Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]Naval History and Heritage Command, DANFS, 'Chetco' (AT-166) entry [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Wayback capture 2023-04-19 of history.navy.mil DANFS 'Chetco' page - full entry text; live URL returns 404 (same NHHC link-rot class documented in BATCH-01)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry 'Chetco' gives the Navy history: built 1919 as Barryton by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., Elizabeth, N.J.; purchased by the Navy 13 September 1943; converted at Boland Machine Co., New Orleans; commissioned 24 September 1943 (LTjg. R. E. Gill). Departed New Orleans 29 September 1943 towing three oil barges for Cairns, Australia (arrived 8 February [1944]); towed LCT-922 to Milne Bay, New Guinea (arrived 19 March); after a Manus voyage took part in the invasion of Aitape 22-23 April retracting grounded LSTs; harbor-tug duty Milne Bay from 10 May; reclassified ATA-166 on 15 May; harbor tug at Mios Woendi 16 August 1944 - 1 January 1945; towing between Manus, Munda (Treasuries), and New Guinea until 15 November 1945, then San Francisco (arrived 24 December). Pacific-coast operations San Francisco-San Pedro until 25 April 1946; reported to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard; decommissioned 14 June 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 18 June 1947. Two battle stars for WWII service. Spec block: 1,500 t. (f.), 150 ft, 27 ft 7 in, 15 ft draft, 13 kts, cpl. 47. Namesake per the entry: 'An Indian tribe of Oregon and extreme northern California.' Entry also notes Chetco (ATF-99) was renamed Penguin (ASR-12) 23 September 1943 prior to commissioning.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1919-1947 (entry scope)
- Population
- Crew of 47 (spec block)
- Limitations
- Official ship history; establishes identity, chronology, spec block, and battle-star credit. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazardous-material statement - this row supports no asbestos claim. DANFS gives no stricken date and no keel/launch dates; its 18 June 1947 MC-transfer date supersedes NavSource's inconsistent '18 June 1945'.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chetco-at166-01
-
[2]Shipscribe.com, 'USS Cahokia (AT-61) Class' (US Navy auxiliary ship records compilation, class AT-61 notes + ship note AT-166) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class construction/disposition tables (AT-166 rows) and 'AT 166' narrative note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe's Cahokia (AT-61) class page (compiled from BuShips records, Naval Vessel Register entries, and the McKellar EFC lists) documents this hull specifically: EFC Design 1035 tug Barryton, keel 5 February 1919, launched 29 April 1919, Bethlehem Steel Elizabeth; fire and litigation early 1930s, half-sunk until c.1939-40; purchased by Ira Bushey & Son Co. and restored with new Fairbanks-Morse diesel-electric drive (1,400 hp, 12.5 kts max); purchased by Moran Towing 1942 and renamed Thomas E. Moran; District Craft Development Board recommended purchase 7 September 1943; acquired at New Orleans with limited conversion by Boland Machine Co.; commissioned 24 September 1943; arrived Brisbane 19 January 1944; reclassified ATA-166 15 May 1944 and ATO-166 effective 24 April 1945; decommissioned 14 June 1946; stricken 19 July 1946; Maritime Commission disposal 18 June 1947, delivered at Kilisut Harbor, Wash., to Harbor Tug and Barge Co. of San Francisco; merchant name Neptune 1947; sunk in collision 30 nm off Willapa Harbor 16 November 1948.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1919-1948
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation transcribing official BuShips/NVR/MC records - not itself a primary document; where it conflicts with DANFS (none on dates it shares) or NavSource (post-sale buyer: Harbor Tug and Barge vs NavSource's Moran; strike date 19 Jul 1946 vs NavSource 'unknown'), the conflict is logged in gaps rather than resolved by assertion. Arrival discrepancy (Brisbane 19 Jan 44 here vs DANFS's Cairns 8 Feb) read as successive port calls, not a contradiction. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chetco-at166-02
-
[3]Shipscribe.com, 'EFC Ocean-Going Tugs' (McKellar list, entry 1318) [other_primary]
- Locator
- EFC hull table, row 1318 (Barryton)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- McKellar's EFC ocean-going tug list corroborates the build/identity chain with registry detail: EFC hull 1318 Barryton, builder's yard no. 2129, ordered 28 February 1918, completed 14 July 1919 as U.S. official no. 218179; still USSB April 1924; sold 1924/25 to W. E. Hedger Co. of New York; later Thomas E. Moran 1942, to USN as Chetco (AT-166) 1943, Neptune 1947, in collision and sank 1948.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1948
