Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 372-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-favorite-ix45-pkt-372-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Favorite (No. 1385)', Naval History and Heritage Command live page (published 2014-12-18, verified reachable 2026-09-29) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text, history.navy.mil live page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: Favorite (No. 1385), a tug - dp. 1,160; l. 196'; b. 43'; dr. 9'; s. 14 k.; a. 3 3" guns - was purchased by the Navy 23 January 1918 and commissioned 1 February, Ens. W. F. Lakeman, USNRF, in command. Ice-breaker duty off the coast of Maine until March, then refitted for distant service, salvage and wrecking. Arrived Brest, France 5 August 1918; thereafter searched for sunken ships and lost material and salvaged and assisted grounded ships. Collided with Army tug Richmond 10 January 1919 with small damage; continued salvage operations in England and Brest until departing 21 June 1919 for New York. Converted to a seagoing tug, decommissioned and turned over to the Department of Interior 3 April 1920; loaned to Panama 1 July 1931; acquired by the 15th Naval District 24 October 1940; reclassified IX-45 8 March 1941; reassigned to the Panama Canal Mechanical Division 1 November 1943; returned to Navy custody 13 January 1948; stricken from the Navy List 19 February 1948.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1918-1948
- Population
- U.S. Navy crew of ID-1385 (1918-1920) and IX-45 period (1940-48); Panama Canal operating crews (1920-1943)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for Navy-service identity and chronology. Its compressed custody clause ('turned over to the Department of Interior 3 April 1920 ... loaned to Panama 1 July 1931') conflicts with NHHC's own photo feature and shipscribe's file-based account, which show Panama Canal Commission custody from 3 April 1920 - see correction row ev-07. Contains no construction, materials, machinery, asbestos, or crew information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-favorite-ix45-01
-
[3]Shipscribe USN auxiliaries compilation (Stephen S. Roberts, compiled 2013-03-20), 'FAVORITE (IX-45, ex YX-10)' class page - design, construction and disposition tables, class and ship notes; companion photo page IX045-p.html [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe IX-45 class page: Design/Construction/Disposition tables, Class Notes, Ship Notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe class notes: the large wrecking (salvage) steamer Favorite was launched 2 February 1907 by Buffalo Dry Dock Co., Buffalo, N.Y. (a subsidiary of American Ship Building Co.) for the Great Lakes Towing Co. of St. Ignace, Michigan; designed by W. I. Babcock of New York as 'the most complete and most powerful wrecking steamer in the world.' Hull of 20-lb. steel with bow plating increased to 5/8-in. backed by 12-in.-spaced frames for icebreaking; steel A-frame derrick forward with 60-ft. 3-ton boom; 5-ton boom derrick aft; 30-ft. power launch for running lines to wrecks; machine shop handling plates to 1 inch; 600 tons water-ballast capacity aft of the main engine; 240-ton coal bunkers; cabin accommodations for 90 men. Conducted many Lakes salvage operations before WWI, best known the raising of SS Eastland (later USS Wilmette, IX-29) capsized at Chicago 1915 with 844 lives lost. Taken over by the Navy and commissioned at Quebec January 1918 as USS Favorite (ID #1385); her owners then built a new Favorite. After WWI: Panama Canal purchasing agent requested her as lighthouse tender (27 Jun and 6 Nov 1919), Navy declined; designated for transfer to the Bureau of Education, Department of the Interior, 'but instead she was decommissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 3 Apr 20 and simultaneously turned over to the Panama Canal Commission for its use and custody.' Remained Navy property on loan; 'District Unclassified' from 17 Jul 1920; assigned file symbol YX-10 in the 1922 Navy Filing Manual (paperwork symbol only); became IX-45 8 Mar 1941 when YX and IX symbols were consolidated; reacquired by the 15th Naval District 24 Oct 1940; reassigned to Panama Canal Mechanical Division 1 Nov 1943; replaced by Taboga (ATA-172) 20 Dec 1947; returned to Navy custody 13 Jan 1948; stricken February 1948; sold by the Foreign Liquidation Commission March 1948. Became Peruvian Navy submarine salvage ship Guardian Rios (renamed Rios circa 1955-56), operated by the Callao Port Authority; removed from the Peruvian Navy List 10 Jul 1958.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1907-1958
- Population
- Great Lakes Towing crews (1907-1918); construction trades (Buffalo, 1907); Navy and Canal workforces (1918-1948)
