Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Hoptree' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (verbatim text via Wayback capture of the live NHHC page, which now returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS Hoptree page (live URL 404 on 2026-09-24 - standing NHHC link-rot issue per Batch-01); Wayback capture 2024-05-26, full entry text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry: Hoptree (AN-62), a wooden-hulled net layer named for a small American tree whose two-seeded winged fruits have been used in place of hops, was launched 14 Oct 1943 by Snow Shipyards Inc., Rockland, Maine, as YN-83; sponsored by Lt. Ann Jameson; reclassified AN-62 on 20 Jan 1944; commissioned 18 May 1944, Lt. Cdr. Theodore A. Ingham in command. Arrived Melville Net Depot for shakedown 31 May 1944; training and readiness operations until 27 Jun, then joined the Net Layer Precommissioning and Training Group at Melville; departed 2 Dec for the West Coast; sailed 3 Feb 1945 from Naval Net Depot, Tiburon, Calif., for the Pacific. Pearl Harbor 13 Feb 1945; routed to Eniwetok Atoll, arrived the 28th; from March through the end of the war maintained and repaired net defenses in the harbor, and after August dismantled them; sailed for the U.S. Nov 1945, arriving San Francisco 8 Nov. Decommissioned 1 Mar 1946, deemed surplus; stricken from the List of Naval Vessels 20 Mar 1946; delivered to purchaser Van Camp Sea Food Co., San Pedro, Calif., 23 Apr 1947; operated on mercantile service until scrapped 1954. Spec line: dp 1,100; l 194'6"; b 37'; dr 13'6"; s 12 k.; cpl 56; a. 1 3"; cl. Ailanthus. Entry updated and corrected by Robert J. Cressman, December 2007.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1954
- Population
- Crew of ~56 (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, service, and disposition narrative. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials statement. First name of the commissioning CO printed as 'Theodore A. Ingham' vs. NavSource's 'Thomas Albert Ingham' - discrepancy carried in gaps. Does not state a laid-down date; the 24 Sep 1942 keel date comes from NavSource and Shipscribe.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hoptree-an62-01
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[2]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'USS Ailanthus (AN-38) Class' - construction/disposition tables and ship notes compiled from BuShips, Navy, and Maritime Commission records [other_primary]
- Locator
- Construction table (AN-62 row), Disposition table (AN-62 row), Ship Notes (AN-62 note), class header data and class notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe AN-38 class data (compiled from Navy and Maritime Commission records): AN-62 HOP TREE - ordered 30 Jul 42; built by Snow SY; keel 24 Sep 42; launch 14 Oct 43; commissioned 18 May 44. Disposition: decommissioned 1 Mar 46; struck 20 Mar 46; Navy disposal 23 Apr 47; fate 'MC/D' (Maritime Commission disposal); MA sale 15 Apr 47. Ship note: 'Ex YN-83 20 Jan 44. Sold (awarded) by MC to Van Camp Sea Food Co., Terminal Is., Cal. Merc. HOP TREE 1950, scrapped 1954.' Class data: wood hulls (substituted for steel ca. 10 Apr 42); diesel electric, 1 screw, 1,200 HP; complement 43 (1944); displacement 1,175 light / 1,460 lim. Class notes record that the 29 Sep 1944 BuShips-recommended armament rearrangement (removal of the raised 20mm platform forward of the smokestack, after defects reported aboard sister ship Terebinth) was approved for AN 39-63 and 66-69 - a range including AN-62.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1954
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of primary Navy/MC records - not itself the primary document. Disposal dates corroborate DANFS (23 Apr 1947) without conflict. Complement 43 (1944) conflicts with DANFS cpl 56 - carried in gaps. The armament-rearrangement approval covers AN-62 by number range, but the defect report itself named Terebinth (AN-59), not this hull - the class-wide approval is a class-level record, not a defect documented aboard Hoptree. No asbestos or materials statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hoptree-an62-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Hoptree (AN-62) page [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ship page: milestones, specifications block, awards/ribbons, commanding-officer table, photo index (incl. NPS cat. no. BOSTS-11434)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive page for USS Hoptree (AN-62): milestones matching DANFS (laid down 24 Sep 1942 as YN-83 at Snow Shipyards, Rockland, ME; launched 14 Oct 1943; reclassified AN-62 20 Jan 1944; commissioned 18 May 1944; decommissioned 1 Mar 1946 at San Francisco; struck 20 Mar 1946; sold to Van Camp Sea Food Co., San Pedro, 23 Apr 1947; scrapped 