Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Corkwood' (AN-44) entry - official NHHC page, text verified via Wayback Machine capture 2024-05-26 (live page returned 404 on 2026-09-24); hazegray.org DANFS transcription concurs verbatim [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS Corkwood entry, full text (Wayback capture https://web.archive.org/web/20240526181701/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/corkwood.html); mirror https://www.hazegray.org/danfs/auxil/an44.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry: launched as YN-63, 29 March 1944, by Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Everett, Wash.; sponsored by Miss D. Anerson; reclassified AN-44 and named Corkwood 20 January 1944; commissioned 16 May 1944, Lt. J. L. Driggs, USNR, in command. Sailed from Seattle 27 August 1944 with YTL-422 in tow; Pearl Harbor 6 September - 16 October (towing target rafts, replacing buoys and radar rafts); net operations and cruiser moorings at Eniwetok 27 October 1944 - 6 March 1945; via Ulithi to Leyte, joined Amphibious Group 7 and sortied with an LST flotilla for the Okinawa operation; harbor entrance control ship at Kerama Retto 26 March - 6 July 1945, conducting salvage and net maintenance frequently under enemy attack; repairs at San Pedro Bay, Leyte, from 12 July 1945; tended nets at Ulithi from 17 August to 16 October; arrived San Diego 29 November and remained there until decommissioned 7 March 1946; transferred to the War Shipping Administration for disposal 13 March 1946. One battle star for World War II service. Stats line: dp. 1,100; l. 194'6"; b. 37'; dr. 13'6"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 56; a. 1 3"; cl. Ailanthus.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, wartime employment, decommissioning, and WSA transfer. DANFS implies San Diego as the decommissioning location ('arrived at San Diego 29 November and remained there until decommissioned'), conflicting with NavSource's 'San Pedro, CA' - see correction row. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or crew-health information; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC URL 404s - standing link-rot issue noted in Batch-01 report.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corkwood-an44-01
-
[2]Shipscribe.com USS Ailanthus (AN-38) class page - reproduction of U.S. Naval Vessel Register entries and class characteristics (Stephen S. Roberts compilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AN-44 Corkwood row in construction table, disposition table, and Ship Notes column; Class Notes (wood-hull substitution, British-directed origins)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Register-derived record: CORKWOOD ordered 12 May 1942, keel 18 Aug 1943, launched 29 Mar 1944, commissioned 16 May 1944 at Everett-Pacific SB, Everett WA. Decommissioned 7 Mar 1946, stricken 20 Mar 1946, disposal (MC/D) 18 Jun 1947, MA sale 18 Jun 1947. Ship note: 'Ex YN-63 20 Jan 44. Sold (delivered) by MC to Walter H. Wilms, Detroit, Mich.' Class data (AILANTHUS AN-38 design, Navy YN-57/AN-38): 1,175 t light / 1,460 t limited; 194.5' oa x 37' x 13.5'; diesel-electric, 1 screw, 1,200 hp; 12.1 kt; original armament 1-3"/50, 2-20mm; class complement 43 (1944). Class note: wood hulls, substituted for steel ca. 10 Apr 1942; YN 57-66 (later AN 38-47) were directed for the British on 30 Sep 1941 but delivered to the U.S. Navy. Same class page documents Wilms as a repeat surplus-vessel buyer: Manchineel (AN-54) 'Sold (awarded) by MC to Walter H. Wilms, Detroit, Mich.'; Viburnum (AN-57) 'Sold (delivered) to Walter H. Wilms & Co., Detroit, Mich.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Limitations
- Private-site reproduction of official Naval Vessel Register data - content is register-derived but the site is a secondary mirror, not a .mil domain. Establishes the post-Navy chain (stricken 20 Mar 1946; MC disposal and MA sale 18 Jun 1947 to Walter H. Wilms, Detroit) but does not state the vessel's ultimate fate (scrapping vs. merchant service). No asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim. Class-design complement 43 (1944) differs from the ship's documented 56 - noted in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corkwood-an44-02
-
[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Corkwood (AN-44) page - volunteer archive compiling official USN register data, Bureau of Ships photographs, and deck-log transcription [other_primary]
- Locator
- AN-44 page: chronology, Okinawa Gunto campaign table, CO roster, specifications, commissioning-day log transcription
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource service-ship archive: laid down 18 August 1943 (page misprints '1944') as yard net tender Corkwood (YN-63) at Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Everett, WA; reclassified net laying ship AN-44 20 Jan 1944; launched 29 Mar 1944; commissioned USS Corkwood (AN-44) 16 May 1944, LT. John Lester Driggs, USNR (to 21 Feb 1945), then LT. Paul Joseph Vidani Jr., USNR (to 10 Feb 1946), then LTjg. Alexander S. Abbott, USNR (to decommissioning 7 Mar 1946). Asiatic-Pacific campaign: Okinawa Gunto operation, assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March - 30 June 1945. Decommissioned 7 Mar 1946 'at San Pedro, CA'; transferred to the War Shipping Administration 13 Mar 1946; 'Struck from the Naval Register in June 1947'; one battle star; final disposition 'fate unknown.' Specification sheet: 1,460 t; 194'6" x 37' x 13'6"; 12.1 kt; complement 4 officers + 52 enlisted; 12 t boom; armament 1-3"/50 DP + 2-20mm AA; 760 bbl fuel; diesel-electric, Busch-Sulzer 539, two diesel-drive 60 kW 120 V DC ship's service generators, single propeller, 2,500 shp. Page displays the ship's commissioning-day first log entry and BuShips/NARA-attributed photos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive - authoritative for the compiled register/photo data it cites but is itself a secondary compilation. Three conflicts with register-derived/DANFS data carried in the correction row: 'laid down 1944' typo (1943 controls), 'struck June 1947' (register-derived 20 Mar 1946 controls), 'decommissioned at San Pedro' (DANFS implies San Diego). 2,500 shp vs. register class figure 1,200 hp - noted in gaps. Machinery spec (diesel-electric, wooden hull, no steam plant) bounds the ship's insulation profile; contains no asbestos information and supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corkwood-an44-03
-
[4]Naval Marine Archive, 'Everett Pacific, Everett WA' yard table (shipbuildinghistory-derived compilation), Corkwood row and yard history header [other_primary]
- Locator
