Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (Naval Historical Center), 'General R. L. Howze' entry - transcription mirror at HistoryCentral (NHHC online page not located; legacy URL history.navy.mil/danfs/g3/general_r_l_howze.htm defunct; NavSource archive page 09/22/22134 carries same record plus CO list and campaign table) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body, 'General R. L. Howze'; NavSource https://www.navsource.org/archives/09/22/22134.htm (DNS-unreachable from research host 2026-09-25; content confirmed via search index)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry (Naval Historical Center, transcribed via HistoryCentral mirror): laid down under Maritime Commission contract 22 July 1942 by Kaiser Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif.; launched 23 May 1943 (sponsor Mrs. W. C. Gardenshire); acquired by the Navy 31 December 1943; converted by Matson Navigation Co., San Francisco; commissioned San Francisco 7 February 1944, Capt. L. H. Baker USCG. Shakedown off San Diego; sailed 20 March 1944 for New Guinea carrying troops to Milne Bay and onward; returned San Francisco 2 May 1944; subsequent runs to Guadalcanal, Manus, Eniwetok and other islands - 11 voyages to Pacific combat areas carrying troops, supplies, and Japanese POWs; returned 15 October 1945. November 1945 Philippines voyage for returning veterans; sailed 10 January 1946 for England with 3,400 German POWs (Liverpool 31 January); Le Havre-New York troop lift 16 February; decommissioned New York 1 April 1946, returned to WSA for transfer to War Department; reserve James River 6 August 1947; Army transport 1948. Reacquired 1 March 1950, joined MSTS with civilian crew; first year Atlantic IRO displaced-persons voyages; mid-1951 to Pacific, San Francisco-Far East troop replacements for Korea; September 1954 five months on Operation 'Passage to Freedom' (North to South Vietnam); returned Seattle 31 December 1955; reserve fleet Astoria 15 July 1957; returned to Maritime Administration 17 July 1958. Six battle stars for Korean War service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1958
- Population
- USCG crew ~356; embarked troops ~3,100-3,500 per voyage (per USCG voyage table); German and Japanese POWs
- Limitations
- Authoritative official ship history for identity, construction, and service chronology; contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement. Internal figure '11 voyages' counts Pacific combat-area voyages; USCG official history counts 14 total voyages (12 Pacific + 2 Atlantic). DANFS 'reserve fleet Astoria 15 July 1957' predates the MARAD-custody date on the status card (17 July 1958) - reconciled in correction row. Minor OCR garbles in the HistoryCentral transcription ('Bae', 'USOG', '1948?') resolved against NavSource and shipscribe.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-r-l-howze-ap134-01
-
[2]U.S. Coast Guard Historical Section, 'The Coast Guard at War' Volume V-2, Transports (1949 official monograph), section 'USS General R. L. Howze (AP-134)' - HyperWar transcription [other_primary]
- Locator
- USS General R. L. Howze (AP-134) section, pp. 15-16 of the transports volume (voyage table, attacks, decommissioning)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official U.S. Coast Guard war history, 'The Coast Guard at War - Transports', devotes a section to this ship: C4-S-A1 troop transport of 12,347 gross / 9,064 net tons, LOA 522'10.5", beam 71'8.25", displacement at maximum draft 22,000 tons, maximum sustained sea speed 17.84 knots; launched 23 May 1943, accepted 31 December 1943, converted by Matson Navigation, commissioned 7 February 1944, CAPT Lee H. Baker USCG first CO (succeeded 3 March 1945 by CAPT William J. Austermann USCG, 21 December 1945 by CDR C. H. Bowerman USCG). Records 14 voyages in two years (12 Pacific, 2 Atlantic) with a full departure/arrival table and embarked counts (3,495; 3,518; 3,442; 3,383; 3,334; 3,371; 3,145; 3,182; 3,104; 3,264; 2,884 eastbound); documents the 6 November 1944 Connolly (DE-306) depth-charge/hedgehog attack en route Pearl Harbor-San Francisco; air raids at White Beach, Leyte, 17-23 January 1945; convoy submarine contacts 18-19 May 1945; decommissioned and Coast Guard crew removed 1 April 1946 at New York.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- USCG officers and crew (three named COs); embarked troops/POWs per voyage table (~3,100-3,500 outbound)
- Limitations
- Primary official service history compiled from Coast Guard records - strongest ship-specific operational source; documents the manning service (Coast Guard) and embarked populations. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim. Voyage count (14) differs from DANFS '11' (DANFS counts Pacific combat-area voyages only).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-r-l-howze-ap134-02
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - GENERAL R. L. HOWZE (AP-134), Detail 1839, incl. digitized vessel status cards (James River card; Astoria MA-383 card; master custody card front/back) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 1839 milestones; status card scans 1839_3404AF/AB/BF and two high-resolution custody cards
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database record and digitized Reserve Fleet status cards document the full custody chain with timestamp precision: U.S. Official No. 513674; MC hull 657; type C4-S-A1; built Kaiser Richmond, completed 12-31-43; delivered to USMC by builders 12-31-43 3:00 PM PWT at Richmond, then Navy Department (held by USMC). War Department bareboat New York 4-1-46 11 AM EST; War Department title 8-30-46; James River reserve fleet entry 8-6-47 12:05 PM (reason for lay-up: 'Army surplus'); withdrawn and delivered to Army operations Norfolk 7-6-48 1:40 PM; Navy title 3-1-50; Reserve Fleet permanent transfer, Astoria, Ore., 7-17-58 3:18 PM PST ('Perm. Layup'; service prior to layup 'MSTS/Navy'; capacity 3,530 - 250 officers, 3,300 enlisted; 'Group 22 Transports'). Withdrawn 4-16-68 1200 PST: 'Transfer ship under Exchange Program to Pacific Far East Lines for conversion and operation service between West Coast and Guam' (title 4-10-68 Washington DC; physical delivery Astoria 4-16-68); renamed 'GUAM BEAR' 5/68. Database fate: 'Sold - Scrap.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1968
