Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet mk-packet.md (12 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-e-a-poe-ix103-pkt-mk-packet-md
-
[2]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 this hull was built to at Oregon Shipbuilding, Portland, 1942) 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.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Construction trades (Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, 1942); merchant engine crew (Apr-Nov 1942); Navy crew on field-installed auxiliaries (1942-1946)
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual names the type, not this vessel, and does not itself state 'asbestos' content. Further limited on this hull: her EC2 main propulsion plant was destroyed by torpedo damage 1942-11-08 and she served the Navy non-self-propelled on field-installed donkey boilers and auxiliary machinery (documented in ev-04), so the standard EC2 machinery-insulation profile applies to her original construction and to undocumented in-theater auxiliaries, not to a functioning main plant. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-e-a-poe-ix103-01
-
[3]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 Portland - and that 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 scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name 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-e-a-poe-ix103-02
-
[4]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'E. A. Poe' entry, IX-103; hazegray transcription mirror (canonical NHHC URL returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-29) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS IX section, E.A. Poe (IX-103) entry; canonical NHHC slug /research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/e/e-a-poe-ix-103.html 404 at access date - link rot consistent with Batch-01 finding
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry: E.A. Poe (IX-103), formerly Edgar Allan Poe, was chartered by the Navy in 1942 and taken over 1943-08-30 after being damaged and losing use of her engine; employed as a dry storage ship towed among the islands of the southwest Pacific, issuing provisions to islands, ships, and small craft; placed in service 1945-02-23 and out of service 1946-03-15 when returned to her owner; stricken from the Navy List 1946-03-28. Statistics: displacement 14,500 t. full load; length 441'6"; beam 56'11"; draft 28'4"; complement 293; armament one 4" and one 3" gun. The only U.S. Navy ship named for Edgar Allan Poe.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Limitations
- Official Navy history, but compiled at summary level: compresses the 1942-11-18 protective custody and the 1943 retroactive charter into 'chartered 1942, taken over 30 Aug 1943'; its 1945-02-23 in-service date conflicts with the 1945 Ships' Data Book (1943-08-30, flagged probable misprint) and the first surviving log (1944-05-01). Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-e-a-poe-ix103-03
-
[5]Shipscribe.com, 'USS E. A. POE (IX-103) Class' - IX-103..228 class page compiled by Stephen S. Roberts from Auxiliary Vessels Board records and the 1945 Ships' Data Book [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class notes IX-103 paragraph; construction table (keel 1942-01-29, launch 1942-03-26, acquired 1942-11-18); disposition table; ship notes (MC hull 186, completed 1942-04-28, to buyer 1948-03-03)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe compilation from official records (Auxiliary Vessels Board reports, Navy-WSA correspondence, Ships' Data Book): the Liberty ship EDGAR ALLEN POE (MC hull 186, completed 1942-04-28 by Oregon SB) was torpedoed near New Caledonia 1942-11-08 and towed into Noumea by New Zealand warships; the Navy took protective custody 1942-11-18 and used her as a storage ship, installing donkey boilers and auxiliary machinery for steam and electric service plus bins and racks for heavy ship-repair material; on 1943-05-12 the Navy asked WSA to charter the ship retroactively to 1942-11-18, noting the main propulsion plant was completely wrecked and underwater damage extensive; on 1943-05-24 the Auxiliary Vessels Board recommended acquisition 'as is' as a receiving and storage ship; name E.A. POE and number IX-103 assigned 1943-06-01; Noumea receiving/storage service to 1944-05-07, arrived Espiritu Santo 1944-05-09 for drydocking and limited conversion; in-service date uncertain (1945 Ships' Data Book shows 1943-08-30, possibly a misprint shared with IX-104; first surviving log 1944-05-01). Disposition: decommissioned/out of service 1946-03-15, stricken 1946-03-28, returned to Maritime Commission at Subic Bay 1946-03-15, MA sale 1948-02-02, to buyer 1948-03-03.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Navy crew and transient personnel berthed/served aboard the Noumea receiving-storage hulk (1942-11 to 1944-05) and later southwest-Pacific service (1944-1946)
- Limitations
- Private specialist compilation quoting official records (Auxiliary Vessels Board correspondence, Ships' Data Book) rather than the records themselves; the underlying AVB minutes and logbooks were not independently retrieved. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement; supports no asbestos claim. 'Edgar Allen Poe' spelling in the compilation is a period-variant of the registered name Edgar Allan Poe.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-e-a-poe-ix103-04
-
[6]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, E. A. Poe (IX-103) page (09/46/46103); BuShips photo, NARA RG 80-G [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ship history data block and photo caption; ABSD-1 drydock entry photo dated 1944-06-03
