USS Glacier (CVE-33)

Evidence

8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).

1. [1]DANFS, Glacier II (ACV-33) entry (live NHHC page, verified HTTP 200 on 2026-09-18; HyperWar's DANFS transcription series ends at CVE-31, so no ibiblio mirror exists for this hull) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   NHHC DANFS, Glacier II (ACV-33) entry

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS documents: the second Glacier was originally designated AVG-33 and changed to ACV-33 on 20 August 1942 (entry text prints 'AVC-33'); built by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co. (later Todd-Pacific Shipbuilding) of Tacoma, Wash., under Maritime Commission contract; launched 7 September 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Richard P. Luker; commissioned 12 July 1943, Comdr. Ward C. Gilbert in command; designation changed to CVE-33 on 15 July 1943. She was one of a large group of escort carriers transferred to Great Britain under lend-lease - transferred 31 July 1943 at Vancouver, B.C., and served during World War II as Atheling. Atheling put in to Norfolk, Va., 6 December 1946 for return to the United States; her name was stricken from the Navy List 7 February 1947; she was sold to National Bulk Carriers, Inc., 26 November 1947. DANFS class line reads 'Prince William' (the second Tacoma-built group); data line: dp. 7,800; s. 18 k.; cpl. 890; a. 2 x 5-inch.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1942-1947

   Population

   U.S. Navy commissioning crew (19 days, 1943); Royal Navy crew (~646) 1943-1946

   Limitations

   Documents construction, the 19-day U.S. Navy commission, transfer, return, and disposal; contains no insulation, material, or asbestos information. U.S. Navy service was 19 days - the hull's operational history is almost entirely Royal Navy service, which the DANFS entry covers in a single sentence. Commissioning-date conflict (12 July here vs 3 July in secondary compilations) carried in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-glacier-cve33-01

2. [2]NavSource Online, Escort Carrier Photo Archive, USS Glacier (CVE-33) / HMS Atheling (D51) - Royal Navy service photography and postwar career [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource CVE-33 page, Glacier/Atheling photo captions and class data block

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NavSource documents: AVG-33 (later ACV-33 and CVE-33) named Glacier for Glacier Bay, an estuary in Alaska 18 miles west of Juneau; one of a large group of escort carriers transferred to Great Britain under Lend-Lease - transferred 31 July 1943 at Vancouver, B.C., becoming HMS Atheling (D51). Battle honours displayed: Burma 1945, Malaya 1945. Photo documentation (IWM, NARA, AWM, State Library of Victoria credits): anti-shipping operations off the Norwegian coast; modified January 1944 to operate fighter aircraft; mainly used as an aircraft ferry/transport in the Far East for both British and U.S. fleets; RNAS Colombo, Ceylon, 13 May 1944 (889 Squadron Seafire F.Mk.III operations; 890 Squadron Wildcat JV508 barrier landing 15 May 1944); East Indies Fleet service; Melbourne, Australia, 18 December 1945. Postwar: bought by Italian shipping tycoon Achille Lauro in 1949, converted to a passenger vessel in Italy in 1951 and renamed Roma; Mediterranean-Australia route, transferred to the North Atlantic (Mediterranean-USA) in 1953, major refit then back to Mediterranean-Australia in 1956; laid up at La Spezia, Italy, 1967; scrapped at Vado, Italy, starting December 1967. Class data printed: Bogue; 7,800 tons; 8,500 shp; Allis-Chalmers geared turbines, 1 screw; speed printed 17.5 knots; crew 890.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1942-1967

   Population

   Royal Navy crew (~646) plus embarked FAA squadrons; postwar merchant passengers/crew

   Limitations

   Compiled secondary source consistent with DANFS on all overlapping facts; speed prints 17.5 knots vs the 16.5-knot figure on sibling class pages (DANFS prints 18 k.) - variance flagged in gaps. No insulation/asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-glacier-cve33-02

3. [3]Royal Navy Research Archive, 'A History of HMS ATHELING' + Seattle-Tacoma built-ships table (non-profit virtual museum / research archive) [other_primary]

