Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]DANFS, 'George Washington II' entry (verbatim DANFS transcription; live NHHC page 404 on access date) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'George Washington II' full entry text (stats line dp. 33,000; cpl. 749; a. 4 5-inch) - verbatim mirror at HistoryCentral; canonical NHHC URL returned 404
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents the full identity chain: German passenger liner George Washington (Vulcan Works, Stettin, launched 10 November 1908); seized 1917 and converted to a transport at New York Navy Yard; commissioned USS George Washington 6 September 1917, 18 AEF round trips, decommissioned 28 November 1919; USSB/United States Lines service 1920-1931; laid up Patuxent River 1931-1941; reacquired from the Maritime Commission 28 January 1941; commissioned Catlin (AP-19) 13 March 1941 (named for Brig. Gen. Albertus W. Catlin, USMC); decommissioned 26 September 1941 because coal-burning engines gave insufficient speed; Lend-Lease to Great Britain 29 September 1941 (one Newfoundland voyage); returned to WSA 17 April 1942; Waterman Steamship general agency and one Panama voyage; WSA assigned conversion to oil burner at Todd Shipbuilding's Brooklyn Yard (returned 5 September 1942, emerged 17 April 1943); Army charter as USAT George Washington, Casablanca and round-the-world 1943, UK/Mediterranean trooping 1944-1947; returned to Maritime Commission 21 April 1947; fire at Baltimore 16 January 1951; sold for scrap to Boston Metals Corp. 13 February 1951.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1908-1951
- Population
- Navy crew (1917-19, 1941); troops embarked; British lend-lease crew (1941-42); merchant mariners under Waterman GAA (1942); Army Transport Service crew (1943-47)
- Limitations
- Official secondary history; contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials statement of any kind. Establishes identity, custody chain, and documented shipyard events only - it does not establish what materials were aboard the hull at any period.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catlin-ap19-01
-
[2]Naval Historical Center (NHHC) Online Library of Selected Images, 'U.S. Army Ships - USAT George Washington (Transport, 1919-1921 and 1943-1947); Briefly USS Catlin (AP-19), 1941' (HyperWar mirror), incl. photo captions NH 105644 and NH 85263 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Online Library narrative and photo captions NH 105644 (Philadelphia Navy Yard, 17 Mar 1941) and NH 85263 (USAT George Washington, 1943-45)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC photo archive documents: the ship at the Philadelphia Navy Yard 17 March 1941 just after delivery from the Maritime Commission Reserve Fleet, commissioned USS Catlin (AP-19) days earlier, found unsuitable for Navy use and decommissioned September 1941; and (caption sourced to Roland W. Charles, 'Troopships of World War II') that she was 'refitted with new oil-fired boilers and a single smokestack' in 1942-1943 - a wholesale replacement of the coal-fired boiler plant during a documented WWII-era shipyard conversion.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1941-1943
- Population
- Philadelphia Navy Yard workers (1941); Todd Shipbuilding Brooklyn yard workers (1942-43)
- Limitations
- Documents the reboilering event (new boilers, new funnel) - the heaviest machinery-disturbance work in the ship's career - but contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement; asbestos scope of that work is inference, not established. Caption describes the conversion generally; extent of lagging/insulation work undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catlin-ap19-02
-
[3]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A Health Survey of Pipe Covering Operations in Constructing Naval Vessels,' Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology 28:9-16 (January 1946), PMID 21016030 (U.S. Public Health Service / Harvard School of Public Health) [other_primary]
- Locator
- J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28:9-16 (1946), PMID 21016030; materials and operations sections; digitized copy in NIOSH bibliography collections
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Contemporaneous USPHS fieldwork documents that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' asbestos, that asbestos cloth and asbestos cement were likewise used, and characterizes seven dusty pipe-covering operations (layout/cutting, band-saw cutting, cement mixing, installation, etc.) with measured dust counts - surveyed at two government navy yards and two Navy contract yards during the same WWII period in which this hull underwent work at the Philadelphia Navy Yard (1941) and a wholesale reboilering at Todd Shipbuilding's Brooklyn contract yard (1942-43).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- WWII-era fieldwork; published January 1946
- Population
- Pipe coverers and shipyard insulation workers (era context)
- Limitations
