USS Chatham (AK-169)

Evidence

12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).

1. [1]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 emergency program under which this C1-M-AV1 hull was mass-produced (Maritime Commission Design AV; contracts approved 1943-09-02 for 100 ships per shipscribe class notes) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   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 the C1-M-AV1 type 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-chatham-ak169-01

2. [2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Chatham III (AK-169)' entry - NHHC online edition (print-derived text, published 2015-06-30), verified via Wayback capture 20250219175603; print-edition transcription cross-checked at the losthistory.net/hazegray mirror (canonical NHHC URLs returned 404 on 2026-09-21; hazegray.org host unreachable) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Full entry via Wayback Machine capture 2025-02-19 of history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/chatham-iii.html; canonical https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/chatham-iii.html, .../c/chatham.html, and the content/history/nhhc/ variant all returned 404 (standing NHHC link rot, same as batches 01, 833, 834, 841); print mirror losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/auxil/ak169.htm

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS 'Chatham III (AK-169)' entry (print-edition text carried verbatim in the NHHC online edition, published 2015-06-30) records: stat line (AK-169: dp. 2,474; l. 338'6"; b. 50'; dr. 21'1"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 79; a. 1 x 3"; cl. Alamosa); namesake counties in Georgia and North Carolina. Third Chatham launched 1944-05-13 by Froemming Brothers, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., under Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. G. C. Salisbury; acquired by the Navy 1945-01-20; 'commissioned at Galveston' 1945-02-22, Lt. Comdr. N. C. Harrison, Jr., USNR, in command. Arrived Pearl Harbor 1945-05-06 to carry cargo to Eniwetok, Saipan, and Guam; returned to San Francisco 1945-07-18 for a brief overhaul; cleared San Francisco 1945-08-13; until 1946-01-30 carried cargo from Okinawa to Guam, Manus, Saipan, Eniwetok, and the Philippines 'aiding in the redeployment of American strength in the Pacific'; sailed to Baltimore, decommissioned 1946-04-02, returned to the Maritime Commission 1946-04-04.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Population

   Navy crew (cpl. 79 per DANFS stat line); cargo operations across the central and western Pacific

   Limitations

   Authoritative for identity, chronology, and operations summary. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazardous-material statement. Its 'commissioned at Galveston' line is contradicted by the ship's own war diary and Factual History (Brown Shipbuilding yard, Houston) - see correction row; the NHHC entry is the print-DANFS text without update.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chatham-ak169-02

3. [3]U.S. Navy ship's war diary, U.S.S. Chatham (AK-169), Feb-Dec 1945, with Factual History enclosure (CO to SecNav, serial 137, 1945-09-26, per ALPAC 202) - digitized scan hosted at NavSource Online, 44 pp. [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net/archives/09/13/pdf/130169a.pdf - monthly war-diary installments Feb-Dec 1945 (signed N. C. Harrison, Jr., then H. G. Trynks) and Factual History enclosure pp. 43-44 of the scan; positions-underway tables throughout

