Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]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 World War II - the era and program under which this Maritime Commission R1-M-AV3 hull was built (1944) and under which her fitting-out conversion (Todd Galveston Drydock, 1944-45) and documented Naval Shipyard availabilities (Charleston 1947; Boston 1951, 1954; Charleston pre-inactivation overhaul 1955) were performed.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (study scope); hull 1944-1974
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers (builder and conversion/repair yards); ship's crew (era context)
- Limitations
- Program-level scholarship, not a hull record - does not name this vessel; asbestos presence aboard this hull is era inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, location, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corduba-af32-01
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[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Corduba' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Canonical NHHC URL returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-20 (standing NHHC link rot); text verified verbatim against Wayback Machine capture 2024-06-23 (web.archive.org/web/20240623185747/...) and the hazegray DANFS transcription mirror (losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/auxil/af32.htm)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Corduba (AF-32): launched 11 June 1944 by Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc., Beaumont, Tex., under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. R. R. Clark; transferred to the Navy 30 December 1944; commissioned 26 January 1945, Lt. A. G. Wood, Jr., USNR, in command. Clearing Galveston 13 February 1945 she loaded cargo at Mobile, transited the Panama Canal, and reached Pearl Harbor 19 March; sailed 31 March for Eniwetok, arriving 11 April to report to Commander, Service Squadron 10; carried provisions from Auckland, New Zealand, to Tinian, Guam, Manus, Peleliu, and Saipan, 12 April - 15 October, returning to San Francisco. Departed San Francisco 27 October 1945 for Okinawa and Tsingtao, China; issued refrigerated provisions to ships serving in the reoccupation of China 26 November - 23 December. Returned to San Pedro 18 January 1946; carried cargo to the Philippines 31 January - 18 April; arrived Charleston, S.C., 10 June 1946. Assigned to Service Force, Atlantic Fleet, carried provisions to Argentia, the Caribbean, northern Europe, and the Mediterranean. Placed in commission in reserve 20 August 1955 to begin pre-inactivation overhaul at Charleston; placed out of commission in reserve there 18 November 1955. DANFS header gives: dp. 3,139 lt.; l. 338'6"; b. 50'; dr. 21'1"; s. 11 k.; cpl. 98; a. 1 x 3"; cl. Adria.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1955
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction milestones, and operational history. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or condition-survey information - supports no asbestos claim. DANFS complement figure (98) conflicts with other sources - see correction row and gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corduba-af32-02
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[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - CORDUBA (AF-32), Ship History Detail 1097, incl. digitized status cards (Form MA-20 Record of Ship Sales PD-X-979; Form MA-383 Reserve Fleet Ship Particulars; Form MA-199 Vessel Status Card) and CORDUBA.pdf scan [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 1097 - milestone table; status-card scans 1097_AF.jpg (sale card), 1097_1988AF/1988BF/1988CF.jpg (fleet particulars), MA-199 custody chain; CORDUBA.pdf (handwritten status-card scan, partially legible)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record and digitized status cards for CORDUBA (AF-32), vessel no. 0387405, MC hull 2196 (builder's hull 319), type R1-M-AV3 diesel: (a) entered NDRF James River 1960-04-06 (Navy temporary custody, reimbursable); permanent Navy-to-MARAD title transfer 1960-06-30; (b) withdrawn 1962-01-02 on loan to Dept. of the Army, Army Transportation Corps, 'to be used for training personnel' ($19,191 deactivation/basic-preservation cost noted on card); returned 1964-01-10; (c) withdrawn 1966-06-22 on Dept. of Army 'Indefinite Loan (For Stevedore Training)'; returned 1968-10-01; (d) 'put into scrap July '69' - designated for the scrap category under conventional preservation; (e) advertised under PD-X-960 - bid rejected; re-advertised under PD-X-979 (opened 1974-07-09) under two conditions incl. 'SCRAP HULL - US'; awarded to Ships, Inc. 1974-07-15 for $166,666.00 under contract MA-7459; physically delivered James River 1974-07-30. Fate field: 'Sold - Scrap.' Milestones table: Entry/Acquisition 4/6/1960; Disposition/Withdrawal 7/30/1974. Particulars: year built 1944, Pennsylvania Shipyards, 338.5 ft LOA x 50 ft x 21 ft, 3,707 gross tons, 4,301 DWT, 7,435 t summer / 3,139 t lightweight displacement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1974
