Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]U.S. Maritime Commission, Instruction Manual for Operating and Maintaining 2500 H.P. Triple Expansion Marine Steam Engines, EC2-S-C1 Cargo Vessels (mirrored excerpt) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Mirrored excerpt, engine-cylinder insulation section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission instruction manual for the EC2-S-C1 plant (the design of this vessel's hull) describes cylinder insulation of magnesia under sheet-iron lagging; insulation products of this era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber, and period steam-system gaskets, packing, and insulation felts commonly contained asbestos. Liberty ships were built to emergency USMC specifications during the period when the federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding. This hull was built by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp. under MCE contract hull 1598 and carried the standard EC2-S-C1 machinery plant into Navy service.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943
- Population
- Construction trades (Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, 1943); United Engineering Co. conversion-yard workers (Alameda, 1943); Navy/USNR ship's company and embarked troops
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual names the type, not this vessel, and does not itself state 'asbestos' content (era magnesia lagging was typically asbestos-fiber-reinforced, but the manual text is silent on fiber). Asbestos presence aboard this hull is era inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence (hull scrapped 1970), individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-de-grasse-ap164-01
-
[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 WWII - the era and emergency program under which this EC2-S-C1 Liberty-type hull was mass-produced - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- 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 or the EC2-S-C1 type and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-de-grasse-ap164-02
-
[3]In re Joint Eastern and Southern Districts Asbestos Litigation (Robinson v. United States), 891 F.2d 31 (2d Cir. 1989) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 891 F.2d 31 (No. 1547, docket 89-6109)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Second Circuit ruling addressing mesothelioma claims by a mariner aboard War Shipping Administration vessels; the court barred a personal-injury claim against the United States for asbestos exposure aboard the WWII government merchant fleet on discretionary-function grounds. Contextually relevant to this record because the hull was a WSA-owned Liberty ship converted to a troopship by WSA before Navy acquisition and remained WSA property (MARAD status card field 'Ownership: WSA'), though she was Navy-commissioned and Navy-manned rather than WSA-operated with a civilian crew.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1989 (opinion); wartime exposure period
- Population
- WWII merchant mariners and government-vessel crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Fleet-level jurisdictional ruling; does not name this vessel, does not find asbestos conditions aboard any specific hull, and establishes only litigation posture for WWII government-vessel claims. Its precise applicability to Navy-commissioned WSA hulls (vice WSA-operated merchant hulls) is not adjudicated in this opinion and is flagged, not assumed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-de-grasse-ap164-03
-
[4]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'De Grasse II (AP-164),' NHHC (rewritten Robert J. Cressman, 23 Mar 2007); live URL 404 as of access date - text verified via Internet Archive Wayback capture 2024-04-21 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'De Grasse II (AP-164)' (history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/d/de-grasse-ii.html); Wayback timestamp 2024-04-21 23:21:59
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS (current NHHC text, rewritten by Robert J. Cressman 23 Mar 2007): Liberty ship Nathaniel J. Wyeth laid down 31 Jan 1943 at Portland, Ore., by Oregon Shipbuilding Co. under Maritime Commission contract (MCE hull 1598); launched 24 Feb 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Vincent Palmer; renamed De Grasse 27 Oct 1943 and classified transport AP-164; acquired 28 Oct 1943; converted by United Engineering Co., Alameda, Calif.; commissioned at her conversion yard 8 Nov 1943, LCDR William Jordon, D-M, USNR. Pacific service: Port Hueneme to Pearl Harbor with CB troops and cargo (arriving 2 Dec 1943); assault-troop training in Hawaii; two Marshalls/Gilberts voyages Feb-Mar 1944; Marianas invasion - off Saipan 20-25 June and 2-3 July 1944; inter-island troop transport through end-1944; reclassified cargo ship AK-223 effective 20 Aug 1944; Jan 1945 carried troops to Ulithi staging; arrived off Okinawa 26 Apr 1945, landed men and supplies at Ie Shima 27 Apr; carried 31st Station Hospital (Noumea) and 122nd Station Hospital (Espiritu Santo) to Okinawa, arriving 21 Jul; departed 5 Aug for Saipan, Pearl Harbor, and San Francisco overhaul; Magic Carpet duty returning men from Guam and Saipan; reached San Francisco 23 Jan 1946; decommissioned 28 Mar 1946 and delivered to the War Shipping Administration the same day at Suisun Bay; stricken 17 Apr 1946; renamed Nathaniel J. Wyeth and sold February 1970 'to a New York scrapper' and broken up. Three battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1970