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   U.S.S. Chatham (AK-169) War Diary, February-December 1945, plus 'Factual History of U.S.S. CHATHAM (AK169) from Commissioning to date' (Enclosure A to CO letter serial 137 of 1945-09-26, submitted per ALPAC 202) - digitized scan hosted by NavSource (contributed by Frank Gerhardt), read in full. Primary record: commissioned 1000, 1945-02-22 'at BROWN SHIPBUILDING COMPANY, INC., Houston, Texas' (Factual History repeats 'in the Yard of the Brown Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Houston, Texas'); proceeded to Galveston 1400 same day. Quarantine at Bolivar Roads, Galveston, 1-6 Mar after a spinal meningitis case (crew under preventative treatment); independent ops 7-9 Mar; CTU 23.8.2 Gulf Shakedown Unit 10-15 Mar; post-shakedown availability Brown Shipbuilding 16-19 Mar; first cargo NSD(ABD) Gulfport, Miss., 21 Mar-1 Apr; Panama Canal transit 8-9 Apr (repairs Cristobal); CINCPAC duty; Socorro Island reroute and appendicitis-patient transfer to a USCG plane from San Diego 21-25 Apr; Pearl Harbor Berth X-3 6 May, assigned ComServRon8 (Commodore A. H. Gray) Fleet Freight Service; Honolulu Pier 31A 7-11 May; Eniwetok 24-25 May; rerouted Saipan to Tinian 29 May (~20 tons discharged); Apra Harbor Guam 21-27 Jun; San Francisco Pier 60 availability 18-29 Jul; degaussing range Treasure Island and compass calibration 30 Jul; ~500 tons defective ammunition loaded NAD Mare Island and discharged overboard at sea 2 Aug; fleet freight loaded SF 7-13 Aug; Pearl Harbor K-8 21 Aug; Eniwetok 6-17 Sep; Buckner Bay Okinawa 26 Sep; typhoon evasion retirements 28 Sep-1 Oct (ServDiv 104 convoy, USS Hamul AD-12 OTC) and 7-10 Oct; Agana Bay/Apra Harbor Guam 27 Oct-22 Nov; Seeadler Harbor Manus Nebu Dock 27-30 Nov; Guiuan Roadstead Samar 11-16 Dec; Buckner Bay 22-28 Dec; underway for Saipan 29 Dec (scan ends 31 Dec, steaming).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1945-02 to 1945-12

   Population

   Navy crew aboard AK-169 (Feb-Dec 1945); patients quarantined/transferred (meningitis, appendicitis) documented

   Limitations

   Primary Navy document (scanned); OCR assisted, hand-read against page images. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazardous-material statement; documented availabilities (post-shakedown at Brown Shipbuilding; voyage repairs at San Francisco) and the two typhoon retirements are events only, with no materials scope described. Covers Feb-Dec 1945 only - the Jan-Apr 1946 installment is not in the scan (archival lead).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chatham-ak169-03

4. [4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - CHATHAM (AK-169), Ship History Detail 920 (status-card scans: 79647e09-...png custody/allocation face, 920_1670AF.jpg reserve-fleet vessel-data card, 920_1670AB.jpg tonnage/BHP fragment; Chatham_920_001.pdf = Transfer Order C-5037) [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   ShipHistory Detail 920 - status-card scans read directly (cards/79647e09-e7c9-4a7b-ac3d-e364bae3b2ce.png, cards/920_1670AF.jpg, cards/920_1670AB.jpg; documents/Chatham_920_001.pdf). A second document under the same detail (d8650a4a-...pdf) is a transfer ledger for a different hull - 'CHATHAM O/N 252493' with Sea-Land Service/Waterman Steamship entries 1965-66 - intra-source name collision, logged in correction row

