Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 1945), auxiliaries - cargo ships, attack (AKA) section, per-hull rows for CIRCE AKA-25 (shipscribe.com scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 AKA tables pp. 112-116 (dimensions p.112; personnel/accommodations p.113; machinery p.114; construction pp.115-116); index entry 'Circe (ex-M.C. Hull 1886) - AKA 25 ... 112'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 3 carries a per-hull row for CIRCE AKA-25 (ex-M.C. Hull 1886): 426'0" overall / 400'0" pp; beam 58'0"; 16'0" limiting draft; 16.9 knots; 7,080 tons limiting displacement; machinery 2 Westinghouse turbo-electric engines, 6,000 shp, 2 Wickes boilers at 450 psi / 750 deg F; accommodations 27 officers + 276 enlisted; builder Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence, R.I.; commissioned 10 Nov 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Authoritative wartime BuShips publication naming this hull - confirms identity, machinery plant, manning, builder, and commissioning. OCR of the scanned table is columnar and partially garbled; values cross-verified against DANFS and NavSource. Contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-circe-aka25-01
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[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Circe II (AKA-25)', Naval History and Heritage Command - live history.navy.mil page returned 404 at access; official text verified via Internet Archive Wayback capture (2023-05-13) of the live NHHC page, cross-checked against the hazegray DANFS mirror [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Wayback 2023 capture of history.navy.mil DANFS 'circe-ii.html' article body + spec header; mirror https://losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/amphib/aka25.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Circe II (AKA-25): launched 4 Aug 1944 by Walsh-Kaiser Co., Providence, R.I., under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1886), sponsored by Mrs. R. E. Dougherty; acquired and commissioned 10 Nov 1944, Lt. Comdr. V. J. Barnhart USNR in command; Norfolk shakedown; Pearl Harbor 3 Jan 1945; Marine reinforcements and explosives to Guadalcanal; Okinawa 1-6 Apr 1945; Pacific cargo circuit (Eniwetok, Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian); occupation duty Japan and Korea; San Francisco 20 Dec 1945; decommissioned 20 May 1946; transferred to War Shipping Administration 26 Jun 1946; one battle star. Spec block: 4,087 t light, 426' x 58' x 16', 17 kts, cpl. 303, 1 x 5"/38.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Official Navy history but a compressed secondary narrative: its 'Here [San Francisco] she was decommissioned' conflicts with the ship's own history, NavSource, and the MARAD custody record (Newburgh, N.Y.) - see correction row. Live NHHC URL is dead (link rot); text carried from archived capture, so exact current wording could not be re-verified. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-circe-aka25-02
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[3]Compiled ship history for USS Circe (AKA-25), transcribed by HyperWar/ibiblio from the ship-produced DAFS history document (includes crew roster and postwar addendum) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar DAFS AKA-25 history - narrative sections and postwar addendum
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship's own compiled WWII history (DAFS AKA-25 transcription): pre-commissioning sea trial 6 Nov 1944 Narragansett Bay; commissioned 1027 hrs 10 Nov 1944 at State Pier, Providence, crew drawn from Newport, R.I.; damaged on starboard bow 12 Dec 1944 when USS LST-997 drifted down on her at anchor in a Hampton Roads gale - repaired at Norfolk Navy Yard, completed 14 Dec; Panama Canal 19-21 Dec; Tulagi Government Pier fire scare 6 Feb 1945 while unloading gunpowder; attached to TransDiv 36 / TransRon 12 / Group Able for Okinawa staging; Okinawa 1-6 Apr off Point Bolo, daylight offload / seaward night retirement under air raids; Pearl Harbor yard commendation after 10 Sep pier firefighting; occupation cargo runs to Yokosuka, Yokohama, Wakanoura, Hiro Wan, Nagasaki, Sasebo, then Fusan and Jinsen, Korea; Magic Carpet passengers from Sasebo; ~45,729 miles steamed since Providence; in and out of drydock at Hunters Point over Christmas/New Year 1945-46; Jan 1946 ordered to New York with skeleton crew; ~1 month in a Brooklyn slip; then Newburgh, N.Y., where she was 'gutted' at a small shipyard before joining the reserve fleet.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Ship-produced compiled history - closest thing to a primary narrative, but unofficial in tone and unsourced internally; 'Christmas and New Years 1946' drydock window at Hunters Point resolves to Dec 1945-Jan 1946 by context (arrived SF 20 Dec 1945, ordered NY Jan 1946). Contains no materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-circe-aka25-03
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[4]MARAD Vessel History Database, ShipHistory Detail 969 for CIRCE (AKA-25) - data block, milestone table, and four status-card scans including Record of Ship Sales PD-X-653 and CIRCE.pdf [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Detail 969 data block and milestones; status-card image set (4 scans) incl. Record of Ship Sales PD-X-653; CIRCE.pdf attachment