- Population
- Army Transportation Corps stevedore trainees aboard the hull, 1962-64 and 1966-68
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones and the disposal sale. Cards document the Army loans' purpose (personnel/stevedore training) but not the training location; secondary sources place it at Fort Eustis's Third Port - see correction row and gaps. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corduba-af32-03
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[4]Shipscribe, 'USS Adria (AF-30) Class' - compiled construction/disposition tables, class notes, and ship notes from Navy Ship's Data records [other_primary]
- Locator
- AF-30 class page: construction table (AF-32 row), disposition table, class notes (R1-M-AV3 program history), ship notes (Corduba MC 2196 note)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Shipscribe Adria (AF-30) class compilation (S.S. Roberts, from Navy Ship's Data / NavData records): class design MC R1-M-AV3 - the refrigerated variant of the C1-M-AV1; 3,139 lt / 7,435 lim. tons; 1 Nordberg diesel, 1 screw, 1,700 HP; complement 69 (1944). Corduba (MC hull 2196): keel 7 February 1944; launched 11 June 1944; acquired 30 December 1944; commissioned 26 January 1945; 'Converted by Todd Galveston DD, Galveston, Tex. (in service for ferrying 30-31 Dec 44)'; in USN reserve 1955-60; to NDRF 6 April 1960; strike 1 July 1960; 'Loaned by MA to Army 2 Jan 62 to 10 Jan 64 and 22 Jun 66 to 1 Oct 68 for training stevedores'; MA sale 15 July 1974, to buyer 30 July 1974. Class notes: the R1-M-AV3s were MC hulls 2194-2203 completed as reefers at the builder's yard after an April 1944 MC program change; Navy furnished its own refrigerating machinery installed at fitting-out yards to keep the delivery schedule.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1974
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of primary Navy/Maritime Commission records; sole located source for the keel date (7 Feb 1944) and the strike date (1 Jul 1960) - both carried attributed, see gaps. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corduba-af32-04
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[5]U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships, Booklet of General Plans for AF-32 (1954), digitized scan, Internet Archive item af32bogp1954 (Foute Man Productions / Robert Churchill Collection, ship-design-drawings collection) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Plates 01 (cover - corrected-to-suit-ship table), 02 (principal dimensions & data - refrigerated stores and cargo tables), 08 (flats - refrigeration machinery flat), 09 (engine room & hold - diesel plant, auxiliary steam generator), 11 (typical sections - '9" INSULATION AT DECK HEAD', insulated hold linings)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized 1954 Booklet of General Plans (BOGP) for AF-32 (BuShips drawing no. AF 32 - S0103-669569), dated 12 October 1954, 12 plates: the cover-page 'CORRECTED TO SUIT SHIP' table documents booklet updates at CHARLESTON NAVAL SHIPYD 1947-01-16, BOSTON NAVAL SHPYD 1951-06-18, and BOSTON NAVAL SHIPYARD 1954-10-12 - i.e., ship availabilities at those yards on those dates. The arrangement plates document: a single diesel main engine with diesel generator sets and a 'Steam Gen. Plant' (auxiliary steam generator) in the engine room; a refrigeration-machinery flat (Refrigeration Machinery Room C-302-A) with compressors and receivers; refrigerated holds Nos. 2 and 3 with cooler coils, suction bulkheads, supply ducts, insulated plugs over the manholes, and '9" INSULATION AT DECK HEAD' at Hold No. 3 with cross-hatched insulation linings on hold bulkheads and inner bottom; accommodations itemized by rank; refrigerated stores spaces (meat room, fruit-and-vegetable room, dairy room, thaw room).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1954 (document dates)
- Population
- Ship's complement and yard personnel during the documented 1947 Charleston / 1951 and 1954 Boston availabilities
- Limitations