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD ShipHistory record for CHATHAM (AK-169), Detail 920: year built 1945; official number 246561; shipyard Froemming Brothers; MARAD type C1-M-AV1; register length 338.50 ft x beam 50.00 ft; gross 3,805 / net 2,123; summer draft 21.00; displacement 7,450 summer / 2,382 lightweight; fate 'Sold - Foreign Flag Op.' The digitized status-card set reads: custody/allocation face (79647e09 PNG) - Name CHATHAM (AK-169), flag AMER.; MC Hull No. 2142; 'Built by Froemming Bros. Inc. #14' at Milwaukee, Wisc.; 'Completed 1-20-45'; basis to WSA 1-20-45 8:15 PM CWT at Beaumont, Texas 'del. by Builders to USMC - SOLD'; allocation table - Navy Dept. (Del. by USMC), agreement form 'LB,' Beaumont Tex. 1-20-45 8:15 PM CWT; Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall Va. 4-4-46 9:00 AM EST; 'Dichmann, Wright & Pugh, Inc. (Pending dely to Purchasers)' under 'GAA' Lee Hall Va. 2-28-47 10:20 AM EST; 'Kingdom of Netherlands' (handwritten 'Oct 1946') by 'Purch.' at Jersey City, N.J. 4-15-47 3:30 PM EST with annotation 'Title passed simultaneously @ Hoboken, N.J.'; penciled note 'Name changed TIDE WATER BAYONNE ??' - unresolved. Reserve-fleet vessel-data card (920_1670AF.jpg): ownership WSA; fleet JR, unit S-2; type C1-M-AV1; entered fleet 4-4-46; hull no. 2142; 'TERMINATION PORT, LAST VOYAGE: HAMPTON ROADS'; dimensions handwritten 323.9 x 50.1 x 26.5; ships-papers notes 'PRELIM. ALLOC. 239 1/28/47 / FINAL ALLOC. 244 2-5-47 (Netherlands)'; withdrawn from fleet 2-28-47 10:20 AM delivered to 'OPIER.'; box 14 'DAMAGE IN FLEET' blank (no casualty notation, unlike sibling AK-163's FIRE entry). Tonnage fragment (920_1670AB.jpg): 'NEXT CALEDONIA'; 3805 gr / 2123 net; draft 21 5/8; 'BHP 1700'; 'Dkcy Blr.' (donkey boiler); red-pencil notations partially legible ('Del. Rapidan + [?]'; '[a]longside Relief (2/23/47)'). Document Chatham_920_001.pdf = U.S. Maritime Commission Transfer Order No. C-5037 (1947-02-10): MC authorized sale 1947-01-23 of the 'Undocumented M/V CHATHAM' to the Royal Netherlands Government (Kingdom of the Netherlands) acting through the Ministry of Traffic, Directorate General of Shipping, with privilege of transfer to foreign registry and flag; Section 37, Shipping Act 1916 (46 U.S.C. 835) approval granted; A. J. Williams, Secretary.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1945-1947

   Population

   Reserve-fleet layup/maintenance personnel (James River, 1946-47); ship's papers custodians

   Limitations

   Authoritative government custody record for this hull; status-card handwriting read against typed fields. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or machinery detail beyond 'BHP 1700' and 'Dkcy Blr.' - supports no asbestos claim. The 'TIDE WATER BAYONNE ??' penciled query and the 'alongside Relief' fragment are carried verbatim and unresolved. Sale documented to the Kingdom of the Netherlands (government), with KNSM as the Dutch operator named by secondary sources - see correction row.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chatham-ak169-04

5. [5]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Chatham (AK-169) page (compiled reference incl. DANFS transcription, awards table, CO list, specifications, merchant-service chronology, photo captions) [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net/archives/09/13/130169.htm - full page incl. specifications block, commanding-officer table, merchant-service list, photo captions (ex-Chatham as MV Helena); war-diary PDF link 130169a.pdf

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Online (Service Ship Photo Archive, AK-169 page) records the same Navy chronology as DANFS plus: call sign NEGW; ribbons American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal with Asia clasp (periods 21 Sep-21 Oct 1945 and 20-30 Dec 1945); no battle stars; commanding officers LCDR Norman C. Harrison, Jr., USNR (1945-02-22 to 1945-10-02), LCDR Herman G. Trynks, USNR (1945-10-02 to 1946-02-05), CDR Allan C. Hoffman, USNR (1946-02-05 to 1946-04-02); specs - 2,382 t (lt) / 7,450 t (fl); 338'6" x 50' x '29'2" (limiting)' [draft field - inconsistent with DANFS 21'1" and MARAD 21 5/8, reads as depth value; logged]; 11.5 kts; complement 15 officers + 70 enlisted; largest boom 30 t; cargo capacity 3,945 DWT incl. 9,830 cu ft refrigerated / 227,730 cu ft non-refrigerated; armament 1x3"/50 DP + 6x20mm AA; fuel 6,300 bbls diesel; propulsion one Nordberg Diesel TSM6, two diesel-drive 250 kW 120/240 V DC ship's-service generators, single propeller, 1,750 shp. Post-Navy: struck from the Naval Register 1946-04-17; returned to MC 1946-04-04 for NDRF layup James River Group, Lee Hall Va.; 'sold for merchant service' 1947-02-06 to Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Mij's., Amsterdam; removed from Reserve Fleet 1947-02-28 under GAA with 'Dickman, Wright and Pugh'; transferred to buyer 1947-04-15, reflagged Dutch, renamed MV Helena; resold 1963 (owner unknown), renamed MV Lincoln Express; final disposition - broke in two and sank December 1972 in heavy weather west of San Juan, Puerto Rico, with a load of gypsum. Photo captions: Helena in Netherlands-Caribbean trade 15 consecutive years with occasional Panama Canal transits to Peruvian ports.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1944-1972

