Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 374-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (via DANFS-derived secondary; direct DANFS slug unreachable
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (via DANFS-derived secondary; direct DANFS slug unreachable
- Evidence ID
- uss-cheng-ho-ix52-pkt-374-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Chengho' (IX-52) (hazegray transcription mirror via losthistory.net; live NHHC DANFS page returns 404 - standing link rot per BATCH-01) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray DANFS transcription, Unclassified Miscellaneous (IX) section, ix52.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS identifies Chengho (IX-52), 'a Chinese junk motor yacht,' former name retained, acquired by the Navy and placed in service 1941-07-23 for assignment in the 14th Naval District; stricken 1946-02-25 and turned over to the War Shipping Administration for return to her former owner.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Ship's company, 1941-1946
- Limitations
- Short DANFS stub - no build, dimension, complement, wartime-role, or material-content information; transcription mirror cited because live NHHC/DANFS URLs 404 (tested 2026-09-29: danfs/c/cheng-ho.html and danfs/c/chengho.html both 404). 'Placed in service' wording carried - IX craft were in-service rather than commissioned vessels. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cheng-ho-ix52-01
-
[3]Naval History and Heritage Command, 'Ships and District Craft Present at Pearl Harbor, 0800 7 December 1941' (online reading room; verified via Wayback capture 2015-12-17 - live history.navy.mil returned empty responses this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC online reading room list, section 'Miscellaneous (Unclassified) (IX)' - row: Cheng Ho (IX-52)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC's official list of commissioned U.S. Navy ships and non-commissioned district craft (self-propelled and non-self-propelled) present inside the nets at Pearl Harbor at 0800 on 1941-12-07 lists 'Cheng Ho (IX-52)' under 'Miscellaneous (Unclassified) (IX)'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1941-12-07
- Population
- Ship's company and district-craft crews present, 1941-12-07
- Limitations
- Presence list only - establishes the vessel was in Pearl Harbor during the attack but gives no location-within-harbor, damage, or role detail. Canonical NHHC URL cited; content verified against the 2015-12-17 Wayback capture because live history.navy.mil returned 0-byte responses and 404s this session. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cheng-ho-ix52-02
-
[4]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, 'Chengho (IX-52)' page - specifications block (compiled from official register/BuShips records), service notes, awards, and NARA photo 19-N-25051 caption (verified via Wayback capture 2024-05-27; live navsource.org DNS failed this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/46/46052.htm - Chinese Motorized Junk Yacht notes, Specifications block, awards row, photo captions (19-N-25051)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource records: laid down 1939 at Ah King Shipways, Hong Kong, for Mrs. Anne Archbold; launched October 1939; first cruise a plant-collecting expedition to the Spice Islands terminating at Hawaii; acquired by the US Navy for one dollar from Mrs. Anne Archbold (New York Times, 1941-07-14); placed in service as Chengho (IX-52) 1941-07-23, assigned 14th Naval District; at Section Base, Bishop's Point, on 1941-12-07; served at Pearl Harbor as picket boat and inshore patrol boat throughout WWII; placed out of service, date unknown; struck from the Naval Register 1946-02-25; turned over to the War Shipping Administration; sold to the Cheng-Ho Trading and Exploring Co., date unknown; earned one battle star for WWII service. Specifications: 175 t limiting displacement; 94 ft length; 23 ft 4 in beam; 11 ft draft; one single 3"/23 cal dual-purpose gun mount; two Superior diesel engines, two diesel-driven 7.5 kW 120 V DC ship's service generators, two propellers, 200 shp; complement unknown. Call sign NETV. Awards displayed: Combat Action Ribbon (Pearl Harbor); American Defense Service Medal (bronze star in lieu of Fleet clasp); American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1); WWII Victory Medal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1939-1990
- Population
- Ship's company 1941-1946; Pearl Harbor personnel quartered aboard (officers' quarters use per ev-04/ev-06)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive of official records/photos, not itself an official document; carries the most complete spec block located (BuShips-derived figures). Its 'last known sighting was in 1990' postwar claim misdates the underlying firsthand account (Zinsser, 1956) - corrected in ev-06. 'Commissioned' vs DANFS 'placed in service' resolved in favor of DANFS. No asbestos or material-content information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cheng-ho-ix52-03
