Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]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 Maritime Commission program under which this C4-S-A1 hull (MC 666) was built at Kaiser Richmond in 1944-1945, when the federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding. For a steam-turbine transport of this type, era-typical applications were boiler and steam-drum insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, insulation board in accommodation spaces, and winch/windlass brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- 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); here: Kaiser Richmond Yard 3 and Kaiser Vancouver trades, USCG ship's company, and later MSTS civil-service crew
- 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, individual exposure, or causation. The product list is era-typical inference for the C4-S-A1 steam plant, not a ship specification.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-h-b-freeman-ap143-01
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[2]Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. CA-326-L, 'Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park, Kaiser Shipyards' (Tassava written historical report, National Park Service, Library of Congress record); with NPS Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front NHP 'Historic Richmond Shipyards' page (nps.gov/rori) [haer]
- Locator
- HAER CA-326-L written historical data, pp. ~15-16 (Yard 3 construction), p. 30 (8,000-ton steel figure), pp. 43-44 (Squier turbine/outfitting); LOC ca3393data.pdf; https://www.nps.gov/rori/learn/historyculture/historic-richmond-shipyards.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Federal written history documents the construction environment of this hull's builder: Kaiser erected the 156-acre Yard No. 3 at Richmond beginning January 1942, around five 590-by-100-foot graving docks, specifically to build the giant C4 troop transports - this hull's type - after accepting the Army C4 contract because the C4s were too large for Richmond's existing berths. The C4s were far more complex than Liberty ships (~8,000 tons of steel each); Yard 3 needed six months to launch its first C4 (GENERAL GEORGE O. SQUIER) and nine months of outfitting work with Maritime Commission inspectors and imported Westinghouse 'gear men' to install the turbine engine.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940-1946 (report 2006-2007 era)
- Population
- Kaiser Richmond Yard 3 workforce (1942-1945)
- Limitations
- Documents the builder yard and C4 program, not this named hull - MC hull 666 is not individually described. The full written report was keyword-scanned 2026-09-25 (asbestos/insulation/lagging/magnesia/fiber): ZERO asbestos or insulation-material statements - a negative datum for yard-level materials evidence, not proof of absence. Does not establish asbestos presence or absence aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-h-b-freeman-ap143-02
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[3]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'General H. B. Freeman (AP-143)' - HyperWar/ibiblio transcription mirror (canonical NHHC URLs returned 404 on 2026-09-25; standing NHHC link-rot issue since batch-01) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS AP-143 entry, full text (HyperWar transcription by Patrick Clancey)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record: launched 1944-12-11 under Maritime Commission contract by Kaiser Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif.; sponsored by Mrs. Marie Wheeler; converted in the Kaiser yard at Vancouver, Wash.; acquired by the Navy 1945-04-26 and commissioned at Portland, Oreg., the same day, Comdr. Harley E. Grogan, USCG, in command. After San Diego shakedown: San Pedro to Calcutta 1945-06-01 to 07-09 with 3,040 troops/passengers plus 16 British Royal Marines embarked at Brisbane; underway 07-13 with 3,000+ passengers via Ceylon, Australia, New Guinea, Philippines, arriving Hagushi, Okinawa 1945-08-16 (day after hostilities ended); departed Okinawa 08-21 with 1,000+ homeward veterans via Saipan and Pearl Harbor to San Pedro 09-12; occupation-troops run to Tokyo departing 10-07; returned Seattle 11-05 with 3,000+ Magic-Carpet passengers; second Seattle-Yokohama run 11-16 to 12-16. Inactivation overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton; decommissioned 1946-03-04; redelivered to the Maritime Commission for the Army's peacetime transport fleet. Reacquired by the Navy 1950-03-01 and assigned to MSTS with civil-service crew; carried military passengers from the West Coast to Korea, Japan, and Pacific island bases throughout the Korean War, including the fleet that evacuated besieged Hungnam; 'Smart Ship Award' three consecutive years 1950-52. Name again struck from the Navy List 1958-07-24; returned to the Maritime Commission, NDRF Olympia, Wash. Namesake: Brig. Gen. Henry Blanchard Freeman, Civil War Medal of Honor (Stone's River). Type data: C4-S-A1; dp. 9,943; cpl. 356; trp. 3,823; a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 16 20mm.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1958 (entry compiled ~1960s)
