Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet bv-packet.md (6 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-camden-as6-pkt-bv-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Camden' (Camden I) entry, Vol. II pp. 20-21 (Naval History and Heritage Command; canonical history.navy.mil page returns 404 - standing NHHC link rot per BATCH-01; official text cited via hazegray.org DANFS transcription, Internet Archive Wayback capture 2022-09-10) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. II pp. 20-21 'Camden' entry text and spec block; Wayback capture 20220910055103 of hazegray.org/danfs/auxil/as6.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official service history. Camden (No. 3143) built 1900 by Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, Flensburg, Germany, as Kiel; seized by the United States on entrance into World War I; transferred from the Shipping Board 22 May 1917; fitted out as a cargo ship and commissioned 15 August 1917, LCDR E. C. Jones, USNRF. Clearing New York September 1917, carried coal between Cardiff, Wales, and French ports until 25 April 1918; decommissioned Philadelphia Navy Yard 3 May 1918 for conversion to submarine tender. Recommissioned 21 February 1919; based New London, flagship Commander Submarine Flotilla Atlantic and Submarine Division 9 until 15 September 1920; after Norfolk repairs followed division to Pacific, tender duties San Pedro from 24 June 1921; briefly flagship Submarine Flotilla Pacific Fleet early 1922; returned to Atlantic March 1923 as flagship Submarine Division 4, later flagship Commander Control Force; participated in raising S-5 (SS-110) September-October 1925; presidential naval review Hampton Roads May 1927; decommissioned Philadelphia 26 May 1931. Reclassified IX-42 17 September 1940, assigned New York Navy Yard as barracks ship; towed by Allegheny (AT-19), arrived New York 18 September; berthed the war-swollen yard complement until sold 23 October 1946. Spec block: dp 6,075; l. 403'8"; b. 47'8"; dr. 24'; s. 12 k.; cpl. 345; a. 4 4", 2 3".
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1900-1946
- Population
- Crew of USS Camden (cpl. 345 per DANFS - conflicting figures, see gaps)
- Limitations
- Official service history only - DANFS contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials statement of any kind. DANFS dates the IX-42 reclassification to 17 September 1940 while Shipscribe's compiled record shows reclassification to 'Unclassified' that day and the IX-42 number assigned 17 February 1941 (see gaps). Does not establish presence or absence of asbestos aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-as6-01
-
[3]Naval History and Heritage Command, Online Library of Selected Images: 'USS Camden (ID # 3143, later AS-6 & IX-42), 1917-1946. Originally S.S. Kiel (German Freighter, 1900)' (NHHC page mirrored on HyperWar/ibiblio) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-c/id3143.htm - narrative text and photo captions NH 55039-55044, NH 89402 (IX-42 at Pier 92 with Seattle IX-39)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC photo-history record. S.S. Kiel, a 4,494 gross ton freighter built 1900 at Flensburg, Germany; took refuge in a U.S. port in 1914 when WWI made the high seas unsafe for German commercial shipping; seized April 1917; turned over to the Navy May 1917; refitted at Charleston Navy Yard, S.C.; commissioned August 1917 as USS Camden (registry ID # 3143 assigned later); September 1917-April 1918 coal between the British Isles and France plus trans-Atlantic voyages; decommissioned early May 1918 at Philadelphia Navy Yard and converted to a submarine tender; back in commission February 1919 as Atlantic Fleet Submarine Flotilla flagship and tender; designated AS-6 July 1920; tended submarines on the West Coast 1921-1923, then Atlantic and Caribbean; refitted with a single smokestack replacing her original two funnels in the mid-1920s; decommissioned May 1931 at Philadelphia; redesignated IX-42 September 1940 and towed to New York as a floating barracks for Sailors stationed at the Navy Yard and other local facilities; sold October 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1900-1946
- Population
- Crew and berthed personnel, 1917-1946
- Limitations
- NHHC photo-history narrative - corroborates DANFS and adds the 1914 refuge detail, Charleston refit, and mid-1920s single-stack refit. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials statement. Does not establish presence or absence of asbestos aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-as6-02
-