-
[5]Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, 'The Cheng Ho Expedition' history pages (expedition blog and 'Members of the Cheng Ho Expedition' - the Garden's institutional record of the vessel it commissioned; it holds the Kilkenny scrapbook collection) [museum_official]
- Locator
- fairchildgarden.org/mission-history/description-of-collections/the-cheng-ho-expedition-blog/ and .../members-of-the-cheng-ho-expedition/ (Cheng Ho entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Fairchild Garden's institutional history documents: Ann Archbold (daughter of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Archbold) funded and recruited yachtsman Ted Kilkenny to build and captain a custom research junk; built at the Ah King shipyard, Hong Kong - 'classified as a junk by naval architecture, but a yacht by Western standards'; ~100 ft, carrying 19 passengers and crew, outfitted with hand-carved teak, Chinese porcelain inlay, electric lights, baths/showers, a botanical laboratory for Dr. Fairchild, and a darkroom; launched late 1939 and described as 'the most luxurious junk in the world.' Expedition crew assembled in the Philippines late 1939; the intended two-year cruise was cut to roughly six months by the outbreak of war (German invasion of Holland); more than 500 kinds of plants were collected, including more than 90 palm species. Members page: 'She was used for several more expeditions after the Fairchild cruise and was being used as temporary officers quarters at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. She survived the bombing and several more years as a cargo vessel.' Expedition complement: 9 participants plus 10 Chinese crew.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1939-1941
- Population
- Expedition complement 1939-1940 (19 total); Ah King shipyard construction workforce
- Limitations
- Museum institutional history - authoritative on the expedition and vessel outfit but secondary for naval detail; gives '100 foot' vs NavSource's 94 ft spec block (conflict logged in gaps). The officers' quarters statement corroborates, not originates, the wartime billet claim. No asbestos or material-content information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cheng-ho-ix52-04
-
[6]Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, 'Thomas F. Kilkenny Collection' finding aid - Kilkenny's personal scrapbooks covering construction, launch, and voyage of the Cheng Ho, c.1936 through March 1946 (donated by Anne Kilkenny, 2009-05-20) [museum_official]
- Locator
- fairchildgarden.org Kilkenny Collection abstract/biography; Scrapbook #2 description ('Cheng Ho' embossed, Fairchild Expedition 1939-1940)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The builder-captain's own scrapbooks document the Cheng Ho's construction at the Ah King yard, her launch, and the Fairchild expedition, plus clippings through March 1946 - a primary visual/photographic record of her as-built outfit and wartime-era condition. Finding aid also documents that the Ah King yard came under Japanese control during the war and that Kilkenny regained ownership postwar.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1936-1946
- Limitations
- Finding aid only - scrapbook contents not digitized or reviewed; no asbestos or material statement is indicated in the description. Useful lead for as-built material/outfit detail; does not establish any exposure condition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cheng-ho-ix52-05
-
[7]William Zinsser, 'On the Trail of the Cheng Ho,' The American Scholar (web ed. 2010-11-12; reprinted from his New York Times 'A Travel Nut's Library' column, 1990-08-26) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- theamericanscholar.org 'On the Trail of the Cheng Ho' - 1956 Papeete paragraphs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Firsthand postwar sighting: in 1956 Zinsser observed 'what appeared to be a derelict junk, pulled high up on the beach' at the far end of Papeete harbor, Tahiti; waterfront informants identified it as the Cheng Ho and recounted that it had led 'a succession of picturesque lives during World War II, serving as, among other things, a radar ship and a naval officers' club in Honolulu,' had 'fallen into private hands,' been 'occasionally sighted in various ports of the South Seas,' and 'finally come to rest in Tahiti.' The vessel's identification rests on local informants, not documentation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1956; column published 1990, web 2010
- Population
- Postwar private owners/crews; Papeete waterfront community (identification source)
- Limitations
- Eyewitness journalist account; the identification is waterfront hearsay and the 'radar ship' claim is uncorroborated by any official source. CORRECTS the downstream record: NavSource/Wikipedia repeat 'last known sighting was in 1990,' but the underlying firsthand account dates the sighting to 1956 - 1990 is the NYT column's publication year (Wikipedia itself flags the claim as disputed). No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cheng-ho-ix52-06
