Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]DANFS, USS Croatan (CVE-25) entry (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS CVE-25 entry, construction and service paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents: launched 1 August 1942 by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co. under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. J. S. Russell; commissioned 28 April 1943, Captain J. B. Lyon in command. Croatan is a sound of the North Carolina coast. As nucleus of an Atlantic hunter-killer group from August 1943 she covered convoy movements, and on 5 September 1943 initiated night flying operations from escort carriers. After two Casablanca ferry voyages she resumed ASW patrols: her aircraft marked out U-856 (sunk by escorts Champlin and Huse, 7 April 1944); her escorts sank U-488 (night of 25-26 April 1944); her planes and escorts Frost, Huse, and Inch forced U-490 to the surface 10-11 June 1944 (60 survivors rescued before it sank by scuttling charges) and sank U-154 (3 July 1944). After overhaul and radar tests with the Naval Research Laboratory she sailed again 20 August 1944, aiding survivors of hurricane-foundered Warrington (DD-383) on 15 September. Following ASW training at Guantanamo Bay and Bermuda and convoy air cover, she qualified pilots, then joined the submarine barrier line in March 1945 - her escorts Frost and Stanton sank U-880 and U-1235 (16 April 1945). She reached New York 14 May 1945 for overhaul, qualified aviators at Quonset Point, and made two transatlantic troop-lift voyages from Le Havre. Out of commission in reserve at Norfolk 20 May 1946. Reactivated for MSTS in noncommissioned status with a civilian crew 16 June 1958, operating into 1961 and beyond. Reclassifications: AVG-25, ACV-25 (20 August 1942), CVE-25 (15 July 1943), CVHE-25 (12 June 1955), CVU-25 (1 July 1958), AKV-43 (7 May 1959).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1942-1961
- Population
- Crew (~890) plus embarked squadron
- Limitations
- Documents construction, the hunter-killer record, overhauls (Annapolis-area tests; New York May 1945), inactivation, and the start of MSTS service; contains no insulation, material, or asbestos information. Launch date 1 August corroborated by NavSource; navypedia prints 3 August - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-croatan-cve25-01
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[2]NavSource Online, Escort Carrier Photo Archive, USS Croatan (ACV-25/CVE-25/CVHE-25/CVU-25/AKV-43) - Operational and Building Data, NASA service, fate [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource CVE-25 page, Operational and Building Data block, AKV-43/NASA photo captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource building data documents: named for a sound off the North Carolina coast (name previously borne briefly by ACV-14); Maritime Commission hull 241, type C3-S-A1; laid down 15 April 1942; launched 1 August 1942; acquired 1 May 1942; AVG-25, ACV-25 (20 August 1942), CVE-25 (15 July 1943), CVHE-25 (12 June 1955), T-CVU-25 (1 July 1958), T-AKV-43 (7 May 1959); commissioned 28 April 1943; decommissioned 20 May 1946; reactivated 16 June 1958 as an aircraft transport under MSTS control with a civilian crew; served as an experimental ship under NASA control October 1964-May 1965 as a sea-going launch platform for sounding rockets - NASA-sourced photographs document Nike-Cajun, Nike-Apache, and Arcas meteorological rockets launched from Wallops Station's mobile range facility aboard, 77 rockets fired in the Shipboard Sounding Rocket Experiments program (through 22 April 1965); resumed transport duties; out of service 23 October 1969 at Beaumont, Texas; stricken 15 September 1970; sold to Southern Scrap Material Co., Ltd., New Orleans, 5 February 1971 for $85,888.88; removed from naval custody 26 March 1971. Class specifications: 7,800 tons standard; 2 boilers (285 psi), 1 steam turbine, 1 shaft, 8,500 shp; 16.5 knots; crew 890.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1942-1971
- Population
- MSTS civilian crew plus NASA Wallops Station detachment (1964-65)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary source consistent with DANFS on all overlapping facts; keel, MSTS reactivation, NASA program, stricken, and disposal details are NavSource/NASA-caption sourced (DANFS ends at 1961). The NASA conversion's material scope is undocumented. No insulation/asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-croatan-cve25-02
-
[3]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual, NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960, page date 15 April 1959) - specification-level document for Navy shipboard insulation materials [other_primary]
- Locator
- BuShips TM ch.39, sections 39-11 through 39-13 (materials)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The 1960 BuShips Technical Manual's insulation chapter enumerates the asbestos material suite standard to Navy steam plants of this hull's construction era: MIL-I-2781 pipe covering including 85% magnesia 'formed from a combination of 85 percent magnesium carbonate with about 15 percent asbestos fiber' and a class 'formed from a uniform mixture of amosite asbestos fibers'; roll asbestos felt MIL-I-15091; asbestos cloth/tape SS-C-466 (80-95% chrysotile) as lagging; asbestos millboard HH-M-351; asbestos finishing cement; molded asbestos block for high-temperature service. This hull's two Foster-Wheeler boilers, single Allis-Chalmers geared turbine set, and associated steam piping are the equipment classes these specifications cover.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1960 (manual); describes era-standard specifications