- Limitations
- Authoritative ship history. The stats block gives 'class Kenmore; type EC2-S-C1,' complement 206, armament as of 23 Feb 1945. Narrative says she 'sailed for Hawaiian waters on 2 November 1943' - inconsistent with her 8 Nov commissioning; the older DANFS text and NavSource give 22 Nov 1943, adopted here (see correction row). No asbestos, insulation, or materials statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-de-grasse-ap164-04
-
[5]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - NATHANIEL J. WYETH, Ship History Detail 3557, milestone table plus digitized status cards (Reserve Fleet Division Vessel Data card; Form MA-20 Record of Ship Sales) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 3557, milestone table and card images 3557_6578AF.jpg, 3557_6578AB.jpg, 3557_AF.jpg, 56X_01.png
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record and digitized status cards for NATHANIEL J. WYETH: U.S. Official No. 243005; type EC2-S-C1; built 1943 by Oregon Shipbuilding Co.; hull no. 1598; handwritten card fields read 'TROOP + CARGO,' 'Ownership: WSA,' 'Pass. Cap. 1050,' speed 11; entered Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet 3-28-46 (acquisition 'ex-DE GRASSE AK-223'); 'SOLD SCRAP/PD-X-856 dated 2-10-70 to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. Contract MA-4948 for $44,200' ($44,200.54 on the MA-20 Record of Ship Sales); advertised 1-15-70 under PD-X-856, opened 2-5-70, 'scrap hull'; withdrawn from fleet and delivered to Union Minerals & Alloys 3-17-70; fate 'Sold - Scrap.' Termination port of last voyage: San Francisco.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1946-1970
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody and sale milestones. Confirms WSA ownership notation and ~24 years of NDRF layup. No asbestos, materials, condition-survey, or hazmat statement; the card's 'Pass. Cap. 1050' and ownership fields are the closest thing to ship-specific configuration data on record. The MARAD database's 'General Type: Training (School)' field is unsupported by the custody record (card reads 'TROOP + CARGO') - treated as a data-entry quirk (see gaps). Physical breaking location is not stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-de-grasse-ap164-05
-
[6]USS De Grasse (AK-223) War Diary scan, NavSource Naval History archive 22164a.pdf (ship's wartime report to Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, PacFlt Conf. Ltr. 10L-45 series) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PDF pp. 1-3 (cover letter Serial 112, 8 Jun 1945; May 1945 diary entries for 1-4 May)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Scanned primary document - the ship's own war diary (25-page NavSource PDF, contributed by Frank Gerhardt; NavSource titles the scan 'War Diary, September 1944 to November 1945'). Pages reviewed by OCR: cover letter Serial 112 dated 8 June 1945, U.S.S. DeGRASSE (AK-223), signed F.W. Schultz, Commanding Officer, forwarding the May 1945 war diary to Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet; May 1945 entries show the ship anchored Berth H-161, Hagushi anchorage, Okinawa, Ryukyus, retiring to rear area after assigned duties, and going to general quarters repeatedly on 'flash red' alerts during Japanese air raids over the transport area.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- May 1945 (pages read); Sep 1944-Nov 1945 (scan extent per NavSource title)
- Population
- Ship's company (USNR-manned, complement ~206 per DANFS block) and embarked troops/passengers
- Limitations
- Ship-specific primary document, but scanned images with no text layer - only sampled pages OCR-reviewed (cover letter and May 1945 Okinawa entries); the full Sep 1944-Nov 1945 page range was not read and could contain operational detail not yet captured. Contains no asbestos or materials statement in pages read; a war diary would not be expected to address materials. Originals reside at NARA (see archival_lead row).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-de-grasse-ap164-06
-
[7]Shipscribe.com (Colton), 'USS Kenmore (AP-162) Class' - class construction/disposition tables and class notes [other_primary]
- Locator
- AP-162 class page: construction table row AP-164, disposition table, class notes, ship notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe class record (T. Colton data): the KENMORE (AP-162) class comprised four Maritime Commission EC2-S-C1 hulls - AP-162 Kenmore, AP-163 Livingston, AP-164 De Grasse, AP-165 Prince Georges - all WSA-converted troop transports acquired and Navy-manned Oct-Nov 1943, reclassified AK-221-224 in Aug 1944. Per-hull row: DE GRASSE, MCE hull 1598, ex-merc. NATHANIEL J. WYETH (completed 6 Mar 1943), Oregon SB keel 31 Jan 43 / launch 24 Feb 43, acquired 28 Oct 43, commissioned 8 Nov 43, decomm. 28 Mar 46, strike 17 Apr 46, disposal to MC 28 Mar 46, MA sale 10 Feb 70, 'to buyer 17 Mar 70.' Class notes: WSA performed the troopship conversions (about 1,200 officer/troop passengers) before Navy acquisition and 'no conversion was authorized following receipt of the ships from WSA'; the four were among 33 Liberty ships fully converted by WSA to troop transports (per Roland Charles, 'Troopships of World War II').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1970
