Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet ah-packet.md (5 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS DuPage
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-dupage-apb51-pkt-ah-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS entry 'DuPage II (APB-51)' (Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships) - canonical URL https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/d/dupage-ii.html (404 on 2026-09-25); text verified via Wayback capture 20250123192858 and concordant HistoryCentral transcription [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Wayback capture of NHHC page; HistoryCentral transcription https://www.historycentral.com/navy/APA/Dupage.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry 'DuPage II': 'The second DuPage (APB-51) was a self-propelled barracks ship which operated in a noncommissioned status providing Special Services with advanced bases, Pacific area, during 1951-59.' Namesake: a county in Illinois. The single-sentence entry establishes name, hull number, type, noncommissioned status, function, theater, and Navy-service window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1951-1959
- Limitations
- NHHC canonical URL returns HTTP 404 (link rot, same defect class as Batch-01); text verified through two concordant reproductions (Wayback capture of the NHHC page itself; HistoryCentral DANFS transcription). One-sentence entry - establishes identity/status only; contains no asbestos, materials, complement, or construction data.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dupage-apb51-01
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - JOHN W. WEEKS, Ship History Detail 8807 (characteristics, milestones, and digitized vessel status card) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 8807 characteristics + milestone table; status-card scan /cards/3P3_01.png (read directly - card is legible; operator name partially struck through on card)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database record + digitized Vessel Status Card for JOHN W. WEEKS (Ship History Detail 8807): U.S. Official No. 242750; MARAD type EC2-S-C1; built 1943 by Oregon Shipbuilding Company, Portland, OR (yard hull no. 617); completed 1943-01-09; basis to WSA 1943-01-09 at Portland; general-agency operation (operator listed as Northland Transportation Co.); bareboat delivery to War Department at Yokohama, Japan 1946-05-20; title to Navy Department 'as is-where is' 1951-03-19; renamed 'DU PAGE'. Database milestone: 'Transfer 3/19/1951 - Transferred to U. S. Navy'; fate: 'Transferred - U.S. Govt.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1951 (card coverage)
- Limitations
- Authoritative government custody record. Status-card GAA operator name is partially strike-through obscured (reads 'Northland Transportation Co.'); card shows no post-1951 return entry - the 'returned to MARAD for disposal' line in NavSource is not reflected on the card (disposal was a Navy sale in Japan per shipscribe). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dupage-apb51-02
-
[4]MARAD ShipHistory vessel file for JOHN W. WEEKS (Detail 8807) - digitized USCG documents: Form D-166 radio sealing reports (1943, Seattle, 13th Naval District) and USCG HQ memorandum 1945-03-18 (life rafts aboard EC2-S-C1 vessels) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Detail 8807 'Historical Documents' / 'Documents' downloads JohnWWeeks_8807_001-006.pdf (OCR-aided; scans are rough)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The digitized MARAD vessel file for this hull contains six wartime documents: four U.S. Coast Guard Form D-166 Radio Sealing Reports (13th Naval District, Seattle) for SS John W. Weeks during 1943 port calls, and a USCG Headquarters memorandum dated 1945-03-18 (NARA declassification project NW 63684) naming John W. Weeks as an EC2-S-C1 class vessel while documenting corrective lifeboat/life-raft measures for the EC2-S-C1 type ('elimination of the lifeboats, port and starboard, between #2 and #3 hatches and the installation of larger lifeboats on the boat deck, together with the installation of an improved life raft'). Documents wartime operation under the WSA/Army chain and a class-level equipment alteration during her service period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Wartime merchant crew; USCG radio-security boarding officers
- Limitations
- Scans are OCR-degraded; dates/severities read with limited confidence (radio sealing reports circa April-May 1943; HQ memo 1945-03-18 legible). Documents establish port calls and a class-wide equipment correction, not materials aboard the hull - no asbestos content in any document reviewed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dupage-apb51-03
-
[5]shipscribe.com, 'USS DuPage (APB 51, EC2-S-C1) Class' page (Stephen S. Roberts, compiled 2021-09-09) - construction/disposition tables, class notes, ship notes; photo captions page records NHHC Ships' Histories holding the 1960-03-29 sale brochure and NARA photo 80-G-79593 [other_primary]
- Locator
