Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]DANFS, Hamul (Vol. IV; filed under AK-30 with errata correcting printed 'AK-20' to AK-30) - live NHHC page 404 on 2026-09-19; verbatim transcription via hazegray mirror at losthistory.net [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. IV entry 'Hamul' (AK-30 file, errata noted); mirror losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/auxil/ak30.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records this hull (formerly Sea Panther and Doctor Lykes) launched May 1940 by Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock, Kearny, N.J.; after two Orient trips for Lykes Brothers Steamship Co. of New Orleans, acquired by the Navy and commissioned 14 June 1941 at Charleston, Comdr. F. M. Tillson in command. Rendered logistical support for the occupation of Iceland before U.S. entry into the war; worked with General Electric on night-camouflage experiments; departed Boston January 1942 heading a five-ship convoy to establish the Bora Bora base; returned via Chile with 10,000 tons of nitrate discharged at Mobile. Converted to destroyer tender; departed Mobile 7 January 1943 as AD-20; tended destroyers at Casco Bay, Maine until April; then flagship of the Destroyer Escort Shakedown Task Group at Bermuda - tended 348 DEs in 19 months and removed demolition charges from the captured U-505. After Brooklyn Navy Yard overhaul, sailed for the Pacific 1 January 1945: Saipan (12 Feb, prepping amphibious craft for Iwo Jima), Ulithi (repairs on Okinawa-campaign casualties), Okinawa from 10 May 1945 through February 1946 repairing battle-damaged ships; carried 400+ homeward-bound veterans to San Diego; proceeded to Jacksonville and Orange, Tex. for decommissioning. Recalled as station ship at Plymouth, England (arrived 17 April 1947, three years); departed 17 July 1950 and, with Korea, reached Sasebo 23 October 1950; thereafter alternating ~6-month WestPac deployments (Philippines, Hong Kong, Formosa) with Long Beach home port. Decommissioned 9 June 1962 at Long Beach; returned to the Maritime Administration, NDRF Suisun Bay.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1940-1962
- Population
- Ship's company (complement 857 per DANFS) plus tended-ship crews during repair availabilities
- Limitations
- Official service narrative; establishes identity, operations, and disposition through 1962 - contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information and supports no asbestos claim. Published circa 1969 ('where she remains' predates the 1975 sale). Live NHHC URL returned 404 on 2026-09-19; text verified via the hazegray transcription mirror - canonical URL retained for re-verification.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hamul-ad20-01
-
[2]USS Hamul (AD-20) War Diary 1 January 1943 - 1 January 1946, including 'Factual History From 7 December 1941 to 15 September 1945' - Enclosure (A) to Commanding Officer's letter to the Secretary of the Navy, serial AD20/A12-1, 26 September 1945, signed C. C. Hoffner (NARA-derived scan hosted by NavSource) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Enclosure (A), factual-history narrative, pp. ~390-392 of the NavSource scan (0320a.pdf); CO submission letter dated 26 Sep 1945
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own wartime factual history documents the repair mission in detail: at the outbreak of war Hamul was returning from her third Iceland voyage; in late December 1941-January 1942 she ran Bureau of Ships/General Electric night-camouflage experiments in the Boston area with ~250 lights rigged against vertical surfaces; the Bora Bora convoy carried two transports and three cargo vessels. Conversion at Alabama Drydock & Shipbuilding took ~7 months; recommissioned 18 December 1942 under Capt. R. G. Deewall; relieved USS Denebola (AD-12) as ComDesLant flagship at Casco Bay in early February 1943; arrived Bermuda 12 April 1943 as flagship of the DD-DE Shakedown Task Group under Capt. J. L. Holloway Jr., tending 348 new destroyer escorts in 19 months plus gunboats, frigates, destroyers, and 'innumerable other vessels of all descriptions and of several nationalities.' After New York Navy Yard overhaul (Nov-Dec 1944) she reached Saipan 12 February 1945 where her repair force 'worked almost continuously for five days and nights' on amphibious vessels before Iwo Jima; at Kerama Retto from 10 May 1945 under 'Flash Red' conditions she repaired kamikaze-damaged destroyers, destroyer-minesweepers, and minelayers - 'working on five ships alongside, two or three others in drydocks in the harbor,' shops working 'around the clock in the blacked-out ship'; shifted to Buckner Bay, Okinawa 10 July 1945 under Service Division 104.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (factual history); war diary coverage 1943-1946
- Population
- Ship's company plus repair-party labor on tended vessels alongside
- Limitations
- Primary ship document confirming a heavy steam-era repair workload aboard this hull - the strongest operational documentation in this record - but it names no materials and contains no asbestos statement; it does not establish that asbestos was handled or present, only that repair work on battle-damaged combatants occurred at scale. The 392-page scan is image-only: the typed factual-history enclosure (final pages) was OCR'd in-session, but the monthly handwritten diary sheets resist OCR and were not individually reviewed - internal repair-job detail (e.g., lagging/insulation mentions) cannot be excluded. The narrative internally dates the Bora Bora convoy loading 'January of 1941,' a wartime typo inconsistent with its own chronology (1942 per DANFS).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hamul-ad20-02
