Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]research packet 761-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-horace-a-bass-apd-124-pkt-761-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Horace A. Bass (APD-124) entry - verbatim public-domain text reproduced on the NavSource page and incorporated verbatim in the Wikipedia article; live NHHC DANFS page returns 404 (link rot as documented in batch-01) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text reproduced at navsource.net/archives/10/04/04124.htm ('Dictionary of American Navy Fighting Ships (DANFS)' section)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: projected as Rudderow-class DE-691, reclassified Crosley-class high-speed transport APD-124 while under construction; laid down 1944-08-03 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Fore River, Quincy MA; launched 1944-09-12; commissioned 1944-12-21. Fitted out Boston Navy Yard; shakedown Bermuda; Okinawa picket duty from 1945-04-06; sank Japanese submarine Ro-109 by depth-charge attack 1945-04-25; kamikaze hit with close-aboard bomb burst 1945-07-30 (hull damage, 14 casualties); Tokyo Bay 1945-08-27, furnished the Nagato prize crew at Yokosuka; Mare Island overhaul 1946-02-11 to 1946-04-10; China station ship 1947-49 (Nanking civilian evacuation Nov 1948); Korea from 1950-08-02 (UDT and Marine Recon embarked; raids, Inchon first wave 1950-09-15, Royal Marine Commandos, Wonsan; Navy Unit Commendation); second tour 1951-09 to 1952-07; third tour sailed 1953-07-15; Tachen Islands evacuation Feb 1955; Operation Passage to Freedom Feb-Mar 1955; Atlantic Fleet transfer Jun 1955; Naval Reserve training ship, 4th Naval District, Philadelphia 1955-58; Orange TX 1958-11-03; decommissioned 1959-02-09. Two WWII and six Korean battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1959
- Population
- Fore River construction trades 1944; ship's company (design complement 204) plus embarked troops/UDT/Marine Recon detachments 1945-1958; Naval Reserve trainees 1955-58
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and milestones, not materials or asbestos content. The Wikipedia transcription reads 'arrival at Yokosuka on 3 August 1950' where context requires 1953 - typo carried in gaps. NavSource additionally reports an unrecorded recommissioning and 1969-07-30 decommissioning that no other source confirms - flagged, not asserted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-horace-a-bass-apd124-01
-
[3]Wasilewski v. Kaiser Ventures LLC, No. 3:08-cv-04094-EMC (N.D. Cal.), Complaint + Exhibit A (filed 2008-08-27, ECF No. 1); transferred to In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), MDL-875, as No. 2:09-cv-67108 (E.D. Pa.) on 2009-05-12 [court_record]
- Locator
- Complaint, Exhibit A (ECF No. 1, pp. 15-16 of 16): decedent exposure table 'HORACE A BASS (APD-124) ... Machinist Mate 11/1946-12/1947' and job-duties paragraph; RECAP gov.uscourts.cand.206604.1.0.pdf (OCR read of scanned filing)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Complaint Exhibit A names this hull: decedent Albert Wasilewski (mesothelioma diagnosed on or about May 2007; died 2007-09-26) is alleged to have served aboard USS Horace A. Bass (APD-124) as a Machinist Mate 11/1946-12/1947, with listed duty stations including Mare Island Naval Shipyard, the Marshall Islands, China, and Long Beach Naval Shipyard; worked primarily in the engine rooms of USS Rockingham (APA-229) and USS Horace A. Bass and in the turbine and boiler rooms; recalled co-workers replacing insulation on turbines and pipes around him; plaintiffs contend he was exposed to asbestos during this service. The case was tagged into MDL-875 (E.D. Pa.) in May 2009.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1946-1947 (alleged exposure); 2008-2009 (litigation)
- Population
- Albert Wasilewski, USN fireman/machinist mate (USS Rockingham 2/1946-11/1946; USS Horace A. Bass 11/1946-12/1947); mesothelioma decedent
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation in a filed complaint exhibit - recited, never adjudicated as to this hull. The APD-124 service window (11/1946-12/1947) is consistent with the DANFS-documented timeline (post-Mare Island-overhaul San Diego training; 1947 China deployment). No merits opinion naming the vessel was located: the MDL docket has no RECAP entries, and the 2012-07-13 MDL-875 Kaiser Ventures MSJ order on paed.uscourts.gov concerns Kaiser-built ships (Marine Adder et al.), not this case. Does not establish that exposure occurred, causation, product identity, or quantities; final disposition not located in public sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-horace-a-bass-apd124-02
-
[4]NHHC, 'Appendix 12 - Ships Named for Naval Aviators' (naval aviation history PDF): 'Bass, Horace A. (APD 124-ex-DE 691) ENS Horace A. Bass, USNR 21 Dec 1944' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Appendix 12 table entry, history.navy.mil PDF app12.pdf