1954). Specifications: displacement 1,100 t. (1,400 lim); 194'6" x 37' x 13'6"; 12.1 kts; complement 4 officers + 52 enlisted; one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, four twin 20mm AA; largest boom capacity 12 t.; propulsion one Busch-Sulzer BS-539 diesel engine, two diesel-drive 60kW 120V D.C. ship's service generators, single propeller, 1,200 shp. Awards: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal. Commanding officers: LCDR Thomas Albert Ingham USNR (18 May 44 - 1944), LT Marius Tiberius Birkle USNR (31 Jan 45 - 20 May 45), LTjg Charles Baker Carroll USNR (20 May 45 - 1 Mar 46). Includes NPS photo BOSTS-11434 (Boston Navy Yard photo 6938-44, ship underway in Boston Harbor, 2 Dec 1944) and a 22 Dec 1944 underway photo in measure 31/20L camouflage.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1954
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained archive reproducing official figures and the DANFS text - corroborative, not an original primary source. Spec block gives one BS-539 diesel at 1,200 shp; sister-ship pages list two engines and secondary compilations print 2,500 hp - figure variation across sources carried in gaps. CO first name (Thomas) conflicts with DANFS (Theodore) - carried in gaps. No asbestos or materials statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hoptree-an62-03
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[4]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 vessel was mass-produced (wartime small-combatant/auxiliary construction program, ordered 30 Jul 1942) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in ship construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers (Snow Shipyards, Rockland, 1942-44) 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. This hull's wood construction and diesel-electric plant (no boilers, no steam distribution) remove the dominant steam-lagging pathway documented for era steamships - era inference is correspondingly weaker here than for steam auxiliaries and is asserted only as context.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hoptree-an62-04
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[5]Batch-1811 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (Wayback); NavSource AN-62 page; Shipscribe AN-38 class page; shipbuildinghistory.com Snow yard list; NVR ship-detail page; MARAD ShipHistory; CourtListener authenticated name and hull-number searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hoptree-an62-01 through sl-uss-hoptree-an62-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials list, or docketed case naming Hoptree/AN-62/YN-83 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion searches on 'Hoptree' and 'USS Hoptree' returned zero hits; the six 'Hoptree' docket hits are snippet-level matches inside unrelated bankruptcy-court creditor/address exhibit lists with no literal occurrence of the name; 'AN-62' opinion hits (92) are docket-number and text-fragment collisions in unrelated cases (e.g., Florida appellate docket no. AN-62); the single 'YN-83' hit (Escondido Resources II, LLC v. Justapor Ranch, Tex. App. 2015) and the single 'Van Camp Sea Food' + asbestos hit (National Biscuit Co. v. Kellogg Co., 3d Cir. 1937) are unrelated fragment collisions. None names the vessel or involves asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - WWII-era construction is era-consistent with retained asbestos-containing materials even in a wood-hull diesel-electric hull. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hoptree-an62-05
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[6]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission); MC disposal records underlying the Shipscribe ship note [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov record-group guides; NARA deck-log holdings description
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (a) NARA WWII deck logs (RG 24, College Park) covering this hull May 1944 - Mar 1946; (b) BuShips construction and contract correspondence for the Snow Shipyards net-tender group (RG 19) including the 1944 armament-rearrangement documentation approved for AN 39-63 and 66-69, transcribed at class level by Shipscribe; (c) Maritime Commission small-vessel disposal/sale records for the 1947 sale to Van Camp Sea Food Co. (RG 178) underlying the Shipscribe ship note. These records may contain outfitting/materials data but none has been examined.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1947 (record coverage)
- Limitations
- Record groups located and relevance assessed, but no hull-specific file retrieved or read; contents unknown. An archival lead is not evidence of asbestos aboard - it marks where ship-specific materials records might exist.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hoptree-an62-06