USS Henderson (AP-1)

Evidence

9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).

1. [1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Henderson I (Troop Transport No. 1), 1917-1946' (Naval History and Heritage Command); live URL returned 404 on 2026-09-25 - text verified via Wayback capture 2021-01-26; classic (1970s) DANFS transcription independently verified via Haze Gray/losthistory mirror and the HyperWar/ibiblio DANFS AH-9 entry [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS Henderson-I entry, full text incl. spec block (displacement 7,750 t; 483'10" x 61'1" x 16'2"; 14 kts; complement 233; troop capacity 1,695; armament 8x5", 2x3", 2x1-pdr; class Henderson); canonical URL https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/h/henderson-i.html (404 as of access date - NHHC link rot, same standing defect as BATCH-01)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NHHC's modern DANFS entry 'Henderson I (Troop Transport No. 1), 1917-1946' documents the single hull through both designations: laid down 19 Jun 1915 at Philadelphia Navy Yard (first keel bolt placed by CNO Adm. William S. Benson); launched 17 Jun 1916, sponsored by Miss Genevieve W. Taylor (great-granddaughter of Brig. Gen. Archibald Henderson, fifth Commandant of the Marine Corps); commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard (this entry prints 25 May 1917, Cmdr. George W. Steele, Jr. in command). Nine WWI France voyages (first convoy with AEF units, St. Nazaire 27 Jun 1917; present when Army transport Antilles was torpedoed 17 Oct 1917); post-Armistice lift home of >10,000 veterans; Caribbean Marine rotation ship from late 1919; designated AP-1 on 17 Jul 1920 during a Philadelphia repair period (Navy-wide administrative reorganization); Billy Mitchell bombing-test observer ship 1921; carried President Harding on the 1923 Alaska inspection tour (disembarked Seattle 27 Jul 1923, five days before his death); Fleet Problem III 1924; six months on the China station from May 1927; regular San Francisco-Philippines-China runs through the 1930s; at sea Hawaii-to-California on 7 Dec 1941; 20+ wartime California-Hawaii transports; final transport voyage departed Port Hueneme 18 Jul 1943 (71 nurses to Noumea, Seabees to Port Purvis), returned San Francisco 24 Sep 1943; decommissioned 13 Oct 1943 at the Naval Supply Depot, Oakland; converted to a hospital ship at General Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Oakland; commissioned as Bountiful (AH-9) 23 Mar 1944, Cmdr. George L. Burns, USNR, in command. Hospital-ship record: Saipan beaches 18 Jun 1944; three casualty runs to Kwajalein hospitals; one of the Navy's few shipboard blood banks; Manus floating hospital to 17 Sep; Peleliu casualties to Solomons; Leyte-to-rear-base lifts; departed Manus 24 Feb 1945 for Iwo Jima casualties, then Okinawa and fleet units (incl. Enterprise CV-6 casualty transfer 15 May 1945); San Francisco 21 Aug 1945; Yokosuka hospital ship 24 Nov 1945 - 27 Mar 1946; Operation Crossroads medical support at Bikini (observed Test Able 23 mi NNE of ground zero; no fallout on non-target ships; per NHHC summary no Bountiful crew member was film-badged and Crossroads exposures were relatively low); returned Seattle 15 Aug 1946; decommissioned 13 Sep 1946; entered Maritime Commission reserve berthing at Olympia, Wash. 16 Sep 1946; sold for scrap by the Maritime Commission 28 Jan 1948 to Consolidated Builders, Inc., Seattle; four WWII battle stars.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1915-1948

   Limitations

   Authoritative official Navy history covering both designations of this one hull. Internal source conflict: this entry prints the commissioning date as 25 May 1917 while the classic DANFS text, NavSource, and Shipscribe all give 24 May 1917 - logged in gaps, majority date carried. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition statement; supports identity and service history only, no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-henderson-ap1-01

