Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]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 covering this ship's 1940 Navy conversion, wartime operation, and yard availabilities - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls. The ship was a 1931 turbine steamer (four B&W header boilers, Parsons turbine), a machinery arrangement whose lagging, gaskets, and packing of the period commonly contained asbestos.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship 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 aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. The hull burned in 1960 and was scrapped - no surviving fabric to survey.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-lee-apa10-01
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[2]NHHC, DANFS, 'Harry Lee' (AP-17/APA-10) entry, updated by Robert J. Cressman 14 May 2021 (Wayback capture 2025-02-19; live URL returned 404 on 2026-09-25) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, header spec block and first/final paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS identity and milestones: passenger-cargo steamship Exochorda completed 1931 at Camden NJ by New York Shipbuilding Co.; operated Mediterranean for American Export Lines; acquired by Navy 30 October 1940; converted at Tietjen & Lang Dry Dock Co., Hoboken NJ; commissioned Harry Lee (AP-17) 27 December 1940, Capt. Robert P. Hinrichs; redesignated attack transport APA-10 1 February 1943; decommissioned New York Naval Shipyard 9 May 1946; entered Maritime Commission Reserve Fleet, Hudson River, 12 September 1946; stricken from the Navy Register 20 September 1946, resuming the name Exochorda; seven battle stars for WWII service. DANFS header: displacement 9,989; length 475'4"; beam 61'6"; draft 25'4"; 16 knots; complement 453; troop capacity 959.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1931-1960
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity and service milestones. Contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation-content statement; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page 404s as of access date - citation is the archived capture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-lee-apa10-02
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[3]NHHC, DANFS, 'Harry Lee' entry (updated 2021), operational narrative; NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive APA-10 page, campaign tabulation [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS narrative paragraphs 2-8; https://navsource.org/archives/10/03/03010.htm campaign table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS operational narrative: Caribbean Marine transport and amphibious training (early 1941); Iceland route from Norfolk/New York (July-December 1941); Caribbean maneuvers through early 1943; Sicily landings at Scoglitti 10-12 July 1943 under VAdm. Hewitt's Western Naval Task Force, withstanding Axis air attacks; German POW transport to Norfolk; Pacific operations - Tarawa (20-21 Nov 1943), Kwajalein/Majuro (31 Jan-5 Feb 1944), Hollandia (23 Apr 1944), Guam reserve/Agat (21-25 Jul 1944), Lingayen Gulf (9-10 Jan 1945, surviving kamikaze attacks en route), Iwo Jima (22 Feb-6 Mar 1945, evacuation vessel carrying casualties to Saipan); occupation duty and Tokyo Bay (13 Oct 1945); Operation Magic Carpet; San Pedro overhaul Aug-Oct 1944. NavSource's campaign tabulation corroborates the seven campaign credits (1 EAME + 6 Asiatic-Pacific).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940-1946
- Population
- Ship's complement (453) and embarked troops (capacity 959)
- Limitations
- Documents combat employment and ship movements; DANFS omits the October 1942 engineering casualty and Operation Torch non-participation (see context row). No asbestos or materials content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-lee-apa10-03
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[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - HARRY LEE (APA-10), Ship History Detail 2103 (incl. status card scan 2103_3907AF and captioned 1943 Navy Yard photos) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 2103, milestones table, status card, and image captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database record for HARRY LEE (APA-10), Detail 2103: Year Built 1931; Official Number 230435; Shipyard New York Shipbuilding Corporation; type APA Attack Transport; milestones show MARAD entry/acquisition 9/12/1946 (ex-EXOCHORDA); fate 'Sold - Foreign Flag Op.' The record includes 25 official US Navy photos, several captioned New York Navy Yard, 3-14 May 1943, documenting armament/yard modifications (new twin 40mm mounts, Mk 51 director, SG radar support, 5-inch gun removed, chocks modified for 36-foot landing craft).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940-1948
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones and yard modification events. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. Companion MARAD record Detail 1508 ('EXOCHORDA') conflates this hull's identifiers with the post-war namesake ex-USS Dauphin (APA-97) - see correction row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-lee-apa10-04
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[5]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Harry Lee (APA-10) page 03010 (incl. NARA RG-19-LCM photo captions); shipscribe.com USS Harry Lee (APA-10) class page (construction/disposition tables, class notes citing BuShips correspondence and 1940 conversion plans) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 03010 spec block, CO list, photo captions; https://shipscribe.com/usnaux/APA/APA10.html class and ship notes
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Secondary compilations of official data (NavSource photo archive; shipscribe.com class data drawn from Navy records): keel laid 25 November 1929; launched 18 October 1930; completed January 1931 as Exochorda (ID-4872B); converted by Tietjen & Lang (Todd), Hoboken NJ; propulsion - four B&W header-type boilers 350psi/620F, Parsons turbine, Falk reduction gear, single shaft 7,200shp; commanding officers list (Hinrichs, Whitfield, Loomis, Pomeroy, Agnew, Shipee); turnover to Moran Towing (Turkish agents) 16 September 1947, out of reserve fleet for conversion at Hoboken; delivered by MC to buyer 16 April 1948; renamed Tarsus; lost by fire after collision in the Bosporus 14 December 1960.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1929-1960
- Limitations
- Reputable secondary compilations reproducing official specifications and photo captions; keel/launch dates are not in DANFS and rest on these compilations. Armament figures conflict across sources (DANFS '4 3-inch, 8 .50-cal'; NavSource '2x6-inch + 2 twin 40mm' as AP-17; shipscribe '1-5"/51, 4-3"/50' for 1941) - no single fit is asserted. No asbestos content in any source; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-lee-apa10-05
