USS General H. W. Butner (AP-113)

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]research packet ci-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-general-h-w-butner-ap113-pkt-ci-packet-md

2. [2]Naval History and Heritage Command, DANFS entry 'General H. W. Butner (AP-113)' [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry text (single-page); characteristics line at head of entry

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry: namesake Maj. Gen. Henry W. Butner, USA (b. Pinnacle, N.C., 6 April 1875; USMA 1898; AEF St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne; CG Panama Canal Department 1936; d. 13 March 1937). Launched by Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J., 19 September 1943 under Maritime Commission contract for the Army; sponsored by Mrs. John J. McCloy; acquired by the Navy 5 December 1943 and placed in ferry commission the same day for transfer to Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore, for conversion to a transport; full commission 11 January 1944, Capt. A. P. Lawton. Characteristics: dp. 11,828 (lt.); l. 622'7"; b. 75'6"; dr. 25'; s. 19 k.; cpl. 477; trp. 5,289; a. 4 5", 16 1.1", 18 20mm.; cl. General John Pope; T. P2-S2-R2. Service: Casablanca runs from 23 February 1944; Durban/Bombay/Melbourne to San Pedro (1 July 1944); California-Melbourne/Bombay/Sydney/Noumea circuits; from February 1945 Finschhafen, Hollandia, Leyte, Manus, Guadalcanal; May-June 1945 circuit of the earth via Panama and Le Havre; Marseilles/Panama/Ulithi/Eniwetok to Okinawa (1 September 1945), Seattle 24 September. Four occupation voyages from January 1946 (Yokohama, Shanghai, Tsingtao); 1947 Boston conversion to combination dependent and troop transport, emerging 28 June; two years Guam-San Francisco; MSTS October 1949 under Navy captain and crew; Norfolk 10 January 1950; Inchon landing 16 September 1950; Atlantic (Brooklyn-Southampton-Bremerhaven) from 1951 with occasional Mediterranean (June 1953; September-October 1959) and Caribbean (November 1956; November 1958) voyages; decommissioning 28 January 1960 at Bayonne, N.J.; turned over to the Maritime Administration, entered NDRF James River March 1960; two battle stars for Korean service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1943-1960

   Limitations

   Authoritative for identity, construction, and service narrative. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or survey information; supports no asbestos claim. Page 404s to plain curl without a browser User-Agent header (verified live with UA header 2026-10-05). The 12 December 1943 decommissioning for conversion is not in DANFS - that date is sourced to NavSource (ev-02).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-general-h-w-butner-ap113-01

3. [3]NavSource Naval History, 'USS General H. W. Butner (AP-113)' vessel page (archives/09/22/22113.htm) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Chronology block, specifications block, and 1947 Boston photo caption (Shipscribe/NHHC photo)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource vessel page: General John Pope Class Transport; laid down (date unknown) as MC type P2-S2-R2 hull (MC hull 671) under Maritime Commission contract for the U.S. Army at Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.; launched 19 September 1943; acquired 5 December 1943, partial commission for ferrying to Maryland Drydock Co. (Capt. Robert H. Smith); decommissioned 12 December 1943 at Maryland Drydock; fully commissioned 11 January 1944 (Capt. Andrew P. Lawton); MSTS October 1949 as T-AP-113; Korean campaigns North Korean Aggression (11-23 September 1950) and Inchon Landing (16-17 September 1950), two battle stars; decommissioned 28 January 1960 Bayonne; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; delivered to the Maritime Commission 7 May 1960 for lay-up in the NDRF, James River, Fort Eustis, Va.; permanent custody assigned to the Maritime Administration 1 May 1961; final disposition sold 17 November 1976 to Luria Brothers & Co. Inc. in a two-ship sale for $604,050.00 (PD-X-1011) for scrapping in Taiwan in 1977, delivered 25 January 1977. Specifications: 11,450 t. (lt) / 20,175 t. (fl); 622'7" x 75'6" x 25'6"; 20.6 kts.; complement 41 officers + 477 enlisted; troop accommodations 247 officers + 4,915 enlisted; propulsion 2 De Laval steam turbines, 4 Foster Wheeler D-type boilers 465 psi 765 F, double De Laval main reduction gears, four 400 kW turbo-generators, twin shafts 17,000 shp. Photo captions (NHHC photo via Shipscribe) document the 1947 Boston Naval Shipyard alteration to carry military dependents: carrying capacity reduced, four after Welin davits and boats removed; five sisters similarly modified 1946-1947.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1943-1977

