Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Europa (AP-177)' (Hazegray DANFS transcription mirror; no standalone page located on history.navy.mil as of 2026-09-25) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray.org DANFS mirror, AP-177 entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry: 'Europa (AP-177) was built in 1928 by Blohm and Voss, Hamburg, Germany; taken as a war prize 8 May 1945; acquired by the Navy and commissioned 25 August 1945, Captain B. F. Perry in command.' She cleared Bremerhaven 11 Sep 1945 for Southampton, embarked ~4,500 homeward troops, arrived New York 24 Sep; after alteration to increase troop capacity she made two more Southampton voyages; sailed New York 15 Mar 1946 for Kirkwall (Orkney) and Bremerhaven (moored 24 Mar); decommissioned 2 May 1946; 'delivered to the State Department 8 June 1946'; transferred to France in partial payment of war reparations and became French Line's SS Liberté.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945-05 to 1946-06 (USN period)
- Population
- U.S. Navy crew (size not recorded); ~4,500 troops embarked first voyage; ~10,000-berth conversion design
- Limitations
- Authoritative for the U.S. Navy period; contains no asbestos or materials information. 'Delivered to the State Department' is a simplification - the custody chain documented by MARAD status card and shipscribe is Navy to War Shipping Administration (8 Jun 1946) to French Government (7-8 Jun 1946); the UN Reparations Commission made the allocation. Hazegray is a transcription mirror of the official DANFS text, used because no live history.navy.mil page for AP-177 was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-europa-ap177-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Europa (AP-177) page (archives/09/22/22177) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AP-177 chronology, awards, and photo captions (U.S. Navy/Signal Corps photo credits; NHHC-courtesy items via Shipscribe)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive for USS Europa (AP-177): launched 15 Aug 1928 at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg; delivered Mar 1930 to Nord Deutscher Lloyd; maiden voyage Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York 19 Mar 1930; taken as war prize 8 May 1945, captured intact at Kaiserhafen III, Bremerhaven; prize crew placed aboard 3 Jun 1945; commissioned 25 Aug 1945 (CAPT Benjamin Franklin Perry); decommissioned 2 May 1946 at Bremerhaven; struck from Naval Register 5 Jun 1946; delivered to War Shipping Administration 8 Jun 1946; transferred to France as reparations, to Compagnie Générale Transatlantique Jul 1946; broke moorings in storm, collided with hulk of SS Paris and sunk at Le Havre 9 Dec 1946; raised 15 Apr 1947; placed in service as SS Liberté 17 Aug 1950; sold for scrapping to Italian shipbreakers Terrestre Marittima S.p.A., arrived La Spezia 30 Jan 1962 (source cited: Kludas, Die grossen deutschen Passagierschiffe, 1971).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1928-1962
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive drawing on official records and cited reference works (Kludas, NHHC photos); the line 'Sold to German-American Line in 1941' is uncorroborated by any other source consulted and is not asserted elsewhere in this record. Contains no asbestos or materials information. Launch date (15 Aug 1928) conflicts with shipscribe's 1 Aug 1928 - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-europa-ap177-02
-
[3]Shipscribe.com, 'USS Europa (AP-177)' class notes and ship notes (compiled 14 Jun 2009 from U.S. Navy sources incl. Auxiliary Vessels Board wartime reports) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe.com/usnaux/AP/AP177.html - class data table, construction/disposition tables, class notes, ship notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts) AP-177 class and ship notes, compiled from U.S. Navy records incl. Auxiliary Vessels Board reports: design 'Passenger, 1928'; displacement 43,407 t light / 55,000 t full; 940.6 ft oa x 101.7 ft x 33.6 ft; Blohm & Voss turbines, 4 screws, 105,000 hp, 27.5 kts; acquired 8 May 45, commissioned 25 Aug 45, decommissioned 2 May 46, struck 5 Jun 46, disposal 8 Jun 46 (MC). Narrative: prize found 'in almost perfect condition' at Kaiserhafen III 8 May 45; prize master/crew aboard 3 Jun; drydocked Kaiser Dock II 16 Jun; WSA in concert with Army and Navy restored her and fitted her to carry ~10,000 troops at the North German Lloyd repair yard; dock trials 2 Aug; first voyage capacity ~4,500; after first voyage, drydocked at Bayonne, N.J. with further repairs by the New York Navy Yard; two Magic Carpet voyages to Southampton (departed NY 11 Nov 45, second completed 17 Dec 45); taken out of service at New York partly due to declining transport need and partly due to concern over hull cracks; allocated to France by the UN Reparations Commission; renamed Liberté, taken to Le Havre 12-14 Jun 46; broke moorings 9 Dec 46, collided with the wreck of the liner Paris, sunk to prevent capsizing; raised, extensive repairs and reconstruction interrupted by a severe fire; entered French Line service 17 Aug 1950; withdrawn 1961 on entry of the France; scrapping completed at La Spezia Jun 1962.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1928-1962
