Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]Shipscribe.com, 'USS ATR-41 Class' (HMRT ADVANTAGE class; Navy BAT-1 design) - class data block, construction table rows ATR 91-96, disposition table, class notes (BAD-1750; VCNO 18 Jan 43 directive), ship note for ATR-92; corroborated by Levingston Shipbuilding yard table (Tim Colton data via navalmarinearchive.com), hull no. 308 [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR41.html - 'Class: HMRT ADVANTAGE (ATR-41)' header and data block; Construction table row '92'; Disposition table row '92'; Ship Notes row '92'; Class Notes paragraphs 1-3; navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/large/levingston.html hull-308 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts) ATR-41-class compilation of official U.S. Navy records: class 'HMRT ADVANTAGE (ATR-41)', design 'Navy BAT-1' - 600 t light/835 t max, 143.0' oa x 33.8' x 13.2' max, complement 43, 13 knots, 1,500 hp, one screw, G.M. diesel-electric, armament 1-3"/50 + 2-20mm. Construction table: ATR-92 ordered 25 Feb 1943 at Levingston SB, Orange; keel 6 Apr 1943; launched 18 May 1943; no U.S. commissioning. Disposition table: struck 17 Sep 1945; disposal 13 Nov 1943, 'Trf.' (transferred). Ship note: 'Compl. 12 Nov 43, delivered the next day and trf. to UK under Lend Lease as ATHLETE. Mined and lost off Livorno 17 Jul 45.' Class notes: ATR 91-100 construction directed by VCNO 18 Jan 1943 under the Maximum War Effort (1799-Vessel) Program; British requisition BAD-1750 covered six '143-foot ocean-going salvage tugs' (ATR 91-96); BuShips contracted with General Motors (diesel engines) with hulls subcontracted; the British received ATR 91-96 as planned. Independently corroborated by the Levingston yard table (shipbuildinghistory.com data, navalmarinearchive.com mirror): yard hull no. 308, 'ATR 92/HMS Athlete,' US Navy/Royal Navy, Tug, 600 GT/143 ft, delivered 13-Nov-43, 'To Britain as W 150, mined and lost off Livorno 1945.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Levingston Shipbuilding construction trades (Orange TX, 1943)
- Limitations
- Scholarly compilation of U.S. Navy official records (BuShips/NVR data; compiler Stephen S. Roberts, 2002-2011) - the standard reference for auxiliary-hull data, used here as the primary construction/transfer source since no DANFS entry exists for this unnamed hull. Dates corroborated independently against NavSource and the Levingston yard table. Contains no asbestos or materials information - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr92-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - HMRT Athlete (W-150) ex ATR-92, navsource.net/archives/09/40/40092.htm (page maintained by Gary P. Priolo; last updated 2006-04-28) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 40092.htm chronology block (laid down/launched/delivered/transferred/commissioned/final disposition/struck) and explicit 'no DANFS history' note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive entry for 'HMRT Athlete (W-150) ex ATR-92': ATR-92 laid down (date unknown) at Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, TX; launched 18 May 1943; delivered to the U.S. Navy 13 November 1943; 'ATR-92 never saw active service in the US Navy'; transferred under the Lend-Lease Act to the United Kingdom; commissioned HMRT Athlete (W-150) 15 November 1943; 'Final Disposition, mined and sunk off Leghorn, Italy, 17 July 1945'; struck from the Naval Register 17 September 1945. Page notes explicitly: 'There is no DANFS history available for ATR-92' and no photos on file.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Royal Navy crew of HMRT Athlete (1943-1945)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained secondary compilation, not an official record - corroborated against Shipscribe where they overlap (delivery date, transfer, loss date, strike date all agree). Sole source for the 15 Nov 1943 RN commissioning date (uboat.net prints 13 Nov - see correction row). Its printed specifications block is the wooden ATR-1-class boilerplate (steam plant, 165'6", 852/1,315 t) and does not describe this hull - see correction row; the specs are NOT carried into record fields. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr92-02
-
[3]naval-history.net, British naval vessels lost at sea WW2 (Gordon Smith compilation of official lists) - ATHLETE entry; Royal Navy Loss List (thisismast.org/Wessex Archaeology, 2019-09-16 edition); uboat.net Allied Warships, HMS Athlete (W 150), ship 7418 [other_primary]