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- An NHHC-hosted official list confirms the hull's identity chain (APD-124, ex-DE-691), the namesake (Ensign Horace A. Bass, USNR), and the 1944-12-21 commissioning date, corroborating the DANFS record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944
- Limitations
- Identity/namesake corroboration only; contains no material, asbestos, or exposure information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-horace-a-bass-apd124-03
-
[5]NavSource APD-124 specifications block (2 B&W 'D' Express boilers 435 psi/750 F, 2 GE turbines turbo-electric drive, 12,000 shp) + Atlas shipyards.json records 'fore-river-shipyard' (tier 3: documented asbestos product categories incl. boiler/pipe/turbine insulation, fireproofing, gaskets, packing, asbestos wire insulation/cement/paint) and 'mare-island-naval-shipyard' (tier 2) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource APD-124 spec block; shipyards.json 'fore-river-shipyard' asbestos_products_documented; DANFS yard-availability dates
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a WWII turbo-electric steam plant completed 1944 at Fore River would era-typically carry asbestos insulation on boilers, turbines, and steam lines, plus asbestos gaskets, packing, and fireproofing; the builder yard is documented at yard level for exactly those product categories, and the ship's documented availabilities (Boston Navy Yard fitting-out 1944-45; Mare Island overhaul Feb-Apr 1946) are the maintenance events in which such materials were handled. Kamikaze battle damage 1945-07-30 and rapid repair is a further disturbance-type event.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1959
- Population
- Fore River construction trades 1944; Boston Navy Yard and Mare Island yard workers 1944-46; crew and embarked detachments 1944-1958
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific material schedule, insulation spec, or asbestos survey was located for this hull. Boiler manufacturer itself is uncertain (NavSource spec block says B&W 'D' Express; a Conway's-derived listing says Combustion Engineering DR). Establishes nothing about what was actually installed aboard or what exposure occurred.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-horace-a-bass-apd124-04
-
[6]NARA Catalog: 'USS HORACE A BASS - War History' (NAID 77654729, microfilm serial 157245); COMTRANSDIV 105 war history (NAID 77693455); CTF-31 report on the Yokosuka-area landings including seizure of HIJMS Nagato 1945-08-30 (NAID 77801938); ~330 digitized monthly deck-log file units for Horace A. Bass (APD-124) spanning 1945-1959 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search results; NAIDs 77654729, 77693455, 77801938; deck-log file units e.g. NAID 208850666 (Nov 1957), 208847884 (Jan 1956), 208848136 (Mar 1956)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary hull records exist and are digitized/indexed in the National Archives Catalog: the ship's own WWII war-history report, her transport division's war history, the Yokosuka occupation report covering the Nagato prize-crew episode she executed, and a multi-year run of monthly deck logs. Deck logs are the standard source for reconstructing yard availabilities and underway periods; they are the likeliest public repository of any material-disturbance detail for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1945-1959 (record coverage)
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - these records were located in the catalog but not read page-by-page; nothing in the catalog descriptions establishes asbestos content, abatement, or exposure. Deck-log coverage spans 1945-1959 with per-month file units; completeness of every month unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-horace-a-bass-apd124-05
-
[7]Batch-4469 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live page; NavSource APD/LPR-124 archive page; NARA Catalog ship-name and war-history searches; NVR ship detail page; hazegray Fore River production record; archive.org DANFS Volume III; CourtListener opinion and docket searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-horace-a-bass-apd124-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific primary record of asbestos material located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or fiber study naming Horace A. Bass / APD-124 / LPR-124 / DE-691 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only ship-specific asbestos evidence is the unadjudicated Wasilewski pleading (ev-02); no merits disposition naming the vessel was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a hull built 1944 and scrapped 1975 predates routine ACM disclosure, and scrapping at a commercial Houston yard predates the asbestos shipbreaking regulatory regime. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-horace-a-bass-apd124-06