Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet 978-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-grand-rapids-pf31-pkt-978-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Grand Rapids I (PF-31) - construction, Coast Guard manning, weather-patrol service narrative, disposal; author Robert J. Cressman, 9 Aug 2016 (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-04) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Grand Rapids I (PF-31)' entry - spec block and construction paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: originally projected as gunboat PG-139; laid down under Maritime Commission contract (M.C. Hull 1442) 30 July 1943 at Superior, Wis., by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc.; launched 10 September 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Ted Booth; manned by a skeleton crew from the U.S. Coast Guard Training Station, Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, N.Y.; departed Duluth, Minn., 7 June 1944; transited Lake Superior and Lake Michigan and proceeded down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to Plaquemine, La. (21 June), outfitting and conversion to a weather station vessel at the Kansas City Bridge Co. yard; fitting out at Avondale [La.] Marine Ways August 1944 under the Industrial Manager, Eighth Naval District; commissioned at Avondale 10 October 1944, Lt. Cmdr. Theodore F. Knoll, USCG, in command. Spec block: displacement 1,430; length 303'11"; beam 37'6"; draft 13'8"; speed 20 knots; complement 176; armament 3 3-inch, 9 20mm, 2 depth charge tracks, 8 depth charge projectors, 1 hedgehog; class Tacoma; type S2-S2-AQ1.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Walter Butler construction trades (1943-44); USCG-manned crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Live NHHC page verified 2026-10-04 (no mirror needed - contrast the standing NHHC link-rot defect noted in BATCH-01 for other hulls).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grand-rapids-pf31-01
-
[3]DANFS, Grand Rapids I (PF-31) - Atlantic weather-patrol service and disposal narrative [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative, disposal paragraph, and commanding-officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented service for this hull: shakedown to Bermuda interrupted twice - hurricane damage off the west coast of Florida (returned to New Orleans 20 Oct 1944; repairs at U.S. Naval Repair Base, Algiers, La.) and engine trouble (7-day availability at Key West); reported to Commander, DD/DE Shakedown Task Group, NOB Bermuda, 8 November 1944; shakedown concluded 2 December; Boston availability at the Navy Yard, South Boston; sailed for Argentia, Newfoundland, 6 January 1945 for assignment under Commander Task Force 24 as a weather vessel, Destroyers, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Served on weather stations 3, 4, 5, 8, 2, 9, 7 and 10; in-port at Reykjavik, Iceland, when the war in Europe ended; at Argentia when hostilities ended in the Pacific; air-sea rescue duty in conjunction with weather patrol. Final weather duty completed 15 January 1946; temporarily assigned to the Coast Guard 1 March 1946 until released for disposal; decommissioned at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va., 10 April 1946; authorized for disposal 3 May 1946; stricken from the Naval Register 21 May 1946; sold to Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Chester, Pa., 14 April 1947, delivery and custody at Claremont, Va., the same day; scrapped 21 September 1947. Commanding officers (all USCG/USCGR): Lt. Cmdr. Theodore F. Knoll, USCG, 10 Oct 1944-11 Aug 1945; Lt. G. Robert Osterfelt, USCGR, 11-17 Aug 1945 (temporary); Lt. (later Lt. Cmdr.) Johnson L. Hale, USCGR, 17 Aug-17 Sep 1945; Lt. G. Robert Osterfelt, USCGR, 17 Sep 1945 to end.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- USCG-manned crew on North Atlantic weather stations (1944-46); yard trades at Algiers repair base, South Boston Navy Yard, Norfolk Naval Shipyard
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Decommission-location conflict with USCG Historian/NavSource (Boston) carried in gaps. CO handoff dates differ by 2 days from NavSource (Hale 19 Aug vs 17 Aug) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grand-rapids-pf31-02
-
[4]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'USS Grand Rapids, PF-31' (24 Mar 2021) - Coast Guard-manned frigate record; sources: The Coast Guard At War, Transports and Escorts Vol. V; Conway's 1922-1946; DANFS Vol. III [other_primary]
- Locator
- USCG Historian's Office asset page, spec block and History section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USCG Historian's Office record for this hull: builder Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin; propulsion '2-shaft VTE, 3 boilers' (vertical triple-expansion steam engines); range 9,500 nm at 12 knots; displacement 2,230 tons; complement 190; armament 3 x 3"/50, 4 x 40mm (2x2), 9 x 20mm, 1 Hedgehog, 8 depth charge projectors, 2 depth charge racks - 'for those frigates fitted out for weather patrol duty, the after 3-inch gun was removed and a weather balloon hanger was added aft.' Commissioned 10 October 1944 under LCDR Theodore F. Knoll, USCG; 'taken down the Mississippi River and outfitted at Plaquemine, Louisiana, before being commissioned at New Orleans.' Decommissioned at Boston 10 April 1946; sold to Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Chester, Pa., 14 April 1947; subsequently scrapped.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- USCG officers and crew (all commissioned COs were USCG/USCGR); construction and fitting-out trades
- Limitations
