Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol. III (Naval Historical Center, 1968), 'Hackberry' (YN-20) entry - verbatim transcription via hazegray DANFS mirror [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. III, 'Hackberry' entry; mirror at losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/yard/yn20.htm (NHHC live page not located - history.navy.mil DANFS URLs for this vessel return 404 and no Wayback capture was found at the tried URLs)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS (Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol. III) entry for Hackberry: YN-20 'originally Maple but renamed before launching 28 October 1941 by American Shipbuilding Co., Cleveland, Ohio. She was commissioned 21 December 1942, Lt. C. B. Wegner in command.' After shakedown and training out of Tompkinsville ('R.I.' as printed - see limitations), she reported to North African waters 12 April 1943, operated in Palermo harbor towing and as cable-recovery and salvage vessel, installed boom defenses at Catania, Sicily, and operated briefly at Naples. In the southern France landings she arrived off the beaches 15 August 1944, transported garrison troops from Alpha beach to Isle du Levant, came under fire from German shore batteries 22 August, and after the capture of Toulon cleared nets and harbor obstructions. Redesignated AN-25 on 20 January 1944; operated at Toulon and Marseille until turned over to the French government under lend-lease 12 November 1944. Returned to U.S. custody from lend-lease 21 March 1949 and sold to France the same day; in French service as Araignee. DANFS statistics line: dp. 560; l. 163'2"; b. 30'6"; dr. 11'8"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 48; a. 1 3-inch gun; cl. Aloe.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940-1949
- Limitations
- Official ship history text (verbatim transcription). Quoted 'Tompkinsville, R.I.' is a probable DANFS typographical error - Tompkinsville is the Staten Island, N.Y. naval section base; DANFS gives no laid-down date, sponsor, or launch detail beyond the date. Contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hackberry-an25-01
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[2]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, 'USS Hackberry (AN-25) ex USS Hackberry (YN-20)' detail page (compiled from DANFS, Ships' Data, and contributor records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AN index, AN-25 page (09/18/18025); specifications block, campaign table, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource service-ship photo-archive detail for USS Hackberry (AN-25) ex YN-20: laid down (date unknown) as Yard Net Tender Maple (YN-20) at American Shipbuilding Co., Cleveland, OH; renamed Hackberry 16 October 1941; launched 28 October 1941; commissioned USS Hackberry (YN-20) 21 December 1942, LT Clarence B. Wegner, USNR; redesignated net tender AN-25 20 January 1944; Europe-Africa-Middle East campaign 'Invasion of southern France,' 15-28 August 1944; decommissioned and transferred under the Lend-Lease Act to France 12 November 1944 and renamed RFS Araignee (A-727); sold outright to France 21 March 1949; struck from the U.S. Naval Register, date unknown; one battle star for WWII service; Combat Action Ribbon credited for 22 August 1944; decommissioned by the French Navy 6 May 1976; stricken from Marine Nationale inventory 13 June 1977. Specifications: 560 t. light / 805 t. full; 163'2" x 30'6" x 11'8"; 12.5 kts; complement 4 officers + 44 enlisted; 12 t. boom capacity; armament one single 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two .30-cal machine guns, two depth-charge tracks; diesel-electric propulsion, single main reduction gear, two diesel-drive 60 kW 120 V D.C. ship's service generators, single propeller 800 shp. Commanding officers: LT Wegner (Dec 1942 - Sep 1944); LT Vance L. Breinholt (Sep - 12 Nov 1944).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1941-1977
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled reference, not an official record - but consistent with DANFS where the two overlap. NavSource-only details (exact rename date 1941-10-16; French decommission/strike dates 1976/1977; 'struck date unknown') are not independently corroborated by an official source. Battle star and Combat Action Ribbon credits are NavSource's compilation (CAR was instituted 1969 and applied retroactively). No asbestos, materials, or condition information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hackberry-an25-02
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[3]DANFS Vol. III 'Hackberry' entry (originally-Maple statement) + NavSource AN-25 detail page (rename date) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry first sentence; NavSource page header/chronology
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Alias consolidation (all-tier VERIFY): the Tier 2 registry listing 'YN-20 (USS Maple)' is this same hull. YN-20 was laid down at American Shipbuilding Co., Cleveland, under the name Maple and renamed Hackberry before launching (DANFS: 'originally Maple but renamed before launching'; NavSource gives the rename date as 16 October 1941). The vessel never commissioned as Maple - it commissioned as USS Hackberry (YN-20) on 21 December 1942, was redesignated AN-25 on 20 January 1944, and served France as Araignee (A727). One canonical record consolidates all aliases; this is not an absent vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940-1942
- Limitations
- Resolves the Tier 2 'USS Maple (YN-20)' listing to this hull. Distinct from unrelated vessels named Maple (e.g., USS Maple, the 1893 Navy/Lighthouse Service tender; USCGC Maple WLB-207) - do not conflate. The exact rename date rests on NavSource; DANFS confirms only 'renamed before launching.'
