Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - CHATEAU THIERRY (AP-31), Detail 921, including digitized status cards (921_AF, 921_1672AF, 921_1672AB, 1AY_01) and historical document PDF [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD ShipHistory Detail/921 fields and status-card images /cards/921_AF.jpg, /cards/921_1672AF.jpg, /cards/921_1672AB.jpg, /cards/1AY_01.png
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record and digitized vessel status cards for CHATEAU THIERRY: U.S. Official No. 220808; type USSB/EFC 1024 hospital ship (formerly transport); built 1920 by American International Shipbuilding Co., Hog Island, completed November 1920; construction cost $3,174,592.15; 448' x 58' x 40'; 7,555 gross tons. Entered War Shipping Administration custody at Olympia, WA 1946-08-29 (from War Department) and joined the Olympia reserve fleet; 100% stripped October 1947; carried approximately 2,560 long tons fixed ballast per a March 1944 stability letter quoted on the card (concrete blocks, steel rails and bars, foundry slag pigs in holds and shaft alley). Two earlier sale solicitations failed (PDX-395 unrestricted-use bids rejected 1947-12-30; PDX-434 scrap-only bids rejected 1948-04-20, vessel directed held in reserve fleet). Under PDX-528 (opened 1956-12-18) awarded to Zidell Explorations, Inc. 1957-01-02 for complete scrapping at a net sales price of about $308,879; withdrawn from the fleet and delivered to the purchaser 1957-01-17 11:25 PST; card marked 'Scrapped 1/57'. A card note records the hulk broke loose at Portland, OR on 1957-04-14 and rammed the Hawthorne Bridge.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1920-1958
- Population
- NDRF Olympia reserve-fleet caretakers (1946-1957); Zidell Explorations scrapping workforce, Portland OR (1957)
- Limitations
- Primary custody/disposition record for this hull; contains no insulation, asbestos, or hazardous-material information and does not establish or defeat any exposure claim. Sale price reads $308,878.37 on one card and $308,879 on another (trivial clerical difference). Secondary sources (NavSource, Wikipedia) carry a 'sold 17 June 1957' date that conflicts with the status-card award/delivery dates - card dates control here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chateau-thierry-ap31-01
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[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Chateau Thierry' entry, Naval Historical Center (Wayback capture 2004-03-14 of official history.navy.mil page; live NHHC page not located - link rot standing from batch-01) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS c6/chateau_thierry.htm (full entry text)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Chateau Thierry (AP-31): built 1921 by American International Shipbuilding Corp., Hog Island, Pa.; served with the Army until transferred to the Navy 1941-07-15; commissioned 1941-08-06, Commander J. K. Davis in command. Carried Army and civilian personnel and cargo Brooklyn to Greenland, Iceland, and Nova Scotia 1941-09-13 to 1942-01-02; sailed Brooklyn 1942-01-15 with some of the first American troops to Northern Ireland, then carried British troops/sailors Scotland to Halifax and New York; two Argentia voyages; 1942-05-19 Charleston, then Bermuda and African ports, around Cape of Good Hope to Eritrea, embarking survivors of two merchant-ship sinkings at West African ports on return. North Atlantic transport until 1943-04-29; Oran voyage June 1943; Sicily invasion - floating reserve off Gela beaches 1943-07-10, landing reinforcements, firing against German air attacks, embarking Italian POWs; Bizerte 1943-07-13; carried German POWs Oran to New York arriving 1943-08-22; decommissioned Boston 1943-09-09 and returned to the Army, which used her as a hospital ship for the remainder of the war. One battle star for WWII service. Stats: dp 9,050; 448' x 58'; dr 28'; 15 kts; complement 253; armament 1x5in, 4x3in.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1919-1943
- Population
- Navy crew (complement 253, 1941-1943); embarked troops and POWs
- Limitations
- Official Navy narrative history; contains no asbestos or insulation information. DANFS 'built in 1921' reflects delivery/Army-service framing; MARAD status card and the 1947 Army history record completion in November 1920. Does not document Navy decommission-to-hospital-ship conversion details or strike date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chateau-thierry-ap31-02