- Locator
- naval-history.net/WW2BritishLossesbyName1.htm A-entry; thisismast.org/assets/downloads/rn-loss-list-2019-09-16.pdf Athlete row; uboat.net ship/7418 data table and History line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Royal Navy loss records: the naval-history.net 'British naval vessels lost at sea in World War 2' compilation lists 'ATHLETE, tug (570t, 15/11/43), sunk by mine off Leghorn, Italy, July 17, 1945'; the Royal Navy Loss List (MAST/Wessex Archaeology compilation for the Protection of Military Remains Act record) likewise records 'Athlete, tug, 570, sunk by mine off Livorno, Italy, 1945-07-17'. uboat.net Allied Warships entry for HMS Athlete (W 150), 'Rescue Tug of the Favourite class,' independently records built by Levingston Shipbuilding Co. (Orange, Texas), launched 18 May 1943, commissioned 13 Nov 1943, lost 17 Jul 1945 - 'Mined and sunk off Leghorn, Italy on 17 July 1945.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Royal Navy crew of HMRT Athlete at loss (1945-07-17)
- Limitations
- Three independent compilations of official loss records agree on the loss event (mine, off Leghorn/Livorno, 17 Jul 1945). The '570 t' figure is a register/commercial-style tonnage, not the 600/835 t displacement - kept separate, not merged. RN commission date conflicts (13 vs 15 Nov 1943) flagged in correction row. No casualty report narrative, minefield identity, or wreck position in any of these sources. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr92-03
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships / convoy event records - HMS Athlete (W 150) 'Notable events' (convoy UGS-41, May 1944; June 1944 convoy section events of 27 and 30 June) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ship/7418 'Notable events' - 3 May 1944 convoy UGS-41 narrative (event of 20 May); June 1944 convoy events of 27 June (joined from Gibraltar) and 30 June (detached to Bone)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Convoy-record documentation of HMRT Athlete's rescue-tug operations in the Mediterranean (uboat.net convoy event logs, compiled from official convoy records): convoy UGS-41 (departed Hampton Roads 3 May 1944) - 'Around 1500B/20 [May 1944], the rescue tug HMRT Athlete joined the convoy to assist the damaged Robert Howe during the remainder of the passage to Gibraltar'; a June 1944 convoy section - 'Around 1500A/27, the transport Patrick Henry and the rescue tug HMRT Athlete joined the convoy coming from Gibraltar' and 'Around 1900B/30, HMRT Athlete was detached to Bone.' Consistent with the Favourite-class employment pattern of picking up damaged stragglers between Gibraltar, Algiers, Oran, and Bone.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Royal Navy crew of HMRT Athlete (Apr-Jun 1944)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation built on official convoy/escort records - corroborates Mediterranean convoy rescue-tug employment but not a complete operations history; movements between the documented events are unrecorded here. 'Favourite class' is the RN class name for the ATR-41/BAT-1 steel rescue-tug design. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr92-04
-
[5]bluestarline.org - 'Royal Star 1' history page (Captain T. F. McDonald's account; Lt. Cole RNR named for Athlete); MaritimeQuest Royalstar (1919) vessel record (UGS-38, tow times); uboat.net convoy framework [reputable_press]
- Locator
- bluestarline.org/royal1.html 'By 7.30 a.m. H.M. Rescue Tug Athlete, Lieutenant Cole, R.N.R....' passage and Captain McDonald account; maritimequest.com Royalstar page 'Fate' note (0630 tow / 1002 abandon)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented salvage attempt: on 20 April 1944 the refrigerated cargo liner SS Royal Star (~8,000 t, Blue Star Line) was torpedoed by German aircraft (II/KG77 and III/KG26) while in convoy UGS-38 off Djennad, Algeria (position approx. 37.02N, 03.41E). The following morning HMRT Athlete - commanded by a Lieutenant Cole, RNR - came out from Algiers, embarked Royal Star's crew, took the ship in tow at about 0630-0800 on 21 April, and towed toward Algiers at about 2 knots; as flooding gained the tow was abandoned (about 1002-1050 hrs) and Royal Star sank shortly after 1100, one crew member lost overall. Athlete's role is corroborated across the Blue Star Line history site (quoting Captain McDonald's account) and the MaritimeQuest vessel record ('at 0630 hrs. Apr. 21 HM Tug Athlete attempted to tow the ship... the tow line was abandoned at 1002 hrs').
