USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38)

Evidence

10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).

1. [1]research packet dy-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Duxbury Bay. Hull: AVP-38. Designation: AVP (seaplane tender). Class: Barnegat — https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/AVP/avp38.html [mirror]

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-duxbury-bay-avp38-pkt-dy-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, 'Duxbury Bay' (AVP-38) entry, specifications block and full service narrative; hazegray transcription via Internet Archive capture of 2024-08-12; ibiblio HyperWar transcription cross-checked [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Specifications block + full service narrative; ibiblio mirror at https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/AVP/avp38.html (its '1960' year in the ten-tours sentence is a transcription error - see correction row ev-09)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: launched 2 October 1944 by Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, Wash.; sponsored by Mrs. R. E. Torkelson; commissioned 31 December 1944, Commander F. N. House in command. Sailed from San Diego 12 March 1945, called at Pearl Harbor, tended planes at Eniwetok and Ulithi, arrived Kerama Retto off Okinawa 29 April; supported the 3d Fleet as seadrome control tender, mail ship, movie exchange, and gasoline supply ship for small craft until war's end. Tended patrol squadrons at Shanghai and Tsingtao, China; Jinsen, Korea; and Hong Kong until returning to San Francisco 20 October 1946. Two more Far East tours: 25 February-8 September 1947 (Yokosuka and Okinawa) and 2 February-27 July 1948 (planes patrolling over Chinese territory during Communist expansion). Round-the-world cruise departing Long Beach 17 March 1949, one month as flagship for Commander, Persian Gulf, arriving Norfolk 3 July; operated as seaplane base at Halifax, Nova Scotia, during cold-weather exercises 29 October-21 November 1949. Between 4 January 1950 and 31 December 1960 served 10 tours in the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean as flagship for Commander, Middle East Force: security patrol and messengers for the Southeast Asia Treaty Conference at Ceylon (1951); visited by Emperor Haile Selassie February 1953 and transported him to French Somaliland; homeward 1954-55 via Mombasa, Durban, and Rio de Janeiro. Departed Norfolk 3 October 1956; with the Suez Canal blocked she patrolled off eastern Crete supporting Suda Bay airfield for the UN Emergency Force; carried underwater demolition teams to Saros Bay, Turkey, February 1957; returned Norfolk 11 March 1957; Ceylon flood relief January 1958; special call at Karachi December 1959 during President Eisenhower's visit to India and Pakistan.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1960

   Population

   Construction trades (Houghton, WA, 1944); crew 1944-1966 (complement 215 ship's company plus embarked aviation unit)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents construction, service, and ports - not materials or asbestos content. The entry text ends at the December 1959 Karachi call and carries no decommissioning/disposal line (entry predates disposal in the DANFS print run); dates after 1959 are supplied by ev-02 and ev-03. Live NHHC DANFS pages return 404 (standing NHHC link rot); transcriptions cited.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-duxbury-bay-avp38-01

3. [3]Naval Historical Center (NHHC), Online Library of Selected Images, 'USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38), 1944-1967' summary narrative; ibiblio.org HyperWar mirror of the NHHC Online Library [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Online Library page summary narrative (paragraphs 1-4)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NHHC Online Library photo-archive narrative for this hull supplements DANFS: 1,766-ton Barnegat-class small seaplane tender built at Houghton, Washington, commissioned December 1944; between January 1950 and early 1966 performed 15 tours of duty in the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean as flagship for Commander, Middle East Force, averaging about one cruise per year with intervening upkeep at her home port of Norfolk and refresher training at Guantanamo Bay; Middle East flagship duty rotated between three AVPs all eventually painted white and specially fitted - Duxbury Bay, Greenwich Bay (AVP-41), and Valcour (AVP-55); visited by Emperor Haile Selassie 1953; acted as a contingent recovery ship for Project Mercury in May 1963; service pattern described as incessant shuttling between regional ports broken by periods inport at her base at Bahrain; decommissioned April 1966 a few months after her last deployment; sold for scrap July 1967.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1967

   Population

   Crew 1944-1966; embarked flag staff during Middle East Force tours

   Limitations

   Official NHHC narrative; establishes the 15-tour flagship total spanning January 1950-early 1966, the white-painted rotating trio, the Bahrain operating base, the May 1963 Mercury assignment, and April 1966 decommissioning / July 1967 scrap sale. No asbestos or materials content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-duxbury-bay-avp38-02