2. [2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Online Library of Selected Images - 'USN Ships--USS Henderson (Transport # 1, later AP-1)' and 'USN Ships--USS Bountiful (AH-9)' pages (ibiblio/HyperWar mirror of NHHC content) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   AP-1 page (usnsh-h/ap1.htm) and AH-9 page (usnsh-b/ah9.htm); photo captions incl. NH 103569 (conversion yard, 18 Mar 1944) and the 'AP-0' caption (Mare Island, 27 Mar 1944); companion Bountiful page mirrors the Henderson identity statement

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NHHC Online Library photo pages (HyperWar/ibiblio mirror of history.navy.mil content) document the hull under both designations: 'USS Henderson (Transport # 1, later AP-1), 1917-1948. Became USS Bountiful (AH-9) in 1944' and 'USS Bountiful (AH-9), 1917-1948. Formerly USS Henderson (Transport # 1, later AP-1)'. The AH-9 page states the ship was 'decommissioned and turned over to the Maritime Commission in September 1946, stricken from the list of Naval vessels in the following month, and delivered to a scrapping firm in January 1948.' Photo records document the conversion yard (General Engineering & Dry Dock, Oakland, 18 Mar 1944), the temporary gray 'AP-0' paint/designation at Mare Island on 27 Mar 1944 before formal hospital-ship marking, and later hull views through 1946.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1917-1948

   Limitations

   Official NHHC content via the HyperWar mirror (live NHHC photo pages not separately re-verified). 'Stricken the following month' (Oct 1946) is the NHHC statement reconciling NavSource's 'date unknown' with Shipscribe's 29 Oct 1946. Photo-caption level history; no asbestos or materials content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-henderson-ap1-02

3. [3]NavSource Naval History, Service Ship Photo Archive - USS Bountiful (AH-9) ex-USS Henderson (AP-1) page (archives/09/12/1209.htm) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 09/12/1209.htm chronology block, campaign table, and specifications block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive page 09/12/1209 carries the unified record 'USS Bountiful (AH-9) ex USS Henderson (AP-1) (1920-1944) USS Henderson (Transport # 1) (1917-1920)': laid down 19 Jun 1915 Philadelphia Navy Yard; launched 17 Jun 1916; commissioned USS Henderson (Transport #1) 24 May 1917, CDR George W. Steel; designated AP-1 17 Jul 1920; decommissioned 13 Oct 1943 for conversion at General Engineering and Dry Dock Co., Oakland; recommissioned USS Bountiful (AH-9) 23 Mar 1944, CDR G. L. Burns; Asiatic-Pacific campaigns - Marianas (Saipan 1-2 Jul, Guam 28 Jul-2 Aug 1944), Western Carolines (southern Palaus 6 Sep-14 Oct 1944), Iwo Jima (12-14 Mar 1945), Okinawa Gunto (25 Apr-11 Jun 1945); occupation service Far East 23 Nov 1945-5 Apr 1946; JTF-1 Task Unit 1.8.4 (Service Group-Medical Unit) at Operation Crossroads; decommissioned 13 Sep 1946 Seattle; struck from Naval Register 'date unknown'; sold for scrapping by Maritime Commission 28 Jan 1948 to Consolidated Builders Inc., Seattle; four battle stars. Spec block: 7,730 t lt / 11,250 t fl; 483'10" x 61'1" x 16'2"; 12 kts; complement (AP) 233 / (AH) 50 officers + 417 enlisted; troops 1,695 (AP); patients 477 (AH); armament (AP) eight 5"/51, two 3"/50, two 1-pdr / (AH) none; propulsion - two Philadelphia Navy Yard triple-expansion reciprocating engines, three Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers 190 psi, three turbo-drive 200 kW generators, twin screw 4,000 shp.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1915-1948

   Limitations

   Volunteer-compiled archive, not itself a primary record - used as a corroborated compilation; every date checked against DANFS/NHHC and agrees except 'Struck ... date unknown' (resolved to 29 Oct 1946 via Shipscribe, consistent with NHHC 'following month'). The specifications block is the most detailed machinery data located (B&W header-type boilers, triple-expansion engines) - no asbestos content in the source.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-henderson-ap1-03

