Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[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 documented design type of this hull - MCE hull 453, Crater-class AKs being Navy-manned EC2-S-C1 hulls) 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-type hulls were built to emergency USMC specifications during the period when the federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding. Typical applications for the type: boiler and steam-drum insulation; steam-line lagging between boiler room and engine room; valve and flange gaskets; machinery packing; insulation in accommodation spaces and around the galley; brake linings on winches and windlass.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Construction trades (Permanente Metals Yard No. 2, Richmond, 1942-43); Navy engine-room and repair personnel
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual names the type, not this vessel, and does not itself state 'asbestos' content. Asbestos presence aboard this hull is era/design inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, individual exposure, or causation; present-day presence moot (hull scrapped 1968).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-draco-ak79-01
-
[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 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
- 2026-09-21
- 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 aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-draco-ak79-02
-
[3]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), 'Draco' entry - transcription via hazegray DANFS mirror (live NHHC URLs returned 404 on 2026-09-21; standing link-rot per BATCH-01-REPORT.md) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full DANFS entry text (hazegray mirror). Canonical NHHC URLs https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/d/draco.html, /d/draco-i.html, /d/draco-ak-79.html and legacy /danfs/d5/draco.htm all returned 404
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Draco (AK-79): launched 1943-01-19 as John M. Palmer by Permanente Metals Corp., Richmond, Calif., under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Miss G. M. San Facon; transferred to the Navy 1943-01-31; commissioned 1943-02-16, LCDR E. L. Evey, USNR, in command. Towed YFD-21 from Seattle via Pearl Harbor to Espiritu Santo, arriving 1943-05-05; carried cargo from Auckland, New Zealand, to Noumea, Espiritu Santo, Guadalcanal, and the Fiji Islands, supporting the consolidation of the Solomons and the invasions of Cape Torokina (Bougainville) and Emirau Island; unloaded cargo at Guam 1944-07-27 to 08-10 during the capture and occupation of that island; returned to cargo runs New Zealand-Solomons until arriving Ulithi 1945-05-26; sailed 1945-06-20 for Okinawa, discharging Army supplies 1945-06-26 to 07-12; loaded salvaged equipment/vehicles at Guadalcanal, arrived Tacoma 1945-08-27; decommissioned 1945-11-28 and returned to the Maritime Commission the same day. Two battle stars. Stat line: dp. 4,023; l. 441'6"; b. 56'11"; dr. 28'4"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 198; a. 1 5", 1 3"; cl. Crater. Namesake: a northern constellation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Ship's company 1943-1945 (complement 198 per DANFS stat line); embarked/transported personnel on cargo runs
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, wartime service, awards, and disposition to MARCOM. DANFS is an official Navy history but a compiled narrative, not a materials record - it contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement and supports no asbestos claim; gives no laid-down or stricken date. Mirror transcription used because the live NHHC page is unreachable; transcription checked for internal consistency, not against the NHHC original.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-draco-ak79-03
-
[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - DRACO (AK-79) detail 12540 and JOHN M. PALMER detail 2621 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/12540 and /ShipHistory/Detail/2621 (keyword 'Draco' and 'Palmer' list lookups)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory detail pages for this hull: DRACO (AK-79) detail (ShipHistory 12540) - year built 1942, official number 242861, shipyard Permanente Metals Corporation, general type Naval Auxiliary / specific type AK Cargo Ship, MARAD type EC2-S-C1, length 441.5 ft, beam 56.8 ft, displacement 14,350 t (summer)/4,023 t (light), fate 'Sold - Foreign Flag Op.', mission WWII, name history DRACO (AK-79) / JOHN M. PALMER; no status cards, documents, milestones, or narrative on this page. JOHN M. PALMER detail (ShipHistory 2621) - year built 1943, same official number 242861 and shipyard, general cargo/break bulk, length 441.5 ft, beam 57.0 ft, 7,194 gross/4,383 net tons, cargo capacity 499,573 cu ft (bale), fate 'Sold - No Further Info', milestones entry/acquisition 1945-11-28.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government-custody identity, type, and headline metrics. The two detail pages disagree on year built (1942 vs 1943) and beam (56.8 vs 57.0) - variances carried in gaps, not merged. Detail 2621 labels the 499,573 cu ft bale figure 'Cargo Capacity ... square feet' - the status card shows it is a cubic-capacity (bale cu. ft.) figure. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-draco-ak79-04