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer-curated vessel-history archive used here as an authoritative lead; chronology and specs quoted verbatim from the live page (.net domain - navsource.org is dead). Contains no asbestos or insulation-material information; supports no asbestos claim. Troop-capacity and displacement figures differ from DANFS and are kept separate, not merged. The 7 May 1960 delivery date conflicts with MARAD's 7 March 1960 NDRF entry/acquisition (ev-03); both recorded as found, not reconciled.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-general-h-w-butner-ap113-02

4. [4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - GENERAL H W BUTNER, Ship History Detail 1819 [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   ShipHistory Detail 1819, milestone table and disposition/fate fields

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD ShipHistory database record for General H. W. Butner (Ship History Detail 1819): milestones record NDRF entry/acquisition 3/7/1960 (from Military Sea Transportation Service); disposition and withdrawal 1/25/1977; fate 'Sold - Scrap'.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1960-1977

   Limitations

   Authoritative for government custody milestones. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. The sale contract details (PD-X-1011, Luria Brothers, $604,050, Taiwan) are NOT on the MARAD page as fetched - they are sourced to NavSource (ev-02). A prior session (2026-10-04) reported reading digitized status-card images for this hull via a /cards/ URL; the Status Cards tab returned no entries when re-fetched 2026-10-05, so card-specific details (e.g., '1700 EST' entry notation, temporary-custody language) were dropped from this record rather than carried unverified.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-general-h-w-butner-ap113-03

5. [5]Batch-2044 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC; NavSource 22113; MARAD ShipHistory 1819; CourtListener opinion and docket searches; ToxicDocs; live-web searches [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-general-h-w-butner-ap113-01 through -12

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming the General H. W. Butner hull (AP-113/T-AP-113) was found in the public sources searched - the DANFS entry, NavSource page, and MARAD ShipHistory record contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement, and CourtListener name/hull searches returned no hull-specific asbestos litigation (see search_ledger).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   2026-10-04 to 2026-10-05

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943-built steam transport with two documented yard periods is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-general-h-w-butner-ap113-04

6. [6]Propulsion specification from NavSource vessel page (ev-02); era context per house class/era inference standard (as in batch-01 ss-jeremiah-obrien and batch-05 ss-john-w-brown records) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Specifications block, propulsion lines

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Class/era inference only: the ship's documented propulsion plant - four Foster Wheeler D-type boilers at 465 psi/765 F feeding two De Laval steam turbines with four 400 kW turbo-generators - is a 1943 high-pressure steam installation of the type and era commonly insulated with asbestos-containing products (boiler and steam-drum insulation, steam-line lagging, gaskets, packing, brake linings). U.S. WWII-era naval and merchant steam vessels of this period were built when asbestos insulation was standard shipyard practice.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1943-1960

   Population

   Construction trades (Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny, 1943); engine-room crew (1944-1960)

   Limitations

   Era/type inference, not a hull record: no source names asbestos products aboard this hull. Does not establish quantity, location, condition, present-day presence (hull scrapped 1977), individual exposure, or causation. Class/era evidence may prioritize research but never becomes a ship-specific finding.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-general-h-w-butner-ap113-05

7. [7]Owens-Illinois, Inc., Supplemental Answers to Second Interrogatories, Heathman v. Owens-Corning, No. 87-C-1934 (Brazoria County, TX, 1990) - exhibit list item 20 (via ToxicDocs) [court_record]

   Locator

   Interrogatory answers, exhibit list item 20

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   Archival lead: a U.S. government industrial-health survey, 'Industrial Health Survey of the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, New Jersey (August 30-31, September 1-2, 1944),' is cited as exhibit 20 in Owens-Illinois, Inc.'s Supplemental Answers to Second Interrogatories in Heathman v. Owens-Corning (Brazoria County, TX, No. 87-C-1934, filed 1990), where it appears in a list described as internal Navy correspondence and confidential U.S. Maritime Commission reports. The survey postdates this hull's departure from the yard (launched September 1943). The survey's full text was not located online; its contents (including any asbestos-product findings for the Kearny yard) are unverified.

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1944 (survey); 1990 (litigation citation)

   Population

   Shipyard trades (Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny, 1944)

   Limitations

   Existence and date of the survey verified from the litigation exhibit citation; survey authorship is U.S. government (Navy/Maritime Commission), NOT Owens-Illinois - a law-firm-sponsored page (asbestosatlas.org, Danziger & De Llano) that attributes the survey to Owens-Illinois is contradicted by this primary document and was not used as a source. Survey contents unverified (full text not retrieved). Yard-level documentation in any case: does not name this hull and cannot establish asbestos aboard it. Retrieval lead: ToxicDocs / U.S. Public Health Service industrial-hygiene survey archives.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-general-h-w-butner-ap113-06