   Locator

   RNRA ESCORT/ATHELING.htm (history sections) and ESCORT_2/Seattle-Tacoma_Ships.htm (row ST 28 / MC 244)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   RNRA documents: laid down 9 June 1942 at Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co., Tacoma, as Maritime Commission C3-S-A1 freighter hull 244, Seattle-Tacoma hull 28; hull towed to the Puget Sound Navy Yard (RNRA spec block: 'Completed by: Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington') for completion and fitting out as an aircraft carrier; commissioned USS Glacier 12 July 1943; decommissioned by the USN and transferred to the Royal Navy at Vancouver 31 July 1943; commissioned as HMS Atheling (D51) 28 October 1943, Captain Ronald Ian Agnew RCN - originally to have been named Setter. Modification at Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd., North Vancouver, August-October 1943 (89 days): 150 separate alterations including flight-deck lengthening, redesigned flying controls and fighter-direction layout, hangar/accommodation/store-room modifications, aviation-fuel stowage and oiling-at-sea changes, communications and W/T-R/T sets; her low-pressure turbine rotor was removed in early September and sent to Allis-Chalmers, Milwaukee, for partial re-blading; Asdic and sea valves fitted in floating dry dock 3-7 October. Ammunitioned at Bremerton Navy Yard 5-10 November 1943; departed Esquimalt 25 November; Panama Canal; Norfolk 18 December; convoy UT.6 to Belfast 9 January 1944; further UK shipyard modification as a fighter carrier. Convoy KMF.29A from 3 March 1944 to Colombo 4 April; 21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron, East Indies Fleet; Bay of Bengal trade protection; spare deck/CAP for HMS Illustrious in Operation COUNCILLOR from 10 June; ferry carrier Ceylon-South Africa-India. On loan to the U.S. Navy as a ferry carrier 2 January 1945 - 27 July 1945 (San Diego-Pearl Harbor-Guam-Manus-Ulithi runs; evacuated injured U.S. personnel on return passages); repairs and alterations at San Diego 6-19 July 1945. Devonport Naval Dockyard trooping conversion September-November 1945 (hangar deck to accommodation, 684 bunks, ~17,426 pounds); three trooping voyages November 1945-October 1946. Returned to U.S. Navy charge at Norfolk 6 December 1946; stricken 7 February 1947; sold to National Bulk Carriers, Inc., 26 November 1947; later named Roma; scrapped in Italy starting 2 November 1967 (RNRA text; NavSource prints December 1967 - see gaps).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1942-1967

   Population

   RN crew (~646), Burrard and Devonport yard workforces, USN-loan-era passengers and evacuated casualties

   Limitations

   RNRA is a non-profit virtual museum/research archive - a compiled secondary source, not a primary record; its work-package detail (150 alterations, turbine-rotor removal, trooping conversion) is documented as events without insulation or material content. Dates corroborate DANFS where they overlap. No asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-glacier-cve33-03

4. [4]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual, NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960, page date 15 April 1959) - specification-level document for Navy shipboard insulation materials [other_primary]

   Locator

   BuShips TM ch.39, sections 39-11 through 39-13 (materials)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   The 1960 BuShips Technical Manual's insulation chapter enumerates the asbestos material suite standard to Navy steam plants of this hull's construction era: MIL-I-2781 pipe covering including 85% magnesia 'formed from a combination of 85 percent magnesium carbonate with about 15 percent asbestos fiber' and a class 'formed from a uniform mixture of amosite asbestos fibers'; roll asbestos felt MIL-I-15091; asbestos cloth/tape SS-C-466 (80-95% chrysotile) as lagging; asbestos millboard HH-M-351; asbestos finishing cement; molded asbestos block for high-temperature service. This hull's two Foster-Wheeler boilers, single Allis-Chalmers geared turbine set, and associated steam piping are the equipment classes these specifications cover.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1960 (manual); describes era-standard specifications

   Population

   Construction trades (Tacoma, 1942-43; Bremerton completion, 1943); RN crew and RN/Canadian/UK yard workforces (1943-46); USN-loan passengers (1945)

   Limitations

   Specification-level documentation of materials the Navy specified, not a ship-specific installation record - establishes the era insulation suite, not what was installed on this hull. Keel-to-commissioning window (1942-43) is inside the asbestos-spec period; the 1943 Burrard Vancouver modifications, the 1944 UK fighter-carrier conversion, the July 1945 San Diego repairs, and the 1945 Devonport trooping conversion are further material-disturbance events whose insulation scope - and whether they removed or retained era insulation - is undocumented. Retrieved PDF is a scan hosted in the Garlock bankruptcy Daubert-appendix repository; the document itself is the government manual (verified legible 2026-09-18; same document verified in the class-D profile work of 2026-09-16 and batch-54 records).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-glacier-cve33-04

5. [5]Port of Tacoma v. Todd Shipyards Corp. et al., No. 3:08-cv-05132-BHS (W.D. Wash.), Order approving TSC settlement (Doc. 139, 2010-09-09); allegations recited from Port's CERCLA contribution complaint (Doc. 58) [court_record]