- Official USCG historical record; no asbestos or material content. Conflicts with DANFS on decommission location (Boston vs Norfolk Naval Shipyard), complement (190 vs 176), boiler count (3 vs 2) and the Hale/Osterfelt handoff date - all carried in gaps. The '3 boilers' figure conflicts with NavSource's 'two 3-drum express boilers'; Wikipedia's 'turbines' characterization is inconsistent with VTE and is a known class-level error.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grand-rapids-pf31-03
-
[5]NavSource Online: Frigate Photo Archive, Grand Rapids (PF-31) - designation timeline, specifications, propulsion detail, commanding-officer list, photography (live navsource.net page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/08031.htm header block, specifications block, CO table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: originally authorized as Patrol Gunboat PG-139; reclassified Patrol Frigate PF-31, 15 April 1943; laid down 30 July 1943 under Maritime Commission contract by Walter Butler Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wisconsin; launched 10 September 1943; commissioned USS Grand Rapids (PF-31) 10 October 1944 at New Orleans, LA; decommissioned 10 April 1946 at Boston, MA; sold for scrap 14 April 1947 to Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. of Chester, PA. Propulsion: 'Two 3-drum express boilers, two 5,500 iHP Diamond Iron Works steam engines, two shafts.' Photography: high-line stores transfer from Beaufort (PF-59) and a 1944 crew photo. MC type T. S2-S2-AQ1.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Construction trades (Superior WI 1943-44); USCG-manned crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Volunteer secondary compilation tracking NVR/DANFS; no asbestos content. Propulsion detail (Diamond Iron Works reciprocating engines, two 3-drum boilers) confirms a steam plant aboard this hull - boiler/engine lagging pathway applies - but materials are not named. Decommission location (Boston) conflicts with DANFS (Norfolk Naval Shipyard) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grand-rapids-pf31-04
-
[6]Sandy v. Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., 221 Minn. 215, 21 N.W.2d 612 (Minn. 1946) - occupational-disease/workers-comp coverage opinion documenting insulation-dust exposure conditions at the builder's Duluth Riverside plant during this hull's construction window [court_record]
- Locator
- 221 Minn. 215, 21 N.W.2d 612 - complaint recitals at *216-*218, *221; holding at *224
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Minnesota Supreme Court opinion (decided 1 February 1946) documents conditions at this hull's builder during the window covering her construction: plaintiff Clifford A. Sandy, a machinist at Walter Butler Shipbuilders' Riverside plant in Duluth, August 1943 - 24 December 1944, worked 'largely within the hull, in the hold and lower regions of ships while these were in the process of construction' for the U.S. Maritime Commission and was exposed to 'spun glass dust arising from material known as spun glass insulation' applied by other employees - dust accumulating on deck floors and scaffolding and blown into the air by air hose. He contracted dermatitis; the court held the cause lies within the workmen's compensation act (order overruling demurrer reversed).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1944 (exposure); 1946 (opinion)
- Population
- Walter Butler Shipbuilders trades, Duluth Riverside plant, Aug 1943-Dec 1944 (machinists working below decks amid insulation application)
- Limitations
- Builder-level record, not a hull record, and the material is SPUN GLASS (fiberglass), not asbestos - this row documents insulation-dust exposure conditions and bystander-exposure mechanics at the builder's Twin Ports operation, not asbestos aboard this hull. The Riverside plant was the Duluth yard (ex-Barnes-Duluth, purchased 1943), which built C1-M cargo ships; PF-31's contract yard was Superior, WI (six miles across the harbor), though DANFS records her departing Duluth 7 June 1944. Exposure facts are complaint recitals adopted on demurrer review - a pleading-stage record resolved on comp-coverage grounds, not a merits finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grand-rapids-pf31-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (Tacoma class, MC type S2-S2-AQ1); NavSource/USCG propulsion (3-drum express boilers, Diamond Iron Works VTE steam engines); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product list for Avondale Shipyard (Kaylo insulation; lagging cloth for steam pipes; gaskets; floor tiles; adhesives; fire-resistant blankets - the yard where she fitted out Aug-Oct 1944); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource specifications; shipyards.json product list for avondale-shipyard
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steam-driven patrol frigate built July 1943 - October 1944 under a Maritime Commission emergency contract sits squarely inside the documented WWII-era asbestos-use window. Era-standard applications aboard a steam combatant of this type were boiler and engine lagging, steam-line insulation, gaskets, valve packing, and fireproofing - the reciprocating VTE plant and twin 3-drum boilers made these systems extensive relative to the hull's small volume. Fitting-out at Avondale Marine Ways (Aug-Oct 1944), including weather-station conversion, adds the documented Avondale-era product set as yard context only.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Walter Butler construction trades (1943-44); Kansas City Bridge Co. conversion trades (Jun-Aug 1944); Avondale fitting-out trades (Aug-Oct 1944); USCG-manned crew (1944-46); Sun Shipbuilding/Claremont shipbreakers (1947)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or asbestos record located for PF-31. