Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 791-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-celtic-ix137-pkt-791-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS (NHHC), 'Celtic II (IX-137)'. Live NHHC URL (history.navy.mil/.../danfs/c/celtic-ii.html) returned 404 on 2026-09-29; verified via Wayback capture of the NHHC page (2012-11-07) and the losthistory/hazegray transcription mirror. [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Celtic II (IX-137)' entry, full text (Wayback NHHC capture)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records the hull (20,000 t full load; 485' x 62'6"; dr. 31'6"; 10 kts; cpl. 114; 1 x 4-in, 1 x 3-in) as built in 1921 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, Mass.; acquired by the Navy 1944-01-17 at Noumea, New Caledonia, and commissioned the same day, Lt. J. S. Loring, USCG, in command; sailed 1944-02-15 for station-tanker duty successively at Efate and Espiritu Santo (New Hebrides), Port Purvis, Gavutu, and Empress Augusta Bay (Solomons), and Noumea, through 1945-03-31; convoyed to Leyte (arrived 1945-05-25); station tanker until 1945-07-01; duty off Okinawa from 1945-07-17; occupation support until 1945-10-29, then cleared for Mobile, arriving 1945-12-11; decommissioned 1946-02-06; delivered to the War Shipping Administration for disposal 1946-12-24.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-01-17 to 1946-12-24 (Navy custody); construction 1921
- Population
- Coast Guard-manned Navy crew, Service Force Pacific, 1944-1946 (complement 114 per DANFS spec line)
- Limitations
- Official Navy history, ship-specific. Establishes the Navy-period mission profile (station tanker / floating fuel storage) and custody dates; contains no asbestos, materials, or refit detail. One factual defect carried separately (ev-05 correction): DANFS 'built ... as Kerry Patch' is wrong - the hull was built as Java Arrow and renamed Kerry Patch by WSA in 1943 (MARAD status card, name history). Does not establish exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-celtic-ix137-01
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[3]MARAD Vessel History Database, KERRY PATCH, detail 2866 (Official No. 221272; built 1921 Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding Division; tanker; 468.3 ft x 62.7 ft; 8,327 gross / 5,176 net tons; 13,325 DWT; hull no. 1388) incl. scanned Reserve Fleet and WSA vessel status cards (OCR-read for this record) and document scans [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/2866 - status-cards section, cards 2866_5327AF.jpg, 2866_5327AB.jpg, 3VV_01.png (OCR-read)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The MARAD scanned status cards document the custody chain and ship particulars: name 'KERRY PATCH' with former names 'CELTIC' and 'JAVA ARROW' and designation IX-137; 'Basis to W.S.A. 4-20-42 Noon EWT @ New York, N.Y. from Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. Inc.'; title passing to WSA 1942-06-24 2:30 PM EWT at Port Everglades; 'Declared a constructive loss 5-?-42' (handwritten; May 1942); operator International Freighting Corp., Inc. under GAA, Baltimore, delivered 1943-09-22 4:00 PM; 'Navy Dept. (Renamed Celtic IX-137)' bareboat charter, Noumea, New Cal., 1944-01-17 Noon; laid-up fleet entry Mobile, Ala. 1946-02-06 1:30 PM CST (Fillette Green Co., agents); withdrawn 1948-04-02 12:30 PM and delivered to purchaser Dixie Lapham Radoncich 'now known as RADOCEAN TANKER CORP.'; transferred to Panamanian ownership and registry per Commission minutes agenda 1948-05-18; 'SOLD FOREIGN 6/4/48'; margin note 'RADKETCH'. Detail page gives fate 'Sold - No Further Info.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1921-1948 (card coverage); fate to 1959 per secondary sources
- Population
- WSA/merchant crew 1942-1944; Navy/USCG crew 1944-1946; reserve-fleet layup personnel 1946-1948
- Limitations
- Authoritative federal custody record, ship-specific. Handwritten card fields partially legible (the constructive-loss day reads 5- or 6-; the buyer name spelling is as transcribed). Cards document custody, tonnage, and machinery annotations (BHP ~3,500; '2 WTB' auxiliary boilers; 'Cond. Report in File') but contain no asbestos, insulation, or materials information; supports no asbestos claim. Detail-page 'Specific Type: LNG Liquefied Natural Gas' is a data-entry artifact (a 1921 LNG carrier is impossible) - flagged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-celtic-ix137-02
-
[4]Shipscribe, 'USS Celtic (IX-137) Class' class notes and IX-137 ship note (Stephen S. Roberts compilation from Navy acquisition, Auxiliary Vessels Board, and registry records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- IX-137 CELTIC ship note + class notes, IX137.html (shipscribe.com/usnaux/IX2/)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The IX-137 ship note records: ex-merchant KERRY PATCH 1944, ex-JAVA ARROW 1943 (ID-4784, completed May 1921); declared constructive total loss 1942-05-06, rebuilt; acquired at Noumea, placed in service 1944-01-17 and commissioned 1944-01-22; merchant KERRY PATCH (MC) 1946, RADKETCH 1948, GALE 1949, SUGAR 1955; scrapped 1959 at La Spezia. The class notes record the program context: on 1943-10-12 the Auxiliary Vessels Board recommended that 15 old WSA tankers be acquired for use as floating storage at advanced bases (the IX-131 to IX-145 program); Celtic-class particulars: 4,500 t light / 18,925 t full load, 485.25' oa, 1 x 4"/50 + 1 x 3"/50 + 8 x 20mm, complement 70 (1944), 10.2 kts, 3,200 hp; IX-137 originally carried a vertical quadruple-expansion reciprocating steam engine, re-engined with a J.H. Kincaid diesel - Shipscribe dates the re-engining 'between the wars.' Secondary registers searched (NavSource photo-archive page; Wikipedia SS Java Arrow) give the loss detail the card does not: torpedoed by U-333 on 1942-05-05 roughly eight miles off Vero Beach/Fort Pierce, Fla., while in ballast; engine room wrecked, two officers killed; towed to Port Everglades; permanent repairs at Norfolk, where she reportedly received a diesel engine from the British motor tanker Kars.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1921-1959