- Population
- Conversion workforce (WSA/Army/Navy at NDL repair yard, Bremerhaven, Jun-Aug 1945); ~4,500 troops first voyage; ~10,000-berth design
- Limitations
- Research compilation citing official USN sources, not itself a government publication; dates/narrative corroborated where overlapping DANFS, NavSource, and MARAD. Its launch-date figure (1 Aug 1928) conflicts with NavSource/standard references (15 Aug 1928) - discrepancy logged in gaps. Mentions a pre-delivery 'mysterious fire' requiring scuttling and a 'severe fire' interrupting the French rebuild but gives no dates and no materials/asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-europa-ap177-03
-
[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - EUROPA (AP-177), Detail 7899, incl. digitized Vessel Status Card (card image 266_01.png) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 7899 vessel attributes + Status Cards image (266_01.png)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record for EUROPA (AP-177) (Detail 7899): year built 1928; shipyard Blohm and Voss; general type Passenger; length 936.7 ft, beam 101.7 ft; vessel name history - '1928-1945: Europa (taken as a war prize by US Government, May 8, 1945); 1945-1946: Europa (AP-177) (transferred to French government, June 7, 1946); 1946-1961: Liberté.' Digitized Vessel Status Card (hand-annotated '(AP-177)'): 'Navy Dept. gave vessel to WSA and WSA transferred vessel to the French Gov't. @ Bremerhaven June 7, 1946 9:00am' with handwritten note 'Renamed LIBERTÉ (C.G.T.)'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1946
- Limitations
- Authoritative custody record; the card documents Navy->WSA->French Government transfer at Bremerhaven 7 Jun 1946 9:00am (one day before the Navy's 8 Jun delivery to WSA recorded elsewhere - paperwork-ordering nuance, not a conflict). DATA-INTEGRITY FLAG: the separate 'EUROPA.pdf' document attached to this same MARAD page is a DIFFERENT vessel - a 'EUROPA (Small Boat)' requisitioned from M. Cuvelle by the Maritime Commission and transferred to the Navy at Balboa, Canal Zone, 12 Dec 1941 (name collision inside the MARAD record). Card contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-europa-ap177-04
-
[5]Getty Images archival stock footage 1298719194, 'Ship crew tests asbestos suits - Crew of the "Europa", one of the largest liners afloat, demonstrate new methods devised for greater safety at sea' (Pathe News, 1 Jun 1936) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Getty Images asset page: title, full shot list, 'Date created: 01 June, 1936', credit 'Grinberg, Pathe News', category 1930-1939
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Period newsreel footage (Getty Images archive asset 1298719194, credited 'Grinberg, Pathe News', date created 1 June 1936, cataloged 1930-1939) documents the crew of the ocean liner Europa - identified in the archive catalog as 'one of the largest liners afloat' - demonstrating 'new methods devised for greater safety at sea' in port. The shot list records: 'three men putting on asbestos suits', 'three men in asbestos suits walking toward camera with hand extinguishers', and 'three men in asbestos suits going into flame' during the onboard fire drill. This is a documented asbestos application aboard this specific hull in Norddeutscher Lloyd service: asbestos-cloth fire-fighting proximity suits carried/used by the ship's crew.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1936 (NDL era)
- Population
- Europa crew fire party / damage-control personnel (NDL service, 1936)
- Limitations
- Ship identification and 'asbestos suits' description rest on the newsreel archive's cataloging of its own period footage - reasonable but not a government survey. Documents asbestos-containing apparel used by the crew's fire party - PPE, not installed insulation, machinery packing, or structural fireproofing; establishes that asbestos cloth was aboard this hull in 1936 but says nothing about the extent of built-in asbestos, fiber content of other materials, individual exposure, dosage, or causation. 'Exact day not known' per catalog beyond the 1 Jun 1936 creation date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-europa-ap177-05
-
[6]Getty Images archival footage 540549686 (Pathe Newsreels, 26 Mar 1929) + 'The Bremen and the Europa,' Shipping Wonders of the World (period feature, fire-safety section) + shipscribe class notes [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Getty asset 540549686 catalog; shippingwondersoftheworld.com/bremen_and_europa.html; shipscribe AP-177 class notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The fitting-out fire of 26 March 1929 is documented by period newsreel footage (Getty Images archive asset 540549686, 'Fire breaks out aboard passenger liner Europa at shipyard', Grinberg/Paramount/Pathe Newsreels, dated 26 March 1929, Hamburg): 'smoke billows from deck of ship Europa at pier of Blohm und Voss shipyard; water pours off deck.' Corroborating narrative (shipscribe class notes; marpubs; anbord.de): fire broke out during fitting out when the ship was ~75% complete, burned most of a day, and the ship was deliberately flooded/scuttled on an even keel at the outfitting dock to extinguish it; raised ~14 Apr 1929; buckled plates removed, keel straightened, turbines and machinery replaced or reconditioned, damaged interiors stripped and rebuilt; completed 22 Feb 1930 - a ~10-month delay. A 1930s 'Shipping Wonders of the World' feature describes the sisters' 'extensive fire-extinguishing plant', distributed fire alarms, and ~45,900 cu ft/hr of extinguishing pumps, framing them as among the safest liners afloat.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1929-1930