   Population

   Merchant crews (Dutch registry 1947-63; Panamanian registry 1963-72); USCG rescue crews at the 1972 loss

   Limitations

   NavSource is a privately compiled standard reference, not a government publication; its merchant-service chronology (buyer names, dates, flags) is not independently corroborated beyond the MARAD card's Netherlands delivery entry and Transfer Order C-5037. 'Sold ... 6 February 1947' approximates the 10 Feb transfer-order date; the card's actual title/delivery date is 4-15-47. Spec block 'Draft 29'2" (limiting)' conflicts with DANFS 21'1" and the MARAD card's 21 5/8 - reads as a depth value mislabeled; logged. No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chatham-ak169-05

6. [6]shipscribe.com, USS Alamosa (AK-156) Class page - construction and disposition tables, class notes (Design AV development history), ship note for AK-169/MC hull 2142 [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipscribe.com/usnaux/AK/AK156.html - Construction table row 169|CHATHAM (Acq. 20 Jan 45 | Froemming Bros | keel 11 Dec 43 | launch 13 May 44 | commiss. 22 Feb 45); Disposition table row 169|CHATHAM (2 Apr 46 | 17 Apr 46 | 4 Apr 46 | MC/D | 15 Apr 47); Ship Notes '169 CHATHAM 2142 ...'; Class Notes paragraphs

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Class register and design documentation: shipscribe's USS Alamosa (AK-156) Class page (compiled from official Navy ship registers) lists AK-169 Chatham: acquired 1945-01-20, built by Froemming Bros., keel 1943-12-11, launched 1944-05-13, commissioned 1945-02-22; decommissioned 1946-04-02, struck 1946-04-17, disposal 1946-04-04, fate MC/D, MA sale 1947-04-15. Ship note for AK-169 (MC hull 2142): 'Delivered to MC in Great Lakes 19 Sep 44 and arrived at New Orleans 26 Oct 44. Reassembled by Samuelson SY, Beaumont, Texas, and delivered to MC and Navy 20 Jan 45. Fitting out begun at Galveston (in service for ferrying 20-21 Jan 45) and completed by Brown SB, Houston, Texas (in service for ferrying 12-13 Feb 45). Merc. HELENA (Dutch) 1947. Broke in two and sank off Puerto Rico 15 Dec 72 as LINCOLN EXPRESS.' Class notes document the design origin: on 1943-04-02 the JCS Joint Military Transportation Committee convened a subcommittee that recommended small steel cargo vessels for South/Southwest Pacific local and inter-island supply; the Maritime Commission developed 'Design AV' (320' length, 50' beam, 6,000 DWT, 11 kts) which 'used diesel instead of the requested reciprocating steam engines'; MC approved contracts for 100 ships 1943-09-02 (MC hulls 2101-2174, 2194-2207, 2239-2250); the Army later asked the Navy to man 25 of the Army's 50, giving the Navy 75 ships including 10 completed as reefers.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1943-1972

   Limitations

   shipscribe is a compiled reference (Tim Colton lineage), not a primary document; its tables derive from official registers but are paraphrased. The keel date 1943-12-11 is carried as compiled-register value (NavSource lists it unknown); the Great-Lakes delivery/reassembly chain and the 'in service for ferrying' fit-out periods are unique to this register and are corroborated in shape (not dates) by the MARAD card's Beaumont 1-20-45 delivery and 'Completed 1-20-45'. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chatham-ak169-06