- Population
- USCG ship's company 1945-1946; MSTS civil-service crew 1950-1958; embarked troops (3,040+ per voyage)
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy narrative history compiled in the MSTS era ('where she remains' is stale - later custody is documented by the MARAD record). Contains no asbestos or materials statement; supports no asbestos claim. DANFS gives the namesake's death as '16 December 1915'; Arlington/interment records and the contemporaneous Douglas death notice give October 16, 1915 - see correction row ev-06.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-h-b-freeman-ap143-03
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[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - GENERAL H. B. FREEMAN (AP-143), Ship History Detail 1815, incl. digitized vessel status cards (1815_3355AF.jpg, ab52c594-0904-4ad0-ae5e-8a3fc89412d4.png) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 1815 milestone table; status card scans /cards/1815_3355AF.jpg and /cards/ab52c594-0904-4ad0-ae5e-8a3fc89412d4.png
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD record + status cards: Year Built 1945; Official No. 511486; MARAD type C4-S-A1; MC hull 666; Kaiser Co., Inc.; completed 4-26-45. Card record: 'Basis to W.S.A. 4-26-45 2:00PM @ Portland, Ore. del. by Builders to USMC Prod. Div.'; to Navy Dept. same time (LB agreement) Portland 4-26-45 2:00PM; to War Dept. (BB) Seattle, Wash. 3-4-46 10:00AM PST; War Dept. transfer (Trans.) 8-30-46; title to NAVY DEPT. 3-1-50; Reserve Fleet (Permanent Transfer) Olympia 7-24-58 12:20pm PST; Sea-Land Service, Inc. (Exchange Program) title, Olympia, 11-6-67 3:36PM PST; renamed 'NEWARK' 6/19/68; sold to Madison Transportation Co., Inc. 10-17-68; sold to Royal Coal Company 1-4-73; sold to Reynolds Leasing Corp. 7/2/75; 'Sold for Scrapping (Taiwan) 10-27-86 Marad Order # 18755.' Ship-particulars card (Form MA-383): NDRF Olympia fleet entry 7/24/1958 1220 hrs PST; withdrawn 11-6-67 1536 PST, reason 'Exchange ship for Sea-Land Service, Inc.'s PEAVEY PIONEER, Contract MA-4421, Application No. 327'; category 'Cap. 3823 / Transport'; 'Group 22 Transports'; title Reimbursable/USMA; draft Fwd 13'5" Aft 21'10"; passengers 3823 (Off. 228, Enl. 3595); note: 'Reimbursement for costs of preservation and special mooring devices required before Fiscal Year 1960' with MSTS letter 3-1-58/MARAD reply 3-6-58 and Navy letter 4-29-58/MARAD reply 5-15-58. Database fate field: 'Sold - Scrap.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945-1986
- Population
- NDRF Olympia lay-up workforce (1958-1967); Sea-Land/Madison/Royal Coal/Reynolds-era commercial crews (1967-1986); Taiwan breaker's workforce (post-1986)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody, contract, and disposal milestones; status cards are custody documents and contain NO materials, condition-survey, or asbestos data. Handwriting partially legible (card images read 2026-09-25). Commercial operators' activities after 1967 not detailed; the card is the controlling source for the scrapping-sale date against conflicting compiled dates (see ev-06).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-h-b-freeman-ap143-04
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[5]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, cutter history page 'General H. B. Freeman, AP-143' (original uscg.mil webcutters PDF, Aug 2001 era; retrieved via Wayback Machine capture 2008-09-24 - current history.uscg.mil returns 403 to automated fetch) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uscg.mil/history/webcutters/G_Freeman.pdf, 2 pp., via web.archive.org capture 20080924135204
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official USCG cutter page confirms Coast Guard manning and framing: 'Commissioned: 26 April 1945'; 'Decommissioned: Her Coast Guard crew was removed on 4 March 1946'; builder Kaiser Shipbuilding Inc., Richmond; class General G. O. Squier, type C4-S-A1; propulsion 'Geared turbine; single shaft; 8,500 HP'; top speed 18 knots; complement '512 officers & crew'; troop capacity 3,823; armament 4x5"/38 DP, 4x1.1" twin (later replaced by 4x40mm twin), 16x20mm single. Sources cited by the page: USCG Cutter History File; DANFS; Robert Scheina, U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II (1982). Narrative text tracks the DANFS entry (same voyages, Hungnam, Smart Ship Award, 1958 striking, NDRF Olympia).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945-1946 (page published 2001 era)
- Population
- USCG officers and crew of AP-143 (1945-1946)
- Limitations
- Official service source for the USCG-manning claim; its plant/complement figures (8,500 HP, 18 kt, cpl. 512) conflict with DANFS (16.5 kt, cpl. 356) and compiled sources (9,000 shp) - DANFS controls and the conflicts are logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-h-b-freeman-ap143-05
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[6]Date/identifier conflicts across compiled and official sources: MARAD status card vs NavSource vs NavalCoverMuseum vs Wikipedia; DANFS vs Arlington Cemetery/SNAC namesake records [other_primary]
- Locator