- APB-51 class page 'Class Notes' + 'Ship Notes' + 'Disposition' table; companion photos page APB51-p.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts) compiled class notes for DuPage: WSA converted the Liberty ship John W. Weeks in November-December 1943 to carry 1,100 troops, initially to reinforce Alaska; bareboat chartered to the Army at Yokohama 1946-05-20; operated by Japanese crew under SCAJAP; repatriated SCAJAP crews to Japan late 1946-May 1950; temporarily assigned as Navy barracks ship at Yokosuka while still Army-chartered; Commander MSTS proposed Navy acquisition 1950-11-27; MARAD-to-Navy title transfer 1951-03-19 'as is-where is' simultaneous with Army redelivery; continued Japanese-manned as SCAJAP VH 007; named DUPAGE 1951-04-26, designated APB-51 effective 1951-07-01; arrived Sasebo 1951-10-16; placed in service at Sasebo 1952-01-15; towed Sasebo-Yokosuka by USS Cocopa (ATF-101) 1955-02-21/23; out of service in reserve at Yokosuka 1955-06-30, ~40-man crew performing inactivation; CNO approved disposal 1959-05-18; stricken 1959-06-01; offered for scrapping sale at Yokosuka 1960-03-29.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1960
- Population
- U.S. Navy barracks detachment (~40 men, 1955 inactivation); SCAJAP Japanese crew; embarked transient personnel
- Limitations
- shipscribe is a specialist compilation by a recognized naval-reference author working from primary records (Ships' Data, MARAD files, NHHC files) - it is a secondary source, not the underlying record; its detailed dates are corroborated where checkable (title transfer 1951-03-19 and Yokohama bareboat 1946-05-20 match the MARAD status card exactly; stricken 1959-06-01 matches NavSource). Photo caption 'MCE 51' is a typo for hull 617 (MARAD card + NavSource + shipscribe ship notes all give 617). No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dupage-apb51-04
-
[6]NARA photo 80-G-79593, Record Group 80-G (caption transcribed at shipscribe APB51 photos page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe APB51-p.html caption block; NARA Catalog item for 80-G-79593 not individually retrieved (catalog API unreachable this session)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- U.S. National Archives photo 80-G-79593 (RG 80-G): 'SS John W Weeks' photographed at Kodiak, Alaska, on 1943-02-06 - documents the hull's wartime Alaska service within weeks of her January 1943 delivery, preceding the November-December 1943 troop-carrying conversion whose initial purpose was Alaska reinforcement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-02-06
- Limitations
- Photo number and caption documented by shipscribe's compiler; the NARA catalog item was not independently pulled (catalog.archives.gov API returned no usable endpoint 2026-09-25). Caption says '(MCE 51)' - typo for MCE hull 617. Photograph establishes location/date only; no materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dupage-apb51-05
-
[7]NavSource Naval History, 'DuPage (APB-51)' archive page (specification block, awards, officer-in-charge table, contributed photo captions, DANFS transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page chronology + specifications + 'Officer in Charge' table + photo captions (page last updated 2017-06-02)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Online (Amphibious Photo Archive) APB-51 page: specification block lists displacement 4,023 t lt / 11,565 t fl, 441'6", 56'11" beam, 12 kt, complement 151, troop accommodations up to 990, armament none, one vertical reciprocating steam engine 1,950 shp; award ribbon: National Defense Service Medal; officer-in-charge table lists LCDR Robert D. Maloney, USNR (1952-1954); contributed photo caption (crew member Bill Birchard, FN, 1952-54) describes the ship in active barracks status at Sasebo 'with an operational propulsion plant' and a 20mm gun in the starboard bridge wing. Page repeats the DANFS one-line entry and records stricken 1959-06-01.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1960
- Population
- U.S. Navy barracks detachment (LCDR Maloney OIC; FN Birchard 1952-54); embarked transient troops
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archive (not an official publication) used for spec/award/OIC data and veteran-contributed photo captions; overlapping facts verified against DANFS/shipscribe/MARAD. Its chronology is internally contradictory ('Placed out of service in 1952' then 'out of service, date unknown') and its 'scrapped in 1959' conflicts with the dated 1960-03-29 NHHC sale brochure - discrepancies logged in gaps. Armament 'none' conflicts with the visible 20mm mount in the 1952-54 photo. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dupage-apb51-06
-
[8]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 of this exact 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. 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
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1960
- Population
- Oregon Shipbuilding construction trades (1942-43); wartime merchant/Army-transport engine crews; SCAJAP crews; U.S. Navy detachment with an operational steam plant (1952-54)
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual names the type, not this vessel, and does not itself state 'asbestos' content (magnesia lagging of the era was typically asbestos-fiber-reinforced, but the manual text is silent on fiber). Because this hull is a documented EC2-S-C1 the inference is design-level, not merely era-level, but asbestos presence aboard this hull remains not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dupage-apb51-07
-
[9]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 at an emergency yard (Oregon Shipbuilding, a Kaiser-yard facility) - 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 the EC2-S-C1 type or this vessel 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-dupage-apb51-08
-
[10]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 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) under whose custody this hull served 1943-1951 before Navy title. Claims against the government were barred on discretionary-function grounds - the characteristic litigation posture for exposure aboard WSA-era hulls like this one.
