Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]Bowles, Oliver, 'Asbestos,' U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 403, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1937 (mirrored scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Bulletin 403, heat-insulation history section (pp. ~69-75 of the bulletin scan)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 403 documents that asbestos heat-insulation products were established decades before this hull's 1924-25 construction: asbestos-cement boiler covering was first tried about 1870; canvas-covered sectional magnesia pipe covering appeared in 1885; asbestos paper was used from about 1878 to protect hair-felt insulation from the heat of steam pipes. Steam-plant insulation products of the era in which this British-built steam reefer was constructed commonly contained asbestos fiber.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1870s-1937 (product history); hull 1924-1947+
- Population
- 1920s shipbuilders and engine-room crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Product-history documentation, not a hull record - does not name this vessel and does not itself describe shipboard installation aboard any specific hull; 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-cygnus-af23-01
-
[2]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 covering this ship's 1942 Navy conversion at Bethlehem Steel, Alameda, CA and her wartime availabilities including the west coast overhaul DANFS records before her December 1945 Okinawa run.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was installed or disturbed aboard this hull during her documented 1942 conversion or wartime yard periods, nor quantity, location, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cygnus-af23-02
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[3]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Cygnus (AF-23),' Naval History and Heritage Command [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Cygnus' entry, verbatim transcription at hazegray/losthistory mirror; canonical NHHC URL https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cygnus.html returned 404 on 2026-09-20 (standing NHHC link rot - see search_ledger)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Cygnus (AF-23): built as La Perla in 1925 by Cammell Laird, Liverpool, England; acquired by the Navy 12 August 1942; commissioned 11 August 1942, LCDR W. W. Williamson, USNR, in command. She sailed in convoy to Pearl Harbor and back 4-24 September 1942; cleared San Francisco 10 October and arrived Auckland, New Zealand, 3 November. Until 5 January 1944 she ran chilled meats and vegetables from Auckland to Tongatabu, Pago Pago, Bora Bora, Cook Island, and Funafuti; between 18 January 1944 and 9 September 1945 she ran similar duty from Auckland and Napier to Espiritu Santo and Efate, the Solomons, and Noumea. After a west coast overhaul she discharged cargo at Okinawa in December 1945; arrived Manus 3 January 1946 and ran cargo to Noumea, Espiritu Santo, and American Samoa until 13 March; returned to the west coast, then sailed for New York, arriving 2 July 1946; decommissioned 18 July 1946 and transferred to the War Shipping Administration for disposal the same day.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1924-1946
- Limitations
- Authoritative operational history naming this hull throughout; contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazardous-material information whatsoever - supports no asbestos claim. Canonical NHHC URL is currently dead; text verified against public-domain DANFS transcription mirror. Note the DANFS dates as transcribed are internally inconsistent ('acquired 12 August 1942; commissioned 11 August 1942') - see correction row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cygnus-af23-03
-
[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - LA PERLA, Ship History Detail 6003; attached documents incl. MARAD Transfer Order C-1932 and vessel status card [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 6003 fields + /documents/LaPerla_6003_001.pdf (Transfer Order C-1932) + LaPerla_6003_002.pdf (status card, partially legible)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database record for LA PERLA (Ship History Detail 6003): year built 1925; U.S. Official No. 225181; shipyard 'Cammel Laird'; refrigerated type; length 325.0 ft, beam 58.0 ft (card figure - conflicts with the 48-ft beam in Navy sources, flagged); gross 3,792 tons; fate 'Sold - Foreign Flag Op.' Digitized historical documents include U.S. Maritime Commission Transfer Order No. C-1932 approving, under Shipping Act 1916 sections 9 and 37, the sale of steam screw La Perla (Official No. 225181) by applicant Munargo Line Company of New York to Caribbean Land and Shipping Corporation, a Panamanian corporation, with transfer to Panamanian registry and flag - corroborating the 'sold foreign January 1947' disposition. The digitized vessel status card is handwritten and largely illegible in OCR.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1925-1947