- Population
- Blohm & Voss fitting-out and reconstruction workforce (1929-30); firefighters (350 per anbord.de)
- Limitations
- The fire event itself is solidly documented (dated period footage plus multiple accounts), but NO located source itemizes the materials burned, removed, or installed in the subsequent rebuild - asbestos content is not established or excluded by these sources. marpubs dates the outbreak to 25 Mar 1929; the dated Pathé footage and most sources give 26 Mar - logged in gaps. Relevance is contextual: a strip-out-and-rebuild event in an era when asbestos was a standard fireproofing material.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-europa-ap177-06
-
[7]Archives de Saint-Nazaire, fonds 84NUM (famille Toussaint/Coléno), 'Paquebot "Liberté" en cours d'achèvement à Saint Nazaire' (84NUM/21, dated 1950) - official municipal archival description [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.saintnazaire.fr ark:/28388/dvgm40f1n625 - biographical/history note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Saint-Nazaire municipal archives (official, Archives municipales) document the French rebuild of this hull: 'Le paquebot Liberté (port d'attache Le Havre) rejoint le chantier de Penhoët à Saint-Nazaire le 11 novembre 1947 pour y être profondément transformé : refonte complète des emménagements, nouvelle décoration "à la Française" avec réemploi de certains motifs décoratifs récupérés du NORMANDIE. En 1961, il est désarmé au Havre ... puis détruit à La Spezia l'année suivante.' Corroborating accounts (shipscribe; Braynard & Miller, Fifty Famous Liners, pp.126-127 as cited by Wikipedia): raised 15 Apr 1947 after the Dec 1946 Le Havre sinking; rebuild at the Penhoët yard was 'interrupted by a severe fire' (dated October 1949 by Braynard & Miller) that damaged newly installed passenger accommodation; entered CGT service 17 Aug 1950.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1947-1950 (rebuild); 1950-1961 (service)
- Population
- Penhoët / Saint-Nazaire shipyard rebuild workforce (1947-1950)
- Limitations
- Official archival record documenting the rebuild event, yard (Penhoët, Saint-Nazaire), and scope ('profondément transformé', complete refit of accommodations) - contains NO materials, insulation, or asbestos information. The October-1949 rebuild fire is from Braynard & Miller (reputable maritime history) as relayed by Wikipedia, plus shipscribe's 'severe fire' - no primary casualty report located. Asbestos content of the 1947-50 rebuild is not established by this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-europa-ap177-07
-
[8]Les Echos, 'Chantiers de l'Atlantique : 835 malades recensés' (Jul 1996); Les Echos, 'Les victimes de l'amiante commencent à se faire entendre de la justice' (Jun 2001); Ouest-France, 'Amiante : rejet du recours des Chantiers de l'Atlantique de Saint-Nazaire' (8 Feb 2024, Cour de cassation ruling of 1 Feb 2024) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Les Echos 1996 + 2001 articles; Ouest-France 8 Feb 2024 (Cass. ruling reported)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Documented asbestos exposure and adjudicated occupational-disease litigation at the yard that rebuilt this hull (Chantiers de l'Atlantique / predecessor Penhoët, Saint-Nazaire): Les Echos (Jul 1996) - '835 cas d'asbestose' counted among Chantiers de l'Atlantique workers incl. subcontractors, asbestos 'utilisé pour ses qualités antifeu' (used for its fireproofing qualities) until management banned it in 1974; workers who built the liner France (1959) 'et sur les navires suivants' among the most concerned. Les Echos / Lutte Ouvrière (Jun 2001) - TASS Nantes found 'faute inexcusable' by Chantiers de l'Atlantique for three workers exposed in the 1960s; counsel estimated 500-700 similar claimants and called Loire-Atlantique naval construction 'un des épicentres de la contamination.' Ouest-France (Feb 2024) - Cour de cassation (1 Feb 2024) rejected the yard's appeal contesting occupational-disease status for a deceased employee, affirming the appellate ruling.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- adjudications 1996-2024; exposure era covered ~1959-1974
- Population
- Saint-Nazaire naval-construction workforce (documented period 1959-1974 exposure focus)
- Limitations
- Yard-level findings and affirmed occupational-disease rulings for OTHER workers on OTHER ships - none names Liberté or Europa/AP-177, and none adjudicates conditions aboard this hull. Relevant only as era/site context: this hull underwent a near-total rebuild (Nov 1947-1950) at a yard documented to have used asbestos for fireproofing continuously until 1974. Does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull during that rebuild, nor any individual's exposure or eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-europa-ap177-08
