Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]DANFS, Chilton (APA-38) entry - verbatim transcription via hazegray mirror (live NHHC page 404 on 2026-09-25); corroborated by NavSource APA/LPA-38 page and shipscribe.com Bayfield-class construction table [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Chilton entry (full text); https://www.navsource.net/archives/10/03/03038.htm; https://shipscribe.com/usnaux/APA/APA36.html (construction table row APA-38)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USS Chilton (APA-38), Bayfield-class attack transport, named for Chilton County, Alabama. Laid down 10 September 1942 as SS Sea Needle (Maritime Commission hull 273, type C3-S-A2) by Western Pipe & Steel Co., San Francisco, CA; launched 29 December 1942; assigned to the Navy as AP-83 and reclassified APA-38 on 1 February 1943 before commissioning; acquired 29 May 1943 and placed in partial commission; decommissioned 10 July 1943 at Todd Erie Basin Shipyard, Brooklyn, for conversion; commissioned 7 December 1943, CDR A. C. Geisenhoff, USNR. Training ship at Newport for attack-transport pre-commissioning crews through October 1944; Kerama Retto landings 26 March 1945; flagship Transport Squadron 17 off Okinawa to 30 April 1945; overhaul at Hunter's Point June 1945; postwar Magic Carpet, Operation Crossroads (Bikini), China/Japan transport duty; home-port Norfolk from December 1949; Mediterranean tours and Caribbean operations 1951-1960s; Dominican Republic operation 1965; reclassified LPA-38 on 1 January 1969; decommissioned and stricken 1 July 1972; sold for scrap 15 July 1974. One battle star for WWII (Okinawa Gunto, 26 March-30 April 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1974
- Population
- Ship's company (~575) plus embarked troops; construction trades (Western Pipe & Steel, 1942-43); conversion yard workers (Brooklyn, 1943)
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, designation chain (AP-83 -> APA-38 -> LPA-38 = one hull), construction, and service narrative. Details resting on Wikipedia's post-DANFS additions only (kamikaze strike 2 April 1945; film appearance; Apollo 10 recovery tasking May 1969) are not in the DANFS entry and are flagged in prose as secondary. No asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chilton-apa38-01
-
[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - CHILTON (APA-38/LPA-38), Ship History Detail 950 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 950: vessel data block, milestones table, image captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record for CHILTON (APA-38/LPA-38): Year Built 1943; Western Pipe and Steel Company; type C3-S-A2; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; custody milestones Entry/Acquisition 26 October 1972 and Disposition/Withdrawal 6 August 1974. Its U.S. Navy photograph set documents the hull at the U.S. Naval Drydocks, Hunter's Point, San Francisco, 16 June 1945 (post-Okinawa availability, alterations circled) and at the New York Navy Yard, 1 June 1950 (inclining experiment).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1974
- Limitations
- Authoritative for MARAD custody milestones and photo-captioned yard availabilities. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. 'Year Built 1943' is MARAD's completion-year convention (keel laid and launched 1942). A digitized status card exists on this record's Status Cards tab but was not retrieved in this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chilton-apa38-02
-
[3]Carper v. General Electric Co., No. 2:12-cv-06164 (E.D. Pa.), RECAP docket 4370352 [court_record]
- Locator
- RECAP docket; matched text in document 71 (Owens-Illinois MSJ response)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- The string 'USS Chilton' appears in indexed filed documents of Carper v. General Electric Company, No. 2:12-cv-06164 (E.D. Pa., filed 2012-10-31, terminated 2014-10-03), an asbestos personal-injury action under the MDL-875 umbrella (assigned to Judge Eduardo C. Robreno). The matched RECAP document is a defendant's response in support of summary judgment (Owens-Illinois, doc. 71, filed 2013-09-26).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2012-2014 (litigation); alleged exposure period not verified
- Population
- Plaintiff William E. Carper (asbestos PI)
- Limitations
- Pleading/discovery-stage presence only: the ship name occurs in indexed filed materials consistent with a plaintiff vessel/exposure list, but the document PDF was not retrieved through the authenticated helper (binary fetch unsupported, then fleet pacing limit), so the exact context of the ship's mention is not independently verified. No adjudicated exposure finding exists; a defendant's summary-judgment response is not evidence of exposure aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chilton-apa38-03
-
[4]Merwitz v. Allis-Chalmers Corp. Product Liability Trust, No. 2:12-cv-02317 (E.D. Pa.), RECAP docket 4370069 [court_record]
- Locator
- RECAP docket; matched text in doc. 2-1 (complaint exhibit) and doc. 13 (remand order)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- The string 'USS Chilton' appears in indexed filed documents of Merwitz v. Allis-Chalmers Corporation Product Liability Trust, No. 2:12-cv-02317 (E.D. Pa., filed 2012-04-27), an asbestos personal-injury action removed to federal court and consolidated under MDL-875 (the matched documents include the complaint exhibit and Judge Robreno's order granting remand to Philadelphia Common Pleas).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2012 (filing); alleged exposure period not verified
- Population
- Plaintiff (Merwitz), asbestos PI
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation consistent with a vessel list in the complaint; the ship's mention was verified only at search-index level (document PDFs not retrieved through the authenticated helper). The remand order is procedural and establishes nothing about exposure aboard this hull. No adjudicated finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chilton-apa38-04
-
[5]Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton Co., Inc., No. 1:07-cv-04771 (S.D.N.Y.), RECAP docket 4331985 [court_record]
- Locator
- RECAP docket; matched text in document 17-20 (exhibit, 'Stanton Papers')
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- The string 'USS Chilton' appears in indexed filed documents of Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton Co., No. 1:07-cv-04771 (S.D.N.Y., filed 2007-06-05), an asbestos personal-injury action. The matched RECAP document is a filed exhibit ('Stanton Papers,' doc. 17-20) whose indexed text discusses Navy shipboard printing facilities - consistent with shipboard service documentation.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2007 (filing); alleged exposure period not verified