4. [4]Shipscribe.com (Stephen S. Roberts), 'U.S. Navy Auxiliary Ships - USS Henderson (AP-1)' class file, compiled 28 Jul 2012 from NARA-held BuShips/General Board records [other_primary]

   Locator

   AP-1 class page - construction table (Ord. 19 Feb 14 / keel 19 Jun 15 / launch 17 Jun 16 / commiss. 24 May 17), disposition table (decomm. 13 Sep 46 / strike 29 Oct 46 / disposal 16 Sep 46 / MA Sale 31 Dec 47), class notes (ABF design history, gyro stabilizer, 1943 conversion decision chain, 'AP-0' trials detail), ship notes

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts) AP-1 class file, compiled from NARA/BuShips records, supplies designation and disposition detail no other located source carries: ordered under FY1914 program (Act of 4 Mar 1913), name assigned 13 Dec 1915; design history - the Navy's first purpose-built transport, developed for the Marine Corps Advanced Base Force mission (two-transport program, ~1,250 troops + equipment requirement, 8,000-mile endurance, dismountable 5-inch battery for advance-base defense); Newport News was low bidder at $1,695,000 but the Philadelphia Navy Yard's $1,458,305 estimate won the build (order Feb 1914); first large ship fitted with gyroscopic stabilizers (Sperry contract 16 Jul 1915, installed through hull openings in drydock April 1917); 1921 authorized passenger capacity 1,200 troops long-term + 800 short-term + 118 dependents first-class; 1935 ship-compiled characteristics card: 12.86 kt sustained maximum, complement 382. Conversion decision chain: on 12 Mar 1943 the Navy approved converting three elderly transports - HENDERSON (AP-1), CHAUMONT (AP-5), KENMORE (AP-62) - to hospital ships (crews slated to man replacement C3 conversions PRESIDENT POLK / MONROE / DELBRASIL, AH-103-105); 26 Jun 1943 VCNO directed Henderson laid up for conversion ahead of President Polk's completion; 2 Sep 1943 the name BOUNTIFUL and classification AH-9 approved, effective at recommissioning; converted by General Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Alameda, 13 Oct 1943 - 23 Mar 1944; 18 Feb 1944 BuShips ordered gray paint (Geneva Convention marking already applied per 3 Mar 1944 notice); designation temporarily changed to 'AP-0' with no name for post-conversion trials, probably to permit trials before formal Hague-Convention hospital-ship status attached. Disposition row: decommissioned 13 Sep 46; struck 29 Oct 46; to Maritime Commission 16 Sep 46; MA sale approval 31 Dec 47; to buyer 28 Jan 48; scrapped by 1 May 48.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1908-1948

   Limitations

   Independent scholarly compilation built from NARA primary records (Roberts is the standard published reference for U.S. auxiliary designs); corroborates DANFS throughout and supplies the only precise strike date (29 Oct 1946) and the 12 Mar 1943 conversion-approval and 2 Sep 1943 rename dates. Complement 382 (1929 card) conflicts with DANFS's 233 header figure - both carried with the variance logged. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-henderson-ap1-04

5. [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 hull underwent its hospital-ship conversion at the General Engineering & Dry Dock Co. wartime-contract yard, Alameda, Oct 1943 - Mar 1944 (the yard was simultaneously building Navy minesweepers and net layers under contract NObs-344). Era-typical applications for a steam auxiliary of this period: boiler and steam-line insulation (lagging), machinery and exhaust insulation, valve gaskets and packing, accommodation insulation, deck coverings.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1940s era documented; article 1987

   Population

   WWII shipyard conversion workforce (General Engineering & Dry Dock, Alameda, Oct 1943 - Mar 1944 - class context); ship's crew and medical complement

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarship on WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was installed, disturbed, or removed in this hull's conversion, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. The article's WWII scope also does not cover the hull's 1915-17 original construction era - asbestos content of the WWI-era build (if any, as-built) is undocumented by any source located.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-henderson-ap1-05

