Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Chestatee' (AOG-49) entry, Naval History and Heritage Command [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Chestatee entry via Wayback capture 2024-05-26 (live NHHC URL returned 404 on 2026-09-24)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Chestatee (AOG-49): Patapsco-class gasoline tanker, displacement 1,850, length 310'9", beam 48'6", draft 15'8", speed 14 knots, complement 131, armament 4 x 3-inch. Launched 29 April 1944 by Cargill Inc., Savage, Minn.; sponsored by Mrs. J. D. Boren; commissioned 14 December 1944, Lieutenant W. N. Ohly, USNR, in command. Cleared Baytown, Tex., 14 January 1945 laden with oil products; arrived San Pedro Bay, Leyte, 1 March for duty transporting high-octane gasoline among the Philippine Islands. On 27 July 1945, underway for Brunei Bay, Borneo, she struck a mine in the straits south of Balabac Island - five killed, eight injured including the commanding officer, ship damaged by explosion and resulting fire. Repaired at Puerto Princesa, Palawan, and Samar; Philippine operations until 20 November 1945; reached San Francisco 13 January 1946; decommissioned 8 April 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 30 June 1946. Returned to the Navy in reserve August 1948; MSTS March 1952-May 1954 and April 1956-September 1957, when she was lent to the Air Force, remaining on loan through 1960.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Ship's crew, 1944-1946 (complement 131 per DANFS)
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history establishing identity, construction, combat damage, and custody outline. Does not state a laid-down date; ends the narrative at 'through 1960' and does not record stricken date or disposal; contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation information and supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestatee-aog49-01
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[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - CHESTATEE (AOG-49), Ship History Detail 936 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 936, vessel particulars and milestone table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database record for CHESTATEE (AOG-49): year built 1944; shipyard Cargill; general type Tanker; MARAD type field reads 'T1-MT-A1'; dimensions LOA 310.75 ft, beam 48.50 ft; 2,870 gross / 1,860 net tons; displacement 4,570 full load; fate 'Sold - Scrap'. Milestones: Entry and Acquisition 6/30/1946; Disposition and Withdrawal 2/18/1977 with content 'CUST 1946 NDRF 1946'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1977
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones and registered particulars. Two data-field anomalies: 'Specific Type' displays 'LNG Liquefied Natural Gas' and 'MARAD Type' displays 'T1-MT-A1' - both inconsistent with the DANFS-era T1-MT-M1 gasoline-tanker designation and the vessel's documented gasoline cargo; treated as database artifacts, not facts about the ship. The 2/18/1977 milestone post-dates the handwritten fleet card's 11/20/1975 withdrawal entry (see status-card row). Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestatee-aog49-02
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[3]U.S. Maritime Administration ShipHistory record for CHESTATEE (AOG-49): scanned reserve-fleet status cards (Suisun Bay 1946 and 1956-57, Olympia 1962-71, Suisun Bay 1971-75), Form MA-383 ship particulars, Form MA-20 Record of Ship Sales, and Form SPB-1.1 (1948) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Status Cards tab, Detail 936: images 936_1699AF/BF/CF/DF, 936_AF (MA-20), 936_DF (SPB-1.1); card packet also bundled as CHESTATEE.pdf download
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD reserve-fleet status cards and attached federal forms for CHESTATEE (AOG-49), digitized in the ShipHistory record: (a) Suisun Bay fleet card (1946) records reason for lay-up as 'Heavily damaged by mine' and withdrawal 8/23/48 1505 for return to Navy; (b) Form SPB-1.1 'Adjustment of Prior Declaration of Surplus Personal Property' (15 AUG 1948) documents the vessel's return from the U.S. Maritime Commission to the Office of Naval Material, custodian Commander U.S. Naval Shipyard Mare Island, unit cost listed $2,500,000, CNO letter ref. OpL11/cmd AOG/L11-3 Serial 1303PL14; (c) Form MA-383 Suisun Bay card records type 'GM Diesel Engine Twin Screw Tanker (Gasoline)', builder hull no. 14, entry 11/8/56 1445 PST ('MSTS - Ready Status Arctic'), withdrawal 4/2/57 1115 PST 'MSTS - for use in Arctic Ready Status', and a marginal note that the vessel 'has been used by Air Force in Arctic'; gasoline cargo capacity 410,500 gals (approx. 10,000 bbls), oil 7,975 bbls; 8 officers, 116 enlisted; (d) Olympia fleet card records entry 9/14/62 1345 PDST, 'Marad Title as of June 1, 1963', withdrawal 6/2/71 0906 PDT on transfer to Suisun Bay when the Olympia fleet phased out; (e) Suisun Bay card records entry 6-29-71 1205 PDT and withdrawal 11-20-75 1145 PST, 'Sold scrap under PD-X-1000, 10-16-75 to Levin Metals Corp. for the lump sum of $1,500,000.00 for 7 ships'; (f) Form MA-20 'Record of Ship Sales' confirms award to LEVIN METALS CORPORATION 10-16-75, contract MA-8100, advertised under PD-X-1000 dated 9-4-75 opened 10-7-75 under two conditions, award under condition (2) 'SCRAP HULL - US'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1946-1977
- Population
- NDRF caretaker crews, USAF Arctic operations personnel, MSTS civilian crews, scrapping workers (Levin Metals, 1975-77)
- Limitations
- Primary custody record for the hull: documents mine damage carried into 1946 lay-up, Arctic service under USAF loan, every custody transfer 1946-1975, and the scrap sale. Handwritten annotations read with OCR assistance - marginal wording is partially legible. Card's 11/20/1975 withdrawal conflicts with the database milestone's 2/18/1977 (likely final-removal vs custody-exit bookkeeping). Complement figure (8 officers + 116 enlisted = 124) differs from DANFS cpl. 131. Contains no asbestos or materials statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestatee-aog49-03