   Locator

   Order Doc. 139 at 1-3; complaint summary Doc. 58 (Shipbuilding Site, 1916-1946)

   Finding type

   environmental_record

   Finding

   A W.D. Wash. order recites the Port of Tacoma's CERCLA/MTCA contribution allegations that Todd Shipyards Corporation owned and operated parcels near the mouth of the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma - 'the Shipbuilding Site' - from 1916 through 1946, and that Todd's shipbuilding operations disposed of contaminated material and hazardous substances into the waterway. The Shipbuilding Site is the Commencement Bay yard where this hull was built; a settlement releasing TSC (Todd) was approved.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1916-1946 site era; litigation 2005-2010

   Population

   Todd Tacoma yard workforce (allegation-level)

   Limitations

   Establishes the builder's site identity and operating era (1916-1946) at the location of construction. The litigated contaminants were listed hazardous substances (metals, PAHs, PCBs) - asbestos is not among the recited substances; the order recites allegations for settlement approval, not findings of contamination or exposure. No individual or hull-level exposure is established.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-glacier-cve33-05

6. [6]Herring v. Texaco, Inc., 161 Wn.2d 189, 165 P.3d 4 (Wash. 2007) [court_record]

   Locator

   Opinion, 161 Wn.2d 189 (No. 78774-3)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Washington Supreme Court opinion documents that Roger Herring worked for subcontractors at Todd Shipyards sites in the 1960s-early 1970s, developed pleural thickening (1986), asbestosis (~1989), and fatal mesothelioma (2002), and that his suit against Todd was barred because his asbestos claims were discharged in Todd's 1987 Chapter 11 bankruptcy (published-notice sufficiency was the litigated issue). Documents that occupational asbestos-exposure claims were litigated against this hull's builder corporate family in the postwar era.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1960s-2007

   Population

   Todd Shipyards subcontractor worker (mesothelioma)

   Limitations

   Yard/corporate-level litigation at Todd's Puget Sound operations post-dating this hull's construction era; does not name this hull, does not adjudicate exposure aboard any specific vessel, and Herring's claim was barred on bankruptcy-discharge grounds - a merits-level negative for that plaintiff, not affirmative exposure evidence. Construction-era (1942-43) conditions at the Tacoma yard are not addressed.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-glacier-cve33-06

7. [7]Braaten v. Saberhagen Holdings, Inc., 165 Wn.2d 373, 198 P.3d 1010 (Wash. 2008) [court_record]

   Locator

   Opinion, 165 Wn.2d 373 (No. 80146-4)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Washington Supreme Court opinion documenting the shipboard asbestos-maintenance regime at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard through the career of pipefitter William Braaten (1967-2002), who developed mesothelioma; the court held manufacturers had no duty to warn of asbestos in other makers' products applied to their equipment - a defense win on duty grounds. Documents the era asbestos environment at the naval shipyard where this hull was completed and fitted out in July 1943 (and where she ammunitioned 5-10 November 1943 as HMS Atheling).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1967-2008

   Population

   PSNS pipefitter (mesothelioma)

   Limitations

   Yard-level litigation context only: Braaten's PSNS tenure (1967-2002) postdates this hull's 1943 completion by 24 years and the opinion does not name this hull or adjudicate exposure aboard any vessel. Carried because the completion yard is documented (RNRA spec block 'Completed by: Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington'; Todd Tacoma production table 'Completed by Puget Sound NSY'); the decision is a merits-level negative for those plaintiffs, not exposure evidence.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-glacier-cve33-07

8. [8]Batch-66 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NavSource/navypedia/RNRA/shipbuildinghistory ship records; CourtListener-domain searches by exact name, hull number, and RN name; builder-yard litigation verification [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-glacier-cve33-01 through -12

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation specification, abatement contract, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Glacier (CVE-33) or HMS Atheling was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Litigation-index sweeps by exact ship name, hull number, and RN name returned generic Navy-asbestos dockets naming other vessels; 'Glacier' strings in indexed dockets resolve to geographic and corporate matters - a name collision, not this hull. A parallel sweep for Royal Navy mesothelioma claims naming HMS Atheling returned no qualifying result.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   2026-09-18

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942-43 Tacoma construction plus Bremerton completion sits inside the Navy's asbestos-specification era, and the negative reflects record availability, not hull condition; whether RN-era modifications removed or retained U.S.-era insulation is undocumented. CourtListener API was rate-limited (HTTP 429, daily cap) on 2026-09-18; the domain-restricted index sweep is a degraded but honest substitute, logged in the ledger. UK veteran claims would not appear in U.S. court repositories regardless. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-glacier-cve33-08