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[3]Roland W. Charles, Troopships of World War II (Washington: Army Transportation Association, April 1947) - official U.S. Army vessel histories, Chateau Thierry troopship entry p. 12 and hospital-ship entry p. 333 (digitized scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- pp. 12 (troopship entry) and 333 (hospital-ship entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official 1947 Army history (Charles, Troopships of World War II) troopship entry (p. 12): built 1920 by American International Shipbuilding Corp., Hog Island; one of twelve similar vessels by the same builder; delivered to the War Department early 1921; approximately 140 voyages coast-to-coast over 20 years before Pearl Harbor; nearly laid up in 1939, then passenger capacity augmented to about 1,150 by Bethlehem Steel Co. at New York October 1939-January 1940; Panama and Honolulu voyages pre-Navy; turned over to the Navy August 1941; 1941-1943 operations Greenland/Iceland, Ireland (Jan 1942), Newfoundland/Halifax, Freetown and Capetown (May-Sept 1942); returned to War Department at New York July 1943 for hospital-ship conversion. Hospital-ship entry (p. 333): converted by Bethlehem Steel Co., Simpson Yard, Boston, September 1943-February 1944; post-conversion U.S. Coast Guard stability test with suitable ballast provided; operated New York-Oran until ordered to Charleston April 1944; from Charleston home port operated over a year to North Africa and Great Britain; patient capacity 508; June-September 1945 at New York improved ventilation installed and extensive repairs by Todd Shipyard Corp. for Pacific service; sailed 1945-10-01, home port changed Charleston to San Francisco; one Manila patient voyage returning December 1945; decommissioned as a hospital ship January 1946 (mercy-ship identification removed at Honolulu after defective evaporators delayed the vessel); returned to San Francisco February 1946, then Seattle for delivery to WSA as surplus - laid up, actual delivery deferred until May 1946. Troopship specs: 448' x 58' x 26'6" draft; 7,555 gross tons (8,915 as hospital ship); turbine; 16 knots; 7,300-mile radius.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1921-1946
- Population
- Army Transport Service crews (1921-1941); USAHS medical staff and patients (1944-1946); conversion-yard workforces at Bethlehem NY, Bethlehem Simpson Yard Boston, and Todd NY
- Limitations
- Official Army Transportation Association history published April 1947; contains no asbestos or insulation-material information. Two date conflicts with Navy/MARAD records: it frames return to the War Department as July 1943 (Navy formally decommissioned 1943-09-09) and WSA delivery as deferred to May 1946 (MARAD status card records custody/basis to WSA 1946-08-29) - treated as paperwork-vs-custody framing differences, noted in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chateau-thierry-ap31-03
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[4]U.S. Army Medical Department, Office of Medical History, 'The Technical Services - Hospitalization and Evacuation, Zone of Interior' (WWII series), Chapter XXIII 'Providing the Means of Evacuation' (Wayback capture 2010-12-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Chapter XXIII text and footnotes 1-4 (SG file cites '632.-1 (Chateau Thierry)')
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- U.S. Army Medical Department official history records that in fall 1940 the New York Port of Embarkation proposed converting USAT Chateau Thierry into a part-time hospital ship (troops outbound, patients inbound), and that The Surgeon General disapproved on the grounds that the proposed transport was not suitable for conversion, that its use would violate the Geneva and Hague Conventions, and that evacuation of small patient numbers from scattered bases would be uneconomical - recommending instead that a dedicated hospital-ship idea be studied further. The chapter's supporting citations are Surgeon General correspondence files specifically under 'Chateau Thierry' (SG: 632.-1).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940
- Limitations
- Official Army medical history naming this hull in a documented 1940 conversion proposal that was disapproved - establishes the conversion-history background only. Contains no asbestos or insulation information; the ship was in fact converted to a hospital ship in 1943-44 under a later program.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chateau-thierry-ap31-04
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[5]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, 'USAHS Chateau Thierry ex USS Chateau Thierry (AP-31)' (compiled from DANFS and U.S. Army Order of Battle 1919-1941; U.S. Navy and Army Signal Corps photo captions) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/22/22031 chronology and specifications sections (via Wayback capture 2024-11-13)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive chronology for Chateau Thierry: delivered to the U.S. Shipping Board 1920-11-11; transferred to the War Department 1921-02-21; commissioned USAT Chateau Thierry 1921-11-26, first Army Transport Service voyage 1922-02-10; A.T.S. Pacific Fleet, home port Fort Mason CA, San Francisco-Honolulu route; laid up San Francisco 1923-09-23 to 1924-07-10; transported 213th Coast Artillery Philadelphia to Fort Monroe July 1926; A.T.S. Atlantic Fleet from 1932, home port Army Supply Base Brooklyn, New York-San Juan-Panama route; decommissioned 1939-03-20 and laid up in the Maritime Commission Reserve Fleet; renovated at Bethlehem Steel Co., New York October 1939-February 1940 for increased troop capacity; recommissioned February 1940; decommissioned and transferred to the U.S. Navy 1941-07-15; commissioned USS Chateau Thierry (AP-31) 1941-08-06, LCDR John K. Davis; Europe-Africa-Middle East campaign 'Sicilian occupation, 9 to 15 July 1943'; decommissioned Boston 1943-09-09; recommissioned USAHS Chateau Thierry 1944-03-05; transferred to the Maritime Commission 1946-08-29 for lay-up in the NDRF Olympia WA group; one battle star; 1941 radio call sign NWKZ; patient capacity 508.