- Limitations
- Independent researcher's compilation (Roberts is a recognized naval-auxiliaries author drawing on Navy files), not a government record - core chronology corroborated by DANFS and the NHHC photo feature. Its commission table prints 23 Jan 18 (the acquisition date) in the commission column vs DANFS's 1 Feb 1918; the class note's 'commissioned at Quebec in January 1918' is unique to this source - both variances carried in gaps. Displacement printed as 1,223 gross / 1,160 displ. - two different measures, not a conflict. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-favorite-ix45-02
-
[4]NHHC photographic catalog record NH 100120, 'S.S. Favorite (American salvage tug, 1907)'; plus the legacy NHHC Online Library photo feature for USS Favorite (ID # 1385, later IX-45), retrieved via Internet Archive Wayback capture 2012-09-27 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC catalog NH-100120 title/description fields; Wayback capture of history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-f/ix45.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC photo catalog caption: 'S.S. Favorite (American salvage tug, 1907). Possibly photographed soon after completion at Buffalo, New York, in 1907. This ship was in commission as USS Favorite (ID # 1385) from February 1918 to April 1920. Reacquired by the Navy in 1940, she was classified IX-45 in 1941 and stricken in 1948.' The fuller legacy photo feature (same agency) states the ship 'was decommissioned at New York in April 1920 and simultaneously turned over to the Panama Canal Commission "for its use and custody"' - remaining Navy property on loan, carried as Unclassified District Craft, assigned file symbol YX-10, reclassified IX-45 in early 1941 when the IX designators were added to the Naval Vessel Register; 'reacquired by the 15th Naval District in October 1940,' assigned to Panama Canal authorities November 1943; returned to Navy custody January 1948, stricken February 1948, sold by the FLC March 1948, becoming the Peruvian submarine salvage ship Guardian Rios (later Rios), operated by the Callao Port Authority, removed from the Peruvian Navy List July 1958.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1907-1958
- Limitations
- NHHC's own photo feature contradicts the short DANFS entry on the 1920-1940 custody chain (direct Panama Canal Commission custody vs 'Department of Interior'/'loaned to Panama 1 July 1931') - carried as a correction row, ev-07. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-favorite-ix45-03
-
[5]NavSource Naval History, Service Ship Photo Archive - 'Favorite (IX-45) ex USS Favorite (ID # 1385)' photo index page, including captioned U.S. Navy/NHHC and NARA RG-19-E photographs [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource IX-45 photo index page, chronology/specifications blocks and image captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource records: built 1907 by Buffalo Dry Dock Co., Buffalo, N.Y., for Great Lakes Towing Co. of Cleveland, Ohio; completed 1907; purchased by the Navy 23 January 1918; commissioned 1 February 1918, Ens. W. F. Lakeman in command; decommissioned 3 April 1920; loaned to the Panama Canal 1 July 1931; reacquired by the Navy 8 March 1941 as IX-45; turned over to the Panama Canal Mechanical Division 1 November 1943; returned to US Navy custody 13 January 1948; struck 19 February 1948; disposed by the Foreign Liquidation Commission 25 March 1948, transferred to Peru as BAP Guardian Rios; renamed Rios 1954; removed from the Peruvian Navy List July 1958; final disposition unknown. Specifications: displacement 1,160 t.; length 196'; beam 43'; draft 9'; speed 14 kts.; three 3" guns; propulsion one vertical triple-expansion steam engine, two single-ended cylindrical boilers, single propeller; complement unknown. Awards: WWI Victory Medal (Salvage clasp), American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal. Captioned photographs document: builder's trials at Buffalo 1907; raising of SS Eastland with Favorite assisting, Chicago River, August 1915; Favorite underway in the Panama Canal with tourists aboard, circa 1920s; refitting at Boston Navy Yard 27 March 1918 (NARA RG-19-E); assisting salvage of USS Narragansett (ID-2196) off the Isle of Wight 1919; towing floating dock USS YFD-6 through the Panama Canal (Pedro Miguel Locks) 1945 (NHHC photo 80-G-60348; All Hands December 1946); Peruvian service photo dated 1953.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1907-1958
- Population
