Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
-
[1]research packet zcn-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-dawn-ix186-pkt-zcn-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), 'Dawn' (III) entry - transcription mirror (losthistory.net/hazegray DANFS transcription, transcriber Y. Hubert); canonical NHHC page not reachable at fetch time (link rot per BATCH-01 standing note) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Dawn' (III), IX-186 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry: the third Dawn (IX-186), built 1920 by Moore Shipbuilding Co., Oakland, Calif., as Vacuum; transferred to the Navy 1944-12-25 at Brisbane, Australia and commissioned 1944-12-26, Lt. Cmdr. H. V. Perron in command; sailed Brisbane 1945-01-07, outfitting Hollandia 1945-01-17/24; carried gasoline to Leyte arriving 1945-02-02; floating gasoline storage in the Philippines until 1945-11-11; San Diego 1946-01-01; Norfolk 1946-02-08; decommissioned 1946-04-12 and returned to WSA the same day. DANFS statistics line: dp. 15,381 (full); l. 438'5"; b. 57'; dr. 27'6"; s. 9 k.; cpl. 107; a. 1 4", 1 3".
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920-1946
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, acquisition, commission, Pacific service, and decommission. Contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation statement; supports no asbestos claim. Transcription mirror cited because live NHHC page returned 404 - canonical NHHC URL should be re-located before production use.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dawn-ix186-01
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - VACUUM (IX-186), Ship History Detail 4986 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 4986, specifications block and milestone table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database record for VACUUM (IX-186): Official No. 220165; year built 1920; shipyard Moore Shipbuilding Company; general type Tanker; length 425.00 ft; beam 57.2 ft; gross 7,020 / net 4,329 tons; cargo capacity 81,567 barrels; summer draft 27.3 ft; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; custody milestones Entry 1946-04-12 and Withdrawal 1946-12-17.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920-1946
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones and registry particulars. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. 'Specific Type: LNG Liquefied Natural Gas' field is an obvious data-entry artifact for a 1920 hull - see correction row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dawn-ix186-02
-
[4]U.S. Maritime Administration vessel status cards for VACUUM (IX-186), scanned images on ShipHistory Detail 4986 (files 4986_AF.jpg, 4986_9192AF.jpg, 4986_9192AB.jpg, GUID png) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Status cards tab, Detail 4986 - Vessel Status Card front and Reserve Fleet Division - Vessel Data card (handwritten/typed)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD/USMC vessel status cards (scanned primary records) document the full custody chain: 'Basis to W.S.A. 4-20-42 Noon CWT @ Beaumont, Texas from Socony-Vacuum Oil Co.' (TCA); 'USMC Purch. 10-19-43 1:25PM EWT @ Providence, R.I. from Socony-Vacuum Oil Co.' with 'Trade-in by Socony Vacuum 9/28/43, Allowance - $728,250.00'; operator allocation rows: Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. (TCA, Beaumont), War Emergency Tankers Inc. (GAA, Providence 1943-10-19), Navy Dept. '(now Dawn)' (BB, Brisbane 1944-12-25), Reserve Fleet Lee Hall, Va. (1946-04-12), Patapsco Scrap (Metal) Corp., Baltimore (purch., Lee Hall, 1946-12-17 9:15 AM EST); 'Sold to Patapsco Scrap Corp to scrap hull on PDX-237 for the sum of $22,571.00'; fleet card fields: speed 11.75/10.5 kts, 'IHP 3200, 3 SEB', DWT 10,680, LWT 4,330, hull no. 157, dimensions 425 x 57.2 x 33.1, draft 27'4", termination port last voyage Norfolk; annotation 'CONDITION REPORT IN FILE'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Limitations
- Primary custodial record for WSA/USMC ownership chain, operators, sale, and fleet withdrawal. Handwritten fields partially legible (read visually). Contains no asbestos or materials statement; supports no asbestos claim. 'CONDITION REPORT IN FILE' annotation is an archival lead only - report itself not retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dawn-ix186-03
-
[5]U.S. Navy, Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945, IX unclassified vessels table (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription of official Navy ships' data) [other_primary]
- Locator
- IX table rows IX-133, IX-135, IX-186
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official U.S. Navy 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' IX (unclassified vessels) data table lists: IX-186, Dawn, commissioned 1944, displacement 4,876 (light/standard figure; DANFS gives 15,381 full load). Sister Design 1041 hulls in the same IX list: IX-133 Antona (ex-SS Birkenhead) and IX-135 Arethusa (ex-SS Gargoyle).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Confirms hull number, name, commission year, and a displacement figure via official Navy tabulation; no service narrative and no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dawn-ix186-04
-
[6]ShipScribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'EFC Design 1041 (Moore S.B. type): Notes & Illustrations' - reproduces NARA RG-32/RG-19 design plan and McKellar, 'Steel Shipbuilding under the U.S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921, Part IV' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Design 1041 notes and specifications paragraph; McKellar Part IV (Contract4.pdf scan)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Design/class documentation: Vacuum (Moore yard no. 157, completed May 1920) is an Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1041 steel tanker - the design was approved by the U.S. Shipping Board EFC in WWI; class specification (S.S. Imlay, EFC hull 1025): steel tanker, 10,000 dwt designed, 425' pp x 57' mld x 33' mld, 25.7' loaded draft, 1 screw, 1 Westinghouse turbine, 3 Scotch boilers, 3,000 shp, 11 kts. Moore built 13 EFC hulls plus additional commercial hulls to the same pattern; Vacuum was a commercial-order hull for Vacuum Oil Co.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1917-1921