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD Vessel History Database record for CIRCE (AKA-25), MC hull 1886, type S4-SE2-BE1, built 1944 by Walsh-Kaiser Co.: status cards document basis to War Shipping Administration 26 Jun 1946 (midnight EDT, at Hudson River, N.Y., from Navy Dept - surplus); NDRF Hudson River Group; a 1946-47 loan of ship's material to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point (handwritten note: wire 7/26, removed 7/29, returned to vessel per letter 5/23/47); withdrawn 15 Nov 1954 1550 EST to American Hawaiian SS Co. under General Agency Agreement for Repair Program FY1955; returned to reserve fleet 25 Jan 1955 0830; advertised for scrapping PD-X-653 11 Dec 1963, bids opened 3 Jan 1964, awarded to First Steel & Ship Corp. 7 Jan 1964 for $72,727.78 (typed Record of Ship Sales; companion status card reads $72,727.28); withdrawn and delivered to purchaser 22 Jan 1964 1000 EST ('Purchaser - First Steel & Ship Corp'). Milestone table: Entry/Acquisition 1946-06-26; Disposition/Withdrawal 1964-06-22 (conflicts with card's 1-22-64 delivery - flagged in gaps).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Primary custody record - strongest disposal documentation. Cards are handwritten/typed scans; two cents-level and one month-level internal discrepancies flagged in gaps rather than resolved. The FY1955 repair availability documents a disturbance event but states no work scope or materials - it is not an asbestos record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-circe-aka25-04
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[5]Shipscribe USN auxiliaries compilation, AKA-21 (Artemis) class page - construction/disposition tables, per-ship notes, class notes [other_primary]
- Locator
- AKA21 class page - construction table (CIRCE row), disposition table, ship notes, class notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-design compilation naming this hull in the AKA-21 (Artemis) class tables: CIRCE ordered 15 May 1943; keel 6 Mar 1944; launched 4 Aug 1944; commissioned 10 Nov 1944; decommissioned 20 May 1946; stricken 5 Jun 1946; disposal 26 Jun 1946 (MC/R); MA sale 7 Jan 1964. Ship note: 'To NDRF 1946. Repaired while inactive 15 Nov 54 - 25 Jan 55. To buyer 22 Jan 64, scrapped by 24 Nov 65.' Class notes: S4-SE2-BE1 shared hull and machinery with the APA-57 class; design originated to a Sep 1942 CominCh small combat-loaded AK specification under the MC Military Program; class complement listed as 326 (1944) - conflicts with DANFS/SDB 303, flagged in gaps.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Carefully compiled secondary reference (Navy register sources) - corroborated by MARAD card on the repair window and sale dates. Keel date and 'scrapped by 24 Nov 65' are single-source details; the class complement figure is design-level, not this hull's authorized manning. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-circe-aka25-05
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[6]NavSource Naval History photo archive, AKA-25 USS Circe page (navsource.net mirror host; navsource.org fetch failed) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/02/02025 - spec block, disposition dates, commanding officer list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource AKA-25 page corroborates core dates and specs (4,087 light / 7,080 full; 426' x 58' x 16'; 16.9 kts; 27 officers / 276 enlisted; troop accommodations 264; 2 Westinghouse turbo-electric, 2 Wickes 450 psi/750 deg F, 6,000 shp, twin screw; 1 x 5"/38, 4 twin 40mm, 10 x 20mm; one battle star) and adds: MC hull 1886; decommissioned 20 May 1946 'at Eureka Shipbuilding Corp., Newburgh, N.Y.'; stricken 5 Jun 1946; returned to Maritime Commission 26 Jun 1946 for Hudson River Reserve Fleet layup; sold 22 Jan 1964 to First Steel and Ship Corp.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary reference used for cross-check; core dates/specs corroborated by DANFS, SDB, MARAD card, and shipscribe. Single-source details: 'Eureka Shipbuilding Corp.' as the named decommission facility and the troop accommodations figure. Page prints the builder as 'Welsh-Kaiser' - a known NavSource typo; all primary sources read Walsh-Kaiser.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-circe-aka25-06
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[7]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 v3 machinery row for this hull + S4-SE2-BE1 type data (shipscribe AKA-21 class page) + documented custody/repair events (MARAD card, ship's history) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 machinery table, AKA section (CIRCE row); https://usnaux.shipscribe.com/AKA/AKA21.html class data
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull carried a twin-screw turbo-electric steam plant (2 Westinghouse turbo-electric engines, 2 Wickes boilers at 450 psi / 750 deg F) built at the peak of WWII asbestos usage at a Maritime Commission emergency yard - the machinery configuration for which boiler and fireroom insulation, main and auxiliary steam-line lagging, turbo-generator lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and accommodation joiner insulation of the period were commonly asbestos-containing. Documented disturbance events on this hull (Dec 1944 Norfolk Navy Yard collision repair, Dec 1945-Jan 1946 Hunters Point drydocking, 1946 Newburgh 'gutting', Nov 1954-Jan 1955 Emergency Ship Repair Program availability under American Hawaiian SS Co., 1964-65 breaking) are the exposure-relevant phases.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant and construction era - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming AKA-25 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-circe-aka25-07