-
[5]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory detail 2621 attachments - vessel status cards 3MH_01.png and 2621_4895AF.jpg; USMC Transfer Order No. C-5617 (document JohnMPalmer_2621_001.pdf) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Card images https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/cards/3MH_01.png and /cards/2621_4895AF.jpg (handwritten entries read from scans); Transfer Order PDF /documents/JohnMPalmer_2621_001.pdf
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD digitized status cards and sale instrument for JOHN M. PALMER (O.N. 242861). Allocation/status card (3MH_01): 'Now Draco'; type cargo; D.W.T. 10,846; gross 7,194; net 4,383; bale cu. 499,573; grain cu. 562,608; Sp 12.5; hull no. 453; built by Perm. Metals Corp. at Richmond, Cal., completed 1943-01-31; 'Basis to W.S.A. 1-31-43 1:30PM PWT @ Richmond, Cal. - Owned.' Operator chain: Navy Dept. (renamed DRACO) under BB (bareboat) agreement, Richmond, Cal., 1943-01-31 1:30PM PWT; WSA Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Va., 1945-11-28 3:00PM EST; Dichmann, Wright & Pugh, Inc. under GAA (general agency agreement), Lee Hall, Va., 1947-07-22 10AM EST; SOUTHERN STEAMSHIPS PROPRIETARY LTD, purchase, Norfolk, Va., 1947-08-09 noon EST; 'TITLE PASSED AT HOBOKEN 8-7-47 2:30PM EDT'; partially legible marginal annotation under purchaser line appears to read 'act 1946.' Reserve Fleet Division card (2621_4895AF): present name JOHN M. PALMER, former DRACO AK-79; type EC2; 11 knots; fleet JR; DWT 10,500; ownership WSA; Permanente #2 1943; date entered fleet 1945-11-28; hull no. 453; status U; termination port last voyage NORFOLK; length 422.8, breadth 57.0, depth 34.8; ships papers PREL. ALLOC. 407 7-9-47, FINAL 400 7/15/47, custodian noted 'So. africa'; date withdrawn from fleet 1947-07-22 10:00AM delivered to Div. of Oper.; red-ink annotation 'Sold / So. africa / 7-15-47.' USMC Transfer Order No. C-5617 (issued 1947-07-24): the Commission on 1947-06-26 authorized sale of steam screw JOHN M. PALMER, Official No. 242861, to Southern Steamships (Proprietary) Limited, a corporation of the Union of South Africa, approving transfer to South African registry and flag under Sections 9 and 37 of the Shipping Act 1916; certified true copy signed R. L. McDonald, Assistant Secretary.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- NDRF custodial staff at Lee Hall 1945-1947; GAA agent handling crews; no exposure data recorded
- Limitations
- Authoritative primary record for legal custody: WSA ownership, bareboat allocation to the Navy, reserve-fleet enrollment at Lee Hall on decommission day, agent hand-off, title passage, and the foreign-flag sale approval. Cards are handwritten scanned forms - readings are OCR/eyeball-aided and a few annotations are partially legible (e.g., 'act 1946'). Cards document the sale to Southern Steamships but do not state subsequent renames or where the hull was scrapped. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-draco-ak79-05
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[6]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Draco (AK-79) page; ShipbuildingHistory.com Kaiser Permanente No. 2 Liberty-ships table (row 453); wastrust.com Western Built Ship List (rev. 2024-02); Wikipedia ship data block - all secondary, reconciled against MARAD cards and DANFS [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AK-79 page (service timeline, specs, commanding officers); shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/kperm2.htm row 453; wastrust.com PDF p. 'Kaiser Shipyards, Yard 2--Richmond, CA'; MARAD card locators per ev-05
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Secondary-source reconciliation against the controlling MARAD/DANFS record: (a) Reserve-fleet sequence - NavSource reports return to the Maritime Commission 1946-07-27 for lay-up at NDRF Astoria, OR, and a second lay-up entry 1947-07-22 at NDRF James River Group, Lee Hall, Va. The MARAD status cards instead document WSA Reserve Fleet enrollment AT Lee Hall on 1945-11-28 (decommission day) and a withdrawal/delivery to GAA sale agent Dichmann, Wright & Pugh at Lee Hall on 1947-07-22 10AM - the event NavSource labels a 7-22-47 'lay-up' was in fact the withdrawal-for-sale. An interim Astoria berthing is not corroborated by the cards (the ship was physically at Tacoma on decommission; card 'termination port, last voyage' is Norfolk). (b) Stricken date 1945-12-19 - secondary sources only (NavSource; Wikipedia); absent from DANFS and the MARAD cards. (c) Post-sale chain - renamed President Kruger (1947), Riviera (1951), Effie (1953), President Pretorius (1958), scrapped Kaohsiung, Taiwan, April 1968 - secondary compilations only (NavSource; partially corroborated by the ShipbuildingHistory yard table 'sold private 1947, scrapped 1968,' which itself mistypes the hull as 'AK 77,' and by the wastrust Western-Built list 'Sold to South Africa; scrapped 1968'). (d) Complement - DANFS stat line 198 vs NavSource 206 (18 officers + 188 enlisted); both carried. (e) Laid down 1942-12-15 - secondary only (ShipbuildingHistory Kaiser Permanente No. 2 yard table, way 9; Wikipedia); DANFS gives launch only and the MARAD cards give completion 1943-01-31.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1945-1968