6. [6]Chesher v. 3M Co., 234 F. Supp. 3d 693 (D.S.C. 2017), CourtListener opinion 7324150; Hailey v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., No. DKC 18-2590 (D. Md. 2020); Landaker v. A.W. Chesterton Co., No. 2:19-cv-00987-KJM-JDP (E.D. Cal., order Feb 2021); Wineland v. Air & Liquid Sys. Corp., No. C19-0793RSL (W.D. Wash.); Hensley v. 3M Co. (D.S.C. 2015); In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), JPML 1991 [court_record]

   Locator

   CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket searches (authenticated, fleet-paced helper, 2026-09-25): 'USS Henderson' = 1 opinion + 6 dockets; 'USS Henderson asbestos' = 1 (same Chesher); 'Henderson (AP-1)' = 0; 'USS Bountiful' = 0; 'AH-9' = 37 hits, all non-ship noise; 'USS Henderson DD-785' = 0 (hull number absent from opinion text). Service-date checks per case above.

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Every CourtListener hit for 'USS Henderson' resolves to the later USS Henderson (DD-785), a Gearing-class destroyer (commissioned 1945, stricken 1980, named for Maj. Lofton R. Henderson) - not this hull: (a) Chesher v. 3M Co., 234 F. Supp. 3d 693 (D.S.C. 2017) [CL opinion 7324150] - the only opinion hit on the exact phrase; plaintiff's Navy service 1965-1989 (this hull was scrapped 1948); the cited Crane valve drawings were for 'valves installed on the USS Henderson and USS Fox' - USS Fox (DLG-33/CG-33, commissioned 1966) confirms the Cold War hull; (b) Hailey v. Air and Liquid Systems Corp. (D. Md., C.A. DKC 18-2590, mem. op. 2020) - decedent Charles Anthony Shockley, machinist mate aboard 'the USS Henderson' 1968-1972, and the opinion expressly identifies the ship as 'a Gearing-Class destroyer, built in the 1940s and commissioned in 1945'; (c) Landaker v. A.W. Chesterton Co. (E.D. Cal., No. 2:19-cv-00987-KJM-JDP, order filed Feb 2021) - decedent's other named ships are USS Halsey (CG-23, comm. 1963) and USS John S. McCain (DL-3, comm. 1953), era-consistent with DD-785; (d) Wineland v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp. (W.D. Wash., C19-0793RSL) - decedent's documented service 1963-1984 aboard other hulls; (e) Hensley v. 3M (D.S.C. 2015) and the 1991 MDL-875 JPML order - docket-level hits in the same asbestos-cluster, not resolvable to a hull from RECAP metadata but era-consistent with DD-785. Separately, 'Henderson' is a common litigant surname (e.g., the South Carolina Supreme Court's asbestos exposure-standard decision cited as 'Henderson,' 373 S.C. 179, 644 S.E.2d 720) - a second collision channel independent of the ship name.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   2015-2021 opinions/dockets; DD-785 service era 1945-1980

   Population

   asbestos plaintiffs whose service was aboard USS Henderson (DD-785), a different hull (collision population)

   Limitations

   Litigation-stage discipline applied: Chesher is a summary-judgment-denial order (pleading/discovery-stage, not a merits finding) - but even its allegations concern DD-785, a different hull. Hailey expressly says 'Gearing-Class destroyer ... commissioned in 1945.' Landaker, Wineland, Hensley, and the MDL-875 hits are docket-level and classified collision on service-era grounds; the residual possibility that a complaint somewhere names AP-1 cannot be excluded at RECAP-metadata depth, but no such hit was located. No opinion or docket names AP-1, 'Transport No. 1,' or Bountiful AH-9.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-henderson-ap1-06

7. [7]Batch-2034 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket searches; va.gov BVA decisions index; NHHC/DANFS; NavSource; Shipscribe; BUMED cruise-book/sanitary-report scans (full text read); cross-source keyword sweep [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-henderson-ap1-06 through sl-uss-henderson-ap1-13

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, VA Board of Veterans' Appeals decision, or docketed case names this hull under any of its designations or names (Transport No. 1; AP-1; temporary 'AP-0'; AH-9; Henderson; Bountiful). CourtListener (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-25): exact-phrase searches returned zero hits for 'Henderson (AP-1)', 'USS Bountiful', and all 'USS Henderson' hits are the DD-785 collision set (ev-uss-henderson-ap1-06). va.gov vetapp full-text BVA decisions: web-indexed search surfaced no decision naming this hull. The ship was scrapped in 1948 - decades before asbestos surveys, regulation, or litigation existed - so no survey-type documentation is expected to exist at all. Marketing inventories (law-firm and SEO 'asbestos ship list' pages) do list AH-9 generically - excluded per source rules; none asserts a hull-specific fact.