- Yard- and era-level industrial-hygiene documentation; the survey does not name this vessel and its fieldwork was not conducted aboard her. It establishes what pipe-covering products were standard in U.S. naval-vessel work of the period - not that they were applied to, or disturbed on, this hull. Three asbestosis cases found among 1,074 pipe coverers X-rayed (all 20+ year tradesmen).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catlin-ap19-03
-
[4]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
- 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 covering this hull's 1941 Navy conversion availability, her 1942-43 oil-burner conversion, and her wartime trooping service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catlin-ap19-04
-
[5]In re Joint Eastern and Southern Districts Asbestos Litigation (Robinson v. United States), 891 F.2d 31 (2d Cir. 1989) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 891 F.2d 31 (No. 1547, docket 89-6109)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Second Circuit ruling addressing mesothelioma claims by a mariner aboard War Shipping Administration vessels; the court considered jurisdiction over a personal-injury claim against the United States for asbestos exposure aboard the WWII government merchant fleet - the same operating agency (WSA, acting here through a Waterman Steamship general agency agreement) that ran this ship for her 1942 Panama voyage between British return (17 April 1942) and Army charter (April 1943). Claims against the government were barred on discretionary-function grounds.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1989 (opinion); wartime exposure period
- Population
- WWII merchant mariners (class context)
- Limitations
- Fleet-level jurisdictional ruling; does not name this hull, does not find asbestos conditions aboard any specific vessel, and establishes only the litigation posture for WWII government-fleet claims. Reporter citation confirmed: 891 F.2d 31. The ship's WSA period was brief (April-September 1942 operationally); Army service 1943-47 was under Army custody, not WSA.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catlin-ap19-05
-
[6]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - GEORGE WASHINGTON, Ship History Detail 1948 (incl. digitized status cards and three historical documents: USCG radio inspection forms 1943, 1948) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov Detail/1948 - milestones, status cards 1948_3625AF/1948_3625AB/2RF_01, documents GeorgeWashington_1948_001/002/013.pdf
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record for this hull: U.S. Official Number 215447; year built 1908; type Passenger; length 698.90 ft, beam 78.20 ft; net 13,902 / gross 23,788 tons; milestone entry/acquisition 21 April 1947 ('ARMY VESSEL' custody event); fate 'Sold - Scrap'. Three digitized status cards and three historical documents (Coast Guard radio-apparatus inspection forms, New York 1943 and 1948) are posted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1947-1951 custody record
- Limitations
- Custody/specification record only - contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement. MARAD 'Shipyard' field reads 'Bremer Vulkan Werft,' which conflicts with DANFS and all other primary sources naming AG Vulcan, Stettin - treated as a MARAD data-entry variance and logged in gaps. Digitized documents are radio-inspection forms, not hull work records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catlin-ap19-06
-
[7]Baltimore Sun (reputable local press retrospective), 'Fire and water have often combusted in Baltimore's harbor and streams' (Apr. 24, 2021) - corroborated by DANFS and NavSource disposition entries [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Baltimore Sun 2021-04-24 retrospective; NavSource AP-19 disposition line; DANFS closing lines
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- On 16 January 1951 a fire destroyed the laid-up liner George Washington at the federal ammunition pier at Hawkins Point, Baltimore; DANFS and NavSource record she was sold for scrapping to Boston Metals Corp., Baltimore, on 13 February 1951 (ShipScribe logs the Maritime Administration sale approval 9 February 1951). End-of-life fire plus demolition-scrapping is the terminal material-disturbance event for whatever era insulation remained aboard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1951
- Population
- Boston Metals Corp. scrapping workers (1951, contextual)
- Limitations
- Documents destruction and disposal only; no source characterizes insulation material or fiber content aboard, and post-fire/scrapping disturbance of any remaining era materials is inference, not established. No abatement-era documentation exists (1951 predates asbestos regulation).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catlin-ap19-07
-
[8]ShipScribe (Tim Colton), 'USS Catlin (AP-19)' class data page - compiled from U.S. Navy and Maritime Commission official records [other_primary]
- Locator
