Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet dp-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-cahokia-ata186-pkt-dp-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Cahokia II (ATA-186)', NHHC (page published 8 March 2023) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text, full page; live NHHC URL returned 404 on 2026-09-26 - text retrieved via Wayback capture web.archive.org/web/20251209103639/ of the canonical URL
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for the second Cahokia (ATA-186): displacement 835, length 143', beam 33'10", draft 13'2", speed 13 knots, complement 45, armament one 3-inch gun. DANFS catalogs this hull as the second Cahokia - the first Cahokia (AT-61, built 1920 by Providence Engineering Corp., City Island, N.Y., later harbor tug YT-135/YTB-135, sold 1947) is a different vessel with its own DANFS entry. Laid down as ATR-113, reclassified ATA-186 on 15 May 1944, launched 18 September 1944 by Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, Tex.; commissioned 24 November 1944, Lt. J. T. Dillon, USNR, in command; name 'Cahokia' assigned 16 July 1948. Sailed Galveston 23 December 1944 for Canal Zone, San Francisco, Pearl Harbor (arrived 4 March 1945); towing duty between Ulithi, Manus, Leyte, Russell Islands, and Okinawa; arrived Tokyo Bay 8 September 1945; occupation duty until 14 October; Okinawa duty with brief Shanghai and Jinsen service until 22 April 1946; arrived San Francisco 15 July 1946 for 12th Naval District duty. January 1951: assisted sinking of ex-USS Independence (CVL-22) in experimental underwater explosion test off San Francisco. 16-18 June 1954: delivered water to Alcatraz Penitentiary during water-system failure. 1 April 1955: assisted fighting San Francisco Ferry Building fire. Duties included coastal towing, search and rescue, target towing, and dumping atomic waste material for the U.S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory. Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 15 April 1976.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1976
- Population
- Crew (complement 45 per DANFS)
- Limitations
- Authoritative official ship history for identity, construction, service, and strike date. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazmat information - supports no asbestos claim. DANFS omits the keel-laying date and the post-strike Taiwan transfer (carried from secondary sources in other rows). DANFS phrasing 'laid down as ATR-113, reclassified ATA-186 on 15 May 1944' is internally inconsistent - the reclassification predates keel laying; correctly read, the hull was ordered as ATR-113 and renumbered ATA-186 in the class-wide 15 May 1944 reclassification of steel rescue tugs while still on order.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cahokia-ata186-01
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[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Cahokia (ATA-186) page (navsource.net/archives/09/38/38186.htm) - volunteer-compiled archive drawing on USN/DANFS records [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ship page: milestone list, specifications block, commanding officers list, awards table, photo captions 3030-46 / All Hands Feb 1966 / Jan 1967
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Online ship page for USS Cahokia (ATA-186), ex USS ATA-186: keel laid 16 August 1944 as ATR-113 at Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, TX; reclassified ATA-186 15 May 1944; launched 18 September 1944; commissioned 24 November 1944; named USS Cahokia 16 July 1948; decommissioned 'date unknown'; struck 15 April 1976; sold to Taiwan under the Security Assistance Program 1 May 1976, renamed ROCS Ta Teng (ATA-367), redesignated ATA-550 (date unknown); final disposition 'discarded by Taiwan, date unknown.' Class specifications listed: 835 t. light / 1,360 t. full; 143' x 33'10" x 13'2"; two GM 12-278A diesel-electric engines, single Fairbanks Morse reduction gear, single propeller 1,200 shp; two 60 kW 120 V DC ship's service generators; armament one single 3"/50 dual-purpose mount and two single 20 mm AA mounts; complement 5 officers + 40 enlisted. Awards table records Navy Occupation Service Medal and China Service Medal (extended), both for 8 September 1945 - 4 May 1946. U.S. Navy photographs document the ship at Mare Island Naval Shipyard circa 14 June - 31 August 1946 and active in San Francisco Bay in February 1966 and January 1967.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1976 and Taiwan service thereafter
- Population
- Crew (complement ~45)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not an official record; milestone data is consistent with DANFS where they overlap (launch, commissioning, strike dates match) but the keel-laying date, Taiwan transfer mechanics, and ROCN redesignation rest on this compilation alone. Displacement figures (835 lt / 1,360 fl) conflict with the class article's 534 lt / 835 fl - discrepancy logged in gaps. Armament (2 x 20 mm) conflicts with Wikipedia infobox (2 x twin 40 mm) - DANFS confirms only 'one 3-inch.' Contains no asbestos or hazmat information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cahokia-ata186-02
-
[4]Naval Marine Archive (Canadian Collection), 'US Navy Ocean Tugs AT ATA ATF ATR ATS' compiled ship table (navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/smallships/auxat.html, updated 21 December 2020) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ocean-tug table, row AT 186 (duplicate row under ATR 113)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Naval Marine Archive's compiled table of U.S. Navy ocean tugs records ATA-186/Cahokia: 'ATR 113, ATA 186 1944, to Taiwan 1976 as Ta Teng (ATA 367), sunk as target 1993' - a report that the ex-Cahokia was expended as a target by Taiwan in 1993.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1976-1993 (reported)