- Population
- Navy/USCG crew 1944-46; Norfolk repair trades 1942-43; La Spezia scrapping trades 1959
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of primary Navy/WSA records rather than the primary documents themselves - treated as an archival lead and cross-check. Custody dates corroborated by the MARAD status card and DANFS; the commissioning date (22 Jan vs. DANFS/NavSource 17 Jan) and the interwar-vs-1943 re-engining date conflict with other sources - both logged in gaps. The U-333 torpedoing narrative (date, casualty count, Kars engine) rests on secondary sources only - no primary action or casualty report retrieved; the MARAD card corroborates the constructive loss and Port Everglades title passage. The 'minimum repairs/no conversion' program directive is asbestos-relevant context but documents no hull materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-celtic-ix137-03
-
[5]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'Cutters, Craft & Coast Guard-Manned Army & Navy Vessels' list - entry 'CELTIC, USS; IX-137' (Wayback capture of uscg.mil page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USCG Historian's Office cutter list, 'C' section (Wayback 2008-04-23 capture)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The USCG Historian's Office list of Coast Guard-manned Army and Navy vessels includes 'CELTIC, USS; IX-137' - corroborating DANFS's 'Lieutenant J. S. Loring, USCG, in command' and NavSource's 'manned by the US Coast Guard during World War II.' The page notes that logbooks, action reports and other official documentation for these vessels are held by the National Archives, not the Coast Guard Historian's Office.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- U.S. Coast Guard crew, 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Official USCG list naming the hull as Coast Guard-manned; establishes manning service only - no operational, materials, or asbestos content. Live uscg.mil list URL structure has changed; Wayback capture cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-celtic-ix137-04
-
[6]Cross-source reconciliation: MARAD status card (former names JAVA ARROW / CELTIC; 'Basis to W.S.A. 4-20-42'; title to WSA 6-24-42; IFC operator 9-22-43) and NavSource merchant chronology vs. DANFS 'built in 1921 as Kerry Patch' [other_primary]
- Locator
- MARAD Detail/2866 status card + name history; NavSource archives/09/46/46137.htm; DANFS IX-137 entry
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- DANFS errs on the hull's construction name: 'built in 1921 as Kerry Patch.' The federal custody record and merchant registers show she was built as JAVA ARROW (MARAD card former-names line 'CELTIC / JAVA ARROW'; NavSource 'Laid down in 1921 as SS Java Arrow ... for the Socony-Vacuum Oil Co.'; completed May 1921) and renamed KERRY PATCH under WSA ownership in 1943 after her post-torpedo rebuild. DANFS compresses the merchant name history; the correction matters for litigation/name-search purposes because 'Java Arrow' is the hull's dominant documentary name for 1921-1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1921-1944
- Limitations
- Correction rests on the MARAD federal custody record (primary) plus consistent secondary registers; no shipyard build certificate was retrieved. If a primary source ever showed a keel-name other than Java Arrow, revisit - currently no source supports 'built as Kerry Patch' beyond DANFS-derived copies.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-celtic-ix137-05
-
[7]U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 285 (1906), 'Lime and Magnesia' chapter (magnesia alba employed 'with varying amounts of asbestos (15 to 50 per cent of the whole) for pipe coverings and boiler lagging'); corroborating USGS 1908 magnesite-deposits report ('85 per cent of light carbonate to 15 per cent of asbestos is a common proportion' for pipe covering and boiler lagging); Corn & Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' Am. J. Ind. Med. 11(3):359-373 (1987), doi:10.1002/ajim.4700110311 [other_primary]
- Locator
- USGS Bulletin 285-J 'Lime and Magnesia' report text (magnesite uses section); USGS 'The magnesite deposits of California' (1908); AJIM 11(3):359-373 abstract