- MARAD status card /cards/ab52c594-0904-4ad0-ae5e-8a3fc89412d4.png; navsource.net/archives/09/22/22143.htm; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/GENERAL_H_B_FREEMAN_AP_143; en.wikipedia.org USS_General_H._B._Freeman; arlingtoncemetery.net/hfreeman.htm; SNAC ark:/99166/w6zp83xs (leads/verification only)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Conflicts resolved and logged: (a) Scrapping sale - the MARAD status card's 'Sold for Scrapping (Taiwan) 10-27-86 Marad Order # 18755' controls; NavalCoverMuseum's 'Sold October 27 1978 for scrap' and NavSource's 'Final Disposition, sold for scrapping in Taiwan, 27 October 1968 (MARAD order # 18735)' are compiled errors (wrong year and, in NavSource, wrong order number). (b) MC hull number - MARAD card and NavSource carry MC-666; Wikipedia's 'MC #710' is inconsistent with the card (possibly the MC contract number) and is rejected. (c) Commercial sale year - Wikipedia's 'sold for commercial operation in 1965' conflicts with the card's 1967-11-06 Sea-Land exchange; card controls. (d) Namesake death date - DANFS and its derivative compilations say '16 December 1915'; Arlington National Cemetery interment records, the contemporaneous Douglas, Wyo. death notice ('October 16, 1915 - died here today'), and the SNAC authority record give October 16, 1915; the DANFS entry carries the error. (e) First strike - NavSource lists 'Struck from the Naval Register, 20 March 1946'; consistent with DANFS's 'again struck' phrasing but not confirmed by an official source located - carried in gaps, not asserted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945-1986 (compiled sources to 2026)
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies among official and compiled sources; does not affect identity or custody timeline materially. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-h-b-freeman-ap143-06
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[7]Batch-2071 search ledger (this record): DANFS; MARAD ShipHistory 1815 + status cards; HAER CA-326-L full text; USCG Historian's Office cutter page; CourtListener name/hull/name-variant/docket/operator searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-general-h-b-freeman-ap143-01 through sl-uss-general-h-b-freeman-ap143-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, construction specification, or docketed asbestos case names AP-143, T-AP-143, MC hull 666, ON 511486, USAT/USNS General H. B. Freeman, or the SS Newark in the public sources searched. MARAD status cards and the HAER Kaiser-yards written history contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement. CourtListener hits classified: 'General H. B. Freeman' / 'General H.B. Freeman' / 'General H B Freeman' = 0 opinions; docket search = 0; 'T-AP-143' = 0; 'AP-143' = 24 hits, all docket-number collisions (Ohio/Florida/Texas appellate and bankruptcy docket fragments - non-qualifying); '"SS Newark" ship asbestos' = 0; '"Sea-Land" asbestos' = 154 hits, operator-level only - the lead cluster is Sea-Land Service, Inc. v. United States (D.N.J. 1988; 3d Cir. 1989, 1990), Sea-Land's SIAA contribution suit against the United States arising from the Swogger merchant-mariner asbestos action (1949-1978 exposure across five shipowners' fleets), plus Swogger v. Waterman Steamship and consolidated NY/MDL asbestos dockets; no opinion located names this hull (see search_ledger).
- 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 1945 steam transport is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the hull was scrapped in 1986 leaving no present-day survey population. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. CourtListener coverage is opinions/dockets only; unreported pleadings (e.g., MDL-875 complaint lists) are outside its index.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-h-b-freeman-ap143-07
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[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 248 (War Shipping Administration), RG 26 (U.S. Coast Guard merchant-vessel logbooks); U.S. Army Transportation Service records for the 1946-1950 USAT period [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov RG guides 24/26/178/248; batch-05 NARA merchant-vessel mapping
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no box-level work or paid reproduction authorized): (a) RG 24 Navy deck logs for USS AP-143, 1945-46 (this was a commissioned Navy vessel; logs would document ports, drills, and shipboard events); (b) RG 178 USMC Construction Division records 1944-45 and West Coast Director for Construction (San Francisco) files - the correct path for Kaiser Richmond Yard 3 / MC hull 666 construction records and for the Kaiser Vancouver conversion outfit; (c) RG 248 WSA files for the 1945 delivery and 1946 surplus return; (d) Army Transportation Service/USAT records for the 1946-50 Army period; (e) RG 26 merchant logbooks for the Newark era (1968-86), distributed to regional NARA facilities by port of submission.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1986 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only (path established in batch-05 and confirmed against NARA guides); 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-general-h-b-freeman-ap143-08