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[6]NavSource APA-10 page, commanding-officers footnote (contributor account); NARA Catalog ID 140075130 (USS Harry Lee October 1942 war diary) as indexed/pointed to by ussscalvert.com war-diary index [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 03010 CO footnote; NARA Catalog record 140075130 (digitized war diary)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Operation Torch non-participation: while preparing for the North African landings, Harry Lee suffered a major engineering casualty on 22 October 1942; CO Capt. James W. Whitfield, his officers, boat crews, and landing craft transferred to the newly commissioned USS Calvert (APA-32) and participated in Torch aboard her. The ship's October 1942 war diary (NARA Catalog ID 140075130, page 2) documents the breakdown and the transfer of crew and equipment to Calvert in late October 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-10
- Limitations
- Explains the gap in the DANFS narrative between the Caribbean-maneuver period and the June 1943 Algeria sailing, and corrects any assumption the ship landed at Torch. Casualty details rest on the NavSource contributor note plus the cited war diary - the war-diary text itself was not read in this session. No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-lee-apa10-06
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[7]shipscribe APA-10 disposition table; DANFS (2021) final paragraphs; NavSource merchant-service note; MARAD ShipHistory Details 2103 and 1508 [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe disposition row APA-10; DANFS paragraphs on reserve-fleet entry/stricken/Turkish transfer; MARAD Detail 1508 milestone and identity fields
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved: (a) stricken date - shipscribe's disposition table gives 19 Jul 1946 while DANFS (2021 update) and NavSource give 20 September 1946; the DANFS/NavSource date is adopted (MARAD records fleet entry 12 Sep 1946, consistent with a September strike). (b) 'Sold to Turkey' - NavSource's 'Sold 16 September 1947 for $320,000' is the physical turnover to Moran Towing (agents for Turkey) at Jones Point NY; DANFS and shipscribe document formal transfer of title to Turkish ownership 16 April 1948 at Hoboken - both dates are carried with their distinct meanings. (c) MARAD ShipHistory Detail 1508 'EXOCHORDA' conflates the two Exochorda hulls - it shows this hull's identifiers (Official No. 230435, built 1931) alongside the other hull's history ('ex-DAUPHIN', builder 'Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding Division', acquired 4/4/1946); Detail 2103 is the clean record for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1946-1948
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level date and identity discrepancies; the MARAD name-history linkage error is a data-quality observation, not a challenge to MARAD custody milestones. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-lee-apa10-07
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[8]CourtListener API v4 search results, 2026-09-25: 'Exochorda' (4 opinions); 'Harry Lee' name query (14 opinions) - full classifications in search_ledger [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener clusters 1873093 (Stevens), 261538 (McDonald), 8138640 (Amity Silk), 8141115 (Poli); name-search result set
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search (API v4, authenticated) located no qualifying asbestos case naming this hull. 'Exochorda' returned four opinions, all non-qualifying: Stevens Institute of Technology v. United States, 396 F. Supp. 986 (S.D.N.Y. 1975) - damages suit over MARAD fleet-breakout of the post-war Exochorda (ex-USS Dauphin, APA-97, a different hull, by then the SS Stevens dormitory project); McDonald v. United States, 321 F.2d 437 (3d Cir. 1963) - painter injured 1959 aboard the post-war Exochorda during mothballing overhaul at Bethlehem Steel (different hull; personal-injury admiralty suit, not asbestos); Amity Silk Corp. v. United States (Cust. Ct. 1954) and Joseph Poli Co. v. United States (Cust. Ct. 1956) - customs-protest cargo cases naming an Exochorda only as carrying vessel. A 'Harry Lee' name search returned 14 hits, all unrelated personal-name collisions (immigration, criminal, contract matters).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Search coverage is limited to CourtListener's opinion index; unindexed dockets, state-court filings, settled claims, and bankruptcy-trust claims are not covered. The McDonald and Stevens opinions were classified from case text/metadata available in search results and secondary case summaries. Absence of a located opinion does not prove no claim was ever filed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-lee-apa10-08
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[9]Batch-2167 search ledger (this record): rows sl-uss-harry-lee-apa10-01 through sl-uss-harry-lee-apa10-12 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-harry-lee-apa10-01 through sl-uss-harry-lee-apa10-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming the Harry Lee/Exochorda/Tarsus hull was found in the public sources searched (DANFS, MARAD ShipHistory, NavSource, shipscribe, NARA catalog, Board of Veterans' Appeals public search, CourtListener - see search_ledger). Commercial asbestos-marketing sites list the ship by name with boilerplate exposure language but offer no ship-specific documentation and were excluded per batch rules.
- 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 1931 liner converted for WWII service is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the hull's 1960 destruction means no fabric survives to survey. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-lee-apa10-09
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[10]NARA Catalog ID 140075130 (war diary); NARA record-group mapping: RG 24 deck logs, RG 19 Bureau of Ships conversion plans, RG 19-LCM photographs (photo numbers via NavSource captions) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog record 140075130; NavSource photo captions citing RG-19-LCM numbers; shipscribe class notes citing BuShips correspondence
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (located but content not retrieved this session): NARA Catalog ID 140075130 holds the ship's October 1942 war diary (documents the engineering casualty and crew/boat transfer to Calvert). WWII deck logs for AP-17/APA-10 are in NARA RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel deck logs); the 1940 conversion-design record - including the Bureau of Ships 1 July 1940 conversion plan and the Philadelphia Navy Yard's 10 December 1940 detailed plans for the 'Four Aces' documented by shipscribe - is in RG 19 (Bureau of Ships); official photographs are in RG 19-LCM (e.g., photo 19-N-45645, New York Navy Yard, 14 May 1943). A WWII-era cruise book for the ship exists in private reproduction.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940-1946 records
- Limitations
- Record-location mapping only - war-diary page images were not retrieved and construction/outfitting specifications were not surveyed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-lee-apa10-10