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1920-1957
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary chronology, not an official record - used for dates corroborated against or not contradicted by DANFS/MARAD/Army-history rows. Internally inconsistent ('laid down 1921' vs 'launched 24 December 1919'); its 'sold for scrapping 17 June 1957' conflicts with the MARAD status card. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chateau-thierry-ap31-05
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[6]Shipscribe.com U.S. Navy Auxiliary ship data, 'CHATEAU THIERRY (AP-31)' class page (Stephen S. Roberts compilation from Navy records), class notes, construction/disposition tables, and ship notes [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe.com/usnaux/AP/AP31.html construction table, class notes paragraphs 1-4, ship notes row AP-31
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe class/ship notes for CHATEAU THIERRY (AP-31), EFC hull 678: laid down 1919-01-25, launched 1919-12-24, completed November 1920; name sequence ex SKAMANIA (1918) > mercantile MOUNT BIENVILLE (1919) > USAT MANILA (1919) > USAT CHATEAU THIERRY. EFC ordered 70 Design 1024 'Type B' troop transports from Hog Island 1917-10-23; only 12 delivered after postwar cancellations (11 to Army, one - WRIGHT/AZ-1 - to Navy); CHATEAU THIERRY and ST. MIHIEL were the only two retained in Army service through the entire interwar period. Navy conversion by Robins Dry Dock & Repair Co. (Todd), Brooklyn, August 1941; armament at New York Navy Yard December 1941; 3"/50 guns fitted at Robins March 1942; repairs at Bethlehem Steel 56th Street yard, Brooklyn, September 1942; converted to hospital ship at Boston September 1943-February 1944; stricken 1943-09-20; Army laid her up at Seattle early-mid 1946 after evaporators failed; MA sale 1957-01-02, delivered to buyer 1957-01-17, scrapped by 1958-02-18.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1917-1958
- Population
- Conversion and repair-yard workforces (Robins/Todd Brooklyn, New York Navy Yard, Bethlehem 56th St, Bethlehem Simpson Boston)
- Limitations
- Expert secondary compilation of Navy/EFC records - used for the name-history sequence, EFC hull number, yard-period detail, strike date (1943-09-20, unverified against the official Naval Register - NavSource lists strike date as unknown), and final scrapping date. Class-program detail is class_or_era context. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chateau-thierry-ap31-06
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[7]Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, 'On the Water' collection record - Hog Island photograph (TR.335550.2 / accession 1977.0003) program description [museum_official]
- Locator
- NMAH object record descriptive text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Smithsonian National Museum of American History documents the Hog Island program context for this hull: the Emergency Fleet Corporation hired American International Shipbuilding to build and operate the world's largest shipyard at Hog Island near Philadelphia (846 acres, 50 shipways, 250 buildings, ~30,000 workers at peak, launching a vessel every 5.5 days); 122 cargo and troop-transport ships were built there in four years using prefabricated parts mass-produced elsewhere - the assembly-line experience later expedited the WWII Liberty and Victory programs. None of the Hog Island ships saw service before the end of WWI.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1917-1921
- Population
- Hog Island construction workforce (~30,000 at peak, program-level)
- Limitations
- Program/yard-level context for this hull's construction; does not name this vessel and contains no insulation or asbestos information. Establishes only that the hull was a mass-produced EFC transport built 1919-1920 in a prefabrication yard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chateau-thierry-ap31-07
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[8]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 1939-1940 capacity refit, 1941-1942 Navy conversion and repair periods, 1943-1944 hospital-ship conversion, and 1945 ventilation/machinery refit - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard ship hulls.