- 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 WSA-era crews (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 government-fleet claims. Reporter citation confirmed per Batch-01 verification. The hull's Navy phase (1951-1955) postdates WSA custody - the ruling's posture applies to her 1943-1951 WSA/MC/Army period.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dupage-apb51-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 search (type=o and type=r), queries: "USS DuPage" OR "APB-51"; DuPage asbestos; "John W. Weeks" asbestos; DuPage (dockets) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-dupage-apb51-09 through sl-uss-dupage-apb51-12
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweeps (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-25): '"USS DuPage" OR "APB-51"' returned 0 opinions. 'DuPage asbestos' returned 44 opinion hits - ALL name collisions (DuPage County, Illinois litigation incl. Illinois Appellate/Supreme Court and N.D. Ill. cases; county municipalities; 'DuPage Die Casting' party names; no ship). '"John W. Weeks" asbestos' returned 2 opinions (Hamilton v. Garlock, S.D.N.Y. 1998/2000) - name collision: the ship in that case is USS John W. Weeks (DD-701), the Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, not this EC2-S-C1 hull. 'DuPage' returned 3,237 opinion hits and 69,183 docket hits - all DuPage County, Illinois / College of DuPage / DuPage Housing Authority collisions; none names the vessel. No qualifying asbestos litigation, and no litigation of any kind naming the vessel, was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Negative search result, not a finding about conditions aboard: absence of docketed litigation naming the ship does not establish absence of exposure. Navy-ship asbestos claims typically proceed against manufacturers rather than hulls, so hull-name search under-detects; 'DuPage' is high-collision (DuPage County, IL litigation) and 'John W. Weeks' collides with the Secretary of War and destroyer DD-701 - both names filtered accordingly. Classified as negative_finding within the limits stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dupage-apb51-10
-
[12]Batch-2409 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (Wayback capture), NavSource, shipscribe, MARAD ShipHistory + vessel file documents, NVR, NARA catalog/API, CourtListener, VA/BVA web search [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-dupage-apb51-01 through sl-uss-dupage-apb51-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, materials schedule, regulator hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming USS DuPage (APB-51), SS John W. Weeks, MCE hull 617, or Official No. 242750 was found in the sources searched (see search_ledger). The 1960 Navy sale brochure (NHHC Ships' Histories file) is the most likely surviving document that could carry a materials/condition statement and is not digitized.
- 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 1942-43 EC2-S-C1 hull operated through 1955 with a live steam plant and scrapped without public abatement documentation is era-consistent with installed asbestos materials. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dupage-apb51-11
-
[13]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 178 (US Maritime Commission) and RG 248 (War Shipping Administration); shipscribe photo captions citing NHHC Ships' Histories (1960 sale brochure) and NARA 80-G-79593 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html and /248.html; shipscribe.com/usnaux2/APB/APB51-p.html photo source lines
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction; no spend authorized): (a) NHHC Ships' Histories branch file for DuPage holds the 1960-03-29 Yokosuka sale-for-scrapping brochure (photographs published at shipscribe; brochure text could carry condition/materials statements - not digitized). (b) NARA RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) Construction Division and Portland-area files may hold hull 617 construction and the November-December 1943 WSA troop conversion records; RG 248 holds WSA vessel acquisition/operation files; the vessel was never commissioned, so no Navy deck-log series is expected - Army/SCAJAP operating records would follow the custody chain (RG 248 / occupation-era records). (c) NARA RG 80-G photo 80-G-79593 (Kodiak, 1943-02-06) - catalog item not individually retrieved.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1960 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and file-level mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for hull 617 is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dupage-apb51-12