- U.S. Navy crew (1918-20, 1940-48); Panama Canal Mechanical Division crews; Peruvian Navy crew (1948-58)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained archival compilation, not an agency page - carried at 'partial' consistent with batch precedent; dates corroborated by DANFS, NHHC, and shipscribe. Its custody chain shows 'Returned to the Department of Interior, 24 October 1940,' a garble of the 15th Naval District reacquisition documented by DANFS and shipscribe - noted in ev-07 and gaps. The machinery description (triple-expansion engine, two cylindrical boilers) bounds but does not establish asbestos content aboard. No asbestos information on the page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-favorite-ix45-04
-
[6]U.S. Navy Filing Manual (1941), official document hosted by NHHC - alphabetical index listings 'IX45 Favorite (ex-YX10)' and 'YX10 Favorite (now IX45)' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Navy Filing Manual 1941, alphabetical symbol index entries IX45 and YX10
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy's own 1941 filing manual lists 'IX45 Favorite (ex-YX10)' among the consolidated IX unclassified-vessel designators and cross-references the superseded file symbol 'YX10 Favorite (now IX45),' corroborating the shipscribe account that the YX-10 paperwork symbol was folded into the IX-45 hull designator on 8 March 1941.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1941
- Limitations
- Official Navy document confirming the designation change; administrative content only - no ship characteristics, materials, or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-favorite-ix45-05
-
[7]The Navy Book of Distinguished Service: An Official Compendium of the Names and Citations of the Men of the United States Navy... (Harry R. Stringer, ed., Fassett Publishing Co., Washington DC, 1921) - full text via Internet Archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- archive.org full-text OCR, entries 'COOK, Nathan E.', 'DANENHOWER, Sloan' (OCR 'DANENHOWER'), 'WOTHERSPOON, W. W.' (index p. 147)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Navy commendation compendium records three commendations tied to service aboard USS Favorite in WWI: Lt. Nathan E. Cook, USN - 'As Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Favorite he took a conspicuous and creditable part in the operation of salvaging the U.S.S. Narragansett'; Lt. Sloan Danenhower, USNRF - 'For distinguished service in the line of his profession as wreck master on board the salvage vessel, U.S.S. Favorite, in which capacity he performed exceptionally valuable and meritorious service especially in the salvage of the Westward Ho, Westbridge, Mount Vernon, Conner, and Murray'; and Lt. Comdr. W. W. Wotherspoon, USNRF - 'as force salvage officer on the U.S.S. Favorite... especially in the salvage of the Westward Ho, Westbridge, Mount Vernon, Conner, and Murray' (OCR spelling normalized).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1918-1919; compendium published 1921
- Population
- Favorite officers and salvage divers/crew, Brest and English waters, 1918-1919
- Limitations
- Primary compendium of Navy commendation citations; documents the ship's WWI salvage portfolio (Narragansett, Westward Ho, Westbridge, Mount Vernon, Conner, Murray) via the officers' citations, not a ship narrative. OCR transcription of the 1921 volume - spelling normalized where noted. No asbestos or materials content. Cook's command date (21 August 1918, per Navy Register 1919 as cited in his biographical record) is corroborating detail; the compendium itself does not give the date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-favorite-ix45-06
-
[8]DANFS 'Favorite (No. 1385)' vs NHHC Online Library photo feature (Wayback 2012) vs shipscribe class notes and NavSource timeline - custody-chain reconciliation [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS disposition clauses; NHHC photo feature narrative; shipscribe class notes paragraphs 3-5
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Custody-chain discrepancy bounded: (a) 1920 transfer - DANFS says Favorite was 'decommissioned and turned over to the Department of Interior on 3 April 1920' and 'loaned to Panama' 1 July 1931; the fuller NHHC photo feature and shipscribe's file-based account instead record decommissioning at New York Navy Yard 3 April 1920 'and simultaneously turned over to the Panama Canal Commission for its use and custody,' after a designated Bureau of Education (DOI) transfer did not take place - the latter is corroborated by an NHHC photograph of the ship operating in the Panama Canal with tourists in the 1920s. (b) 1940 reacquisition - DANFS and shipscribe: 'acquired by the 15th Naval District 24 October 1940'; NavSource's line 'Returned to the Department of Interior, 24 October 1940' is a garble of that event. (c) Designation - the YX-10 symbol (assigned 1922) was a filing-manual symbol only; IX-45 dates to 8 March 1941 (all detailed sources agree).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1919-1948