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive entry: construction and custody milestones (laid down 1942-01-29 as SS Edgar Allan Poe, MC EC2-S-C1 hull under contract MCE-186 at Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland; launched 1942-03-26; delivered 1942-04-28 to Maritime Commission for Weyerhaeuser SS. Co. under GAA; torpedoed off New Caledonia 1942-11-08; chartered by US Navy 1942-11-18 at Noumea; taken over 1943-08-30; placed in service 1945-02-23 as E.A. Poe (IX-103); out of service 1946-03-15 at Subic Bay; struck 1946-03-28; sold to Asia Development Corp. 1948-03-03; wrecked 1949, subsequently scrapped). Includes a U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships photograph of IX-103 entering USS ABSD-1 at Espiritu Santo for repairs on 1944-06-03, held in the U.S. National Archives (RG 80-G).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1950
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archive reproducing official data and photographs; milestones corroborate DANFS/shipscribe but the NARA RG 80-G photo record itself was not retrieved. NavSource beam (59') and draft (22') conflict with DANFS (56'11", 28'4") and shipscribe (56.9' e, 27.75' full load) - NavSource figures appear generic and were not carried. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-e-a-poe-ix103-05
-
[7]combinedfleet.com, 'IJN Submarine I-21: Tabular Record of Movement' (Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp); mariners-l.co.uk 'LibShipsE' entry for Edgar Allan Poe [other_primary]
- Locator
- TROM entry for 9 November 1942; mariners-l.co.uk/LibShipsE.html Edgar Allan Poe row (position 22.14S 166.30E, Hong Kong 1950 scrapping)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Attack attribution: the I-21 Tabular Record of Movement (combinedfleet.com, Hackett & Kingsepp, from Japanese records) records that on 1942-11-09 (Japanese-side date; U.S. sources give 1942-11-08) off Noumea, New Caledonia, I-21 (Cdr Matsumura) fired one torpedo at the Liberty ship EDGAR ALLEN POE; after the crew abandoned ship, a deck-gun crew still aboard fired on I-21's approach and no further attack was made; HMNZS minesweeper MATAI and corvette KIWI towed POE to Noumea where she was deemed a total loss. mariners-l.co.uk gives the attack position as 22.14S 166.30E. Post-Navy disposition: driven ashore at Hong Kong in a typhoon 1949-09-07, still ashore October 1950, scrapped at Hong Kong December 1950 (mariners-l; consistent with NavSource 'wrecked 1949, subsequently scrapped').
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1950
- Population
- Merchant crew and Naval Armed Guard detachment aboard at time of attack (complement undocumented in sources consulted)
- Limitations
- Secondary scholarly/research compilations, not official records - the I-21 attack attribution rests on the TROM's reconstruction from Japanese sources and on merchant-shipping compilations; DANFS itself does not name the attacker. One-day date difference (1942-11-08 US vs 1942-11-09 Japanese record). No casualty figures are stated in the sources consulted; loss-of-life status is undocumented here, not affirmatively zero. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-e-a-poe-ix103-06
-
[8]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, acting through general agents such as Weyerhaeuser Steamship Co.) that ran this hull during its merchant period and whose charter the Navy held thereafter. 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-vessel claims.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-e-a-poe-ix103-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 search endpoint, ship-name and hull-number sweep (queries logged in search_ledger sl-05 through sl-08) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-e-a-poe-ix103-05 through sl-uss-e-a-poe-ix103-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated, 2026-09-29): 'Edgar Allan Poe' AND asbestos - 0 opinions; '"E. A. Poe" ship' - 0 opinions; '"IX-103"' - 11 opinion hits, all name collisions (statute/citation fragments in Texas and school-district cases, no vessel); '"Edgar Allan Poe" ship OR vessel OR steamship' - 363 loose-relevance hits, top results all collisions (Poe-family Maryland litigants, writer's estate contexts), none naming the ship. No qualifying asbestos litigation and no docketed case naming the vessel was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- CourtListener covers published opinions and RECAP dockets - a negative result means no indexed opinion/docket named the vessel, not that no claim was ever filed (MDL-875-style complaints naming vessel lists may not be text-indexed by ship name, and settled/unreported matters leave no opinion). 'Poe' is a common surname; collisions were reviewed and excluded. Additional boolean and docket-type queries were attempted and blocked by the fleet-wide request pacer at sweep time - residual gap logged in search_ledger.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-e-a-poe-ix103-08
-
[10]Batch-4672 search ledger (this record): DANFS/hazegray, NavSource, shipscribe, HyperWar IX listing, combinedfleet TROM, mariners-l, CourtListener API, MARAD ShipHistory [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-e-a-poe-ix103-01 through sl-uss-e-a-poe-ix103-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum/environmental record, or docketed case naming IX-103 / Edgar Allan Poe was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was scrapped at Hong Kong in 1950 and no preservation or remediation record exists.
- 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 - she was built to an era-and-program design whose insulation specifications are consistent with asbestos use (ev-01). Does not establish that asbestos is or was present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. The hull no longer exists, so no present-day condition is asserted either way.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-e-a-poe-ix103-09