- Population
- Construction trades (Tacoma, 1942-43); crew (1943-46); MSTS civilian crew, reactivation workforce, and NASA detachment (1958-1969)
- Limitations
- Specification-level documentation of materials the Navy specified, not a ship-specific installation record - establishes the era insulation suite, not what was installed on this hull. Keel-to-commissioning window (1942-43) is inside the asbestos-spec period; the 1958 MSTS reactivation and 1964 NASA conversion are further material-disturbance events whose insulation scope is undocumented. Retrieved PDF is a scan hosted in the Garlock bankruptcy Daubert-appendix repository; the document itself is the government manual (verified legible 2026-09-18; same document verified in the class-D profile work of 2026-09-16 and batch-54 records).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-croatan-cve25-03
-
[4]Port of Tacoma v. Todd Shipyards Corp. et al., No. 3:08-cv-05132-BHS (W.D. Wash.), Order approving TSC settlement (Doc. 139, 2010-09-09); allegations recited from Port's CERCLA contribution complaint (Doc. 58) [court_record]
- Locator
- Order Doc. 139 at 1-3; complaint summary Doc. 58 (Shipbuilding Site, 1916-1946)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- A W.D. Wash. order recites the Port of Tacoma's CERCLA/MTCA contribution allegations that Todd Shipyards Corporation owned and operated parcels near the mouth of the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma - 'the Shipbuilding Site' - from 1916 through 1946, and that Todd's shipbuilding operations disposed of contaminated material and hazardous substances into the waterway. The Shipbuilding Site is the Commencement Bay yard where this hull was built; a settlement releasing TSC (Todd) was approved.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1916-1946 site era; litigation 2005-2010
- Population
- Todd Tacoma yard workforce (allegation-level)
- Limitations
- Establishes the builder's site identity and operating era (1916-1946) at the location of construction. The litigated contaminants were listed hazardous substances (metals, PAHs, PCBs) - asbestos is not among the recited substances; the order recites allegations for settlement approval, not findings of contamination or exposure. No individual or hull-level exposure is established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-croatan-cve25-04
-
[5]Herring v. Texaco, Inc., 161 Wn.2d 189, 165 P.3d 4 (Wash. 2007) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 161 Wn.2d 189 (No. 78774-3)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Washington Supreme Court opinion documents that Roger Herring worked for subcontractors at Todd Shipyards sites in the 1960s-early 1970s, developed pleural thickening (1986), asbestosis (~1989), and fatal mesothelioma (2002), and that his suit against Todd was barred because his asbestos claims were discharged in Todd's 1987 Chapter 11 bankruptcy (published-notice sufficiency was the litigated issue). Documents that occupational asbestos-exposure claims were litigated against this hull's builder corporate family in the postwar era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1960s-2007
- Population
- Todd Shipyards subcontractor worker (mesothelioma)
- Limitations
- Yard/corporate-level litigation at Todd's Puget Sound operations post-dating this hull's construction era; does not name this hull, does not adjudicate exposure aboard any specific vessel, and Herring's claim was barred on bankruptcy-discharge grounds - a merits-level negative for that plaintiff, not affirmative exposure evidence. Construction-era (1942-43) conditions at the Tacoma yard are not addressed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-croatan-cve25-05
-
[6]Batch-66 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NavSource/navypedia ship records; CourtListener-domain searches by exact name and hull number; builder-yard litigation verification [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-croatan-cve25-01 through -08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation specification, abatement contract, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Croatan (CVE-25) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Litigation-index sweeps by exact ship name and hull number returned North Carolina Croatan geographic matters (Croatan Highway/Sound addresses, a 1953 toll-bridge case, a Croatan Books obscenity citation) - a name collision, not this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942-43 Tacoma construction plus 1958 MSTS reactivation and 1964 NASA conversion sit inside the era-insulation picture and the negative reflects record availability, not hull condition. Whether the postwar conversions removed or retained era insulation is undocumented. CourtListener API was rate-limited (HTTP 429, daily cap) on 2026-09-18; the domain-restricted index sweep is a degraded but honest substitute, logged in the ledger. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-croatan-cve25-06