- Population
- Plaintiff (Gitto), asbestos PI
- Limitations
- Discovery-stage exhibit reference: the ship name occurs in a filed exhibit consistent with plaintiff service/exposure records, verified at search-index level only (PDF not retrieved). Establishes that the ship was named in asbestos litigation materials; does not establish exposure, causation, or any adjudicated finding aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chilton-apa38-05
-
[6]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches via fleet helper cl-auth-search.py (2026-09-25): 'USS Chilton' type=o (0); 'APA-38' type=o (14 collisions); 'Chilton' AND ship-context type=o (1 non-qualifying) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-chilton-apa38-05 through -07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion-level search returned no opinion naming the ship in any context: 'USS Chilton' produced 0 results; 'APA-38' produced 14 results, all name collisions (the string matches Administrative Procedure Act pin cites and unrelated docket fragments - e.g., Overton v. Wilkie, CAVC 2018, verified on full text as an 'APA.38' paragraph cite in an Agent Orange/USS Providence case, not this ship); 'Chilton' AND (attack transport/USS/LPA-38/APA-38) produced 1 non-qualifying result (Reyes v. Beneficial State Bank). No opinion-level asbestos adjudication naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Negative at opinion level only. The docket-level (RECAP) sweep located three asbestos PI cases whose filed documents name the ship (rows ev-03/-04/-05) - absence of an opinion is not absence of litigation or of alleged exposure. RECAP full-text PDFs were not retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chilton-apa38-06
-
[7]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
- AJIM 11(3):359-373 (program/era-level documentation); propulsion specs per NavSource/shipscribe
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference: Chilton is a 1942 Maritime Commission C3-S-A2 hull completed to Navy attack-transport specifications with a geared steam turbine and two oil-fired D-type boilers. Peer-reviewed historical research documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in WWII-era U.S. shipbuilding; a steam plant of this design and era is consistent with asbestos insulation on boilers, steam lines, turbines, gaskets, and packing.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- Construction trades (Western Pipe & Steel, 1942-43); engineering plant crew
- Limitations
- Era/program-level scholarship plus documented propulsion plant - not a hull record. Does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chilton-apa38-07
-
[8]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, asbestos exposure guidance for Navy veterans [other_primary]
- Locator
- VA public guidance, asbestos/Navy-veterans exposure materials
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Era context: the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs states that many WWII-era Navy ships contained asbestos products and that boiler and engine rooms were of particular concern because asbestos was widely used as insulation during this period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Era context only - does not name this vessel and does not establish asbestos presence aboard this hull. Not a finding about this ship.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chilton-apa38-08
-
[9]Batch-2332 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription (hazegray), NavSource APA-38 page, MARAD ShipHistory 950, shipscribe Bayfield-class page, CourtListener opinion+docket sweeps, targeted web searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-chilton-apa38-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull asbestos survey, HAER recordation, abatement or removal contract, or hazmat disclosure for USS Chilton was found in the authoritative sources searched (DANFS/NHHC mirrors, NavSource, MARAD ShipHistory, shipscribe, NARA record-group guides). Targeted web searches for 'USS Chilton' + asbestos surfaced only attorney-marketing pages (asbestos-ships.com; simmonsfirm.com ship list), which are excluded per batch rules.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942 steam-driven hull is era-consistent with installed asbestos materials. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. Ship scrapped 1974, so no museum/abatement-disclosure channel exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chilton-apa38-09
-
[10]Cross-source comparison: hazegray DANFS transcription; NavSource APA/LPA-38; Wikipedia USS Chilton (DANFS-derived); Naval Cover Museum CHILTON LPA-38 page; shipscribe construction table [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text; NavSource timeline block; Wikipedia infobox vs. body; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/CHILTON_LPA_38
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies logged: (a) decommissioning - Wikipedia infobox says 'August 1970' but the article body, NavSource, and the Naval Cover Museum all give 1 July 1972 (same date as stricken); 1 July 1972 is adopted. (b) Launch sponsor - the DANFS transcription reads 'Mrs. W. A. Riley, Jr.' while Wikipedia reads 'Mrs. Henry A. Reilly Jr. (Matilda)'. (c) DANFS prints the Newport training-ship period as starting '31 January 1943,' before commissioning - read as 1944. (d) Conversion yard - DANFS says 'New York Navy Yard'; NavSource specifies Todd Erie Basin Shipyard, Brooklyn (both Brooklyn facilities; unresolved).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Limitations
- Discrepancy log only; the adopted values follow the weight of the sources as stated. None of these items is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chilton-apa38-10
-
[11]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Navigation - deck logs) and RG 19 (Bureau of Ships); MARAD ShipHistory 950 status-card scan [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html ; MARAD Detail 950 Status Cards tab
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved): NARA RG 24 ship deck logs for Chilton's commissioned periods; NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) and New York-area federal records for the 1943 Erie Basin conversion contract and any 1945 Hunter's Point availability records; the MARAD ShipHistory 950 record carries a digitized status card not yet reviewed. These may hold material/specification detail for this hull.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1974 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chilton-apa38-11