7. [7]shipbuildinghistory.com - Froemming Bros. yard page (compiled yard table and history) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Froemming Bros. page - yard history paragraph and row for hull 14 / MC 2142 (Chatham)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Builder-yard context: Froemming Bros., Milwaukee WI, was an emergency yard built for the war effort and in operation only 1942-1945; the site was on the north side of the Kinnickinnic River just west of South 1st Street (later Wagner Iron Works, currently Milwaukee Marine Yacht). The yard table carries this hull as yard hull no. 14, original name Chatham, type C1-M-AV1, MC no. 2142, delivered Sep-44, disposition 'To USN as AK 169, sold private 1947, sank 1972' - consistent with the MARAD card's '#14' annotation and custody chain.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1942-1945

   Population

   Froemming Bros. construction workforce, Milwaukee (1943-44)

   Limitations

   Yard-level context for the builder of this hull; documents the facility's wartime-only emergency-yard nature and the hull's yard number, but contains no asbestos or materials information and establishes nothing about materials aboard this hull. No froemming/samuelson/brown-shipbuilding slug exists in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset - related_shipyards is empty and the missing yards are carried in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chatham-ak169-07

8. [8]shipbuildinghistory.com - Brown Shipbuilding yard page (compiled yard history); commissioning/post-shakedown events per the ship's war diary (ev-03) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Brown Shipbuilding page - yard history paragraph; war diary pp. 1-2 (commissioning 22 Feb, availability 16-19 Mar 1945 at 'BROWN SHIPBUILDING CORP., HOUSTON, TEXAS')

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Fit-out/commissioning-yard context: Brown Shipbuilding, Houston TX, was built in 1941 by George and Herman Brown at the junction of Green's Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel with $9 million from the Navy; output 359 vessels in four years (12 PCs, 32 LCI(L)s, 61 DEs, 254 LSMs); leased to Todd Shipyards 1949 (Todd Houston Division until 1984), then a Brown & Root offshore fabrication yard, sold piecemeal 2004, now the Brown Shipbuilding Industrial Park. For this hull Brown performed the completion of Navy fitting-out (shipscribe: in service for ferrying 12-13 Feb 45), hosted the commissioning (war diary), and handled the post-shakedown availability 16-19 Mar 1945 (war diary).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1941-1945 (yard operations); hull events Jan-Mar 1945

   Population

   Brown Shipbuilding fit-out workforce, Houston (Jan-Mar 1945)

   Limitations

   Yard-level context for the yard that completed Navy fitting-out and hosted commissioning; the war diary documents the events but describes no materials or insulation scope. No asbestos content in either source. Not in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset - logged in gaps. Samuelson Shipyard, Beaumont (reassembly yard per shipscribe) has no shipbuildinghistory page - compiled-source-only item.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chatham-ak169-08

9. [9]United Press International wire report, 'Coast Guard reports rescue of 21 men' (Miami dateline), as published in the Redlands Daily Facts, December 1972 (newspapers.com scan of the issue page) [reputable_press]

   Locator

   newspapers.com/newspage/15317485 - UPI dispatch text (rescue of 21 men; vessel broke in two; owner Bahama Lines of Miami; complement uncertainty 22/24)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Contemporary press corroboration of the loss: a UPI wire story (published in the Redlands Daily Facts, Redlands, Calif.) reports the U.S. Coast Guard rescued 21 men who abandoned the sinking freighter Lincoln Express off the coast of Puerto Rico - five crewmen from a lifeboat shortly after the 383-foot vessel 'broke in two and went down,' sixteen others in life jackets picked up from the water during the night; a Coast Guard spokesman noted confusion over the complement (reports of 22 or 24 aboard); the ship's owner, 'Bahama Lines of Miami,' said it believed all aboard had been rescued.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1972-12

   Population

   Lincoln Express crew (21 rescued per UPI) and USCG rescue personnel

   Limitations

   Contemporary wire-service account of the casualty - reputable press, but early-reportage uncertainty is explicit in the story itself (crew count 21 rescued vs 22-24 reported aboard). Does not give the loss date or position; does not name Sagebrush (that detail appears only in secondary compilations); the ex-Navy identity (ex-AK-169) is established by the MARAD/NavSource/shipscribe chain, not by this article. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chatham-ak169-09