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The Avondale product list documents that yard's era usage generally; whether PF-31's fitting-out used any listed product is unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grand-rapids-pf31-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed Navy asbestos-exposure protection efforts at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, covering 'the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing asbestos from Navy ships, and compensation programs for asbestos-related disabilities'; the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only damaged insulation or insulation that had to be removed for repairs, modified in 1979 to include selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. Documents Navy-wide asbestos insulation use spanning this hull's construction (1943-44) and service era (1944-46).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979 (report); Navy asbestos-use era 1940s-1970s
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Product page verified live 2026-10-04 via firecrawl; full-text PDF not retrieved this session (prior sessions: gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403 - the same standing access gap noted in BATCH-01/98). Fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - Norfolk NSY appears in this hull's record only as the DANFS-stated decommissioning site.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grand-rapids-pf31-07
-
[9]Batch-8435 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page; USCG Historian's Office; NavSource 12/08031; shipbuildinghistory Butler-Superior hull list (MC 1442); Sandy v. Walter Butler (justia); GAO product page; NVR; CourtListener (base queries); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-grand-rapids-pf31-01 onward
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS Grand Rapids (PF-31/PG-139) was found in the sources searched. CourtListener (authenticated, fleet-paced, all 4 base queries run): "USS Grand Rapids" opinions 0 hits; "USS Grand Rapids" dockets 0 hits; "PF-31" opinions 6 hits - all classified name collisions (police-misconduct, bankruptcy, securities, school-discrimination, ASBCA contract, pharmaceutical-environmental cases; 'PF-31' matched exhibit/form tokens, no Navy or asbestos context); "PF-31" dockets 65 hits - all name collisions in the visible page (habeas, RLUIPA, ADA, ERISA, civil-rights, insurance natures of suit); asbestos-qualified docket variant "PF-31" asbestos returned 3 hits - all name collisions (Dillon v. Focus Receivables, N.D. Tex. 2006 - FDCPA; United States v. Avenatti, C.D. Cal. 2019 - criminal; Sanford v. City of Detroit, E.D. Mich. 2017 - civil rights; 'PF-31' matched exhibit tags) - see sl-14. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case - 'Grand Rapids' hits on marketing ship-lists mean PGM-98 (Asheville-class gunboat, different hull) or a 'DE 31' mislabel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard. The 'PF-31' docket set is dominated by non-vessel token collisions; the asbestos-qualified variant narrows the overflow but no docket-level ship attribution was verified. Deck logs, MC construction records (Hull 1442), Kansas City Bridge Co. conversion packages, and Sun Shipbuilding 1947 scrapping records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grand-rapids-pf31-08
-
[10]Naval Vessel Register - no ship-detail entry for PF-31 (site states ships disposed prior to 1987 are currently not included) [other_primary]
- Locator
- nvr.navy.mil ship-details path for PF-31; NVR main-page inclusion note
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Naval Vessel Register carries no ship-detail page for PF-31: the register 'includes ships that have been stricken but not disposed' and 'ships and service craft disposed of prior to 1987 are currently not included.' This hull was disposed of (sold for scrapping) in 1947, so no NVR detail record exists - the URL resolves to the NVR main page, not a ship entry.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1947 disposal; 2026-10-04 check
- Limitations
- An absent NVR entry is expected for pre-1987 disposals and is not an anomaly for this hull; it means commission/strike dates cannot be verified against the register. DANFS/NavSource/USCG supply the milestone dates instead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grand-rapids-pf31-09
-
[11]NARA RG 24 deck-log series (lead); catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered and not machine-fetchable this session [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 24 deck-log series; pf69.grobbel.org/pf69timeline.htm entry of 16 Sept 1945 (Berth F, NOB Argentia)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- USS Grand Rapids (PF-31) deck logs for her commissioned service (Oct 1944 - Apr 1946) should exist in NARA RG 24 (logbooks of U.S. Navy ships); the series for this era is not publicly digitized and the NARA catalog could not be searched programmatically this session (JS-rendered). A volunteer transcription of sister-ship deck logs (USS Davenport PF-69, pf69.grobbel.org) records Grand Rapids moored at Berth F, NOB Argentia, on 16 September 1945 (Davenport moored alongside) - corroborating her Argentia weather-station service and showing sister-hull logs reference this ship.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- USCG-manned crew 1944-46
- Limitations
- Archival lead only; the grobbel.org timeline is a volunteer transcription of PF-69's logs (secondary rendering of primary records), verified live 2026-10-04. Deck logs document operations and personnel, not materials - they would not establish asbestos content even if retrieved. No NAID confirmed for this hull's logs.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grand-rapids-pf31-10