- Population
- NDRF Astoria custodial period 1958-1968; PFEL exchange/conversion context 1968
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government-custody milestones and the 1968 exchange disposition; status-card handwriting read with care (a few entries partially legible). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. Reconciles several secondary-source date conflicts (see correction row).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-r-l-howze-ap134-03
-
[4]In re Pacific Far East Line, Inc., 314 F. Supp. 1339 (N.D. Cal. 1970); aff'd 472 F.2d 1382 (9th Cir. 1973); related discovery order 43 F.R.D. 283 (N.D. Cal. 1967); Houser v. O'Leary, 253 F. Supp. 417 (D. Or. 1966), aff'd 383 F.2d 730 (9th Cir. 1967) [court_record]
- Locator
- 314 F. Supp. at 1340 (vessel dimensions, collision date, total loss); 472 F.2d at 1382 (sole issue: U.S. negligence); 383 F.2d at 730 (injury date/location)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Namesake trap documented and excluded: the only located court proceedings involving any of this hull's later names involve a different vessel. In re Pacific Far East Line, Inc., 314 F. Supp. 1339 (N.D. Cal. 1970), aff'd 472 F.2d 1382 (9th Cir. 1973), is a limitation-of-liability proceeding by PFEL as owner of 'the American Flag Steamship Guam Bear' arising from the 14 January 1967 collision between that Guam Bear and the tanker Esso Seattle off Apra Harbor, Guam; the opinion describes that Guam Bear as a 459-ft, 63.2-ft-beam, 6,000-hp freighter - dimensions and power far below this hull's 522'10"/71'6"/~9,000+ hp - and records that she was a total loss, towed to sea and sunk by Navy tugs. This hull did not acquire the name 'Guam Bear' until May 1968, sixteen months after that ship sank. Houser v. O'Leary, 253 F. Supp. 417 (D. Or. 1966), aff'd 383 F.2d 730 (9th Cir. 1967), involves a longshoreman injured 1 May 1965 loading 'the vessel Guam Bear' at Portland - again the earlier vessel. Neither proceeding is asbestos litigation and neither involves this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1965-1973 (earlier vessel); 1968 (name reuse begins)
- Limitations
- Documents litigation involving the name 'Guam Bear' that is NOT this hull - prevents misattribution of the Esso Seattle collision case and the Houser LHWCA case to AP-134. The cases are merits-level admiralty opinions about a different vessel; they say nothing about asbestos, and nothing about this ship. PFEL evidently reused the name after the earlier Guam Bear's 1967 loss.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-r-l-howze-ap134-04
-
[5]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); design/class context: Shipscribe Auxiliary Vessels AP-130 class page (C4-S-A1 design notes, Westinghouse turbine, Richmond Yard 3 program) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373 (abstract/article); https://usnaux.shipscribe.com/AP/AP130.html class notes
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference only: this hull is a WWII Maritime Commission C4-S-A1 steam transport built 1942-43 at Kaiser Richmond Yard 3 - squarely inside the era and program for which peer-reviewed historical scholarship documents extensive asbestos use as fireproofing and insulation in U.S. shipbuilding, during the period when the federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding. For a geared-turbine steam transport of this design, era-consistent asbestos applications would include boiler and steam-drum insulation, steam-line lagging, turbine and auxiliary-machinery insulation, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, accommodation/galley insulation, and winch/windlass brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1981
- Population
- Kaiser Richmond Yard 3 construction trades (1942-43); USCG engine-room/engineering ratings WWII; Army transport and MSTS engineering crews 1946-1957; commercial crews 1968-1981
- Limitations
- Era/program-level documentation and design-type inference, not a hull record: the study does not name this vessel, no C4-S-A1 material schedule was located, and nothing establishes that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. Class/era evidence may contextualize but never upgrades to ship-specific.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-r-l-howze-ap134-05
-
[6]Batch-2063 search ledger (this record): DANFS/HistoryCentral transcription; USCG 'Coast Guard at War - Transports'; MARAD ShipHistory 1839 + status cards; NavSource 09/22/22134; Shipscribe AP-130 class page; CourtListener API v4 searches (name, hull, variants); NARA deck-log guidance [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-general-r-l-howze-ap134-01 through sl-uss-general-r-l-howze-ap134-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat or condition disclosure, and no docketed case naming this hull (as USS/USNS/USAT General R. L. Howze, AP-134/T-AP-134, or its commercial names) was found in the public sources searched - DANFS, the official USCG war history, MARAD status cards, NavSource, Shipscribe, and CourtListener name/hull searches (see search_ledger). The only litigation located for any name variant involves a different vessel (correction row ev-...-04). Law-firm marketing sites list the ship as an 'asbestos job site' but are non-authoritative and uncited; excluded.
