Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Chestnut' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (live URL 404 on 2026-09-24 - NHHC link rot; Wayback capture 2023-09-23 cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Chestnut' entry, full text; canonical URL https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/chestnut.html (404 on access date)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: 'Chestnut (YN-6) was launched 15 March 1941 by Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oreg.; sponsored by Mrs. W. E. Meagher, and placed in service 25 July 1941, Lieutenant (junior grade) R. D. Abernathy, USNR, officer-in-charge.' Attached to the 11th Naval District, tended nets and gave harbor services at San Diego until 24 June 1942; 'On 25 May 1942 she was placed in full commission.' Arrived Efate, New Hebrides, 26 Feb 1943 via Hawaii and Samoa; tended nets at Efate and Noumea until 5 Dec 1943 (overhaul at Dunedin, NZ); Solomons cargo/salvage/net-repair duty 13 Dec 1943 - 29 Aug 1944; redesignated AN-11 on 20 Jan 1944; dismantled Havannah Harbor net line 3 Sep - 10 Oct 1944; after Australia repairs, Noumea until 3 Jan 1945; Ulithi net/mooring operations (brief Kossol Roads, Palau duty April 1945) until departing for Guam 19 Jun 1945; duty there until 14 Sep 1945, then to the west coast, San Pedro 13 Oct 1945; placed out of commission in reserve 7 Sep 1946 at Bremerton, Wash. DANFS characteristics: dp. 560; l. 163'2"; b. 30'6"; dr. 11'8"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 48; a. 1 3"; cl. Aloe.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Wartime crew (~48 officers and enlisted, per DANFS)
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history for identity, dates, and service. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information - supports no asbestos claim. Internal tension: 'until 24 June 1942' at San Diego vs 'placed in full commission' 25 May 1942 is unresolved in the source text. Live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-24; Wayback capture (2023-09-23) is the resolvable citation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-an11-01
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[2]Shipscribe.com, 'USS Aloe (AN-6) Class' data page - compiled from Bureau of Ships/NARA-derived construction and disposition records (S. S. Roberts) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Construction table (AN-11 row); Disposition table (AN-11 row); Ship Notes (AN-11 note); class notes (design origin)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Construction and disposition record for AN-11 CHESTNUT: ordered 27 Jul 1940; keel 5 Nov 1940; launched 15 Mar 1941; in service 25 Jul 1941; commissioned 25 May 1942; ex-YN-6 on 20 Jan 1944; in USN reserve 1946-61; to NDRF 8 Jun 1961; stricken and disposed to Maritime Administration 1 Sep 1962 (fate code MA/R); MARAD sale 3 Feb 1976; to buyer 27 Feb 1976. Class data: steel hull, diesel-electric, 800 HP, 1 screw, 12.5 kts, complement 46 (1944); class design Navy YN-1/AN-6, 560 t light / 805 t limiting.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940-1976
- Population
- Crew complement context only
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not an original document - values derive from BuShips/MARAD records but the underlying MARAD status card for this hull was not pulled. Strike/sale dates conflict with NavSource's 'date unknown'/'fate unknown' (NavSource is the weaker source here). No asbestos, materials, or survey content - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-an11-02
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[3]Source-conflict resolution across DANFS (NHHC/Wayback), Shipscribe AN-6 class data, and NavSource AN-11 page (NavSource is the conflicting secondary source) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AN-11 page (specs/CO table) vs DANFS entry and Shipscribe construction/disposition tables
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Date discrepancies resolved in favor of DANFS + Shipscribe: (a) keel - Shipscribe 5 Nov 1940 vs NavSource 24 Oct 1940 (adopted: 5 Nov 1940, flagged); (b) launch - DANFS/Shipscribe 15 Mar 1941 vs NavSource and Wikipedia infobox 16 Mar 1941 (adopted: 15 Mar 1941); (c) placed in service - DANFS/Shipscribe 25 Jul 1941 vs NavSource 26 Jul 1941 (adopted: 25 Jul 1941); (d) full commission - DANFS and Shipscribe 25 May 1942 vs NavSource 25 Jun 1942 and Wikipedia infobox 24 Jun 1942 (adopted: 25 May 1942); (e) stricken - Shipscribe 1 Sep 1962 (consistent with class-wide 1 Sep 1962 strike pattern) vs NavSource 'date unknown' (adopted: 1 Sep 1962, flagged pending MARAD card).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940-1976
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer compilation; where it conflicts with DANFS and the BuShips-derived Shipscribe tables, DANFS/Shipscribe control. The strike/sale dates rest on a single secondary compilation - a MARAD vessel status card pull would settle them. None of this concerns asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-an11-03