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity and government approval of the foreign sale; the transfer order is undated in the legible OCR text and the status card is largely illegible - fine-grained custody milestones (re-delivery 14 Dec 1946) rest on NavSource/secondary compilation. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cygnus-af23-04
-
[5]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Cygnus (AF-23), index 09/06/0623 (compiled specs, milestones, NHHC and NARA RG-19-LCM photo captions, CO list) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AF-23 page: chronology block, specifications table, photo captions (NH 83225; RG-19-LCM Mare Island photo), commanding-officer list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource AF-23 photo archive entry: Cygnus-class stores ship, built 1925 as SS La Perla at Cammell Laird, Liverpool, for United Fruit Co.; transferred to the War Shipping Administration for delivery to Munargo Line Co. 1 June 1942 under a Transportation Corps agreement; acquired by the Navy (NavSource gives 8 July 1942); commissioned 11 August 1942, LCDR W. W. Williamson USNR; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater; decommissioned 18 July 1946 at New York and transferred to the Maritime Commission for re-delivery to United Fruit Co.; re-delivered to Munargo Line Co. 14 December 1946; sold foreign January 1947. Spec sheet: two Scotch boilers (190 psi sat.), one Cammell-Laird vertical triple-expansion engine, single screw 2,500 shp, 11.7 kts trial; complement 12 officers + 100 enlisted; refrigerated cargo 116,100 cu ft; armament two 3in/50 DP and two 20mm. Photo captions include NHHC photo NH 83225 (SS La Perla, 7 Aug 1942, days before acquisition) and a Bureau of Ships photo (NARA RG-19-LCM) showing the ship at Mare Island Navy Yard 'after completion of conversion' with splinter protection around gun positions and two added 20mm guns aft; commanding officer list: LCDR Williamson 11 Aug 1942-5 May 1944, LCDR Baldwin 5 May 1944-15 Dec 1945, LT Dixon 15 Dec 1945-18 Jul 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1924-1947
- Population
- Shipyard workers at the 1942 conversion (Bethlehem Steel, Alameda; photo-documented Mare Island presence) - topside armament/splinter-protection work documented; below-deck scope undocumented
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation carrying primary photo captions and spec data; the Mare Island photo caption is dated '30 August 1943' - inconsistent with DANFS (the ship ran continuous Auckland operations through 1943) and likely a 1942 typo, see correction row. NavSource's own chronology shows internal typos ('commissioned 11 August 1943' vs. its CO list's 11 August 1942). Contains no asbestos or insulation-material information - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cygnus-af23-05
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[6]Shipscribe, 'USS Cygnus (AF-23) Class' - compiled construction/disposition tables, class notes quoting CNO/VCNO/Auxiliary Vessels Board correspondence, ship notes (ID-4718) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AF-23 class page: class notes, construction/disposition tables, ship notes (ID-4718, FRIGO ASIA)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe AF-23 class compilation (S.S. Roberts, from Navy Ship's Data / NavData records): ex-merchant La Perla (ID-4718, completed Jul 1925); class CYGNUS (AF-23), design 'Refrig. Cargo, 1924'; displacement 4,233 light / 7,171 full load; launched 22 March 1924; acquired and commissioned 11 Aug 1942; decommissioned 15 Jul 1946, stricken 31 Jul 1946, disposal 18 Jul 1946, fate RTO (returned to owner); converted by Bethlehem Steel, Alameda, CA; scrapped 1970 as FRIGO ASIA. Class notes: one of three United Fruit freighters ordered in 1922, said to be the first ocean-going ships designed for diesel-electric propulsion; La Perla was delivered with triple-expansion engines because of troubles with her sisters La Marea (later Darien, a civilian-manned WSA supply ship in WWII) and La Playa. On 9 Jul 1942 CNO directed acquisition of 'three AKs with approximately 100,000 cubic feet of refrigerator space' for urgent supply of South Pacific island bases by 1 Oct 1942; Auxiliary Vessels Board endorsed 21 Jul; on 1 Aug VCNO informed WSA that SAN BRUNO, LA PERLA, and SAN BENITO most nearly met the need - the three 'small' ships became AF-23/24/25; Cygnus began conversion 6 Aug 1942, days before official acquisition; VCNO's 5 Aug 1942 conversion instructions to BuShips noted the vessels 'will operate for long periods and great distances from any American Navy Yard and should therefore be sent out in as good a condition as can be achieved in the time allowed.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1924-1970
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of primary Navy/merchant records; quotes the conversion directive verbatim but the documented conversion scope contains no insulation-material itemization and no asbestos information - supports no asbestos claim. 'Scrapped 1970 as FRIGO ASIA' is a single-source detail not corroborated by MARAD (which records only 'Sold - Foreign Flag Op.') - carried with flag.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cygnus-af23-06
-