4. [4]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) page 4338 (specifications block, milestone list, awards/campaign tables, commanding-officer list, and photo captions citing NARA/NHHC photo numbers); retrieved via Internet Archive capture of 2024-12-10 [other_primary]

   Locator

   Specifications block; milestone list; campaign/occupation tables; photo captions 19-N-77270, 19-N-82815-17, NH 97626-97630, NH 69826, NH 102678

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource vessel page 4338 and specification block: laid down 17 January 1944 at Lake Washington Shipyards, Houghton, WA (the laid-down date DANFS omits); launched 2 October 1944; commissioned 31 December 1944 (CDR Frank N. House); decommissioned 30 April 1966; struck from the Naval Register 1 May 1966; sold for scrapping July 1967; two World War II battle stars. Campaign table: Okinawa Gunto assault and occupation 26 April-30 June 1945; 3rd Fleet operations against Japan 10-25 July 1945. Occupation/China service: 2 September 1945-1 October 1946; 18 March-18 August 1947; 14 February-13 July 1948; 13-19 June 1949. Awards include Navy Expeditionary Service Medal (Cuba). Specifications: 1,766 t light / 2,800 t full; 310'9" x 41'2" x 13'6"; 18.2 kt; four Fairbanks-Morse 38D8-1/8 diesels, single Fairbanks-Morse main reduction gear, two propellers, 6,080 shp; diesel-drive generators 2x100 kW + 2x200 kW 450V AC; complement 14 officers + 201 enlisted plus aviation-unit accommodations 59 officers + 93 enlisted; fuel 1,955 bbl diesel + 84,340 gal aviation gasoline; one single 5"/38 DP, one quad and two twin 40mm, four twin 20mm, 10-t boom. Photo captions (NARA/NHHC photo numbers): launch 19-N-77270; off Lake Washington Shipyards 28 December 1944 in Measure 33 Design 1F (19-N-82815/16/17); moored Whangpoo River, Shanghai, April 1946; circa-1951-52 view showing her still in gray with the 5-inch mount while Valcour appeared fresh from the shipyard in white without hers; Red Sea HU-16 refueling after a 1952 Suez transit; relieved as Middle East Force flagship by Valcour in spring 1953; 'last shipyard overhaul in the summer of 1962' (new mast, air-search radar, deckhouse extension) per NH 69826 caption.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1967

   Limitations

   Volunteer-maintained archive reproducing official specification data and NARA/NHHC photo captions - treated as a secondary source carrying primary artifacts. Its caption transcriptions date the 5-inch gun removal 'around 1952' where the NHHC Online Library transcription of the same photos says 'around 1956' - discrepancy logged in ev-09. Live navsource.org did not resolve at access date; Wayback capture used. No asbestos or materials content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-duxbury-bay-avp38-03

5. [5]United States ex rel. Froehlich v. Forrestel, 137 F. Supp. 580 (N.D. Ill. 1956), CourtListener cluster 8738801; Grant v. United States, 162 Ct. Cl. 600 (1963), CourtListener cluster 8614195 [court_record]

   Locator

   Froehlich opinion, factual recitation (desertion 'while serving aboard the U.S.S. Duxbury Bay,' October 1949); Grant opinion, factual recitation (ONI interview of 1960-04-04 naming 'the USS DUXBURY BAY'); Grant at https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/8614195/grant-v-united-states/

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Two CourtListener-indexed opinions name this vessel, both 'other litigation' (not asbestos): (a) United States ex rel. Froehlich v. Forrestel, 137 F. Supp. 580 (N.D. Ill. 1956) - a habeas petition by a Navy relator charged with desertion 'while serving aboard the U.S.S. Duxbury Bay' on or about 22 October 1949; the opinion decides a UCMJ statute-of-limitations question and the ship appears only as the former duty station. (b) Grant v. United States, 162 Ct. Cl. 600 (Court of Claims, 1963) - the plaintiff, a Navy enlisted man seeking pay and allowances after a general discharge, had been questioned by the Office of Naval Intelligence on 4 April 1960 about alleged homosexual activity of members serving aboard his former duty station, the USS Duxbury Bay.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   Opinions filed 1956 and 1963; events described 1949 and 1958-1960

   Population

   Crew members aboard circa 1949 (Froehlich desertion charge) and circa 1958-1960 (Grant ONI investigation)