- Ship-specific primary document. Establishes the presence and extent of insulation in the refrigerated holds and a diesel-plus-auxiliary-steam machinery plant, and documents the 1947/1951/1954 yard update dates - but names no insulation material and contains no asbestos statement; fiber content is not established. The uploader's item metadata gives laid-down/launched dates (2 Jul 1944 / 6 Nov 1944) that contradict DANFS - metadata unreliable, the plates themselves are the authoritative artifact (see correction row). Does not establish exposure or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corduba-af32-05
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[6]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Corduba (AF-32), index 09/06/0632 (compiled from Navy records and photo collections) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AF-32 page: milestones, awards/ribbon table, specifications table, commanding-officer list, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive page for USS Corduba (AF-32): Adria Class Stores Ship milestones (laid down 'date unknown' as MC type R1-M-AV3, MC hull 2196, Pennsylvania Shipyards Inc., Beaumont TX; launched 11 June 1944; acquired 30 December 1944; commissioned 26 January 1945, LT Arthur G. Wood Jr. USNR); awards - China Service Medal (extended) 20 November - 28 December 1945, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal with Asia clasp (1-18 July 1947), National Defense Service Medal; spec sheet - displacement 3,139 lt / 7,435 fl; complement 10 officers + 74 enlisted; cargo 3,170 DWT with 47,510 cu ft non-refrigerated and 114,580 cu ft refrigerated capacity; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount + six single 20mm AA mounts; propulsion one Nordberg Diesel TSM engine, three 250 kW diesel-drive generators, one propeller, 1,700 shp; 'Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown'; final disposition scrapped 1974. Photos include BuShips BS 76657 (Beaumont, pre-commissioning, Camouflage Measure 32 Design 6AO) and 80-G-446287 (off Naval Station Norfolk, 10 April 1952).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1974
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive of Navy-sourced material; individual spec values (complement 84, refrigerated capacity) are compilation figures not tied to a single primary document - see gaps for source conflicts. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corduba-af32-06
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[7]Carter, Worrall Reed, 'Beans, Bullets, and Black Oil: The Story of Fleet Logistics Afloat in the Pacific During World War II' (Department of the Navy, 1953), appendix of service-force ships and commanding officers (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BBBO appendix, Provision Store Ships (AF) roster, AF-32 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official U.S. Navy administrative history of the WWII Service Force, Pacific Fleet ('Beans, Bullets and Black Oil,' Rear Adm. Worrall Reed Carter) lists 'AF-32 Corduba - Lt A.G. Wood, Jr.' in its appendix table of service-force auxiliaries and commanding officers - corroborating Corduba's documented Service Squadron 10 assignment and her first commanding officer.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Official Navy publication; roster-level mention corroborating assignment and commanding officer only. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corduba-af32-07
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[8]Shipscribe AF-30 class page (keel/strike dates); DANFS (no keel date); NavSource (strike 'unknown'); MARAD status cards (title transfer 6-30-60); Internet Archive item af32bogp1954 uploader metadata vs. scanned plates; Joint Base Langley-Eustis official history PDF (Fort Eustis Transportation School stevedore training, Third Port) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe construction/disposition tables; NavSource spec table; MARAD card 1097_AF.jpg; archive.org item metadata block; https://www.jble.af.mil/Portals/46/History%20of%20Fort%20Eustis.pdf
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies noted and resolved: (a) keel date - shipscribe compiled Navy Ship's Data gives 7 February 1944; DANFS and NavSource give no keel date; the Internet Archive item's uploader metadata gives 'laid down july 2 1944 / launched november 6 1944,' which contradicts DANFS's verified 11 June 1944 launch and is not supported by the scanned plates - shipscribe's keel date is carried, attributed, and the uploader metadata treated as unreliable. (b) strike date - shipscribe gives 1 July 1960 (consistent with the 30 June 1960 permanent Navy-to-MARAD title transfer on the status cards); NavSource lists 'date unknown'; the NVR does not cover pre-1987 disposals - 1 July 1960 carried, attributed. (c) complement - DANFS header gives 98; NavSource spec sheet gives 10 officers + 