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of Emergency Fleet Corporation/registry data; provides the merchant-registry identity (O/N 218179, order and completion dates, 1924/25 Hedger sale) that DANFS omits. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chetco-at166-03
-
[4]Osterhoudt v. Hedger Transp. Co., 54 F.2d 282 (2d Cir. 1931), CourtListener cluster 6951396; aff'g in part 42 F.2d 561 (S.D.N.Y. 1930) [court_record]
- Locator
- 2d Cir. opinion text (Hand, J.) - 'the tug Barryton' as tow vessel; district opinion on negligence findings
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Documented litigation involving this hull, as Barryton: Osterhoudt v. Hedger Transportation Co., 42 F.2d 561 (S.D.N.Y. 1930) and 54 F.2d 282 (2d Cir. 1931, L. Hand, J.) - admiralty litigation over the 5 November 1926 Lake Erie casualty in which the tug Barryton, towing four chartered barges from Cleveland, lost the tow in a gale (hawser found to have been furnished in a chafed, unsafe condition); two barges foundered and one stranded. The appeal addressed salvage/insurance recovery on the barge Freedom.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1926-1931
- Limitations
- Classification: OTHER LITIGATION, not asbestos. 1926 marine casualty/insurance dispute predating the asbestos-litigation era by decades; it establishes only that this hull (as Barryton) operated under Hedger charter on the Great Lakes in 1926 and was a documented commercial-loss subject. No exposure finding, no materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chetco-at166-04
-
[5]W. E. Hedger Co. v. United States (S.D.N.Y. 1930) - F. Supp. opinion text as indexed via aggregator mirror [other_primary]
- Locator
- Opinion text, facts section - Barryton described as Hedger's earlier government purchase
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- W. E. Hedger Co. v. United States (S.D.N.Y. 1930) - Tucker Act suit over the USSB sale of the tug Ballenas; the opinion records that Hedger 'had bought the tug Barryton from the government' earlier for its towing business and relied on Barryton/Ballenas being listed as sister vessels. Independently corroborates the Barryton ownership chain (USSB to Hedger) that the McKellar list dates 1924/25.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1925-1930
- Limitations
- Classification: OTHER LITIGATION, not asbestos - a government-contract dispute in which Barryton is a background fact, not a party asset. Located via search-index excerpt; exact F. Supp. reporter cite not confirmed (CourtListener pull was fleet-paced at research time - see ledger). No exposure content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chetco-at166-05
-
[6]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated via cl-auth-search.py): opinion query '"Chetco"' (23 hits, all name-collision); '"Osterhoudt" "Hedger"' (5 hits incl. both Osterhoudt stages); hull-designation queries paced/blocked at sweep time [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener v4 opinion-search result sets; Chetco-hit case list reviewed individually for hull/ship references - none found
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener authenticated search (2026-09-26, fleet-paced helper): opinions - 'Chetco' returned 23 hits, ALL name collisions on the Oregon tribe/river/place (e.g., Chetco Resources LLC v. United States; Alcea Band of Tillamooks v. United States; Northwest Environmental Defense Center v. USACE, Chetco River matters; State v. Logan, State v. Moore, and other Curry County Oregon cases). Hull-designation queries 'AT-166'/'ATA-166'/'ATO-166' were repeatedly blocked by the fleet-wide request pacer and returned no data - logged as sweep-incomplete rather than zero-result; the designation strings carry low collision risk and no hit surfaced in the correlated 'Chetco' opinion set. 'Barryton' hits are the Hedger admiralty cases documented in ev-04/ev-05. No qualifying asbestos litigation names this hull under any located name variant.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- sweep run 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Sweep covers CourtListener's indexed corpus only; state-court and non-digitized federal dockets are outside coverage, and docket-type (RECAP) queries plus the hull-number opinion queries could not be completed under fleet pacing - their absence is a coverage gap, not a verified zero. Every returned 'Chetco' hit was individually classified as a name collision (Oregon tribe/river/locality), not a vessel reference. No asbestos pleading at any stage names this hull in the returned corpus.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chetco-at166-06