- Limitations
- Design-level documentation - the class specification does not name this hull and contains no insulation/asbestos materials statement. Vacuum's commercial-order machinery may differ from the EFC spec (turbine per class spec vs triple-expansion/IHP in merchant records - see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dawn-ix186-05
-
[7]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 scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII, the era of this vessel's WSA and Navy service (1942-1946), when wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level documentation of WWII shipbuilding asbestos use; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. This hull predates WWII construction (built 1920); relevance is to her WWII service and wartime maintenance/refit period.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dawn-ix186-06
-
[8]Rushworth, Denis H., 'The Navy and Asbestos Thermal Insulation,' Naval Engineers Journal 117(2):35-48 (2005), doi:10.1111/j.1559-3584.2005.tb00336.x [other_primary]
- Locator
- NEJ 117(2), abstract and article pp. 35-48
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed Navy engineering retrospective states that asbestos 'was once used in U.S. Navy shipboard pipe and machinery thermal insulation and in many other shipboard products,' describing the evolution of thermal insulation systems in WWII and post-WWII ships - the insulation regime in force during this vessel's Navy commission (1944-1946) and the marine insulation practice context for her 1920 construction era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- WWII-2005 documented; article 2005
- Population
- Navy crews and shipyard insulation workers (class context)
- Limitations
- Navy-wide insulation practice documentation; does not name this hull. Direct quote limited to abstract wording verified on the publisher index page; full text paywalled. Does not establish asbestos aboard this specific vessel, nor quantity, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dawn-ix186-07
-
[9]In re Joint Eastern and Southern Districts Asbestos Litigation (Robinson v. United States), 891 F.2d 31 (2d Cir. 1989) - CourtListener opinion 533004 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 891 F.2d 31 (No. 1547, docket 89-6109); reporter citation previously verified via CourtListener API (BATCH-01 ledger)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Second Circuit ruling addressing mesothelioma claims by a mariner aboard War Shipping Administration vessels; the court considered jurisdiction over a personal-injury claim against the United States for asbestos exposure aboard the WWII government merchant fleet - the same operating agency (WSA) that controlled this hull from 1942-04-20 through its Navy bareboat charter and final return on 1946-04-12 (custody chain documented on the vessel's USMC status card). Claims against the government were barred on discretionary-function grounds.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1989 (opinion); wartime exposure period
- Population
- WWII merchant mariners (class context)
- Limitations
- Fleet-level jurisdictional ruling; does not name this hull, does not find asbestos conditions aboard any specific vessel, and establishes only the litigation posture for WWII WSA-fleet mariner claims. Included because this hull's documented custody chain (WSA TCA -> USMC purchase -> GAA operator -> Navy bareboat -> WSA return) is exactly the legal relationship the ruling addresses.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dawn-ix186-08
-
[10]MARAD/USMC vessel status cards + ShipHistory milestones (controlling) vs NavSource vessel page and Wikipedia vessel article (secondary leads) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Status cards tab (both cards) + milestones table; navsource.org/archives/09/46/46186.htm (secondary); en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Dawn_(IX-186) (secondary)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved/logged: (a) Delivery-to-scrappers date - the contemporaneous Reserve Fleet 'Vessel Data' card and the MARAD milestone table both give withdrawal/delivery to Patapsco Scrap (Metal) Corp. on 1946-12-17 (9:15 AM EST, Lee Hall); a separate typed status card reads 'Delivered Dec 17, 1947' and NavSource repeats 'delivered, 17 December 1947.' The fleet card + milestone (1946-12-17) is adopted as controlling; scrapping itself completed in 1947. (b) Wikipedia's vessel article carries a stale line 'currently in San Francisco Bay ghost fleet, row J' - contradicted by the primary custody record (delivered to a Baltimore scrapper); not carried. (c) MARAD database 'Specific Type: LNG Liquefied Natural Gas' is a data-entry artifact for a 1920 tanker (no LNG seaborne carriage existed until 1959); ignored. (d) Sale date: fleet card 'award 12/2/46' vs NavSource 'sold for scrapping, 4 December 1946' - award vs sale-completion wording; logged, not material.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1946-1947
- Limitations
- Resolves a real date conflict between two faces of the same MARAD card set plus a stale secondary-source disposition claim. Does not affect identity or custody materially; no asbestos content in any source involved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dawn-ix186-09
-