- Limitations
- Specialist-compiled reference (Tim Colton shipbuilding data, widely used by NHHC/museums) rather than an archival document; per-hull milestones agree with DANFS and MARAD. Class notes describe the WSA-allocation arrangement for the class, not this hull individually - carried as ship_specific because the per-hull row is explicit. No asbestos or materials statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-de-grasse-ap164-07
-
[8]Cross-source comparison: DANFS current text (2007, Wayback) vs NavSource 22164 archive page vs MARAD status cards vs Shipscribe AP-162 class table vs HyperWar AK-223 table vs mariners-l.co.uk LibShipsN list [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text and stats block; NavSource specs and disposition lines; MARAD cards 3557_6578AF/3557_AF; shipscribe.com/usnaux/AP/AP162.html; ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/AK/AK-223_DeGrasse.html; mariners-l.co.uk/LibShipsN.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies identified and resolved or logged: (a) Scrapper identity - DANFS rewrite says sold Feb 1970 'to a New York scrapper'; NavSource states 'Zidell Explorations, Portland, OR'; mariners-l.co.uk states 'Scrapped Oakland, Cal.' The MARAD status card and MA-20 Record of Ship Sales control the sale: buyer was Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. (a New York-based metals/scrap firm, consistent with the DANFS phrasing) under contract MA-4948; the physical breaking yard (Oakland vs Portland) is not stated in the sale record and remains unverified. (b) Complement - 198 (HyperWar Crater-class table), 206 (DANFS stats block), 214 (Shipscribe class table, 1944), 256 (NavSource spec block) - sources differ by date and basis; carried as a spread. (c) First commanding officer - 'LCDR William Jordon, D-M, USNR' (2007 DANFS) vs 'W. Jordon' (earlier DANFS text) vs 'LCDR Wayne Jordan, USNR' (NavSource roster). (d) Sailing dates - 2007 DANFS 'sailed for Hawaiian waters on 2 November 1943' precedes the 8 Nov commissioning (older DANFS/NavSource give 22 Nov, adopted); Saipan '20-25 June' (2007 DANFS) vs '20-26 June' (older text); Okinawa departure '5 August' (2007) vs '6 August' (older text).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1970
- Limitations
- Reconciles publication-level discrepancies; the MARAD sale record is adopted as controlling for the disposal counterparty, and DANFS figures adopted for identity milestones where sources conflict. Breaking-yard location and complement spread remain open (see gaps). No asbestos content in any compared source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-de-grasse-ap164-08
-
[9]Batch-2091 search ledger (this record): DANFS (Wayback capture); MARAD ShipHistory 3557 + status cards; NavSource archive page + war diary PDF; Shipscribe class page; HyperWar; CourtListener name/hull searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-de-grasse-ap164-01 through sl-uss-de-grasse-ap164-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat or condition disclosure, workers'-compensation record, or docketed case naming the De Grasse / Nathaniel J. Wyeth hull was found in the public sources searched - DANFS contains no materials statement; MARAD ShipHistory and status cards contain none; the ship's war diary pages reviewed contain none; CourtListener name and hull-number searches (opinions and dockets) returned only name/number collisions and no case naming the hull (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943 EC2-S-C1 hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials in the standard Liberty plant and fittings. The hull was scrapped in 1970, so no surviving-fabric survey is possible; wartime crew exposure is plausible by era but undocumented at the hull level. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-de-grasse-ap164-09
-
[10]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (deck logs), RG 38 (ONRL war diaries), RG 178 (Maritime Commission), RG 19/RG 181 (BuShips/12th Naval District) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA record-group guides; NavSource PDF scan provenance; NHHC photo number from NavSource caption
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 24 deck logs for USS De Grasse AP-164/AK-223 (Nov 1943-Mar 1946) and the original war diaries (RG 38, Office of Naval Records & Library war diary series) - the NavSource scan derives from these; (b) RG 181 (12th Naval District) and RG 19 (BuShips) conversion/allocation correspondence for the WSA-to-Navy AP-164 transfer, incl. any United Engineering Co. outfitting specifications; (c) RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) construction records for MCE hull 1598 at Oregon Shipbuilding; (d) NHHC photo NH 77387 (Magic Carpet-period image held by NHHC via Shipscribe).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1970 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-de-grasse-ap164-10