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[4]Fleischer, W. E., Viles, F. J. Jr., Gade, R. L., and Drinker, P., 'A Health Survey of Pipe Covering Operations in Constructing Naval Vessels,' Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology 28:9-16 (January 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article J Ind Hyg Toxicol 1946 Jan;28:9-16
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed 1946 industrial-hygiene survey of pipe-covering operations in U.S. Navy construction (two government Navy yards and two Navy contract yards) documents that amosite asbestos felt and pipe covering, asbestos cloth, and asbestos cement were standard materials in pipe covering aboard U.S. Navy vessels built during the WWII era - the program under which this 1944 Maritime-Commission-contracted Navy auxiliary was constructed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (survey); article 1946
- Population
- Pipe coverers and construction trades at WWII Navy yards (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level documentation of standard asbestos materials in Navy ship construction; surveyed yards are anonymized and Cargill's Savage yard is not identified among them. Does not name this vessel or establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestatee-aog49-04
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[5]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-construction program under which this T1-MT-M1 gasoline tanker was mass-produced at an inland Maritime Commission contract yard, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard ship hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- 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 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-chestatee-aog49-05
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[6]MNopedia (Minnesota Historical Society), 'Savage Shipyard'; City of Savage, 'Port Cargill' history page [museum_official]
- Locator
- MNopedia Savage Shipyard entry; https://www.savagemn.gov/Home/Components/News/News/236/1089
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder context: Minnesota Historical Society's MNopedia documents that the U.S. Navy repurposed the Cargill shipyard at Savage in 1942; the yard's original contract called for six ships but by 1945 Savage employed ~3,500 at peak and had produced eighteen ships (mostly Patapsco-class AOGs) plus four towboats; AOGs had crews of 131; the Minnesota River was dredged 14 miles to 9-foot depth, and hulls were towed downriver to New Orleans for final fitting before steaming to the Pacific. The City of Savage confirms the yard earned an Army-Navy 'E' production award and that the site reverted to grain handling after the war.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Port Cargill construction workforce (~3,500 peak, incl. ~25% women per City of Savage)
- Limitations
- Yard-history context for the hull's construction site, not a hull record; documents the wartime workforce and build-and-tow program at the yard that produced this ship. Contains no asbestos or materials statement and supports no asbestos claim. Peak-employment and unit-count figures are as published by MNHS/City of Savage and were not independently verified against contract records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestatee-aog49-06
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[7]Batch-1994 search ledger (this record): DANFS; MARAD ShipHistory 936 + status card scans; CourtListener name/hull/asbestos queries; NVR check; web lead check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-chestatee-aog49-01 through sl-uss-chestatee-aog49-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming the Chestatee or AOG-49 hull was found in the public sources searched - DANFS contains no materials statement; the MARAD ShipHistory record and scanned status cards contain none; CourtListener opinion searches ('USS Chestatee', 'AOG-49', 'T-AOG-49', 'Chestatee' AND asbestos) returned zero results, and the 107 bare-name 'Chestatee' opinion hits and 127 RECAP docket hits are all name collisions with Georgia entities (Chestatee river, community association, state bank, golf club, pyrites/mining companies, bankruptcy estates). Web search surfaced only law-firm/marketing ship-list pages, which are excluded as non-authoritative per batch rules.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 Navy auxiliary of standard Maritime Commission construction is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the hull was scrapped in 1975-77 so no present-day survey is possible. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestatee-aog49-07
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[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (naval deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 24 ship/station logs; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 (Logs of U.S. Naval Ships and Stations) holds WWII-era deck logs covering Chestatee's commissioned service 1944-1946, including the 27 July 1945 mine strike; Bureau of Ships records (RG 19) may hold the war-damage report and repair documentation for the Puerto Princesa/Samar work; U.S. Maritime Commission construction records (RG 178) may hold the MC contract (13 Aug 1943 batch per shipscribe compilation) and T1-MT-M1 outfitting specifications for Cargill hull 14; MSTS and USAF records would cover the 1952-56 and 1957-62 periods including Arctic employment.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-1962 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-chestatee-aog49-08