- Limitations
- Secondary compiled table (the compiler solicits corrections by email and notes tug fates are 'not well documented'); no primary source confirms the 1993 target-sinking disposition. NavSource records only 'discarded by Taiwan, date unknown.' Treated as an unverified lead, not established fact. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cahokia-ata186-03
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[5]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
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373; class propulsion data per NavSource Sotoyomo-class specifications
- 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 construction program under which this 1944 steel-hulled auxiliary tug was built. For a diesel-electric tug of this class, era-typical asbestos applications would concentrate in engine-exhaust and machinery lagging, gaskets and packing, thermal and acoustic bulkhead insulation, electrical wiring insulation, deck tile, and winch/windlass brake linings; the Sotoyomo-class diesel-electric plant carried no boilers or steam lines, so the boiler-insulation pathway typical of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944 construction; wartime era documented 1987
- Population
- Levingston construction trades (Orange, TX, 1944); ship's crew (~45)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class, and no design manual or hull record specific to ATA-186 was located. The product list is era-typical inference for the vessel type, not documented installation aboard this hull. Does not establish asbestos presence, quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cahokia-ata186-04
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[6]CourtListener API v4 search, queries 'Cahokia' (opinion + docket), 'ATA-186', 'ATR-113', '"Levingston Shipbuilding" asbestos', executed via fleet pacing helper [court_record]
- Locator
- Search results, first page (20 results by relevance) reviewed per query; search_ledger rows sl-uss-cahokia-ata186-07 through -11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep 2026-09-26 (authenticated API v4, opinion and RECAP-docket indexes): 'Cahokia' opinions - 540 results, top page reviewed, all name collisions (Village/City of Cahokia IL, Cahokia Unit School District 187, Cahokia Marine Service Inc., Cahokia Downs racetrack); 'ATA-186' opinions - 396 results, top page reviewed, loose token matches only; 'ATR-113' opinions - 217 results, top page reviewed, loose token matches only; 'Cahokia' dockets - 641 results, top page reviewed, all name collisions. No opinion or docket naming the vessel or hull number located; no asbestos litigation found. Supplemental query '"Levingston Shipbuilding" asbestos' returned 0 opinions (builder-yard asbestos litigation, where it exists, sits in Texas state-court records not indexed by CourtListener).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- sweep executed 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Sweep covers CourtListener's opinion and RECAP-docket indexes only - a negative here does not exclude cases in unindexed state-court systems, settled litigation, or asbestos claims that never named the hull (WWII-era claims typically proceeded against operators or the government rather than the vessel). 'Cahokia' is a high-collision term (Illinois municipality and institutions); deeper result pages were not paginated after a clean top page - low residual risk given relevance ranking.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cahokia-ata186-05
-
[7]Batch-2860 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS entries for Cahokia I and II; Naval Vessel Register; NavSource 38186; Naval Marine Archive tug table; MARAD ShipHistory; NARA catalog; CourtListener name/hull sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cahokia-ata186-01 through sl-uss-cahokia-ata186-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or docketed case naming USS Cahokia / ATA-186 / ATR-113 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). DANFS, NavSource, and secondary compilations contain no asbestos or insulation-material statements for this hull.
- 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 steel wartime hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the hull's post-1976 Taiwan service and disposal are undocumented in U.S. sources. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cahokia-ata186-06
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[8]NARA record-group guidance: RG 24 (Logs of U.S. Naval Ships and Stations), RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships); DSCA/State Department FMS records; ROC Navy records [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 24 / RG 19 record-group guides; catalog.archives.gov search 'ATA-186' returned no digitized items
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 holds deck logs of U.S. Navy ships - logs for USS ATA-186/Cahokia (1944-1975 service) would sit there, mostly non-digitized for this hull (catalog search returned nothing digitized); NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) holds design plans and construction specifications by hull - the ATA/Sotoyomo specifications and the Levingston contract file may itemize insulation materials; Security Assistance / Foreign Military Sales case records (DSCA/Department of State) would document the 1976 Taiwan transfer mechanics; Republic of China Navy records would document ROCS Ta Teng's service and disposal, including any pre-disposal hazmat handling.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1993 records (reported)
- 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-cahokia-ata186-07