Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]DANFS, 'Cepheus II (AK-265)' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (published 2015-06-30; live NHHC URL returns 404 - verbatim text retrieved via Internet Archive Wayback capture 20240526182845) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Cepheus II (AK-265)' page - single-paragraph second-ship entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC records, verbatim: 'A northern constellation. II. The second Cepheus (AK-265) was acquired from the Army 12 June 1951 and lent to South Korea the same day.' The full DANFS entry is that single sentence - it establishes the hull's Navy identity (second ship of the name), the 1951-06-12 Army-to-Navy acquisition, and the same-day loan to the Republic of Korea.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1951
- Limitations
- Primary Navy historical entry - authoritative for identity and the 1951-06-12 acquisition/loan; a one-sentence entry with no construction, commissioning, crew, disposal, or materials information (the ship was never commissioned); supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page 404s (standing link rot, cf. BATCH-01); the Wayback capture is the verbatim NHHC text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cepheus-ak265-01
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[2]Shipscribe U.S. Navy auxiliary ships data sheets, 'USS Alchiba (AK 261, N3-S-A2) Class' page (Stephen S. Roberts compilation from Navy registers, BuShips/SCB design records, and MARAD files; page compiled 2021-08-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AK-261 class page: characteristics block, construction table (AK-265 row), disposition table, class notes (Korean Program / naming / disposal paragraphs), ship notes (AK-265 row)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compilation naming this hull in class tables and ship notes: CEPHEUS acquired 12 Jun 1951; keel 13 Nov 1944; launched 21 Feb 1945 at Avondale Marine Ways, Westwego; never in U.S. commissioned service ('Svc: --'); struck 1 Feb 1960; ship note - 'Ex merc. RICHARD W DIXIE, completed 18 May 1945. To Army 6 Jun 1946 at Pusan. Loaned by the Army to ECA Korea 31 Mar 1950. Sold 27 Jun 1960 to Hong Kong Rolling Mills.' Class notes document the program context: eight N3-S-A2s in the Army's Korean Program as of 31 Aug 1948 on MC bareboat charter, title to the Army 23 Feb 1949 under Public Law 766; Army's 5 May 1951 request that COMNAVFE control six of them for ROK civil relief; June 1951 Army-to-Navy transfer with simultaneous ROK loan; CNO naming request for AK 257-266 on 20 Jun 1951; BUPERS slate DENEBOLA/REGULUS/RIGEL/SIRIUS/SPICA/VEGA cancelled 12 Jul 1951 and final names approved 26 Jul 1951; SECNAV disposal approval 1 Dec 1959; MA scrapping-only authorization 8 Jan 1960; return to Navy custody at Sasebo; advertised 23 May 1960; sold 27 Jun 1960 with the five sisters and six ex-Army FS freighters (AKL 37-42). Class data: N3-S-A2 design, 1,276 lt / 4,040 fl tons; 259' oa x 42' x 19'; 11 kts; 1,300 hp Ajax Uniflow 6-cylinder compound reciprocating engine, 2 oil-fired boilers, 1 screw; accommodations 9 officers + 24; unarmed. N3-S-A2 origins: 59 built; developed after the 1941 British Shipbuilding Mission urged Great Lakes and other small-yard capacity for coaster tonnage.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Avondale Marine Ways construction workforce (1944-45); U.S. Army Transportation Service crews (1945-46); Army Korean-Program crews (1946-50); ECA Korea / Republic of Korea crews (1950-1960); Hong Kong breaking-yard workers (1960)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary transcription of official Navy register, design, and MARAD records, not the registers themselves; used where consistent with DANFS/NavSource/shipbuildinghistory. Contains no asbestos information; the detailed custody dates document events, not materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cepheus-ak265-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - Cepheus (AK-265), file 09/13/130265 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 130265.htm - specifications block, timeline entries, NH 84177 photo credit
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline corroborates DANFS: laid down as SS Richard W. Dixie, MC type N3-S-A2 (MC 2545), Avondale Marine, Inc., New Orleans LA; 'Launched, May 1945'; delivered to the Maritime Commission (date unknown); acquired by the Navy from the US Army (NavSource prints 'in 1949'); renamed Cepheus (AK-265) and leased to South Korea 12 Jun 1951; returned to US Naval custody January 1960; struck from the Naval Register February 1960; scrapped 1960. Spec block: 2,905 t lt / 5,202 t fl; 258'9" x 42'1" x 20'9"; 10.5 kts; complement 23; cargo 2,243 t; radius 4,500 nm; 'reciprocating steam engine, single propeller.' Photo: NH 84177 (NHHC) shows the ship under way in South Korean service, circa 1951, location unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official; consistent with DANFS on the 1951 transfer/loan and 1960 disposal. Two conflicts logged in gaps: 'in 1949' for the Army-to-Navy acquisition conflicts with DANFS and shipscribe (both 12 Jun 1951) - 1949 is the PL 766 MC-to-Army title transfer, assessed as a NavSource conflation error; 'Launched, May 1945' conflicts with shipscribe's 21 Feb 1945 launch - May 1945 is the completion/delivery month (shipscribe 'completed 18 May 1945'; shipbuildinghistory 'May-45'). Spec-block figures also differ from shipscribe class data. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cepheus-ak265-03
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[4]ShipbuildingHistory.com (Tim Colton), 'Avondale Shipyards' yard table + 'N Type Coastal Cargo Ships' table (http://shipbuildinghistory.com/merchantships/2ntypeships.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Avondale yard table, row 54 (official no. 247908); N-type coastal cargo table, MC 2545 row; yard-history narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard production table row for this hull: yard no. 54, U.S. official no. 247908, 'Richard W. Dixie', U.S. Maritime Commission, type N3-S-A2/MC hull 2545, 1,885 GT (2,757 DWT in the N-type table), 250' x 42', delivered May-45, 'To USA 1949, to USN 1951 as Cepheus (AK 265), scrapped 1960.' Yard history: Avondale Shipyards was founded in 1938 as Avondale Marine Ways in Westwego LA on the west bank of the Mississippi River in New Orleans (owners James Viavant, Harry Koch, Perry Ellis); initially barges and tugs, expanding to large tugs and small cargo ships for the U.S. Maritime Commission in the war effort; sold to Ogden Corp. 1959, renamed Avondale Shipyards Inc. 1960-07-01.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Avondale Marine Ways construction workforce (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Reputable secondary compilation of shipyard production data, not an official register; 'To USA 1949' corresponds to the PL 766 title transfer of 23 Feb 1949 documented by shipscribe. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cepheus-ak265-04