- ShipScribe AP-19 class page - class table, disposition table, class notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official-records-derived technical data: single-ship CATLIN class (AP-19), Design 'Pass. & Cargo, 1908'; 10,210 tons light / 37,000 full; 722.5 ft oa x 78.2 ft x 33 ft; quadruple-expansion machinery, 2 screws, 21,000 ihp, 11 kts; acquired 28 Jan 41; commissioned 13 Mar 41; decommissioned 26 Sep 41; stricken 29 Sep 41; transferred 29 Sep 41; Maritime Administration sale 9 Feb 51. Detailed custody chronology adds: towed out of Solomons 1 Jan 41; transferred at Newport News 28 Jan 41; renamed CATLIN 27 Feb 41; Norfolk Navy Yard 6-12 Mar 41 in reduced commission; towed to Philadelphia Navy Yard (USS Kewaydin AT-24, Allegheny AT-19), arrived 13 Mar 41 'for conversion and was placed in commission in ordinary.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1941
- Limitations
- Authoritative secondary compilation of official records (not itself a primary document); contains no asbestos statement. Launch date given as 7 Nov 08 conflicts with DANFS 10 November 1908 - DANFS date carried, variance logged in gaps. Whether conversion work materially proceeded at Philadelphia before the unsuitability finding is not stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catlin-ap19-08
-
[9]National Archives record groups: RG 181 (Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments - Fourth Naval District / Philadelphia Navy Yard textual records, NARA Mid-Atlantic, Philadelphia); RG 19 (Bureau of Ships general correspondence 1940-45, NARA College Park); RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov Guide to Federal Records RG 181 section 181.3.9 (Philadelphia Navy Yard); RG 19 (College Park); RG 178
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The 1941 Philadelphia Navy Yard conversion availability for Catlin (AP-19) should appear in Fourth Naval District / Philadelphia Navy Yard yard-work records (RG 181, NARA Philadelphia) and BuShips correspondence (RG 19); the 1941 MC-to-Navy transfer and the 1942-43 Todd Brooklyn conversion award should appear in Maritime Commission records (RG 178). These unretrieved files are the most promising path to any ship-specific materials/insulation documentation.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1941-1943 records
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - records identified at record-group level, not pulled; contents unknown, may contain no insulation detail. No retrieval or reproduction spend authorized in this batch.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catlin-ap19-09
-
[10]Lockwood v. A C & S, Inc., 109 Wn.2d 235, 744 P.2d 605 (Wash. 1987) - Washington Supreme Court affirming jury verdict and Court of Appeals, 44 Wn. App. 330, 772 P.2d 826 (1986) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion at 744 P.2d 605, 109 Wn.2d 235, *244-*248 (Raymark product-identification discussion); collision resolution via Old Dominion/Eastern Steamship/Alaska Transportation fleet histories and SitNews letter corroboration
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- A real trial-finding asbestos case names a liner 'George Washington': the affirmed judgment rests partly on testimony that insulators used Raymark asbestos products 'on the conversion of a large liner called the George Washington at Puget Sound Bridge and Dredge in 1947 and 1948' and that plaintiff Lockwood 'worked on the overhaul of the George Washington and that there was asbestos on that kind of job.' NAME COLLISION, NOT THIS HULL: the opinion's ship is the 1924 Old Dominion Line / Eastern Steamship liner George Washington (5,184-5,195 gt, 375 ft, built Newport News 1924), sold to Alaska Transportation Co. in February 1948, refitted in Seattle for the 1948 Seattle-Alaska run, and resold to French CGT as Gascogne in 1949. The hull of this record (Official No. 215447, 23,788 gt) is documented by DANFS, NHHC, and MARAD as in Maritime Commission reserve custody at Baltimore from 21 April 1947 through her 1951 fire and scrapping - she was never at Puget Sound.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1947-1948 conversion; opinion 1987
- Population
- Puget Sound-area shipyard insulators and riggers (1947-48, different hull)
- Limitations
- Affirmed-judgment-level asbestos litigation (the strongest litigation stage), but identified as a different vessel by location, dates, tonnage, and subsequent disposition. Carried as a correction-context row to prevent misattribution: any automated ship-name match for 'George Washington' asbestos litigation will surface this case. Establishes nothing about asbestos aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catlin-ap19-11
-
[11]Batch-2105 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS live site, NHHC Online Library, NavSource, ShipScribe, MARAD ShipHistory, NavalCoverMuseum, Baltimore Sun, NARA record groups, NVR, CourtListener opinion and RECAP docket searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-catlin-ap19-01 through sl-uss-catlin-ap19-11 (incl. CourtListener name-check: no opinion or docket names this hull)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Catlin (AP-19) or George Washington (Official No. 215447) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - documented yard events in asbestos-heavy eras (1917 NY Navy Yard conversion; 1941 Philadelphia Navy Yard availability; 1942-43 Todd Brooklyn reboilering) are consistent with era-standard materials. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catlin-ap19-10