-
[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 program context of this hull's 1945 WSA/Army/Navy troopship conversion at Bremerhaven and subsequent New York Navy Yard repairs - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard vessels.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII-era shipyard conversion/repair workforce and transport crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII-era shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull in the 1945-46 conversion, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-europa-ap177-09
-
[10]Bundessozialgericht, Urteil v. 12.01.2010 - B 2 U 5/08 R; Landessozialgericht Niedersachsen-Bremen, Urteil v. 09.05.2003 - L 16/12 U 19/02 [court_record]
- Locator
- NI-VORIS decision texts (LSG 2003); BSG 2010 headnotes via datenbank.nwb.de
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- German statutory-accident-insurance jurisprudence documents occupational asbestos exposure in German shipbuilding - the industry region of this hull's construction (Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, 1928-30) and wartime/postwar conversion work (Bremerhaven): Bundessozialgericht ruling of 12 Jan 2010 (B 2 U 5/08 R) - survivor benefits for a Hamburg shipyard welder (employed 1958-1994) whose work equipment included a knee pad with sewn-in asbestos cloth ('Asbesttuch'); LSG Niedersachsen-Bremen ruling of 9 May 2003 (L 16/12 U 19/02) - recognized 'berufliche Asbeststaubexposition im Schiffbau' (occupational asbestos-dust exposure in shipbuilding) producing pleural and pulmonary asbestosis as occupational disease No. 4103.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- rulings 2003-2010; exposure period ~1958-1994
- Population
- German shipyard trades (documented claimant cohorts, mid/late 20th century)
- Limitations
- Final German social-court rulings for individual claimants at other yards/periods (the BSG welder's employment ran 1958-1994) - they name neither this vessel nor Blohm & Voss specifically, and adjudicate no conditions aboard this hull. Era/industry context only: German shipbuilding involved legally recognized occupational asbestos exposure; does not establish asbestos content of this 1928-30 Hamburg-built hull or of work done on her at German yards.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-europa-ap177-10
-
[11]Batch-2103 search ledger (this record): DANFS/hazegray, NavSource, MARAD ShipHistory + status card, shipscribe, Saint-Nazaire archives, Getty/Pathe archive, CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, via fleet pacing helper) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-europa-ap177-01 through sl-uss-europa-ap177-16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No further qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located beyond the 1936 asbestos-suit newsreel: no asbestos survey, insulation/materiel specification, abatement or hazmat contract, court record, or occupational-health study naming USS Europa (AP-177), SS Europa, or SS Liberté was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener results: 'USS Europa' opinions 0 hits; 'USS Europa' dockets 0 hits; 'AP-177' opinions 34 hits, all docket-number collisions unrelated to the vessel; '"Europa" asbestos' opinions 10 hits, all name collisions (pharmaceutical, antitrust, concussion litigation - none about the ship).
- 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 installed asbestos aboard - the documented 1929 fire-and-rebuild, the 1945-46 troopship conversion, and the 1947-50 near-total rebuild at a yard that used asbestos for fireproofing until 1974 are all consistent with retained asbestos-containing material. Establishes only that no public record naming this hull was located; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. The 1936 newsreel finding covers apparel only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-europa-ap177-11
-
[12]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships); Archives de Saint-Nazaire portal; DSM Bremerhaven holdings [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov RG 178/RG 19 group pages; archives.saintnazaire.fr
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (a) U.S. Navy Auxiliary Vessels Board wartime reports and AP-177 conversion files underpinning the shipscribe narrative - NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) / CinC/CominCh records hold the 10 Jul 1945 board report and conversion specifications for the ~10,000-berth troopship refit at Bremerhaven; (b) NARA RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) / WSA records for the June 1946 custody transfer documented on the MARAD status card; (c) German maritime archives (Deutsches Schifffahrtsmuseum, Bremerhaven; Blohm + Voss company archives via Hamburg) - original outfitting specifications and 1929 fire/reconstruction records; (d) French archives - Archives municipales de Saint-Nazaire fonds on the Penhoët rebuild (Chantiers de l'Atlantique archives) and Archives nationales/CGT records for Liberté rebuild specifications and the Oct 1949 fire casualty file.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- records 1928-1962
- Limitations
- Record-group and repository mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-europa-ap177-12