[4]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), USS Camden (AS-6) class data sheet - compiled from Bureau of Construction & Repair / Bureau of Ships and CNO/SecNav correspondence records [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class data block, Construction/Disposition tables, Class Notes, Ship Notes - shipscribe.com/usnaux/AS/AS06.html (compiled 21 Jun 2012)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Construction, conversion, and disposition record compiled from official sources. Built as freighter KIEL for the German-Australian Steamship Co. (DADG); eight sisters built by the same yard for the same buyer 1897-1901 (Meissen, Bielefeld, Varzin, Harburg, Itzehoe, Magdeburg, Duisburg, Laeisz); class had two separate boiler rooms each with its own smokestack; Kiel made 14 knots on trials. Interned at Southport, N.C. with freighter Nicaria (later USS Pensacola); seized on U.S. entry into the war; one of eight ships ordered transferred by Executive Order 2625 of 22 May 1917 from Treasury to Navy; one of 13 seized German cargo ships given Navy names by SecNav 9 June 1917. Commissioned Charleston 15 August 1917; assigned Naval Overseas Transportation Service 9 January 1918; cargo voyage Philadelphia-UK 31 January-25 April 1918; decommissioned Philadelphia 3 May 1918, recommissioned 21 February 1919 after conversion (well deck filled in, new superstructures incl. large midships island, both stacks retained). AS-6 designated 17 July 1920. September 1920: CO reported she could tend eight S-class submarines but lacked berthing below CPO ratings; crew then 304, needed ~394. Tender and subs transferred Norfolk to San Pedro mid-1921. November 1922: Mare Island Navy Yard reboilered her with four coal-burning boilers built 1918 for cruiser Cincinnati; twin stacks replaced by single stack. Atlantic March 1923, tender to SubDiv 4. October 1930 reorganization: escorted four S-boats Atlantic to Pacific, then twenty R-boats Pacific to Atlantic. Out of commission Philadelphia 26 May 1931. 1940: BuNav recommended her 4 September for New York Navy Yard receiving-ship duty with old cruiser Seattle; CNO approved 11 September; SecNav approved 'Unclassified' reclassification 17 September; towed out of Philadelphia by Allegheny (AT-19) 18 September; BuShips directed 7 October that conversion be done primarily by Seattle personnel; numbered IX-42 17 February 1941. Whole war at Naval Receiving Station, Pier 92, Hudson River, New York, supplying steam and power to herself, Seattle, and Pier 92. 18 April 1945: CO Receiving Station requested replacement (unsatisfactory living conditions, structural weakness, extensive corrosion, insufficient boiler capacity, ash-removal difficulties, frequent coaling, scarce coal-plant-trained personnel); Insurv inspection 1 June 1945: fair-to-poor condition, no significant improvements afterward. Disposition table: decommissioned 21 June 1946; stricken 29 October 1946; disposal/sale 23 October 1946 ('to buyer 23 Oct 46 or 4 Nov 46'). Class data: design 'Cargo, 1900'; displacement 4,218 light / 9,000 full; 403.7' oa, 389.2' pp x 48.0' wl x 22.3' mn, 25.5' mx; armament 4-4"/50; complement 407 (1929); speed 12; propulsion 2,550 HP, vertical 4-expansion, 1 screw.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1900-1946
- Population
- Conversion yard workers (Charleston 1917, Philadelphia 1918-19, Mare Island Nov 1922); tender crew ~304-407; berthed personnel at Pier 92 1940-46
- Limitations
- Historian's compilation reproducing official BuC&R/BuShips/SecNav data - a secondary compilation of primary records, not the primary documents themselves. Documents the ship-specific 1922 reboilering and 1940 barracks conversion - documented machinery-disturbance events, but the source makes no asbestos or insulation-material statement. IX-42 numbering (17 Feb 41) conflicts with DANFS's 'reclassified IX-42 17 Sep 40'; decommission/strike/sale ordering is irregular (strike after sale) - flagged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-as6-03
-
[5]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Camden (IX-42 / AS-6 / ID-3143) page 09/36/3606 - designation chain, spec block, awards, CO list, and NHHC/NARA photo captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/36/3606 - header chain, awards block, spec block, CO table, photo caption blocks (NH 55039-55044, NH 89402, NARA RG-19-A-31 conversion photo)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Archive-page record. Designation chain: USS Camden (ID-3143) 1917-1920; USS Camden (AS-6) 1920-1931; Camden (IX-42) 1940-1946. Timeline block: built 1900 as SS Kiel at Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft; seized by U.S. Government at entry into WWI; transferred to USSB 22 May 1917; commissioned as cargo ship USS Camden (ID-3143) 15 August 1917; decommissioned 3 May 1918 Philadelphia Navy Yard for tender conversion; recommissioned 21 February 1919; designated AS-6 17 July 1920; decommissioned 26 May 1931 Philadelphia; reclassified barracks ship (IX-42) 17 September 1940; struck from the Naval Register date unknown; sold 23 October 1946, fate unknown. Spec block: displacement 6,075 t.; length 441'6"; beam 47'8"; draft 24'; speed 12 kts.; complement 345; armament four 4" and two 3" guns; propulsion one reciprocating vertical quadruple-expansion steam engine, two Babcock & Wilcox boilers. Awards: WWI Victory Medal (Transport clasp), American Defense Service Medal (Fleet clasp), American Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal. Fifteen-officer CO list 1917-1931 (Hechler/Reeves compilation). Photo captions: NARA RG-19-A-31 Bureau of Ships photo 27 June 1918 showing the ship 'largely stripped except for the bare hull, masts, and boiler uptakes' during conversion; NH 55043 caption dates the renaming to 9 June 1917 at Charleston Navy Yard; NH 89402 shows IX-42 at Pier 92, North River, NYC, alongside Seattle (IX-39) during/shortly after WWII.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1900-1946
- Population