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[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
- 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 S4-SE2-BE1 attack cargo ship was mass-produced - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class 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-circe-aka25-08
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[9]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at two Navy yards and two Navy contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in wartime naval-vessel construction of exactly this hull's era and type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard (whether Walsh-Kaiser Providence was among the surveyed contract yards is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-circe-aka25-09
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[10]Triangulated correction - ship's compiled history (HyperWar DAFS AKA-25 postwar addendum) + NavSource 02025 disposition line + MARAD Detail 969 status card (Hudson River custody basis) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar postwar addendum; NavSource 10/02/02025; MARAD Detail 969 status card
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Correction - decommissioning location: DANFS reads 'Here [San Francisco] she was decommissioned 20 May 1946,' but the ship's own compiled history records her ordered to New York in Jan 1946 with a skeleton crew, ~1 month in a Brooklyn slip, then 'gutted' at a small shipyard at Newburgh, N.Y., before joining the reserve fleet; NavSource names the facility Eureka Shipbuilding Corp., Newburgh; and the MARAD status card records WSA delivery at Hudson River, N.Y. The convergent record places the decommissioning at Newburgh, N.Y., not San Francisco - DANFS compressed the post-San Francisco transit.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- The correction rests on three convergent sources against one compressed official line; 'Eureka Shipbuilding Corp.' itself remains NavSource-only. The 20 May 1946 decommissioning date is undisputed across sources - only the location was compressed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-circe-aka25-10
-
[11]Batch-1002 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Wayback; hazegray mirror; HyperWar DAFS history; NavSource 02025; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 969 + status cards; BuShips SDB 1945 v3; shipscribe AKA-21; CourtListener API + web; VA BVA index; NARA record-group mapping [other_primary]
- Citation URL
- None
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-circe-aka25-01 through sl-uss-circe-aka25-17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Circe / AKA-25 / MC hull 1886 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion search for 'USS Circe' returned 0 results (verified 2026-09-20); hull-number and asbestos-keyword API queries were rate-limit blocked at cutoff. Web-index 'Circe' litigation hits were name collisions - Circe Biomedical entities in the W.R. Grace bankruptcy - not this hull. VA BVA index returned no decision naming the hull. Law-firm marketing pages that name Circe (asbestos-ships.com dedicated hull page) are an excluded source class per the no-law-firm-sources rule and are logged, not cited.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 turbo-electric steam auxiliary is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and her ~18 years in NDRF custody, the undocumented FY1955 repair availability, the 1946 'gutting,' and the 1964-65 breaking are undocumented disturbance phases. CourtListener hull-number/keyword surface remains partially unqueried due to rate limits.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-circe-aka25-11
-
[12]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships), RG 178 (Records of the U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 248 (Records of the War Shipping Administration), RG 357 (Maritime Administration records); archive.org AKA-21 BOGP scan [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html ; /groups/178.html ; /groups/248.html ; /groups/357.html ; archive.org Booklet of General Plans USS Artemis AKA-21 (1944)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for USS Circe 1944-1946 (RG 24 Entry 118, NARA College Park); BuShips records incl. S4-SE2-BE1 contract plans and the Booklet of General Plans for this design (RG 19); U.S. Maritime Commission construction-contract records for MC hull 1886 at Walsh-Kaiser (RG 178); War Shipping Administration vessel files (RG 248) and MARAD/NDRF custody files (RG 357) covering the 1946-1964 Hudson River lay-up, the FY1955 Emergency Ship Repair Program work package under the American Hawaiian SS Co. GAA, and the PD-X-653 disposal file (RG 357) - the sale file is the most promising disposal-era hazmat lead. Digitized and immediately inspectable: the 1944 Booklet of General Plans for sister ship USS Artemis (AKA-21), same S4-SE2-BE1 design, at archive.org - not yet inspected for insulation or material schedules.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- 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-circe-aka25-12