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-04
- Population
- Royal Navy crew of HMRT Athlete; embarked Royal Star survivors (Apr 1944)
- Limitations
- Specialist shipping-history compilations quoting a named master's account - credible operational detail but not an official record; exact tow/abandon times differ slightly between sources (0630 vs 'by 7.30 a.m.'; 1002 vs ~1050-1100). Confirms rescue/salvage-tug employment, not a complete service record. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr92-05
-
[6]naval-history.net 'Royal Navy casualties, killed and died, July 1945' (xDKCas1945-07JUL.htm) - Athlete entries for 17 July 1945; CWGC casualty record 2379338 (Robbins, Hubert Charles, Quartermaster, H.M. Rescue Tug Athlete, d. 18 July 1945, Florence War Cemetery) [other_primary]
- Locator
- xDKCas1945-07JUL.htm 'Tuesday, 17 July 1945 - Athlete, ship loss' block (3 MPK entries); cwgc.org casualty-details/2379338 (Robbins)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Casualty record for the 17 July 1945 loss: the naval-history.net 'Royal Navy casualties, killed and died, July 1945' list (transcribed from official casualty lists) records under 17 July 1945 'Athlete, ship loss': CLARK, Walter L, Donkeyman, RTP/R 65780, MPK; MACDONALD, Alexander, Ordinary Seaman, RTP/R 269779, MPK; SLAUGHTER, Edward, Ty/Sub Lieutenant (E), RNVR, MPK. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission separately records Quartermaster Hubert Charles Robbins, 'H.M. Rescue Tug Athlete,' died 18 July 1945, buried Florence War Cemetery - i.e., at least four deaths are documented against the sinking, three MPK on the day and one death the following day (presumptively of wounds/exposure, not stated).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-07
- Population
- Royal Navy crew of HMRT Athlete (1945-07)
- Limitations
- Casualty-list transcriptions of official records plus the CWGC register - verifies four named dead; whether additional crew died unlisted or survived injured is not established (a full muster/loss return was not located). MPK = missing presumed killed. Establishes loss severity, not asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr92-06
-
[7]Same citations as ev-01..ev-03: Shipscribe ATR-41 page vs NavSource 40092 spec block vs HyperWar 'US Navy Tugs, 1940-45' ATR boilerplate vs uboat.net ship/7418 vs naval-history.net/RN Loss List tonnage entries [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 40092 'Specifications' block (ATR-1 boilerplate) vs Shipscribe ATR-41 class data block (BAT-1 design); ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-at.html ATR class header (wooden-hulled description); uboat 7418 commission field; RN loss list tonnage column
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Source discrepancies documented, not silently reconciled: (a) CLASS/MACHINERY - NavSource labels ATR-92 'ATR-1 Class Rescue Tug' and prints the wooden ATR-1-class spec block (Fulton Iron Works vertical triple-expansion steam engine, two Babcock & Wilcox 'D'-type boilers, 1,600 shp, 165'6", 852 t lt/1,315 t fl); HyperWar's generic ATR boilerplate is the same ATR-1 block; but the Shipscribe compilation places ATR-92 in the steel ATR-41 class (Navy BAT-1 design: 143 ft, 600/835 t, GM diesel-electric, 1,500 hp) and the Levingston yard table lists the hull at 143 ft/600 t - the steam-plant specs do not describe this hull. (b) COMMISSION DATE - NavSource/Wikipedia print 15 Nov 1943 for RN commissioning; uboat.net prints 13 Nov 1943 (the delivery/transfer date - a likely conflation). (c) TONNAGE - 600 lt/835 max displacement (Shipscribe) vs 570 't' (RN loss lists - register tonnage) vs 852 lt (NavSource, ATR-1 boilerplate; Wikipedia repeats it). (d) COMPLEMENT - 43 (Shipscribe class figure) vs 45 (Wikipedia) vs 5 officers/47 enlisted (NavSource, ATR-1 boilerplate). (e) LAID DOWN - 'date unknown' (NavSource) vs keel 6 Apr 1943 (Shipscribe). (f) NAMING - the fleet roster labels the hull 'USS HMRT': HMRT is the RN prefix 'His Majesty's Rescue Tug,' not a U.S. name; the hull was never named in USN service and 'HMRT Athlete' applied only after transfer.