-
[3]shipscribe.com, USS Hamul (AD-20) class page (Stephen S. Roberts compilation transcribing Bureau of Ships/Auxiliary Vessels Board records and NVR-derived tables) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AD-20 class page: construction/disposition tables, class notes, ship notes (MC hull 40)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NARA-derived construction/conversion record for this hull: keel 9 October 1939 at Federal SB & DD, Kearny (MC hull 40, MC C3-Cargo 'Federal' design, ordered November 1938 among the MC's first six large C3s); launched 6 April 1940; completed/delivered 10 May 1940 as Doctor Lykes (ex Sea Panther); acquired by the Navy 5 June 1941; austere AK conversion at Charleston Navy Yard June 1941 (initial armament only machine guns). Auxiliary Vessels Board earmarked AK 30-31 for AD conversion 14 July 1941; Hamul converted by Alabama Drydock & Shipbuilding Co., Mobile, in commission in ordinary from 13 May 1942 to 7 January 1943, design agent George G. Sharp of New York - new upper deck, new boat deck, new first and third platforms, new watertight bulkheads, some kingposts removed; 'To AD-20 2 Jun 42'; placed in full commission as an AD 18 December 1942; reported for duty 4 February 1943 after fitting out at Norfolk Navy Yard. Disposition table: decommissioned 9 June 1962, stricken 1 July 1963, MARAD sale 16 October 1975. Data tables: DeLaval turbine, one screw, 8,500 HP; complement 662 (1944); trial speed 18.4 kt; armament sequence documented 1942-1961. Class of two (Hamul AD-20, Markab AD-21, ex AK-30/AK-31).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1939-1975
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation transcribing official BuShips/Auxiliary Vessels Board documents - faithful in detail but not itself a government publication; underlying memoranda sit in NARA RG 19 (see archival-lead row). Conflicts with DANFS on launch and commissioning dates are logged in the correction row rather than silently reconciled. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hamul-ad20-03
-
[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - HAMUL (AD-20), Ship History Detail 2076 (including posted status-card scan and 23 official photos) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 2076 - identity block, milestone table, image gallery, status-card scan
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD record for this hull: U.S. Official Number 0467375; built 1940 by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock; MARAD type C3; general type Naval Auxiliary, specific type AD Destroyer Tender; 492 ft, 7,773 gross tons; fate 'Sold - Scrap.' Milestones: entry/acquisition 25 September 1962 ('MARAD TITLE 7/1/63'), disposition and withdrawal 2 December 1975 ('CUST 1962 NDRF 1962'). Posted photo set includes conversion-completion views at Mobile 4 January 1943 and post-overhaul views at San Francisco Naval Shipyard 1 October 1953; a status-card scan is posted but not legibly transcribed in-session.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1962-1975 (custody); record reflects 1940 build
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones and identity data; contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information and supports no asbestos claim. Buyer name (Levin Metals Corp.) is not stated here - supplied by NavSource. The public search interface errored in-session; record reached via direct detail URL.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hamul-ad20-04
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[5]NavSource Online, USS Hamul (AD-20) ex-AK-30 index page - specifications, campaign table, CO roster, and photo captions compiled from official sources (contributors M. Smolinski, A. Grazevich; NARA/BuShips photo credits) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/03/0320 index - specifications block, campaign/awards table, disposition lines, photo caption set
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compilation for this hull: complement 63 officers + 795 enlisted; propulsion two Foster Wheeler D-type boilers (465 psi, 765 deg F) driving one DeLaval geared turbine with double reduction gear, single propeller, 8,500 shp, trial speed 18.4 kt; campaign participation - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation, 10 May-30 June 1945) and Korean War Third Korean Winter (19 March 1953); one battle star each for WWII and Korea; ribbon list includes Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Taiwan Straits). Disposition detail: struck from the Naval Register with permanent title transfer to MARAD 1 July 1963; sold for scrapping 16 October 1975 to Levin Metals Corp., delivered 2 December 1975. Photo captions document the ship at Boston Navy Yard 19 December 1941 and alongside USS Blue (DD-744), USS Frank E. Evans (DD-754), and USS Le Ray Wilson (DE-414) at Yokosuka late 1954-early 1955.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1941-1975
- Population
- Crew (63 officers + 795 enlisted per this compilation)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled record; specifications and campaign table derive from official sources (BuShips data, OPNAV campaign lists) but were not independently verified against NVR/NHHC primary documents in-session - the Foster Wheeler boiler count rests on this source alone. A caption misnames the ship 'USS Hamel.' Buyer name (Levin Metals) reconciles MARAD's 2 Dec 1975 withdrawal as delivery after the 16 Oct 1975 contract sale. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hamul-ad20-05