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[4]Rushworth, D. H., 'The Navy and Asbestos Thermal Insulation,' Naval Engineers Journal 117(2):35-48 (2005), American Society of Naval Engineers [other_primary]
- Locator
- Naval Engineers Journal 117(2), abstract and article
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A NAVSEA-side engineering review documents that asbestos 'was once used in U.S. Navy shipboard pipe and machinery thermal insulation and in many other shipboard products,' that plaintiffs in Navy-asbestos suits 'include many who were exposed to asbestos while serving in Navy ships built during and following WWII,' and that friable thermal insulation was the most likely source of shipboard exposure. For a 1941 diesel-electric auxiliary of this class, era-consistent applications would include diesel exhaust/muffler lagging, machinery insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, and brake linings on net-handling winches and boom gear.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1941 construction era; article 2005
- Population
- WWII Navy construction crews and crews of WWII-built ships (era context)
- Limitations
- Era/program-level documentation; the article does not name this vessel or this class and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, where, or in what quantity. Diesel-electric plant means no boiler/steam-line insulation - the largest asbestos mass on steamships - so the era inference is weaker for this type, not stronger.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-an11-04
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[5]Corn, J. K., & Starr, J., '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
- AJIM 11(3):359-373, abstract and article
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed scholarship documents the extensive use of asbestos as a fireproofing and insulating material in 1940s shipbuilding - the era and program under which this hull was built (ordered 27 Jul 1940 under the FY1941 net-tender program) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization; asbestos diseases later manifested among shipyard workers and others exposed in the 1940s and postwar period.
- 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; does not name this vessel or class and does not establish that asbestos was or is aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-an11-05
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[6]NARA, 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1992' (RG 24), National Archives Catalog series 594258; BuShips construction records (RG 19) and district craft contract files (RG 181) as further leads [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/594258 (series record); search-within interface not parseable on access date
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Deck logs for this hull's 1941-1946 service should exist within the RG 24 deck-log series, and BuShips/Commercial Iron Works contract records would hold any material specifications - the two repositories most likely to contain a hull-level materials trail. Hull-level file units for Chestnut were not confirmed in the public catalog interface (JS-rendered; series-level citation only).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1941-1946 records
- Limitations
- Lead only - no hull-level record was retrieved or examined; presence of digitized Chestnut file units in series 594258 is unconfirmed. Even if present, deck logs record operations, not materials, and would not themselves document asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-an11-06
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[7]Batch-1756 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 opinion and RECAP docket searches; NHHC DANFS; NavSource; Shipscribe; NARA catalog; MARAD ShipHistory site search; shipyards.json yard_id check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-chestnut-an11-01 through sl-uss-chestnut-an11-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum documentation, or docketed case naming USS Chestnut / Chestnut (YN-6) / Chestnut (AN-11) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener returned zero hits on the exact ship name in both opinion and docket indexes; broad 'Chestnut' + asbestos hits were all name collisions (street names, surnames, unrelated entities).
- 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 - 1941 construction-era materials are era-consistent with asbestos use. The hull was disposed in 1976, before asbestos survey/registration practice, so a ship-specific record was never likely to exist; the negative finding records what was searched, not a claim of no asbestos. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-an11-07