- 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 scholarship on WWII shipbuilding asbestos use generally; does not name this vessel, does not document the WWI-era (1919-1920) construction program specifically, 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-chateau-thierry-ap31-08
-
[9]Inference row synthesizing the documented yard-period events in ev-03/ev-06 (Charles 1947; shipscribe compilation) with the era-level asbestos-use scholarship in ev-08 (Corn & Starr 1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- See cited rows ev-uss-chateau-thierry-ap31-03, -06, -08
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era-consistent inference for this hull: as a 1919-1920 steam-turbine transport repeatedly refitted through 1945, Chateau Thierry's documented yard periods (Bethlehem Steel New York 1939-40; Robins Dry Dock/Todd Brooklyn 1941-42; New York Navy Yard 1941; Bethlehem Steel Simpson Yard Boston 1943-44 hospital-ship conversion; Todd New York 1945 ventilation and machinery refit) are the disturbance and installation pathways under which era-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing would have been installed or worked aboard this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1939-1945
- Population
- Yard workforces at the documented refit/conversion periods; engine-room and maintenance crews
- Limitations
- INFERENCE - the cited sources document the yard events and era asbestos practice separately; no located source states that asbestos was installed in, worked on, or removed from this specific hull. Does not establish product, quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chateau-thierry-ap31-09
-
[10]Batch-2115 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC; MARAD ShipHistory + status cards; official 1947 Army history; AMEDD official history; NavSource; shipscribe; NARA RG 181 finding aid; Smithsonian NMAH; CourtListener API v4 name/hull queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-chateau-thierry-ap31-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed litigation naming USS/USAT/USAHS Chateau Thierry (AP-31) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener exact-name opinion search returned 27 hits, all name collisions (a Louisiana apartment LLC, WWI battle references in veterans' insurance cases) or non-qualifying other litigation (a 1933 towage contract case); exact-name docket search returned 16 hits, all business-entity name collisions; exact-name-plus-asbestos and 'AP-31'-plus-asbestos queries each returned 0.
- 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 - the hull was scrapped 1957-58, roughly two decades before federal asbestos regulation of shipbreaking, so modern documentation was never expected. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chateau-thierry-ap31-10
-
[11]National Archives (Atlanta) finding aid, RG 181 Sixth Naval District Charleston 'U.S. Army Hospital Ship Repair Files' (archives.gov/atlanta); Philadelphia Area Archives / Historical Society of Pennsylvania / Hagley Museum finding aids [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG181 Charleston box-1 list ('USAHS CHATEAU THIERRY 4/5/1944'); findingaids.library.upenn.edu SMREP_PHM.25; discover.hsp.org hsp.ead.at01-3578; findingaids.hagley.org accession 0884-IV
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not retrieved (no spend authorized): (1) NARA RG 181 Sixth Naval District (Charleston Navy Yard) 'U.S. Army Hospital Ship repair files' includes a box-1 file 'USAHS CHATEAU THIERRY' dated 1944-04-05 - repair requests, inspections, and repair reports that may itemize insulation work aboard this hull. (2) Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Howard F. Baile collection (3578), holds 'General Specifications: Hog Island Shipyard, Plant, and Property, July 1920' - a possible design-level insulation source. (3) Philadelphia History Museum holds ~2,000 American International Shipbuilding Corp. photographs of Hog Island yard and ships (1917-1920). (4) Hagley Museum, Frederick W. Wood papers (0884-IV), American International Shipbuilding Corporation records 1918-1923. (5) Underlying MARAD/NARA vessel files behind the digitized status cards, and Robins/Todd and Bethlehem Simpson Yard work-order records for the documented refit periods.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944 (RG181 file date); 1917-1923 (yard collections)
- Limitations
- Finding aids only - the records exist on paper and were not retrieved or examined. No claim is made about their content; the RG 181 repair file may or may not document insulation materials aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chateau-thierry-ap31-11