10. [10]Batch-847 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS canonical 404 + Wayback capture 20250219175603; losthistory.net/hazegray print-DANFS mirror; ship's war diary + Factual History (NavSource-hosted scan); MARAD ShipHistory 920 + status cards + Transfer Order C-5037; NavSource; shipscribe class register; shipbuildinghistory Froemming + Brown pages; NVR hull check; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated - sweep completed); web-wide litigation search; UPI wire via newspapers.com; NARA catalog; Internet Archive sister-ship BoGP [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-chatham-ak169-01 through sl-uss-chatham-ak169-15

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Chatham / AK-169 / MC hull 2142 / O/N 246561 / merchant names Helena-Lincoln Express was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The dedicated CourtListener leg COMPLETED under authenticated API quota: '"USS Chatham"' zero opinions; '"AK-169"' one hit (Citrus Central v. Parker, Fla. DCA 1982 - matched on non-opinion metadata, opinion body contains no AK-169; name collision); 'Chatham'+asbestos 90 hits with the top 15 pulled to opinion-body level - all caption/metadata collisions (Chatham Steel Corp., party surnames, Chatham County, towns); '"Lincoln Express"' three hits, all collisions; '"MV Helena"'/'"M/V Helena"' zero. Builder-yard sweeps ('"Brown Shipbuilding"' asbestos; '"Froemming"' asbestos; '"Samuelson"' shipyard asbestos) likewise returned no qualifying opinions - all hits surname/entity collisions. The hull broke in two and sank off Puerto Rico in December 1972 - predating NESHAP demolition rules and outside any scrapping jurisdiction - so no U.S.-regulated abatement record was ever expected to exist for this hull. The ship appears on bulk law-firm marketing lists of Navy hulls; those lists enumerate every Navy ship and carry no ship-specific evidence - classified non-qualifying and not cited.

    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 1943-45 C1-M-AV1 hull built to wartime emergency specifications is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. The CourtListener sweep was completed but is bounded: 'Chatham' is a high-collision surname/geographic name (counties in GA/NC/VA, towns, banks, corporations), opinion-body checks covered the top-15 asbestos hits only, and unindexed dockets/state filings are outside the corpus. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-chatham-ak169-10

11. [11]Cross-source reconciliation: print DANFS via losthistory.net/hazegray mirror; NHHC online entry (Wayback 20250219175603); ship's war diary + Factual History (NavSource PDF 130169a); MARAD Detail 920 status cards + Transfer Order C-5037 + misfiled ledger d8650a4a; NavSource AK-169 page; shipscribe AK-156 class page; shipbuildinghistory Froemming/Brown tables; UPI wire (newspapers.com 15317485); linkstothepast Milwaukee marine-disaster page; Wikipedia ship page (secondary, for variance documentation only) [other_primary]

    Locator

    Per-item: war diary pp. 1, 43 vs DANFS 'commissioned at Galveston'; MARAD card custody face + 920_1670AF/AB fragments vs NavSource merchant-service list; stat lines and spec blocks across sources; shipbuildinghistory froemming.htm row 14; UPI dispatch text; linkstothepast.com/milwaukee/marineC.php Chatham entry