- Verification
- disputed
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Limitations
- Resolves nothing by fiat - documents a real multi-source conflict so downstream use does not adopt the wooden-tug steam plant (which would wrongly imply boiler-lagging asbestos scope for a diesel-electric hull). Shipscribe, the Levingston yard table, and the RN 'Favourite class' designation are treated as controlling for the steel/diesel-electric design; NavSource's spec block is flagged as misapplied boilerplate. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr92-07
-
[8]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
- Era-level inference only: peer-reviewed scholarship 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 steel-hulled rescue tug was built (Levingston, Orange TX, 1943, under the Navy's Maximum War Effort program). Period diesel-electric marine installations commonly used asbestos-containing exhaust-system lagging, gaskets, packing, electrical-panel insulation, deck compounds, and brake linings on towing machinery; aboard a 600-ton diesel-electric tug with no boilers or steam plant, plausible applications would be confined to such machinery fittings - materially less than steam-driven vessels.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Levingston Shipbuilding construction trades (Orange TX, 1943); Royal Navy crew of HMRT Athlete (1943-1945)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship only - does not name this vessel, the ATR-41 class, or the BAT-1 design and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard the hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. No design-level material specification (BuShips/GM Design documentation) for the ATR-41 class was located in public sources - the machinery-fitting applications named are general era practice, not documented aboard this class. Note the hull sank in 1945, so there is no present-day ACM-presence question in U.S. custody.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr92-08
-
[9]Batch-3022 search ledger (this record): Shipscribe/NavSource/uboat.net/naval-history.net/CWGC/Levingston yard table/RN Loss List; NHHC site search; NVR hull-detail endpoint; CourtListener authenticated sweep; general web litigation fallback [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hmrt-atr92-01 through sl-uss-hmrt-atr92-15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed case naming ATR-92, USS HMRT, or HMRT Athlete was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). There is no DANFS entry for the hull (NavSource notes none exists and NHHC search returns nothing); the Naval Vessel Register carries no record (hull stricken 1945, predating NVR coverage; SHIPDETAIL_ATR_92 returns a redirect); no wreck survey or Italian/UK protection-of-remains record was located for the Livorno wreck site.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943-built U.S. naval vessel is era-consistent with asbestos-containing machinery fittings even accounting for the lighter diesel-electric insulation load. Because the hull sank in 1945 in Italian waters, exposure interest is confined to the Levingston construction workforce (Apr-Nov 1943) and the RN crew (1943-45). Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr92-09
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated via project helper cl-auth-search.py): q="ATR-92" type=o count=0; q=ATR-92 type=o count=284 (all noise); q="HMRT Athlete" type=o count=0; q=HMRT type=o count=1 (OCR collision); q="HMS Athlete" type=o count=0; q="USS Athlete" type=o count=0; q="ATR-92" type=r count=6 (all collisions - no vessel naming) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hmrt-atr92-09 through sl-uss-hmrt-atr92-14
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep, 2026-09-26: exact-phrase opinion searches "ATR-92", "HMRT Athlete", "HMS Athlete", and "USS Athlete" each returned 0 results; unquoted 'ATR-92' returned 284 hits - all token-split noise (docket numbers such as 01-92-00617-CR and OCR fragments), none naming the vessel; 'HMRT' returned 1 hit - an OCR garble ('(!hmrt uf App&ila' for 'Court of Appeals') in AdvoCare International v. Badgett (Tex. App.-Dallas 2012), a name collision. Docket-type (type=r) search for "ATR-92" returned 6 dockets (9 documents) - all token-level noise (insurance-contract, FOIA, prisoner-rights, and Camp Lejeune filings matching 'ATR'/'92' tokens); no docket names the vessel. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming the hull, its RN name, or 'USS Athlete' was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Coverage is opinion search plus docket-name search only - no UK Admiralty/county litigation and no news-level claims search constitutes an absence finding beyond the indexed record. A lend-lease hull sunk in 1945 with an RN crew is also a low-likelihood U.S. litigation target. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr92-10
-
[11]NARA Guide to Federal Records - RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) and RG 169 (Foreign Economic Administration); UK National Archives ADM series guidance [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov record-group guides RG 19 and RG 169; nationalarchives.gov.uk ADM series
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) holds contract/specification records for the ATR-41 class - the BuShips contract with General Motors and the BAT-1/143-ft design specifications would be the design-level materials documentation this record lacks; NARA RG 169 (Foreign Economic Administration) holds Lend-Lease transfer documentation for the 13 Nov 1943 handover; the UK National Archives (ADM series) holds HMRT Athlete's logs and any Board of Inquiry/loss papers for the 17 July 1945 sinking. Because the hull went straight to the UK on delivery, no U.S. Navy deck-log run is expected in RG 24/SL-44 - none was indexed under ATR-92.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1945 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether ATR-92-specific construction/materials documents exist is unknown until surveyed. The absence of a U.S. deck-log run is expected (immediate transfer) rather than a verified index finding. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr92-11