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[6]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, with wartime demand driving unprecedented utilization aboard merchant-type and naval hulls. This hull's 1940 C3 construction and 1942-43 wartime conversion to a steam-powered destroyer tender - a floating repair yard whose documented work centered on steam-propelled combatants - fall inside the documented era and work pattern.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers, repair-yard and tender crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. Tender repair work on other ships' plants is consistent with asbestos disturbance but that pathway is inference here, not a documented hull finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hamul-ad20-06
-
[7]Batch-450 search ledger (this record): DANFS via hazegray mirror (live NHHC 404); shipscribe AD-20; MARAD ShipHistory 2076 + status card; NavSource 0320 + war-diary scan 0320a.pdf (factual-history enclosure OCR'd); CourtListener API + site index; general web index [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hamul-ad20-01 through sl-uss-hamul-ad20-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Hamul, AK-30, AD-20, Doctor Lykes, or Sea Panther was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener's API was throttled for the full session (HTTP 429, 125/day shared cap, ~6h reset) - the vessel-name/hull-number opinion and RECAP docket sweep could not be run; a site-index sweep of courtlistener.com returned only name collisions (Hamulic bankruptcy, Hamdan, Hamlin, Ham). Law-firm/marketing pages assert a ~$2.7M settlement for an Arizona electrician's mate who served aboard USS Duluth, USS Hamul, and USS Lea - banned sources, and the claim could not be traced to any docketed case.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2026-09-19
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1940-built, wartime-converted steam tender is era-consistent with installed asbestos-containing materials, and the hull's documented repair mission involved exactly the machinery spaces where era insulation concentrated. Litigation coverage is partial: the CourtListener sweep is incomplete and the marketing-site settlement claim is unverifiable without a docket reference. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hamul-ad20-07
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[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) and RG 24 (deck logs); NARA RG 19-LCM photo series (19-N-38704, 19-N-38705, 19-N-26434; BS145591 / NAID 145590); MARAD NDRF Suisun Bay custody file (ShipHistory Detail 2076 status-card scan); NHHC photo USN 1043637 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov Guide to Federal Records RG 19/RG 24; NavSource 0320a.pdf; MARAD Detail 2076 status-card image; NHHC photo index entry USN 1043637
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - research-room or reproduction order required; no spend authorized): (1) The full war-diary file exists as a 392-page image scan at NavSource (0320a.pdf) sourced from U.S. Navy records; the typed factual-history enclosure was read in-session, but the monthly handwritten diary sheets resist OCR and may contain repair-job-level detail (lagging, insulation, boiler work) not searchable without manual review. (2) NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships - conversion design files for the George G. Sharp (New York) tender conversion and the Auxiliary Vessels Board memoranda transcribed at shipscribe. (3) NARA RG 19-LCM photo series - conversion-completion and overhaul imagery. (4) NARA RG 24 deck logs, 1941-1962. (5) MARAD NDRF Suisun Bay custody/status-card file - a status-card scan is posted on Detail 2076 but was not legibly transcribed in-session. (6) NHHC Naval Subjects Collection photo USN 1043637 (broadside view, circa 1959).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1939-1975 records
- Limitations
- Record-group/collection mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether asbestos-specific documents for this hull exist is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hamul-ad20-08
-
[9]Cross-source reconciliation: shipscribe construction/disposition tables (NARA-derived) vs DANFS narrative vs NavSource compilation vs MARAD milestones (citations as in ev-01 through ev-05) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ev-01 through ev-05 source texts, side-by-side
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies reconciled: (a) keel date - shipscribe 9 October 1939 vs NavSource/Wikipedia 6 March 1940; shipscribe carried, conflict logged. (b) launch - shipscribe 6 April 1940 vs DANFS/NavSource 'May 1940'; DANFS appears to conflate the 10 May 1940 completion/delivery. (c) commissioning - DANFS/NavSource 14 June 1941 vs shipscribe table 15 June 1941 (acquisition 5 June 1941); DANFS 14 June carried. (d) AD-20 redesignation - shipscribe 'To AD-20 2 Jun 42' (administrative redesignation) vs DANFS/NavSource 7 January 1943 (departure from Mobile as AD-20); both carried with labels. (e) complement - DANFS 857, NavSource 63 officers + 795 enlisted, shipscribe 662 (1944); carried separately by source, not merged. (f) disposal - sale contract 16 October 1975 (NavSource/shipscribe) vs MARAD disposition/withdrawal 2 December 1975; reconciled as contract sale vs physical delivery to Levin Metals Corp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1939-1975
- Limitations
- Editorial reconciliation across authoritative sources; none of the variances affects identity or the service timeline materially. The 6 March 1940 keel date in NavSource/Wikipedia may reflect a framing/ laying milestone distinct from keel laying - not resolvable without builder's records (NARA RG 19 / Federal Shipbuilding records).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hamul-ad20-09