[7]NARA record-group guides RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 24 (deck logs), RG 38 (war diaries); Cammell Laird archival holdings references (Wirral Archives / National Maritime Museum) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 19/24/38 guides; shipscribe-quoted VCNO 5 Aug 1942 conversion instruction as the BuShips-file lead
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) records may hold the August 1942 conversion file for La Perla/Cygnus - the VCNO-to-BuShips conversion instructions of 5 Aug 1942 quoted by shipscribe imply a BuShips correspondence and work file, and the RG-19-LCM photo series already documents the ship post-conversion; (b) WWII deck logs (RG 24) and war diaries (RG 38) for AF-23 covering her 1942-46 operations; (c) builder's records for the Cammell Laird hull (British-built 1924-25) would reside in UK archives (Wirral Archives Service holds Cammell Laird material; National Maritime Museum holds Laird-related collections) - existence for this specific hull unverified.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1924-1946 records
- 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-cygnus-af23-07
-
[8]Batch-522 search ledger (this record): DANFS via hazegray transcription (NHHC canonical 404); shipscribe AF-23; NavSource 09/06/0623; MARAD ShipHistory 6003 + documents; CourtListener API v4 name/hull searches; LOC/HAER; NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cygnus-af23-01 through sl-uss-cygnus-af23-11
- 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 Cygnus (AF-23) or La Perla (ID-4718 / Official No. 225181) was found in the public sources searched; the hull left U.S. custody in January 1947 under foreign flag, so no present-day hull survey can exist. CourtListener searches: "USS Cygnus" returned zero opinions; "Cygnus" + asbestos returned 6 opinions, all name collisions (Cygnus Therapeutic Systems, Cygnus Corp. and other corporate/party uses; no vessel reference identified); "Cygnus" + ship + asbestos and "La Perla" + vessel + asbestos returned zero; two further refined queries were rate-limited (HTTP 429) and are owed (see search_ledger).
- 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 1924-25 steam hull insulated to era practice is era-consistent with asbestos-containing machinery-space materials, and her 1942 U.S. conversion falls inside documented WWII-era shipyard asbestos use. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cygnus-af23-08
-
[9]DANFS via hazegray transcription; NavSource 09/06/0623; shipscribe AF-23/AF-24 class pages; NavalCoverMuseum CYGNUS AF-23 page; MARAD ShipHistory 6003 + Transfer Order C-1932 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Per-source date/figure fields as quoted in ev-03 through ev-06
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies noted and resolved: (a) acquisition date - DANFS as transcribed reads 'acquired 12 August 1942; commissioned 11 August 1942' (internally inconsistent: commissioned before acquired); shipscribe gives acquired/commissioned 11 Aug 1942 and its class notes state conversion began 6 Aug 1942 'a few days before her official acquisition'; NavSource gives 'acquired 8 July 1942.' The 11 Aug 1942 acquisition/commissioning is adopted (shipscribe + DANFS commissioning agree); NavSource's 8 July likely reflects the WSA allocation step and DANFS's 12 Aug may reflect a one-day administrative lag - the sequence is documented, not adjudicated. (b) NavSource chronology line 'Commissioned ... 11 August 1943' contradicts its own CO list (Williamson from 11 Aug 1942) and DANFS - a typo; 1942 adopted. (c) decommissioning - DANFS/NavSource give 18 Jul 1946 at New York; shipscribe's table gives decommission 15 Jul 1946 with disposal 18 Jul 1946; 18 July adopted per DANFS with the 15 July figure flagged. (d) stricken - shipscribe gives 31 Jul 1946, NavalCoverMuseum 18 Jul 1946, NavSource 'date unknown'; shipscribe's 31 Jul carried as reference figure. (e) Mare Island photo caption dated '30 August 1943 ... after completion of conversion' is inconsistent with DANFS (continuous Auckland operations through 1943, no 1943 west-coast return) and with shipscribe (conversion by Bethlehem Steel, Alameda, Aug 1942); the photo most likely dates to 30 Aug 1942 - flagged, not adjudicated. (f) fate - NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum say 'sold foreign January 1947, fate unknown' while shipscribe gives 'scrapped 1970 as FRIGO ASIA'; MARAD corroborates the foreign sale (Transfer Order C-1932, Caribbean Land and Shipping Corp., Panama flag) but not the later name/scrapping. (g) MARAD card beam 58.0 ft conflicts with 48 ft in all Navy sources - card figure noted, not adopted. (h) sister identities - shipscribe records AF-24 as ex-San Mateo (USS Delphinus) after San Bruno was replaced on 28 Jul 1942; the VERIFY master hull list indexes AF-24 by merchant name 'USS San Mateo' - naming convention noted, not an error in this record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1924-1970
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies in secondary framings; does not affect identity or the service/disposal timeline materially. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cygnus-af23-09