- Crew of USS Camden (345 per spec block - conflicting figures, see gaps)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained archival compilation - service-record detail cited where it is the only retrievable source. Spec block conflicts with DANFS/Shipscribe: length 441'6" vs 403'8"/403.7' oa; its 'two Babcock & Wilcox boilers' conflicts with Shipscribe's documented November 1922 installation of four coal-burning boilers (the NavSource figure may describe the pre-1922 plant - unresolved, see gaps). Header dates IX-42 reclassification 17 Sep 1940 per DANFS, vs Shipscribe's 17 Feb 1941 numbering. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-as6-04
-
[6]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List 44 (List of Logbooks of U.S. Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947), by-name index (RG 24, Bureau of Naval Personnel deck logs) [other_primary]
- Locator
- special-list-44-named.html, 'Camden (AS-6)' rows (two date spans)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 by-name index lists deck logs for 'Camden (AS-6)' in two spans: 8/15/1917 - 5/3/1918 and 2/21/1919 - 5/25/1931 - matching her two commissioned periods exactly (cargo ship 1917-18; submarine tender 1919-31). No IX-42 span is listed, consistent with her 1940-46 status as Naval Receiving Station property rather than a commissioned unit.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1917-08-15 to 1918-05-03; 1919-02-21 to 1931-05-25
- Population
- Deck-log keepers / crew (unverified complement)
- Limitations
- The log listing is verified; the logbooks themselves were not retrieved or read - they are the primary unconsulted source for the ship's stations, movements, refits, and crew across both commissions. WWI-era deck logs of this period are digitized via NARA/Fold3; the 1919-1931 span's digitization status was not verified this session. Presence in the list implies nothing about asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-as6-05
-
[7]U.S. Treasury Department (Secretary of the Treasury), 'Seized German Ships,' Exhibit 4 - details of requisitioned ships (Serial Set volume, via govinfo.gov) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Exhibit 4, 'Deutsch-Australische Dampfschiffs-Ges., Hamburg' ship list - 'Kiel' row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- U.S. Treasury Department wartime exhibit on seized German ships lists 'Kiel' (tonnage ~4,472-4,494 in the tabulated OCR) among the Deutsch-Australische Dampfschiffs-Ges., Hamburg, vessels requisitioned/seized - corroborating the ship's German operator and her place in the 1917 seizure of interned German tonnage.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1917-1918
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous government tabulation - the scanned tabulation's OCR is partially garbled and shows Kiel under DADG Hamburg with tonnage figures (4,472/4,494) straddling adjacent rows; the NHHC figure of 4,494 gross tons is adopted. Administrative record only - contains no asbestos or materials statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-as6-06
-
[8]Rushworth, Denis H., 'The Navy and Asbestos Thermal Insulation,' Naval Engineers Journal 117(2):35-48 (2005) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Naval Engineers Journal 117(2):35-48; abstract and article
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed engineering-journal history documents that asbestos was used in U.S. Navy shipboard pipe and machinery thermal insulation and in many other shipboard products - the fleet-wide material environment within which this 1900-built steamship (vertical quadruple-expansion engine; boilers renewed 1922 at Mare Island Navy Yard) operated across two commissions and a six-year WWII barracks-ship period during which she supplied steam and power at Pier 92.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- WWI-through-postwar insulation era documented; article 2005
- Population
- Navy engine-room personnel, berthed personnel, and shipyard/insulation workers (era context)
- Limitations
- Fleet/era-level documentation; does not name this hull and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this vessel, its quantity, location, or any individual exposure. Its scope emphasizes WWII and post-WWII insulation systems; the vessel's 1900 construction-era and 1917-19 conversion materials are inference from period marine practice, not documented by this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-as6-07
-
[9]Franke, K., and Paustenbach, D., 'Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: A state of the science evaluation (1900 to 1970),' Inhalation Toxicology 23(sup3):1-20 (2011) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Inhalation Toxicology 23(sup3):1-20; abstract and article (era blocks 1900-1929, 1930-1959)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed state-of-the-science review documents that asbestos use in shipbuilding and repair dates to the early 20th century and that the U.S. Navy continued to require the use of asbestos-containing materials on ships through at least 1970 - spanning this vessel's 1900 mercantile construction, her 1917-1931 naval service, and her 1940-1946 barracks-ship service with an operating coal-fired plant.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1900-1970 documented; article 2011