   Limitations

   Both classified 'other litigation' under the batch protocol: each names the ship only as a service member's duty station - Froehlich within a desertion/UCMJ-limitations habeas dispute, Grant within a discharge-review/pay claim. Neither alleges anything about asbestos, materials, or exposure; they are carried so the litigation sweep is fully accounted, not as exposure evidence.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-duxbury-bay-avp38-04

6. [6]CourtListener authenticated v4 search API (helper cl-auth-search.py), exact ship name and hull number, opinion and docket indexes, 26 September 2026 [court_record]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-duxbury-bay-avp38-05 through -08

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Authenticated CourtListener v4 sweep completed 2026-09-26 across four exact queries. Opinions for "Duxbury Bay": 7 hits - two name the ship (United States ex rel. Froehlich v. Forrestel, N.D. Ill. 1956, desertion habeas; Grant v. United States, Ct. Cl. 1963, discharge/pay - both other litigation, ev-04); the other five are Massachusetts geographic/name collisions (McLaughlin v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Duxbury; Nass v. Town of Duxbury; Myers v. Salin; Baker v. Coxe; Wildlands Trust v. Cedar Hill Retreat Center). Opinions for "AVP-38": 0. Dockets for "Duxbury Bay": 3 hits, all nonqualifying collisions - Walen v. United States (D.D.C. 1:15-cv-01718, hurricane-related maritime tort; match is a geographic reference inside an appended tropical-cyclone report); Allen v. Cellco Partnership (D.N.J. 3:23-cv-01138, fraud); In re Lehman Brothers (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 08-13555, service-list hit). Dockets for "AVP-38": 3 hits, all nonqualifying collisions - Smith v. American Vehicle Protection Corp. (S.D. Fla. 0:22-cv-61495; 'AVP' = American Vehicle Protection); an M.D. Fla. FCCI insurance coverage dispute (8:18-cv-03042); In re New England Motor Freight (Bankr. D.N.J. 19-12809). No qualifying asbestos opinion or docket naming this vessel was established in this sweep.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   2026-09-26 search

   Limitations

   Search-index negative, not proof that no lawsuit or exposure exists. Collision classification is by returned case titles, courts, causes of action, and snippet context; underlying docket attachments were not retrieved. The sweep covers CourtListener's indexed opinions and RECAP dockets under the stated exact queries only - unindexed PACER dockets, state-court filings, and spelling variants are not covered. Fleet-wide pacing pauses delayed but did not truncate the sweep (all four queries completed).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-duxbury-bay-avp38-05

7. [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); propulsion facts per NavSource specification block (ev-03); overhaul events per NHHC captions (ev-02, ev-03) [other_primary]

   Locator

   AJIM 11(3):359-373 (era-level documentation); NavSource specs (plant type); NHHC captions (refit events)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/class inference only: this hull was built in 1944 at Lake Washington Shipyard and served 1944-1966, spanning the period when the federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding and when peer-reviewed scholarship documents extensive asbestos use as fireproofing and insulating material across U.S. naval and merchant construction. For a diesel-driven auxiliary of this era, plausible period ACM applications are exhaust and muffler lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, bulkhead and ventilation-system insulation, fireproofing, deck coverings, and galley equipment insulation - not boiler or turbine lagging (this class had no steam plant). Exposure-relevant yard events whose asbestos scope is unverified: original construction (1944); the circa-1952 flagship conversion (white paint, 5-inch mount removal, air-conditioning installation - the latter per a secondary crew-family account); and the last shipyard overhaul in summer 1962 (new mast, air-search radar, deckhouse extension per NHHC photo caption NH 69826).

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1966 (era documented; article 1987)

   Population

   Construction trades 1944; flagship-conversion and overhaul yard trades (circa 1952; summer 1962); crew 1944-1966

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarship and class characteristics - no cited source names this hull or establishes that asbestos was aboard, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. The product list is era-typical for a diesel auxiliary, not ship-proven. The ship was scrapped in 1967, so present-day ACM questions are moot for this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-duxbury-bay-avp38-06

8. [8]Batch-3070 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC/NavSource full texts; NARA indexes; NVR; MARAD; CourtListener authenticated sweep; banned-source screen [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-duxbury-bay-avp38-01 through -14