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[5]Consolidated era/design inference - documented N3-S-A2 machinery plant (shipscribe AK-261 class data) applied to this hull's construction era [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe AK-261 class page: characteristics block and class machinery notes (Ajax Uniflow 6-cylinder compound, 2 boilers, oil-fired A2 variant)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull carried a single-screw oil-fired steam plant - two boilers feeding a 1,300-hp Ajax Uniflow six-cylinder compound reciprocating engine - built in 1944-45 at a Maritime Commission contract yard, the machinery configuration for which boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and accommodation joiner insulation of the period were commonly asbestos-containing. The hull's documented disturbance phases are distinct from a commissioned Navy auxiliary's: 1944-45 construction at Avondale Marine Ways; Army Transport Service operation 1945-46; Army Korean-Program operation 1946-50; ECA Korea then Republic of Korea operation 1950-1960 with undocumented maintenance; and 1960 breaking in Hong Kong under a scrapping-only MA authorization.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Avondale Marine Ways construction trades (1944-45); USATS crews (1945-46); Army Korean-Program crews (1946-50); ECA Korea / ROK crews (1950-1960); Hong Kong breaking-yard workers (1960) - no U.S. Navy complement ever served aboard
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant and construction era - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming AK-265 / MC hull 2545 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cepheus-ak265-05
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[6]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 and Maritime Commission emergency construction program under which this N3-S-A2 freighter was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- 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 or class 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-cepheus-ak265-06
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[7]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at two Navy yards and two Navy contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in wartime naval-vessel and Commission construction of exactly this hull's era and type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval and Commission construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard (whether Avondale Marine Ways was among the surveyed contract yards is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized - see the 2026 critique at DOI 10.1177/10482911261446696.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cepheus-ak265-07
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[8]Batch-917 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Wayback; NavSource 130265; shipscribe AK-261 class page; shipbuildinghistory Avondale/N-type tables; MARAD ShipHistory; CourtListener (blocked); indexed-web litigation checks; VA BVA index; NVR; NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cepheus-ak265-01 through sl-uss-cepheus-ak265-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, disposal-condition document, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Cepheus / AK-265 / Richard W. Dixie / MC hull 2545 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Indexed-web court checks returned only name collisions - 'Cepheus' corporate defendants (Alpha Cepheus LLC v. Chu, D.N.J.; AllCells LLC v. Zhai, N.D. Cal. - a company, not the ship) and 'The Cepheus,' 24 F. 507 (1885), an unrelated admiralty case - plus law-firm marketing lists naming this hull (freeasbestostesting.com, mesotheliomaasbestoshelpcenter.com) or the AKA-18 hull (asbestos-ships.com, simmonsfirm.com, mesotheliomahelp.org); marketing assertions of era-typical asbestos content carry no primary support and are an excluded source class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 2026-09-21
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-45 oil-fired steam freighter is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and 15 years of Army/ECA/ROK operation with undocumented maintenance plus the 1960 Hong Kong breaking are undocumented disturbance phases. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. CourtListener systematic name/hull sweeps were not run - the authenticated API quota (2,800/day) was already exhausted by prior work on this machine (HTTP 429, 'Expected available in 16526 seconds') - backed off per batch instruction; negative litigation coverage rests on indexed-web checking only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cepheus-ak265-08
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[9]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 178 (Records of the U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 336 (Records of the Office of the Chief of Transportation - Army Transport Service), RG 357 (Records of the Maritime Administration), RG 313 (Records of Naval Operating Forces - COMNAVFE) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html ; /groups/336.html ; /groups/357.html ; /groups/313.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): USMC construction-contract records for MC hull 2545 at Avondale Marine Ways (RG 178); Army Transportation Corps / USATS service records covering this hull's 1945-1950 operation and the Korean Program (RG 336); Maritime Administration files covering the PL 766 title transfer of 23 Feb 1949, the ECA Korea loan of 31 Mar 1950, and the 1960 scrapping-only sale at Sasebo - the sale file is the most promising disposal-era hazmat lead (RG 357); COMNAVFE records for the 1951 Army-to-Navy transfer and the January 1960 custody return (RG 313). No Navy deck logs exist for a vessel never commissioned in U.S. service.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1944-1960 records
- 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-cepheus-ak265-09