- Limitations
- Reconciles publication-level discrepancies between primary and secondary sources. The underlying correspondence (Panama Canal purchasing agent requests, June/November 1919; the DOI designation that fell through) is paraphrased from shipscribe's compilation of the vessel file - the original correspondence is an unretrieved archival lead (RG 185). Possible reading that DOI held nominal custody while the ship physically worked for the Canal is plausible but not documented - conflict stated, not resolved away.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-favorite-ix45-07
-
[9]ShipbuildingHistory (Tim Colton), American Ship Building / Buffalo Dry Dock yard list - hull 209: ON 203983 Favorite, Great Lakes Towing, salvage tug, 1,223 GT, 181 ft, completed Apr-07; corroborated by tugboatinformation.com vessel record (USCG Doc. No. 203983, hull 209, steel hull) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com AmShip Buffalo yard table, row hull 209; tugboatinformation.com/tug.cfm?id=11546 vessel data block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Specialist yard-list record: Buffalo Dry Dock hull no. 209, U.S. Official No. 203983, salvage tug Favorite for Great Lakes Towing, 1,223 gross tons, completed April 1907, 'To USN 1918 as Favourite (SP-1385/IX 45), to Peru 1948 as Guardian Rios, later Rios, struck 1958' - the 'Favourite' spelling is a table typo. Confirms the identity chain merchant-to-Navy-to-Peru and supplies the official number and yard hull number absent from DANFS.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1907-1958
- Population
- Buffalo Dry Dock yard workforce, 1906-1907 (construction trades on this hull)
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary register rather than a government record; the Official Number and hull number converge with tugboatinformation.com's USCG documentation data but were not verified against a primary register - carried at 'partial.' No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-favorite-ix45-08
-
[10]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); applied here only as era context for a documented 1907 coal-fired steam plant (NavSource machinery data: vertical triple-expansion engine, two single-ended cylindrical boilers) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373 (abstract/article); NavSource IX-45 specifications block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference only: asbestos-containing insulation of boilers, steam lines, exhaust uptakes, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing was standard U.S. marine practice through the first half of the twentieth century, and peer-reviewed scholarship documents extensive asbestos use as fireproofing and insulation in U.S. naval and merchant shipbuilding. Aboard this hull the asbestos-relevant loci, if any, would be the two cylindrical boilers and associated steam lines, machinery gaskets and packing, and accommodation fireproofing - the machinery profile is documented; its insulation composition is not.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1907-1958 exposure window; article 1987
- Population
- Buffalo yard construction trades (1907); merchant engine crew (1907-1918); Navy and Canal engine-room crews (1918-1958); Peruvian crews (1948-1958)
- Limitations
- Era/program-level documentation only: the cited scholarship principally covers the WWII emergency program, three decades after this hull's 1907 construction, and does not name this vessel. No source inspected states asbestos was aboard. Does not establish presence, quantity, condition, individual exposure, or causation - inference bounded by the documented steam plant and never promoted to a ship-specific finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-favorite-ix45-09
-
[11]Batch-4810 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live page, NHHC photo catalog NH-100120 and legacy photo feature (Wayback), Navy Filing Manual 1941, Navy Book of Distinguished Service (archive.org), shipscribe, NavSource, shipbuildinghistory/tugboatinformation registers, NARA Special List 44, NVR, CourtListener opinion searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-favorite-ix45-01 through sl-uss-favorite-ix45-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, specification, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum/registry file, or docketed case naming USS Favorite, ID-1385/SP-1385, IX-45, YX-10, SS Favorite, Official No. 203983, Guardian Rios, or Rios was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). None is expected to exist for a hull transferred to Peru in 1948 and stricken there in 1958.