8. [8]DANFS entry (conversion events); NavSource chronology + 1947 Boston photo caption (NHHC photo via Shipscribe) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS construction and 1947 paragraphs; NavSource chronology lines and 6 June 1947 photo caption

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Two documented yard periods with undocumented materials scope: (a) conversion to a transport at Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore - acquired by the Navy 5 December 1943 and ferried there, decommissioned for the conversion 12 December 1943, fully commissioned 11 January 1944; (b) 1947 conversion to a combination dependent-and-troop transport at Boston Naval Shipyard - sailed for Boston early 1947, emerged 28 June 1947; NHHC photo caption (via NavSource/Shipscribe) records carrying capacity reduced and four after Welin davits and boats removed, with five sisters similarly modified in 1946-1947. The insulation or materials scope of either yard job is not documented in the sources searched.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1943-1947

   Population

   Yard trades (Maryland Drydock, Baltimore, 1943-44; Boston Naval Shipyard, 1947)

   Limitations

   Documents the yard events only. Wartime-era yards worked extensively with asbestos-containing insulation, but no source documents the materials scope of either job on this hull; any asbestos scope would be inference, not a finding. Maryland Drydock Co. (Baltimore) is not a shipyards.json entry - carried in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-general-h-w-butner-ap113-07

9. [9]United States v. McCall, 11 USCMA 270, 29 C.M.R. 86 (C.M.A. 1960), CourtListener opinion 8595840 [court_record]

   Locator

   Opinion, specification quoted at head of case; citation cluster 11 C.M.A. 270 / 11 USCMA 270 / 29 C.M.R. 86

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   The only docketed opinion naming the hull is NOT an asbestos case: United States v. James A. McCall, 11 USCMA 270, 29 C.M.R. 86, No. 13,535 (U.S. Court of Military Appeals, decided February 19, 1960) - a special court-martial; the specification charges that James Arnold McCall, seaman recruit, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. BUTNER (T-AP 113), was found lying down and asleep while on watch as the after steering helmsman on or about 0145 hours, 19 May 1959.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1959 (offense); 1960 (opinion)

   Limitations

   Classified as other litigation (military criminal), not qualifying asbestos litigation - a name match is not automatically an asbestos case. The opinion contains no asbestos, exposure, or ship-condition content; it documents only that the named sailor served aboard T-AP-113 in May 1959. Full text cross-verified against a public caselaw mirror (calculators.law) 2026-10-05.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-general-h-w-butner-ap113-08

10. [10]CourtListener API v4 search program, batch-2044 sessions 2026-10-04/05 (fleet helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-general-h-w-butner-ap113-06 through -11

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    CourtListener search program (opinion and RECAP docket indexes, authenticated API v4 via fleet helper) across ship-name and hull-number variants returned no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull. Outcomes: exact-name and hull-number base queries - hits were name collisions (FCI Butner detainee/habeas litigation, 'Butner' surnames, bankruptcy docket-number matches, including a C.D. Cal. family bankruptcy dispute inspected and excluded); 'USS Butner' exact phrase - 0 results; asbestos-context variants ('USS General Butner', 'aboard the Butner', ship-name + asbestos) - no qualifying hits; the single vessel-naming opinion is the McCall court-martial (ev-08).

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-05

    Study period

    2026-10-04 to 2026-10-05

    Limitations

    A zero search result is bounded by index coverage: CourtListener does not index all state-court or unreported asbestos dockets, and MDL-875 pleading-stage vessel lists may not surface the hull name in indexed opinion text. Absence of a located case does not establish that no claim was ever filed. Exact query strings from the 2026-10-04 session were not fully recoverable from its log; categories and outcomes recorded as logged there.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-general-h-w-butner-ap113-09

11. [11]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel - deck logs); MARAD vessel disposal files; LOC Veterans History Project and Wisconsin Veterans Museum catalog references (unverified) [other_primary]

    Locator

    RG 24 deck-logs guidance; https://www.archives.gov/research/military/navy/deck-logs ; oral-history collection numbers as reported by prior session, not re-verified

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads (not retrieved; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 deck logs for AP-113/T-AP-113 (1944-1960) and the ship's WWII war diary; the MARAD PD-X-1011 sale file (1976 two-ship scrapping sale); Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock hull 671 construction/outfitting records; veteran oral histories reported by a prior session - Library of Congress Veterans History Project AFC/2001/001/53336 (boatswain's mate aboard) and a Wisconsin Veterans Museum interview (intercommunications electrician aboard during Korea).

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-05

    Study period

    1943-1977 records

    Limitations

    Record-group and collection mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for hull 671/AP-113 is unknown until surveyed. The two oral-history references were carried from the prior session's notes and were NOT re-verified against the LOC or WVM catalogs this session. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-general-h-w-butner-ap113-10