Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Hercules' (AK-41) entry - hazegray DANFS transcription mirror (canonical NHHC URL returned 404 on 2026-09-21) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full DANFS entry text; spec line '(AK-41: dp. 5,150 (lt.); l. 473'1"; b. 66'; dr. 27'2"; s. 16k.; cpl. 129; a. 1 5", 4 3", T. C3-E)'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Hercules (AK-41): ex-SS Exporter, launched 18 July 1939 by Fore River Ship Building Co., Quincy, Mass., for American Export Lines Inc.; acquired by the Navy 15 July 1941 and operated by civilian crews until commissioning at San Francisco 30 November 1942 (Comdr. W. H. Turnquist, USNR). WWII Pacific cargo service: Noumea, New Caledonia; flagship for Adm. Willis A. Lee (CTF 11) during the Baker Island occupation (September 1943); Funafuti; Saipan D-Day 15 June 1944 (under repeated Japanese air attack, unscathed); Peleliu (15 September 1944); Hollandia; San Pedro Bay and Lingayen Gulf, Philippines; Iwo Jima (disembarked reserve troops, received wounded, until 20 March 1945). Reached San Francisco 22 June 1945 for overhaul; the war ended during repairs. Final westbound voyage 24 October 1945 loading ammunition in the Philippines and Admiralty Islands; transited Panama Canal 16 March 1946, Norfolk 26 March; decommissioned 28 June 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 18 July; returned to merchant service. Five battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1939-1946
- Population
- Crew (~129 complement, DANFS figure); embarked troops and wounded handled at Iwo Jima
- Limitations
- Transcription mirror of the official DANFS entry (canonical history.navy.mil page 404 - NHHC link rot consistent with batch-01 finding); transcription is complete and internally consistent with MARAD custody records. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information whatsoever; supports identity and service history only. DANFS gives no laid-down date, no strike date, and no complement breakdown; its post-Navy renaming order ('Exermont, and later Bostonian') conflicts with two secondary compilations - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hercules-ak41-01
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[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - HERCULES (AK-41), Detail 2199, including digitized NDRF vessel status card (images 2199_4090AF / 2199_4090AB) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 2199 characteristics, milestone table, and status-card scans; card fields 1, 7, 8, 12, 20, 22
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD Vessel History Database record for HERCULES (AK-41): U.S. Official No. 239017; built 1939 by Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding Division (Quincy); MARAD type C3-E; 473.08 ft x 66.00 ft; 6,675 gross / 3,893 net tons; Naval Auxiliary / AK Cargo Ship; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; vessel name history links EXERMONT, EXPORTER, and HERCULES (AK-41) to the same hull. Milestones: custody Entry 1946-07-17, Acquisition 1946-07-17 'ex-EXPORTER'. Digitized Reserve Fleet status card for this hull records: present name HERCULES (NAVY), former EXPORTER (AK 41), type C3-E, hull no. 34, 'Beth. Fore River 1939', date entered fleet 7-17-46, status 'Recon.', and handwritten annotations including 'Contract for reconversion awarded to Sun S/B', 'PRELIM. ALLOC. 159, 12/12/46', and date withdrawn from fleet 1-26-47 delivered to OPER. DEPT. NORFOLK.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1946-1947
- Population
- Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock reconversion trades (Chester, PA, winter 1946-47); James River Reserve Fleet layup workers
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones, identity chain, and the 1946-47 reconversion handling; status-card handwriting partially legible (OCR-aided; 'Sun S/B' read as Sun Shipbuilding). Contains no asbestos, insulation, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. MC custody-entry date 1946-07-17 conflicts with DANFS's '18 July' transfer - both logged; the card is the custody record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hercules-ak41-02
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[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - EXERMONT, Detail 1509 (incl. status cards 1509_2790AF / 1509_2790BF) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 1509 milestone table and name-history links
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record for EXERMONT (Detail 1509) - same hull (Official No. 239017, C3-E, Bethlehem Quincy 1939, name history links EXERMONT / EXPORTER / HERCULES (AK-41)): MARAD custody milestones Entry 1961-01-12 and Acquisition 1961-01-12; Disposition 1971-01-21 and Withdrawal 1971-01-21; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; MARAD mission flags 'World War II' and 'Vietnam War'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1961-1971
