Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
-
[1]DANFS / NHHC, 'Caracara (AMc-40)' entry, Robert J. Cressman and Teresa R. Hasson, published 2018-04-25 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body text (Wayback capture 2023-08-11; live NHHC URL returned 404 on 2026-09-23)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC DANFS entry (Cressman & Hasson, 2018): Caracara (AMc-40), Accentor class, 173 t, 97'1" x 21'6" x 9', 10 knots, complement 17, armament 4 x .30-caliber machine guns. Laid down 1940-12-26 at South Bristol, ME, by Bristol Yacht Building Co.; launched 1941-08-23 (sponsor Mrs. John A. Lord); grounded without damage en route and delivered to the Navy at Boston Navy Yard 1941-12-03; placed in service 1941-12-30 under Lt. (j.g.) William W. Low, USNR. Trained with Experimental Minesweeping Group, Mine Warfare School; assigned to NOB Trinidad, 10th Naval District, 1942-04-01, where she and sister Chachalaca (AMc-41) suffered repeated magnetic-sweep cable failures - the sector Commander Inshore Patrol's 1942-04-04 dispatch called them 'the only two vessels available between the British and ourselves that are capable of actually doing a sweeping job in the Gulf of Paria.' Assigned to Caribbean Sea Frontier per ComInCh dispatch of 1942-07-23; reassigned to Commandant, Tenth Naval District 1944-04-21 (reported 1944-04-25); swept through end of hostilities in European/Atlantic theaters. Placed out of service and laid up in the Wando River, SC 1945-12-28; stricken from the List of District Craft 1946-01-21; accepted by the U.S. Maritime Commission and physically delivered to purchaser Roland I. Styron of Cash Corner, NC at Charleston 1947-07-25.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1940-1947
- Population
- Bristol Yacht Building trades (1940-41); crew of ~17 across service period
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, construction, service, and disposal. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page 404s - Wayback capture cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caracara-amc40-01
-
[2]Grand Banks Fishing Co. v. Styron, 114 F. Supp. 1 (D. Me. 1953), No. 93 (CourtListener opinion 2254232) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text, 114 F. Supp. 1 at 1-3 (libel allegations; jurisdictional holding)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Ship-specific court record located (non-asbestos): Grand Banks Fishing Co. v. Styron, 114 F. Supp. 1 (D. Me. 1953). Admiralty libel over the 1949-10-17 contract selling 'the fishing vessel Caracara' ($57,000) from Roland L. Styron - the Navy's documented 1947 purchaser of this hull - to Grand Banks Fishing Co., Inc. of Gloucester, MA. Libel alleged the vessel was warranted 'free from any major defect' and that a post-purchase marine-railway survey disclosed 'many defects in the vessel's hull, machinery and equipment' ($17,000 repairs claimed). The court DISMISSED for want of admiralty jurisdiction: a contract for sale of a vessel is non-maritime.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1949-1953
- Population
- Buyer/seller principals; surveyors (1949 marine-railway survey)
- Limitations
- Classified as 'other litigation,' not asbestos litigation. Jurisdictional dismissal only - the defect allegations were never adjudicated on the merits in this action (a parallel Cumberland County Superior Court action was noted but its outcome is unlocated). Documents hull identity continuity and the hull's documented 1949 condition; says nothing about materials or asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caracara-amc40-02
-
[3]NARA Special List 44, 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units,' ship-number index [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL-44 ship-number listing, AMC-40 (Caracara) row: 11/29/1942 - 3/31/1945
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 (logbooks of U.S. Navy ships) indexes deck logs for AMC-40 (Caracara) covering 1942-11-29 through 1945-03-31 - the Trinidad / Caribbean Sea Frontier operations period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-11-29 to 1945-03-31
- Population
- Crew of ~17 (indexed period)
- Limitations
- Index entry only - the logbooks themselves are not digitized and were not reviewed. They may contain maintenance, materiel-casualty, and crew detail relevant to materials aboard, but nothing here is an asbestos finding. Coverage gap: no logbook entries indexed for this hull before 1942-11-29 or after 1945-03-31.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caracara-amc40-03
-
[4]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Caracara (AMc-40) page [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AMc-40 page, chronology block and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-Navy ownership chain and loss (NavSource photo archive, mine warfare section): after the 1947 Maritime Commission sale to Roland Styron of Cash Corner, NC ('acquired in 1948' per NavSource; DANFS and the 1953 federal opinion show delivery 1947-07-25 and resale contract 1949-10-17), the vessel was acquired by Grand Banks Fishing Co., Inc. of Gloucester, MA (~1950), Tripolina Bramante of Medford, MA (1956), and Caracara, Inc. of Southport, ME (1975); she foundered in the Gulf of Maine on 1976-01-02. NavSource also documents two NARA-held photographs: BuShips 19-LCM-25565 (off South Bristol, 1941-10-07) and 80-G-451543 (with Chachalaca at Trinidad, 1942-08-10).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1947-1976
- Population
- Commercial fishing crews (1947-1976)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archive, not an official record - dates/ownership detail are consistent with the federal court record and DANFS where they overlap but are not independently verified elsewhere (e.g., 1976 foundering is unattested in official sources located). No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caracara-amc40-04
-
[5]NHHC DANFS 'Caracara (AMc-40)' specifications block (class Accentor; 173 t; complement 17) + NavSource AMc archive (propulsion: one Atlas 6HM2124 diesel, ~400 shp, one shaft; class data) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS specs block; NavSource AMc-40 specifications block; Accentor-class characteristics
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference only: the Accentor class comprised ~70 small wooden-hulled coastal minesweepers built 1941-42 (non-magnetic construction for mine work), diesel-powered (class standard ~400 hp), complement ~17. WWII-era naval vessels generally incorporated asbestos in machinery gaskets, packing, exhaust lagging, and electrical insulation; however, with no boilers and no steam plant aboard, the heavy thermal-insulation applications characteristic of steam-driven WWII hulls do not apply to this type. Any asbestos aboard would be incidental component material only.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1940-1945
- Population
- Bristol Yacht Building construction trades; crew of ~17
- Limitations
- Era/class inference only - not a hull record. No asbestos content is documented for this class or this hull; the wooden hull and absence of a steam plant narrow (but do not eliminate) the plausible materials surface. Does not establish presence, quantity, location, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caracara-amc40-05
-
[6]Batch-1575 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NavSource; NARA SL-44; MARAD Vessel History Database; NVR; CourtListener opinion indexes (name + hull number); press/web for 1976 foundering [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-caracara-amc40-01 through sl-uss-caracara-amc40-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, materials list, museum hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming Caracara or AM(c)-40 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The single ship-specific court hit (Grand Banks Fishing Co. v. Styron) is a non-asbestos admiralty jurisdiction ruling on the vessel's post-Navy sale.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 2026-09-23
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard; era-consistent incidental materials remain plausible but undocumented. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener RECAP docket sweep partially completed (page 1 of 5 - all collisions) before fleet pacing budget exhausted; see ledger sl-05.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caracara-amc40-06