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The hull's as-built 1921 steam-era outfit (the quadruple-expansion engine was later removed, but auxiliary steam plant - the status card annotates '2 WTB' boilers - plus cargo-heating steam coils typical of oil tankers, galley, and accommodation insulation) dates from the era when marine pipe covering and boiler lagging of magnesia was commonly compounded with asbestos fiber - the contemporaneous federal geological literature documents 15-50% asbestos content for these products in 1906 and an 85:15 magnesia-to-asbestos proportion as common in 1908. Her 1942-43 Norfolk post-torpedo reconstruction falls inside the WWII ship-repair period whose asbestos use is program-documented (Corn & Starr). The IX acquisition program's 'minimum repairs, no conversion' directive means no large wartime insulation installation is expected aboard at the 1944 Navy takeover.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1906-1908 era documentation; vessel 1921-1959
- Population
- Bethlehem Quincy construction trades (1921); Norfolk reconstruction trades (1942-43); merchant and Navy/USCG engine-room and maintenance crews (all periods)
- Limitations
- Era/design inference only - no source states 'asbestos' aboard this hull in any period. The USGS documents establish what the era's standard insulation product contained, not what was installed on this vessel; the re-engining removed the main steam plant (the largest lagging load) and its timing is itself disputed (interwar vs. 1943 rebuild); insulation removed or retained in the 1942-43 reconstruction is undocumented. Does not establish presence, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-celtic-ix137-06
-
[8]NARA Special List 44, 'Logs and Journals of Vessels' named-vessel list: 'Celtic (IX-137), 1/15/1944 - 6/30/1945'; MARAD Detail/2866 status card annotations ('Cond. Report in File'; title file PJ-X-429) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/special-list-44-named (Celtic IX-137 row); vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/2866 status cards
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NARA holds IX-137 deck logs covering 1944-01-15 through 1945-06-30 - essentially the whole commissioned war period minus the Okinawa/occupation and transit-home months - the primary remaining path to ship-specific maintenance and material detail. The MARAD status card annotates a condition report held in file from fleet entry and a WSA title file (PJ-X-429). Deck-log coverage begins 1944-01-15, two days before the recorded acquisition date - unresolved.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-01-15 to 1945-06-30 (logged period)
- Population
- Navy/USCG crew, 1944-45
- Limitations
- Catalog-level identification only - deck-log pages were not retrieved or OCR-verified for this record; coverage ends 1945-06-30 while the ship served to 1946-02-06 (later logs may exist under other accession groups). No asbestos content is asserted from any of these leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-celtic-ix137-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 sweeps 2026-09-29 (authenticated, fleet-paced): "USS Celtic" type=o = 0; "USS Celtic" type=r = 0; "Java Arrow" type=o = 1 hit (Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. v. Collins, 116 F.2d 8, 5th Cir. 1940 - 'THE S.S. INDIA ARROW. THE S.S. JAVA ARROW'); "Java Arrow" type=r = 0; "IX-137" type=o = 5 hits, all text collisions; "IX-137" type=r = 42 hits, all document-number/exhibit-string collisions; "Kerry Patch" type=o = 3 hits, all St. Louis 'Kerry Patch' neighborhood references; "Radketch" type=o = 0; "Dixie Lapham" type=o = 0; 'Celtic' + asbestos type=o = 14 hits, all collisions (Celtic Pharma and unrelated text matches) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-celtic-ix137-09 through -16
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation located naming USS Celtic (IX-137) or this hull under any of its names. The sole ship-named opinion located is Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. v. Collins, 116 F.2d 8 (5th Cir. 1940) - a seamen's wage/bonus libel naming the S.S. Java Arrow (this hull, pre-war): other litigation, not asbestos. Every other hit is a name or text collision; no published opinion or indexed docket names the vessel in an asbestos context.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Sweep covers CourtListener's opinion and docket indexes as of 2026-09-29. Absence of a docketed asbestos case does not prove no claim was ever filed - a hull scrapped in 1959 largely predates mesothelioma litigation, and state-court/pre-RECAP filings are under-indexed. Generic postwar names 'Gale' and 'Sugar' were not swept (dictionary-word collisions cannot resolve to the vessel). Sweeps completed across multiple fleet-paced waits per helper guidance. Does not establish or defeat exposure or eligibility for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-celtic-ix137-08
-
[10]Batch-4707 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback/mirror (live NHHC 404); Shipscribe IX notes; MARAD VesselHistory Detail/2866 + OCR-read status cards; USCG Historian cutter list; NARA Special List 44; NVR check; CourtListener opinion/docket sweeps; general web asbestos sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-celtic-ix137-01 through -16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, insulation specification, or docketed asbestos case naming the Celtic (IX-137), Java Arrow, Kerry Patch, Radketch, Gale, or Sugar was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1921-built tanker with a 1942-43 war-damage reconstruction falls squarely inside the asbestos-insulation era, and a hull scrapped in 1959 predates modern hazmat documentation entirely. 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-celtic-ix137-09