-
[8]National Archives, WWII-era Navy deck-log holdings (RG 24 series, College Park); project PRIMARY/NARA listing records deck logs for IX-52 (Cheng Ho) covering 1943-10-01 through 1944-09-30 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-deck-logs-1941-1959 series description; digitized list checked at /research/military/logbooks/navy-online
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds Navy deck logs for IX-52 (Cheng Ho) spanning 1943-10-01 to 1944-09-30 - wartime operational records establishing her in-service period at Pearl Harbor within the log coverage. The hull does not appear on NARA's published digitized-deck-logs list (checked 2026-09-29: the 8.5 MB navy-online list contains no 'Cheng' entry); the volumes exist in textual form at College Park. Deck-log coverage endpoints are log extents, not commissioning/decommissioning dates.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Ship's company, 1943-10-01 to 1944-09-30 (log coverage)
- Limitations
- Holdings-level lead - coverage range is taken from the project's PRIMARY NARA coverage listing; the ship-level catalog NAID was not independently confirmed (catalog.archives.gov is a JavaScript SPA, not remotely queryable this session). Deck logs chronicle operations, drills, personnel and events, not material composition; asbestos content unlikely but unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cheng-ho-ix52-07
-
[9]ATSDR Case Studies in Environmental Medicine (CSEM), 'Asbestos Toxicity: Where Is Asbestos Found?' (CDC archive) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATSDR CSEM asbestos course, 'Where Is Asbestos Found?' page (archived CDC copy)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- ATSDR states: 'Until the 1970s, asbestos was widely used in the construction, shipbuilding, and automotive industries,' listing among former uses boilers and heating vessels, pipe covering, insulation products, and heat-resistant textiles, and notes these materials 'remain in many buildings, ships, and automobiles built before 1975.' This documents the era environment in which the yacht was built and served - but her material profile (wooden hull, diesel propulsion, no boilers or steam distribution) lies at the weak end of documented era applications: the steam/heavy-machinery systems that carried most shipboard asbestos are absent. Any asbestos aboard would most plausibly have been confined to diesel-machinery gaskets, packing, exhaust lagging, and electrical insulation typical of the era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1939-1956
- Population
- Ah King construction workforce (1939); expedition crew (1939-1940); naval complement and officers'-quarters users at Pearl Harbor (1941-1946); postwar crews; disposal/beaching parties (unknown)
- Limitations
- Industry-level public-health documentation; does not name this hull and does not establish that asbestos was or is present aboard IX-52. The steam-plant applications it enumerates do not exist on this diesel yacht, so era inference is materially weaker here than for a steam warship - no quantity, product identity, or individual exposure is established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cheng-ho-ix52-08
-
[10]Batch-4827 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS live and mirror; NHHC Pearl Harbor presence list; Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden expedition pages and Kilkenny finding aid; NavSource via Wayback; NARA deck-log guidance and digitized list; MARAD VesselHistory; CourtListener ship-name and hull-number search (paced) plus site-scoped index check; Atlas shipyards.json yard cross-check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cheng-ho-ix52-01 through sl-uss-cheng-ho-ix52-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, material schedule, museum hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Cheng Ho or IX-52 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Authenticated CourtListener sweep (partial): the combined "Cheng Ho" + "IX-52" opinion query returned zero results; the "Cheng Ho" docket query returned 16 dockets, all name collisions - bankruptcy and criminal parties named Cheng Ho (e.g., 'Ya Lou Kuo and Cheng Ho Tan'; 'Pang Cheng Ho'; 'United States v. Ho', Chi Ping Patrick Ho FCPA docket) and unrelated text-matched cases - none naming the vessel. The name-only opinion query remained paced (fleet budget) at session end.
- 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 1939 foreign-built wooden yacht predates every survey regime and her fate is unknown. Litigation sweep near-complete but not exhaustive: the hull-specific opinion query returned zero and the docket sweep surfaced only collisions, but the name-only opinion query was not run through the authenticated API (paced); site-scoped index checks corroborated collisions only. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cheng-ho-ix52-09