- Limitations
- Authoritative for late MARAD custody and final disposal; the milestone table is sparse (no layup location, no interim merchant operations). The 1961-01-12 entry/acquisition conflicts with a secondary-source claim of 1958 NDRF layup (see gaps) - unresolved; the 'Vietnam War' mission flag is unexplained in the record. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hercules-ak41-03
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[4]ShipScribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'USS Hercules (AK-41)' - class and ship notes compiled from Navy sources (shipscribe.com/usnaux/AK/AK41.html) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class notes (C3-E design history; 1941 cargo-ship acquisition program), construction/disposition tables, and Ship Notes for AK-41
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ShipScribe compilation (S. S. Roberts, USN auxiliaries AK-41 page, drawn from Navy records): the C3-E was among the first C3 types of the Maritime Commission program, designed privately for American Export Line - shorter (473 ft) than later C3s and carrying the line's distinctive counter stern; EXPORTER was in the initial quartet ordered August 1938; keel laid 7 November 1938; completed as EXPORTER 28 September 1939 (ID-4998A); Navy accepted 14 July 1941 and - unable to crew all new cargo ships - designated AK-41 a 'U.S. Naval Cargo Ship' operated in the Pacific by Matson Navigation Co. with civilian crew, beginning loading westbound cargo for Wake Island, Guam, and Manila on 15 July 1941; deck armament fitted January 1942 at Moore Dry Dock Co., Oakland; VCNO directed 16 September 1942 that she be commissioned on return from voyage (arrived 11 November 1942); austere conversion to a naval cargo ship 'probably done by the Mare Island Navy Yard' with accommodations for 15 officers and 104 men; employed by Amphibious Forces in the AKA role at Saipan and Peleliu (ComServPac correspondence quoted in the compilation); conversion to an ammunition carrier begun by Mare Island Navy Yard in late July or early August 1945 and still in progress when the war ended; struck 31 July 1946; merchant sequence BOSTONIAN 1947, EXERMONT 1949; sold by Maritime Administration 6 January 1971, scrapped by 15 October 1971.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1938-1971
- Population
- Moore Dry Dock workers (Jan 1942 armament fit); Mare Island Navy Yard workers (1942 conversion; 1945 ammunition-carrier conversion); civilian Matson crew (1941-42); naval crew (~15 officers + 104 men berthing)
- Limitations
- Private scholarly compilation, not an official publication - details not in DANFS/MARAD (keel date, Moore Dry Dock armament fit, 'probably Mare Island' conversion yard, Matson operation, renaming dates) are carried as compilation claims, not independently verified; the 'probably Mare Island' hedge is the source's own. Several dates conflict with DANFS/NavSource by one day or by renaming order - see gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hercules-ak41-04
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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 covering this hull's construction (1938-39), Navy conversion (1942), commissioned service, and Navy-to-merchant reconversion (1946-47).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII-era 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 or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hercules-ak41-05
-
[6]Bartel v. Alcoa Steamship Co., Inc., 805 F.3d 169 (5th Cir. 2015), Nos. 15-30004, 15-30005, 15-30032 (official court PDF) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion caption and text at 169-172 (consolidated caption listing American Export Lines and Matson Navigation Company; 'United States Naval Ships' discussion)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Operator-level litigation context: in Bartel v. Alcoa Steamship Co., Inc., 805 F.3d 169 (5th Cir. 2015) - consolidated Jones Act/general maritime law actions by merchant mariners alleging asbestos exposure aboard defendant-operated vessels - the named defendants include both American Export Lines, Inc. (and Farrell Lines as successor-in-interest to American Export Lines) and Matson Navigation Company, i.e., this hull's builder's customer, later owner-operator (Exporter/Exermont), and its 1941-42 Navy-contract civilian operator. The opinion also describes the posture of 'United States Naval Ships' - 'owned by the Navy but operated by civilian contractors' - the same manning arrangement under which AK-41 ran in 1941-42. The case was decided on federal-officer-removal jurisdiction grounds, not on exposure findings.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 2015 opinion; alleged exposure decades earlier