74 enlisted (84); shipscribe class compilation gives 69 (1944); the 1954 BOGP accommodations table itemizes berthing by rank for a larger number of personnel - figures carried separately, not merged. (d) Army training location - MARAD cards and shipscribe document the 1962-64 and 1966-68 stevedore-training loans; Wikipedia-type secondary sources add Fort Eustis, the 70th Transportation Detachment, and a $6,500 reactivation cost - details not carried because they are unsourced in the located copies; an official Joint Base Langley-Eustis history confirms the Transportation School's stevedore training at Third Port, Fort Eustis, on the James River (context consistency only). (e) a law-firm marketing page lists USS Corduba on a generic auxiliary-ships roster - non-authoritative, not used as evidence.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1974
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies in secondary framings; does not affect identity or custody timeline materially. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corduba-af32-08
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[9]Batch-530 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC (404) + Wayback capture + hazegray mirror; MARAD ShipHistory 1097 + status cards; shipscribe AF-30 class; NavSource 09/06/0632; HyperWar BBBO appendix; Internet Archive af32bogp1954; CourtListener API v4 ('Corduba', 'USS Corduba', 'AF-32'); web-indexed court/asbestos records; NVR; HAER/LOC; NARA catalog [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-corduba-af32-01 through sl-uss-corduba-af32-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, specification itemization, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Corduba (AF-32) was found in the public sources searched; the hull was scrapped in 1974 so no present-day hull survey exists. The 1954 BOGP documents insulated hold spaces but names no material; the MARAD record, DANFS, shipscribe, and NavSource pages contain no asbestos information. CourtListener searches returned zero opinions naming 'Corduba' or 'USS Corduba'; the two 'AF-32' hits are name collisions (Clorox Co. Puerto Rico v. Proctor & Gamble Commercial Co., 1st Cir. 2000 - trademark/product-code context; Chavez v. Colorado Department of Education, D. Colo. - unrelated). A law-firm marketing page lists the ship on a generic auxiliary-ships roster - non-authoritative, classified as non-evidence.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 refrigerated stores ship with documented hold insulation, built and maintained to WWII-era practice, is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, but that is not ship-proven. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corduba-af32-09
-
[10]NARA Guide to Federal Records record-group framework (RG 24 deck logs; RG 19 Bureau of Ships; RG 178 U.S. Maritime Commission; RG 336 Transportation Corps); MARAD ShipHistory 1097 status cards (custody-chain entries identifying the loan and layup events) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG guides; MARAD status-card custody rows (this record, ev-03)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (record-group mapping only; no box-level retrieval performed - no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 24 (Navy deck logs) for the 1945-55 commissioned period, and WWII war diaries for AF-32, per NARA's standard deck-log/war-diary holdings; (b) RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) - the 1954 BOGP is a BuShips product (AF 32 - S0103-669569); BuShips records and the respective yard records may hold work packages/specifications for the documented Charleston Naval Shipyard (1947, 1955 pre-inactivation overhaul) and Boston Naval Shipyard (1951, 1954) availabilities, which would carry material-level detail; (c) RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) construction records for MC hull 2196 at Pennsylvania Shipyards (builder's hull 319), including outfitting/insulation specifications for the R1-M-AV3 reefer completion; (d) U.S. Army Transportation Corps records (RG 336) and the U.S. Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis may document the 1962-64 and 1966-68 stevedore-training use of the hull; (e) MARAD James River fleet files underlying the digitized status cards may hold layup/withdrawal work reports.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1974 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - collection-level existence not confirmed per-hull and no box-level retrieval performed; whether these records contain insulation-material or asbestos-specific documents is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corduba-af32-10