- 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 - a 1907 hull with a coal-fired steam plant is era-consistent with asbestos-containing lagging, gaskets, and packing. 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-favorite-ix45-10
-
[12]CourtListener API v4 litigation sweep, batch-4810 (authenticated, fleet-paced helper cl-auth-search.py): "USS Favorite" type=o returned count=0; "IX-45" type=o and RECAP docket-type queries were fleet-rate-limit blocked at session cutoff [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py runs 2026-09-29; search_ledger rows sl-uss-favorite-ix45-10 through sl-uss-favorite-ix45-12
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep result: zero qualifying asbestos litigation located. The exact-name opinion query "USS Favorite" returned no results. The hull-number opinion query and RECAP docket-index queries could not be completed - the fleet-wide pacing budget was spent at session cutoff and the queries are logged as blocked rather than retried into a ban. No asbestos case naming this hull was located in any index reached. ('Favorite' is a common adjective and surname; an unquoted bare-term sweep was judged too noisy to be probative and was not run.)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- CourtListener opinion coverage is not the full docket; residual opinion-index and docket surfaces are unqueried (blocked), not verified empty. Pleadings-only asbestos allegations, if any exist outside indexed opinions, would not appear here. Given the ship left U.S. registry in 1948 and was removed from the Peruvian Navy List in 1958, a U.S.-docketed asbestos case is improbable but not impossible.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-favorite-ix45-11
-
[13]NARA Special List 44 named-vessel logbook list - 'Favorite' logbooks catalogued covering 2/1/1918-3/31/1920; plus archival record-group leads: RG 24 (deck logs), RG 185 (Panama Canal records), RG 19-E (Boston Navy Yard photographs/records), Foreign Liquidation Commission disposition file, Great Lakes Towing records (Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University), Buffalo Dry Dock/American Ship Building construction file for hull 209 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov Special List 44 named-vessels table, 'Favorite' rows (2/1/1918-3/31/1920); NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 24/185/19-E descriptions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA catalogues deck logs for Favorite covering the WWI commission period 2/1/1918-3/31/1920 (Special List 44); RG 24 logs or 15th Naval District records may cover the 1940-48 IX-45 period; RG 185 Panama Canal records hold the 1919-20 lighthouse-tender correspondence and three decades of Mechanical Division maintenance files; RG 19-E holds the documented 27 March 1918 Boston Navy Yard refit photographs and refit records; the FLC holds the March 1948 sale file; Great Lakes Towing Co. records reside at BGSU's Historical Collections of the Great Lakes; and the Buffalo Dry Dock/American Ship Building construction records for hull 209 would contain the as-built specification that could resolve the materials question ship-specifically.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1907-1958 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and collection mapping only - no item was inspected for content; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-favorite-ix45-12