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: the DANFS entry, NHHC Online Library pages, and NavSource page contain no asbestos, insulation-material, survey, or abatement statement; the hull was scrapped in 1967 so no museum, NRHP, or preservation-era hazmat documentation exists; no MARAD custody record was located (the ship was sold by the Navy, not disposed via MARAD); the Naval Vessel Register carries no record (NVR excludes pre-1987 disposals); the completed CourtListener sweep produced no qualifying asbestos opinion or docket (ev-05); law-firm seaplane-tender asbestos pages list this hull generically and describe 'boilers' and 'turbines' that this diesel ship did not have - excluded as banned sources and noted as substantively wrong for this class.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   2026-09-26

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-built, repeatedly refit auxiliary is era-consistent with installed ACM. Indexed archival series (deck logs, hull drawings, BuShips correspondence) were not retrieved and may hold material specifications. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-duxbury-bay-avp38-07

9. [9]National Archives: 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' index; 'Ship Plan Index' (Cartographic); 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' guided topic [other_primary]

   Locator

   Deck-log index, Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) row (monthly NAIDs e.g. 214067084 for July 1962); ship-plan index DUXBURY BAY rows NAID 153714273 and 175668950; asbestos guide RG 19/S39/S48/filing-code sections

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Archival leads (indexes verified; records not retrieved): (a) NARA's digitized Navy deck-log index lists USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38), commission December 1944 / decommission April 1966, with fully digitized logs for January 1956 through April 1966 - covering the Suez-crisis, Ceylon, Karachi, Mercury, and summer-1962-overhaul periods; logs for 1944-1955 are not in the digitized set. (b) NARA's ship-plan index lists two AVP-38 rows: RG 19 'Hull series of Ship Engineering Drawings' (NAID 153714273) and Microfilm (NAID 175668950). (c) NARA's guided topic 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' identifies the research path for this hull: RG 19 Bureau of Ships correspondence filed by hull designation (AVP38) and class files under the namesake hull ('AVP10 Class'), yard correspondence under QM/Lake Washington Shipyard (private yard code) and NY-coded naval shipyards, and ship engineering drawings including insulation and lagging group S39 and piping group S48.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1966 record groups

   Limitations

   Index-level findings only - no log, drawing, or correspondence file was retrieved or reviewed, so whether any asbestos-specific document exists for this hull is unknown. Deck logs record events and availabilities, not materials; NARA itself notes they do not directly establish asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-duxbury-bay-avp38-08

10. [10]Cross-source reconciliation: DANFS (hazegray and ibiblio transcriptions); NHHC Online Library; NavSource page 4338; modelshipgallery.com crew-family account (secondary, low weight); excluded law-firm pages (flagged, not relied on) [other_primary]

    Locator

    Tours sentence (DANFS transcriptions); NH 97626/97627 captions (both mirror texts); NavSource spec block

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Source discrepancies resolved: (a) Flagship-tour sentence - ibiblio's DANFS transcription reads 'Between 4 January 1960 and 31 December 1960... 10 tours,' an internally impossible range; hazegray's transcription of the same entry reads '4 January 1950' and the NHHC Online Library narrative states 15 tours spanning January 1950-early 1966 - hazegray adopted, ibiblio treated as an OCR error. (b) 5"/38 removal - NavSource transcribes NHHC captions NH 97626/97627 as 'around 1952' while the NHHC Online Library's own transcription (ibiblio mirror, echoed by laststandonzombieisland quoting the same catalog number) says 'around 1956'; a secondary crew-family account on modelshipgallery.com places removal during a summer-1952 availability at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and a circa-1951-52 photo shows the mount still aboard - unresolved range circa 1952-1956, no controlling document located. (c) Complement - NavSource's 14+201=215 ship's company plus 59+93=152 aviation-unit accommodations equals the 367 'including aviation unit' figure; consistent, not a conflict. (d) Plant type - law-firm pages describing 'boilers' and 'turbines' for this ship are wrong: NavSource documents four Fairbanks-Morse diesels; this class had no steam plant.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    correction

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-26

    Study period

    1944-1967

    Limitations

    Resolves publication-level discrepancies across transcriptions and secondary sources; the 5-inch-gun removal window remains unresolved (circa 1952-1956). None of the reconciled items bears on asbestos content; the plant-type correction does bear on which ACM product categories were plausible.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-duxbury-bay-avp38-09