- Population
- Merchant mariners in defendant-line service (litigation class context)
- Limitations
- Does not name this hull or any vessel in this record; plaintiffs' alleged exposures were aboard other vessels operated by the defendant lines. The ruling is procedural (federal-officer removal jurisdiction) - it contains no finding of asbestos conditions aboard any vessel and establishes no exposure, causation, or liability for this hull or its operators. Operator-level landscape only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hercules-ak41-06
-
[7]United States v. Martinez-Hidalgo, 993 F.2d 1052 (3d Cir. 1993); United States v. Bush, 794 F. Supp. 40 (D.P.R. 1992) [court_record]
- Locator
- 993 F.2d 1052 opinion facts section (December 1991 patrol 60 miles southwest of St. Croix); 794 F. Supp. 40 (USS HERCULES / ARPON allegation)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Name-collision correction: 'USS Hercules' appearing in federal drug-interdiction opinions United States v. Martinez-Hidalgo, 993 F.2d 1052 (3d Cir. 1993), and United States v. Bush, 794 F. Supp. 40 (D.P.R. 1992), refers to USS Hercules (PHM-2), the Pegasus-class patrol combatant hydrofoil commissioned 1982 and homeported in the Caribbean - a different vessel, not this AK-41 (scrapped 1971). Neither opinion involves asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1991-1993
- Limitations
- Prevents misattribution of PHM-2-era litigation to AK-41 in name searches. The opinions' vessel identification rests on context (1991-92 Caribbean patrol with embarked Coast Guard detachment) consistent with PHM-2, not on a hull number printed in the opinion - classified as name collision, not positively excluded by hull number.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hercules-ak41-07
-
[8]Batch-926 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; MARAD ShipHistory Details 2199/7933/1509 + status cards; ShipScribe compilation; CourtListener (blocked - daily quota); web-index litigation pass [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hercules-ak41-01 through sl-uss-hercules-ak41-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming the Hercules/Exporter/Exermont/Bostonian hull (AK-41, MC 34, official no. 239017) was found in the public sources searched - the DANFS entry, MARAD custody records and status cards, and located secondary compilations contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement (see search_ledger; CourtListener API quota exhausted at time of search - see ledger sl-uss-hercules-ak41-06).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 2026-09-21
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1939 merchant-type steamship converted (1942) and reconverted (1946-47) inside the documented asbestos-use era is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials having been installed and disturbed. Hull was scrapped 1971, before the asbestos-litigation era, which plausibly suppresses hull-specific records. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. Litigation coverage is incomplete: CourtListener API was quota-blocked on the search date (see ledger).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hercules-ak41-08
-
[9]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19, RG 181, RG 178, RG 26; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 2199 document list [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html ; /groups/181.html ; /groups/178.html ; merchant-vessel logbook guidance
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized, no research-room visit): NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) holds conversion/outfitting records that could document the 1942 naval conversion and 1945 ammunition-carrier conversion specifications; RG 181 (Naval Districts and Shore Establishments) holds Mare Island Navy Yard records for the probable 1942 conversion and the 1945 work; RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) holds construction-contract records for MC hull 34 at Fore River and the 1946-47 reconversion contract file referenced on the status card; RG 26 (U.S. Coast Guard) holds merchant vessel logbooks distributed by port for the Exporter/Exermont/Bostonian merchant periods. Nine 'SYSTEM UPLOAD' historical-document scans attached to MARAD Detail 2199 were located but could not be text-extracted by remote fetch and remain unreviewed.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1938-1971 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. The MARAD scans may already contain some of this material but were not reviewable remotely. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hercules-ak41-09