- Limitations
- All sources in this row are secondary compilations except where the MARAD cards and DANFS control. The fleet-sequence reading corrects NavSource's 'lay-up' framing using the primary cards; the post-1947 rename/scrapping chain rests on mutually consistent secondary sources and is not verified at registry level (no foreign registry or breaking-yard documents located). No asbestos content in any source cited or corrected here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-draco-ak79-06
-
[7]Atlas shipyards.json record 'kaiser-shipyards' (Richmond, CA): California DTSC Site Cleanup listing; EPA CERCLA ID CAD980637557 [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyard-exposure-map/client/src/data/shipyards.json yard_id 'kaiser-shipyards'; DTSC project page (403 to automated fetch)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The builder of this hull - Permanente Metals Corporation Yard No. 2, Richmond - is part of the Kaiser Richmond shipyard complex carrying site-level asbestos records in the project shipyards dataset (yard_id kaiser-shipyards, evidence_tier 3): California DTSC Richmond Harbor Restoration Project listing for the former Kaiser yard site and EPA CERCLA record CAD980637557; the yard record documents asbestos-containing materials in site soils and structures and wartime insulation/fireproofing products used at the Richmond yards, 1940-1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1940-1945 (operations); remediation 1990s-2010s
- Population
- Wartime construction workforce at Kaiser Richmond yards (site-level)
- Limitations
- Site-level environmental documentation for the construction yard, not a vessel record - does not name this hull and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard, nor any individual exposure. DTSC page returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch 2026-09-21; the row rests on the project yard dataset, which itself cites DTSC and EPA.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-draco-ak79-07
-
[8]Batch-954 search ledger (this record): DANFS mirror full text; MARAD ShipHistory 12540/2621 + status cards + Transfer Order C-5617; NavSource/ShipbuildingHistory secondary checks; CourtListener API (throttled) + site: fallback; NARA guidance [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-draco-ak79-01 through sl-uss-draco-ak79-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Draco, AK-79, John M. Palmer, President Kruger, Riviera, Effie, or President Pretorius was found in the public sources searched - the DANFS entry contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement; the MARAD detail pages, both digitized status cards, and the USMC transfer order contain custody/legal data only; CourtListener API searches were blocked by daily throttle, with site-restricted mitigation checks returning no opinion naming the ship, hull number, or any name variant - see search_ledger.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 2026-09-21
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942-43 EC2-S-C1 hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the hull was broken up at Kaohsiung in the pre-OSHA era (1968) without located materials documentation. The CourtListener check is incomplete (API throttle; site: fallback showed no qualifying hit) - a re-run is flagged in the ledger, so 'no litigation' is a provisional negative, not a verified one. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-draco-ak79-08
-
[9]NARA research guidance: 'Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives' and 1941-1959 deck logs; Guide to Federal Records RG 24, RG 38, RG 178, RG 19 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html, /038.html, /178.html, /019.html; archives.gov/research/military/logbooks
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room work or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): (1) NARA RG 24, Bureau of Naval Personnel deck logs, College Park - the 1941-1959 series covers Draco's commissioned period (1943-02-16 to 1945-11-28), including the Guam unloading and Okinawa discharge periods; deck logs record daily events, personnel, and operations. (2) NARA RG 38, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations WWII action/operational reports and war diaries - the expected repository for Draco's operational reporting. (3) NARA RG 178, U.S. Maritime Commission Construction Division records and West Coast (San Francisco) Director for Construction files - contract/outfitting records for MCE hull 453 at Permanente Metals Yard No. 2. (4) NARA RG 19, Bureau of Ships records - Navy-side outfitting/conversion specifications for AK-79 if conversion work was separately documented beyond the builder contract.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1968 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. No digitized AK-79 deck logs located via the catalog interface this session (WWII-era logs largely undigitized; spot check inconclusive). Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-draco-ak79-09