- Population
- Navy personnel and shipyard workers (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship on Navy asbestos use and hazard knowledge; does not name this hull, does not establish shipboard asbestos content or condition for this vessel, and does not establish exposure or causation for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-as6-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 opinion/docket search for 'USS Camden', 'AS-6', 'IX-42', 'Kiel' - all attempts refused at the fleet pacing limiter (no HTTP response reached CourtListener); plus web-indexed court-record sweep [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-camden-as6-06 through sl-uss-camden-as6-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation and name-collision sweep: CourtListener API v4 queries for this hull could not run this session - every authenticated request was refused by the fleet-wide pacing limiter (shared ~114/hr budget momentarily spent; seven attempts spaced ~55 minutes across the session all returned the pacing stand-down before any HTTP request reached CourtListener). A web-indexed court-record sweep located no opinion or docket naming this hull under any designation (Kiel/ID-3143/AS-6/IX-42). Name-collision subjects logged: (a) USS Camden (AOE-2), the 1967-2005 Sacramento-class fast combat support ship - law-firm aggregator 'USS Camden' vessel pages and Todd Shipyards maintenance-project references all resolve to AOE-2, not this hull; (b) New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden NJ - yard-name collision producing asbestos-litigation hits unrelated to this vessel; (c) Camden, NJ/Camden County as litigation venue/party names. Any litigation hit for 'Camden' must be hull-resolved before classification.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Sweep incomplete - the docket-level CourtListener check is pending, not negative-verified: the fleet pacing limiter stood this session down before any query ran, so no authenticated opinion/docket search of this hull was possible; the web-indexed sweep is a weaker instrument. Absence of a located pleading is not proof no claim ever existed. Retry at next pacing window.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-as6-09
-
[11]Batch-2723 search ledger (this record): DANFS/Wayback + hazegray; NHHC Online Library (ibiblio); Shipscribe AS-6 sheet; NavSource 09/36/3606; Treasury SerialSet exhibit; NARA SL-44 named index; NVR; HyperWar ships-ix listing; asbestos-specific sweep for surveys, abatement, hazmat, disposal-file disclosures [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-camden-as6-01 through sl-uss-camden-as6-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation specification, abatement contract, materials schedule, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming Kiel/ID-3143/AS-6/IX-42 was found in the public sources searched - DANFS, the NHHC photo history, the Shipscribe class sheet, the NavSource archive page, the Treasury seizure exhibit, and the NARA logbook index contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement. None is expected to exist: the hull was sold in 1946, decades before asbestos documentation regimes, and her WWII barracks-ship condition record (unsatisfactory living conditions, extensive corrosion, Insurv 'fair to poor' 1945) makes no materials statement.
- 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 1900-built steam plant repeatedly reworked at Navy yards (1917 refit, 1918-19 tender conversion, November 1922 reboilering, 1940 barracks conversion) and kept in steam through 1946 is era-consistent with asbestos-containing lagging, gaskets, and packing. The 1946 private sale means any retained material was disposed of without a located disclosure. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-as6-10
-
[12]NARA record groups: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - deck logs, two spans per Special List 44); RG 19 (Bureau of Ships, incl. RG-19-A-31 photo series documenting the 1918 conversion); RG 181 (shore establishment records - Charleston, Philadelphia, Mare Island, New York Navy Yard / Naval Receiving Station Pier 92); RG 32/RG 41-era USSB/Treasury seizure files [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/special-list-44-named.html ; photo record series per NavSource/Shipscribe captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require NARA research room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): RG 24 deck logs cover both commissions per Special List 44 (1917-18 and 1919-31 spans); the 1918 conversion photograph derives from RG-19-A-31 (Bureau of Ships), and RG 19 / RG 181 (Naval Districts and Shore Establishments) hold the likeliest surviving work-order and specification record for the Charleston refit, Philadelphia tender conversion, Mare Island reboilering, and 1940 barracks conversion; Naval Receiving Station Pier 92 records (RG 181, 1st/3d Naval District files) cover the IX-42 period; the seizure/custody record runs through Treasury and U.S. Shipping Board files.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1900-1946 records
- Limitations
- Record-holding mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether any asbestos-specific document exists for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-as6-11