- Everett Pacific yard table, hull no. 8 row; yard-history paragraph above table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder-yard record: Corkwood was yard hull no. 8 of the Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Everett WA, listed as 'Corkwood (YN 63) | US Navy | Net Layer | 1,100 t | 194 ft | delivered 16-May-44 | Later AN 44, sold 1947.' The yard was established in 1942 with Navy funds, was bought in 1944 by Pacific Car and Foundry, closed when the lease terminated in 1949, and its site is now part of Naval Station Everett.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1949
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (shipbuildinghistory-derived data hosted by Naval Marine Archive), not a .mil or .gov source - used for yard-level construction details (hull number, delivery date) corroborated by register-derived data, and for yard history. Its 'sold 1947' disposition note is corroborated by the register-derived MA sale date of 18 Jun 1947 (ev-02). Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corkwood-an44-04
-
[5]Cross-source reconciliation: Shipscribe NVR-derived construction/disposition table; DANFS Corkwood entry (NHHC via Wayback); NavSource AN-44 page; NavalCoverMuseum CORKWOOD AN 44 page [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe AN-44 disposition row ('20 Mar 46' strike); DANFS San Diego passage; NavSource chronology lines; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/CORKWOOD_AN_44
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved against register-derived and DANFS records: (a) Laid-down year - NavSource prints '18 August 1944,' impossible given the 29 March 1944 launch; NavalCoverMuseum ('keel laid August 18 1943') and the register-derived Shipscribe table ('keel 18 Aug 43') control: 18 August 1943. (b) Stricken date - NavSource prints 'Struck from the Naval Register in June 1947' and NavalCoverMuseum 'date unknown'; the register-derived record gives 20 March 1946, consistent with the 13 March 1946 WSA transfer: adopted 1946-03-20. (c) Decommissioning location - NavSource and Wikipedia print 'San Pedro, CA'; DANFS states the ship 'arrived at San Diego 29 November and remained there until decommissioned 7 March 1946': adopted San Diego, with the NavSource variant flagged rather than erased.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies in secondary compilations; the register-derived strike date is preferred over NavSource's June 1947 because it coheres with the documented 13 Mar 1946 WSA transfer and 18 Jun 1947 MC sale. The San Pedro decommissioning variant cannot be fully excluded - ships did move between San Diego and San Pedro - but DANFS's 'remained there' wording controls. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corkwood-an44-05
-
[6]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, article and abstract
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: Corkwood was built 1943-44 at a Navy-funded emergency shipyard (Everett-Pacific, established 1942 with Navy funds on Port Gardner Bay) during the period when the U.S. government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding and asbestos was a standard insulation/fireproofing material in U.S. naval and merchant construction. As a diesel-electric net layer on a wooden hull, she had no boiler/steam-main insulation load; era-typical asbestos applications for a naval auxiliary of this size and type would have been diesel exhaust lagging, machinery-space insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation and fireproofing materials, and friction linings on net-handling machinery.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers (Everett-Pacific, Everett WA) and ship's crew (class/era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or its class and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. The diesel-electric plant and wooden hull (verified ship-specific, ev-02/ev-03) mean the steam-era boiler-lagging driver does not apply; residual era-typical applications remain inference.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corkwood-an44-06
-
[7]Batch-1792 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC via Wayback, Shipscribe NVR mirror, NavSource, NavalCoverMuseum, Everett-Pacific yard table, NARA catalog, MARAD ShipHistory, CourtListener opinion and docket indexes [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-corkwood-an44-01 through sl-uss-corkwood-an44-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement record, hazmat disclosure, or docketed litigation naming USS Corkwood, YN-63, or AN-44 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener returned only name collisions: 'Corkwood' opinions (13 hits - cork/bottle material and lumber references), 'Corkwood' dockets (94 hits - Fireside Corkwood Inc. bankruptcies and street-address text), 'AN-44' opinions (112 hits - docket-number noise), 'YN-63' opinions (0 results).
- 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 during her 1944-46 Navy service - 1943-44 Navy construction was era-typical for asbestos use in the residual applications noted. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. NARA deck logs/war diaries (RG 24/RG 38) and the Maritime Commission sale file for the 18 Jun 1947 Wilms transaction remain unsearched in paper form.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corkwood-an44-07
-
[8]NARA record-group guidance (RG 24 deck logs; RG 38 war diaries; RG-19 BuShips); NavSource commissioning-log transcription confirming RG 24 holdings exist; Shipscribe register data documenting the MC sale requiring a transaction file [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA deck-log guidance page; NavSource AN-44 page (log excerpt); Shipscribe AN-44 ship note (MC sale)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 24 deck logs - NavSource publishes the ship's commissioning-day first log entry, so wartime deck logs exist and would document locations, operations, and any aboard-material events; WWII deck logs are at Archives II and partially digitized. (b) RG 38 war diaries if filed. (c) RG-19 BuShips construction photographs of Everett-Pacific hull no. 8. (d) U.S. Maritime Commission/War Shipping Administration disposal and sale file for the 18 June 1947 transaction with Walter H. Wilms, Detroit - would document delivery terms and whether the sale was for scrapping, which bounds the hull's end-state.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-1947 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping and lead identification only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents in these files is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corkwood-an44-08