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Source discrepancies logged, not merged: (a) Commissioning site - the ship's own war diary AND its Factual History enclosure record commissioning at the yard of Brown Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Houston, Tex., 1000 on 1945-02-22 (proceeding to Galveston at 1400); DANFS print and NHHC online editions and NavSource all carry 'commissioned at Galveston.' The primary record (Houston) is adopted; the DANFS variant is disclosed. (b) Keel date - shipscribe class register 1943-12-11 vs NavSource 'date unknown'; carried as compiled-register value. (c) Complement - 79 (print/NHHC DANFS stat line) vs 85 (NavSource 15+70) vs 69 (shipscribe class register, 1944) vs 75 (Design AV Navy-crew intent). (d) Speed - 12 k. (DANFS) vs 11.5 kts (NavSource, shipscribe class type). (e) Draft - 21'1" (DANFS) vs 21 5/8 (MARAD card) vs '29'2" (limiting)' (NavSource spec block - reads as depth; MARAD register depth 26.5 ft). (f) Power - 'BHP 1700' (MARAD card) vs 1,750 shp (NavSource) vs 1,700 shp (sibling-record convention). (g) Length - 338'6" (DANFS, NavSource) vs 338.50 ft (MARAD ShipHistory) vs 323.9 handwritten on reserve-fleet card vs Wikipedia '388 ft 8 in' (same transposed-digit artifact seen on sibling AK-163 - treated as error, disclosed, not adopted). (h) Sale/delivery dates - NavSource 'sold ... 6 February 1947' vs MARAD Transfer Order C-5037 dated 10 Feb (authorization 23 Jan) vs card delivery 4-15-47; the order names the buyer as the Royal Netherlands Government while NavSource names KNSM (the operator) - both carried. (i) Loss - 15 Dec 72 off Puerto Rico (shipscribe, Wikipedia) vs 14 Dec 72 with position 18.35N 66.29W and 'rupture below waterline' (linkstothepast Milwaukee marine-disaster compilation); rescue detail 'all but one ... USCG buoy tender Sagebrush' (Wikipedia) vs 'all believed rescued' (UPI contemporary); 'Bahamas Line, Panama' (Wikipedia) vs 'Bahama Lines of Miami' (UPI) vs 'owner unknown' (NavSource). (j) MARAD intra-source collision - Detail 920's document tab carries a transfer ledger for 'CHATHAM O/N 252493' (Sea-Land Service/Waterman Steamship entries, 1965-66), a different hull filed under this vessel's page; O/N for this hull is 246561. (k) 'TIDE WATER BAYONNE ??' penciled card query - unresolved, no corroboration anywhere.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    correction

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-21

    Study period

    1943-1972 (dates reconciled 2026-09-21)

    Limitations

    Resolves nothing by fiat - records which source says what so downstream consumers inherit the conflicts honestly. Where a primary record and a compiled reference disagree, the primary record (war diary, MARAD card, Transfer Order, DANFS) is adopted and the variant disclosed. No asbestos content in any reconciled source.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-chatham-ak169-11

12. [12]NARA record-group guidance: RG 24 deck logs (post-1941 at Archives II, College Park); RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) Construction Division records; MARAD vessel-file correspondence (referenced on status card); USCG marine-casualty records (FOIA); Internet Archive item ak170bogp1949 (Navy Yard Long Beach, Booklet of General Plans, USS Chicot AK-170, 1949) [other_primary]

    Locator

    archives.gov/research/military/logbooks (post-1941 Navy deck logs at College Park); catalog.archives.gov returned only its JS application shell to automated query on 2026-09-21 - no digitized AK-169 log confirmed; archive.org/details/ak170bogp1949 resolves (HTTP 200)

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): (a) MARAD vessel file for MC hull 2142 / O/N 246561 - the status cards reference ship's papers and allocation correspondence not digitized; (b) NARA RG 24 WWII deck logs for AK-169 (1945-46) at Archives II, College Park - the January-April 1946 war-diary installment (return voyage to Baltimore) is not in the NavSource scan and would be there or in the RG 24 diary series; (c) NARA RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) Construction Division records may hold the MC hull 2142 contract, the C1-M-AV1 outfitting specifications, and the Great Lakes delivery/reassembly documentation for Froemming hull 14; (d) a U.S. Coast Guard marine-casualty/board file for the December 1972 Lincoln Express foundering off Puerto Rico (rescuing unit USCGC Sagebrush per secondary sources) - retrievable via USCG/FOIA and would fix date, position, casualties, and cause; (e) an official Navy Booklet of General Plans for sister ship USS Chicot (AK-170), Alamosa class / C1-M-AV1, dated 1949-01-14 - digitized at the Internet Archive (identifier ak170bogp1949, ~110 MB image scan, no OCR text layer) and could establish design-level spaces/insulation callouts if reviewed.

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-21

    Study period

    1943-1972 records

    Limitations

    Record-group and item mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. The sister-ship general-plans booklet is design-level, not hull-level, even if reviewed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-chatham-ak169-12