[11]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Dawn (IX-186) page; Auke Visser 'Mobil Tankers & Tugs' Vacuum (2) registry compilation (both secondary compilations - not official sources) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource IX-186 page incl. photo captions; aukevisser.nl/mobil/id648.htm registry table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary compilations (leads, not carried as primary): NavSource vessel page reports WWI-era Navy registry number ID-4501 assigned to the hull, radio call sign NAIU, armament 'one 4-inch, one 3-inch/50, eight 20mm,' photo documentation of Dawn discharging AVGAS at the Diloma Gas Jetty, Subic Bay (c. 1945-04-01 to 1945-07-19) and moored at Naval Station Norfolk awaiting decommissioning (1946-02/04), plus a crew-member anecdote file. Auke Visser's Mobil tanker registry page compiles merchant-registry particulars: triple-expansion engine 51-in stroke; delivered/commissioned 1920-06-02; Vacuum Oil Co. 1920, Standard-Vacuum Transportation 1931, Socony-Vacuum Oil 1935; Texas-Paulsboro crude service, one 1940 San Pedro-Vladivostok voyage; 1943 'six obsolete for three new' tankers barter; broken up Baltimore 2nd quarter 1947.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920-1947
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations only - house rule treats NavSource/registry pages as leads, not authority. Items resting solely on these (ID-4501, NAIU, 20mm battery, merchant voyage detail, triple-expansion engine) are carried as unverified/partial; the custody and service facts they restate are independently confirmed by DANFS and the MARAD cards. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dawn-ix186-10
-
[12]NARA record-group guidance: RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 248 (War Shipping Administration), RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel deck logs), RG 32 (U.S. Shipping Board/EFC); MARAD card annotation 'CONDITION REPORT IN FILE' [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov RG guides; catalog.archives.gov series NAID 594258; shipscribe.com/mckellar/pix/1041.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (a) the USMC vessel status card explicitly annotates 'CONDITION REPORT IN FILE' for this hull - a WSA/USMC vessel condition report likely describing material condition at 1946 lay-up, the single most promising asbestos-relevant document for this vessel, in WSA/USMC custody records (NARA RG 178 Maritime Commission / RG 248 War Shipping Administration vessel files); (b) Navy deck logs for IX-186, Dec 1944-Apr 1946 - NARA RG 24 deck-log holdings, digitization status unconfirmed (WWII-era logs being scanned; catalog.archives.gov, series NAID 594258); (c) EFC Design 1041 contract/plan records - NARA RG 32 (ShipScribe reproduces the design plan and class specification; hull-level outfitting specs would be in EFC/USMC contract files).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920-1946 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping plus a document-existence note from the status card only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether any asbestos-specific document survives for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dawn-ix186-11
-
[13]CourtListener API v4 search endpoint, queries run 2026-09-29 via cl-auth-search.py (authenticated); result sets reviewed from response JSON [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-dawn-ix186-10a through -10e; response files reviewed for case names, courts, suit natures
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener litigation sweep (authenticated v4 API via fleet-paced helper): '"IX-186"' opinions returned 2 hits - DeLonga v. Diocese of Sioux Falls (D.S.D.) and Georgetown-Ridge Farm CUSD No. 4 v. Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board - both name collisions on tokenized 'IX 186' text, neither maritime nor asbestos. '"USS Dawn" AND asbestos' opinions: 0 hits. '"IX-186"' dockets (RECAP type=r): 26 hits, all Title IX education/district-court civil matters - name collisions, no maritime or asbestos dockets. '"USS Dawn"' dockets: 0 hits. '"Socony-Vacuum" AND asbestos' opinions: 55 hits, all operator-level/name-collision results (Mobil-lineage defendants, unrelated 'vacuum'/'Dawn' collisions incl. a plaintiff named 'Lori Dawn White'); none names this hull. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Dawn (IX-186) or the hull located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Sweep of CourtListener's opinion and RECAP indexes only - absence of a docketed opinion or docket naming the hull does not prove no claim was ever filed (trial filings, settled suits, and non-digitized state records are outside coverage). 'Dawn'/'Vacuum'/'IX-186' are high-collision terms; every hit was reviewed and classified. Operator-level asbestos litigation touching the Socony-Vacuum/Mobil lineage exists but names companies and products, not this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dawn-ix186-12
-
[14]Batch-4746 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; MARAD ShipHistory 4986 + status cards; HyperWar IX table; ShipScribe Design 1041; NavSource; aukevisser; Wikipedia (discrepancy check); shipyards.json [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-dawn-ix186-01 through sl-uss-dawn-ix186-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located in the sources searched: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or ship-specific materials statement exists in DANFS, the MARAD/USMC status cards, the official Navy Ships' Data table, the EFC Design 1041 design documentation, or the secondary compilations reviewed; and the CourtListener sweep (ev-12) located no qualifying litigation naming the hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1920 steam tanker is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation and gaskets. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. Litigation coverage is limited to CourtListener's indexed opinions and RECAP dockets; undocketed or non-digitized claims are outside it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dawn-ix186-13