- 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 1943 steam transport is era-consistent with retained asbestos-containing materials through her service life, and the hull is gone (scrapped 1981), so no present-day survey is possible. 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-r-l-howze-ap134-06
-
[7]DANFS (HistoryCentral transcription); MARAD status cards (Detail 1839); USCG war history; Shipscribe AP-134 ship note (NVR-derived); NavSource/NHHC photo NH 104591-104592 caption (Everett Ready Reserve, 25 June 1957) [other_primary]
- Locator
- MARAD custody card entries; Shipscribe AP-134 ship note; NavSource merchant-service and photo-caption entries; DANFS entry text
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved and post-1968 commercial chain of record assembled: (a) Decommissioning - Wikipedia infobox gives '6 August 1947' but DANFS, NavSource, the USCG war history, and the MARAD custody card all place decommissioning at New York on 1 April 1946; 6 August 1947 is the James River reserve-fleet entry date. (b) Laid down - NavSource prose reads '2 July 1942' but DANFS and Shipscribe agree on 22 July 1942 (adopted; NavSource date treated as typo). (c) Reserve-fleet entry - DANFS says Astoria 15 July 1957, but the NHHC photo record places the ship in the MSTS Ready Reserve nest at Everett, WA, 25 June 1957, and the MARAD card records Astoria custody entry 17 July 1958; reconciled as MSTS inactivation/lay-up at Everett mid-1957 followed by MARAD Astoria entry July 1958. (d) Struck - Shipscribe lists 17 July 1958; a NavSource-derived listing gives 24 July 1958 (day unresolved). (e) Commercial career per NavSource merchant-service entries and Shipscribe ship note: renamed Guam Bear May 1968, New Zealand Bear 14 April 1975, sold to Farrell Lines 22 December 1975 and renamed Austral Glen, sold 23 August 1979 and renamed Pacific Endeavor (American Pacific Containers); final disposition sold for scrapping 2 January 1981 to Mohd. Iqbal Gowal & Co. Ltd., Pakistan - 1981 documented sale adopted over Wikipedia's 'scrapped 1980'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1981
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies among official and secondary framings; does not affect identity or the custody timeline materially. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-r-l-howze-ap134-07
-
[8]NARA deck-log guidance (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online); USCG Historian CG Military Muster Rolls 1941-49 finding aid (history.uscg.mil); NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 178; NavSource photo credits (NH 104591/104592, 19-N-71064) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Navy deck-log page; https://www.history.uscg.mil/Research/Finding-Aids/Revenue-Cutter-and-Coast-Guard-Muster-Rolls-1831-1949/CG-Military-Muster-Rolls-1941-49/ ; archives.gov RG 178 guide
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (1) Navy deck logs for AP-134, 1944-46 - RG 24, Entry 118 (NARA Special List #44 series; digitization of WWII logs ongoing in National Archives Catalog series 'Logbooks of the U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978', NAID 594258). (2) U.S. Coast Guard muster rolls, RG 26, Entry 108A (USCG Military Muster Rolls 1941-49, NARA) - personnel-level record of the Coast Guard crew. (3) RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) construction/contract records for MC hull 657 and Matson conversion file. (4) NHHC/NARA photographs: 19-N-71064 (San Francisco Bay, 17 Feb 1944, RG-19-LCM) and NH 104591/104592 (MSTS Ready Reserve nest, Everett, 25 Jun 1957). (5) USCG Historian's Office - ship's WWII logbooks/muster documentation for Coast Guard-manned Navy transports.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1968 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and finding-aid mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; 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-general-r-l-howze-ap134-08