-
[7]Batch-2777 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (Wayback); Shipscribe class page and McKellar EFC list; CourtListener authenticated sweeps; NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum/tugboatinformation/NMA secondary indexes; web search asbestos co-occurrence check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-chetco-at166-01 through sl-uss-chetco-at166-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, environmental filing, or adjudicated exposure record naming Chetco / AT-166 / ATA-166 / ATO-166 / Barryton / Thomas E. Moran / Neptune (O/N 218179) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull sank in 1948, before the asbestos-litigation era and before abatement-documentation practice existed; no museum, memorial, or NRHP record survives for her.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1919 hull converted for Navy service in 1943 sits squarely in the asbestos-use era at conversion, and residual-era components on the diesel-electric plant are plausible but undocumented. Equally, the pre-Navy removal of the steam plant removes the highest-mass application class. The record cannot certify asbestos presence or absence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chetco-at166-07
-
[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
- Era documentation of asbestos in U.S. shipbuilding: 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 1943 Boland Machine Co. naval conversion - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard vessels. WWI-era emergency-fleet construction (1919 build) likewise predates any asbestos restriction; insulation, gasket, and packing products of both periods commonly contained asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard/conversion workers and crews (era 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. Conversion-era (1943) application to an already-built 1919 hull is weaker still - the study documents new-construction practice, and no record shows the scope of Boland's conversion work.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chetco-at166-08
-
[9]Shipscribe.com, 'USS Cahokia (AT-61) Class' class notes (EFC Design 1035; design based on mercantile W. B. Keene, 1913) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class header (Design/displacement/machinery) and class notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- EFC Design 1035 class context: the Cahokia-class page documents that Chetco's design group comprised WWI Shipping Board ocean tugs built 1918-20 (Bethlehem Elizabeth and other yards), with class design machinery of a single screw and triple-expansion steam plant ~800 ihp; several sisters also entered Navy service (AT-61, AT-62, AT-167). Chetco's own steam plant was replaced by diesel-electric drive c.1939-40 before Navy acquisition - the documented divergence from the class steam baseline.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1943
- Limitations
- Class/design data, not a hull record - it establishes the design baseline this hull was built to and (in the same source, ship-specific note) the documented engine-plant replacement. No asbestos statement is made for the class or the hull; the steam-plant removal matters because it eliminates the era's highest-mass insulation application from the Navy-service configuration.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chetco-at166-09
-
[10]NARA RG 19-LCM photo 19-N-51603 and NHHC photo NH 83821 (per NavSource captions, courtesy Shipscribe.com); NARA RG 24 deck-log series description (archives.gov) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource ATA-166 page photo captions (19-N-51603, NH 83821); NARA deck-log program page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (unretrieved): U.S. National Archives RG 19-LCM holds Bureau of Ships photo 19-N-51603 (Chetco after September 1943 commissioning, per NavSource caption); NHHC holds photo NH 83821 (Chetco/ATA-166 December 1945); NARA RG 24 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' (1941-1992 series) covers the 1943-46 commissioned period; the Boland Machine Co. conversion file and Maritime Commission disposal file for official no. 218179 are the likeliest repositories for any materials statement. None retrieved.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Limitations
- Leads only - records are indexed/located but unexamined; whether any contain insulation or materials statements is unknown. No claim is made from them. Chetco's deck logs' digitization status within the RG 24 series was not confirmed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chetco-at166-10