   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 1915-17 steam hull with a 1943-44 wartime-yard conversion is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials at both ends of its life. BVA coverage is limited to va.gov's web-indexed vetapp decisions (non-precedential even when present). RECAP docket coverage is incomplete for pre-2000 and non-federal claims. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-henderson-ap1-07

8. [8]U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery History Office collection (via Medical Heritage Library / Internet Archive): USS Bountiful (AH-9) cruise book (1945), ark:/13960/t3jx1td4h; USS Bountiful (AH-9) Annual Sanitary Report for 1946 [other_primary]

   Locator

   Cruise book full OCR text (48 KB _djvu.txt retrieved and keyword-swept); sanitary-report record via DPLA item 108136cd4174f41c1054bb7caa82d526 / archive.org/details/USSBountifulAH9SanitaryReportHistoricalSection1946

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Ship-originated primary documents exist in the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) History Office collection via the Medical Heritage Library at Internet Archive: 'The U.S.S. Bountiful (AH-9) in the Pacific, April 1944 to September 1945' (ship's cruise book, 'Serving the Fleets at Sea') and 'USS Bountiful (AH-9) Annual Sanitary Report for 1946' (Comdr. Marshall Eskridge, MC, USN). The cruise book's OCR text was read in full: it documents shipboard spaces, organization, the conversion narrative ('Before conversion to the Bountiful, the ship was well known ... as the U.S.S. Henderson'), ~50,000 miles steamed, >8,000 patients treated, and the ship's war narrative - and contains zero references to asbestos, insulation, lagging, or machinery materials.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Population

   Bountiful crew, medical staff, and patients (1944-1946)

   Limitations

   Genuine ship-published primary artifact (BUMED provenance), but cruise books and sanitary reports never documented construction materials - its silence on asbestos is expected and carries no negative evidentiary weight either way. Useful for spaces/operations detail; not an asbestos source.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-henderson-ap1-08

9. [9]NARA Guide to Federal Records (RG 19, RG 24, RG 178 record-group mappings); City of Alameda 'Alameda Marina Historic Resource Evaluation' (30 Mar 2017); militarymuseum.org NIRS Alameda page [other_primary]

   Locator

   RG 19/24/178 guides; https://www.alamedaca.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/major-planning-projects/final-hre_alameda-marina_03.30.2017.pdf ; https://militarymuseum.org/NIRSAlameda.html

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Archival leads (record-group level only; no box-level retrieval, no spend authorized): NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships / Bureau of Construction and Repair) - the BuC&R in-house design files, booklet of general plans, and the 1943-44 conversion plans/work-package correspondence for the AP-1-to-AH-9 conversion; NARA RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel) - deck logs for Henderson (1917-1943) and Bountiful (1944-1946); NARA Still Pictures - the NH/80-G/19-N photo series already sampled via NHHC (19-N-65291, NH 103569, NH 103572, NH 99384, 80-G-256987, 80-G-181842); NARA RG 178 (Maritime Commission) - the Olympia reserve-berthing and 1948 sale-to-scrappers file (Consolidated Builders Inc. transaction). Conversion-yard context: City of Alameda Historic Resource Evaluation (2017) and California State Military Museum document the General Engineering & Dry Dock Co. Clement Avenue yard's WWII program - the conversion contractor is NOT a shipyards.json entry.

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1915-1948 records

   Limitations

   Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether any asbestos-specific document exists for this hull (specifications, conversion work items, yard correspondence) is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-henderson-ap1-09