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hackberry-an25-03
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[4]U.S. Navy Department, Bureau of Ships, NAVSHIPS 250-000 (Bureau of Ships Technical Manual), Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (eff. 1959/1960), section 39-11 'Insulating Materials' [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSHIPS 250-000 ch. 39, section 39-11 (PDF pp. ~9-15 of the hosted excerpt; 'REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES' scan). Hosted copy is a litigation-produced exhibit (Garlock bankruptcy Daubert appendix) - the underlying document is a U.S. Navy GPO publication; the host is flagged for transparency.
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The Navy's own Bureau of Ships Technical Manual (NAVSHIPS 250-000), chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (pages bearing effective dates 15 April 1959 / 15 April 1960), lists asbestos-containing products as standard naval-vessel insulation stock: thermal insulation pipe covering MIL-P-2781 grade I ('85 percent magnesia... formed from a combination of 85 percent magnesium carbonate with about 15 percent asbestos fiber for strength and bond') and class c amosite-asbestos pipe covering; roll asbestos felt MIL-F-20077; asbestos insulating felt MIL-F-15091; asbestos cloth, thread, and tape SS-C-466 ('made of good quality chrysotile asbestos and organic fibers, for use as a lagging material for thermal insulation'); asbestos millboard HH-M-351; and high-temperature insulation/finishing cements.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1959-1960 edition; practices described span WWII-era through 1960s
- Population
- Navy machinists, shipyard laggers/insulators, engine-room crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level document: describes standard Navy insulation stock of the late-1950s, not this hull's outfit; the 1940/1942 construction-era edition of ch. 39 was not located (archive.org holds only ch. 50 of the 1940 manual). Application to YN-20/AN-25 is era inference - consistent with, not proof of, asbestos aboard. Does not establish quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hackberry-an25-04
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[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) [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 program under which this 1940-41-built Aloe-class net tender was constructed at a Great Lakes commercial yard working to Navy contract.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Era-level scholarship on WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hackberry-an25-05
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[6]Batch-1771 search ledger (this record): DANFS + NavSource full texts; CourtListener opinion queries sl-03 through sl-07 and docket query sl-08; NVR check; MARAD ShipHistory check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hackberry-an25-01 through sl-uss-hackberry-an25-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming the Hackberry hull was found in the public sources searched. DANFS and NavSource contain no materials statement; the vessel left U.S. custody in 1949 (pre-NVR era, absent from the Naval Vessel Register; never in MARAD custody - lend-lease/sale ran Navy-to-France). CourtListener opinion and docket searches by exact name, hull numbers, and French name returned only name collisions - Hackberry place names in Texas and Louisiana (incl. the Cameron Parish/Hackberry, La. school asbestos litigation, Acands) and the 'Devall Towing & Boat Service of Hackberry' admiralty dockets - no opinion or docket names USS Hackberry, YN-20, AN-25, or Araignee A727 (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1941-built naval auxiliary is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation. Equally, it does not establish presence; no exposure claim or legal eligibility is established or defeated. Litigation coverage is limited to CourtListener's corpus - PACER/MDL-875 vessel lists and French proceedings are outside it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hackberry-an25-06
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[7]NARA logbook guidance (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy: RG 24 Entry 118, NAID 581208; Special List #44; post-1941 logs at College Park); NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 19/RG 38; Service historique de la Defense - Marine holdings [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Navy logbooks page (RG 24 E118 / SL-44 / College Park); archives.gov Guide to Federal Records; SHD-Marine (Vincennes)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): (a) WWII deck logs for USS Hackberry (YN-20/AN-25), 1942-44, are in NARA RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel), Entry 118, NAID 581208, held at NARA II College Park and itemized in Special List #44 - wartime logs may record materials, repairs, and yard availabilities; (b) WWII war diaries are in RG 38; (c) Bureau of Ships construction/contract records for the YN program are in RG 19 (NARA II); (d) lend-lease transfer documentation (1944) and the 1949 sale are in Navy Department/State Department records; (e) French service records for Araignee (A727), 1944-1977, are held by the Service historique de la Defense - Marine (Vincennes/Toulon) - any French asbestos-removal or condition records for the hull would be there.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1977 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no item-level retrieval performed; the Special List #44 ship-name index page did not load for item-level confirmation that Hackberry's logs are held. 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-hackberry-an25-07