certain' valves generally - no court adjudicated that valves aboard this specific hull contained asbestos or that any person was exposed aboard her. The case ended in a defense judgment (a merits-level negative for this plaintiff), so the exposure allegation was never proven. Opinion text verified via public mirror; CourtListener cluster 7324150 verified by API search.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cadmus-ar14-05
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[7]Corn JK, Starr J. 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding.' Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987), DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700110311
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documenting that WWII-era U.S. shipyards extensively installed asbestos-containing insulation, lagging, and gaskets in naval and merchant construction - the era and Maritime Commission program under which this modified-C2 hull was built (laid down October 1944, launched August 1945, completed April 1946). Repair ships additionally carried industrial shop spaces whose era work outputs (pipe lagging, gaskets, refractory repairs) were asbestos-relevant.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-1946 (build era); study published 1987
- Population
- WWII-era shipyard and repair-ship workers (class context)
- Limitations
- Era-level scholarship; does not name this hull or class and does not establish that any specific material aboard this ship contained asbestos, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. DOI verified via Crossref (AJIM 11(3):359-373, 1987); note that the same paper is miscited with a different DOI in the batch-19 uss-vulcan-ar5 record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cadmus-ar14-06
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[8]Batch-2524 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC via Wayback capture; NavSource 2514; MARAD Vessel History detail 648 + status card; HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945' AR index; CourtListener opinion search by ship name and hull number; NARA catalog; LOC/HAER [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cadmus-ar14-01 through sl-uss-cadmus-ar14-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No asbestos survey, abatement contract, museum/hazmat disclosure, or merits-level exposure adjudication naming USS Cadmus (AR-14) was located in the public sources searched. The two qualifying litigation records located (Gordon; Chesher) are pre-merits records: a removal-stage jurisdictional ruling resting on complaint allegations, and a discovery-stage admission later resolved by a defense summary judgment. No qualifying record was found for the hull's post-sale ROC Navy career (ROCS Yu Tai, A-521) or its scrapping.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-built steam repair ship with two decades of fleet service is the archetypal asbestos-relevant platform, but ship-level physical documentation (survey, abatement, work packages) was not located. Taiwan-era disposition and any hazmat handling remain undocumented. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cadmus-ar14-07