Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
-
[1]research packet crew-cw-packet.md (4 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-pkt-crew-cw-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Joseph Hewes' (AP-50), Naval History and Heritage Command [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text and AP-50 specification block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity and service record: formerly Excalibur, built in 1930 by New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.; acquired by the Navy 8 January 1942; commissioned 1 May 1942, Capt. Robert McL. Smith in command. Specification block: displacement 14,100; length 450 ft (w.l.); beam 61 ft 6 in; draft 26 ft 4 in; complement 358; armament one 5-inch, four 3-inch, eight 20mm. Sortied from Hampton Roads 24 October 1942 with the Center Attack Group of Admiral Hewitt's Western Naval Task Force carrying 80 officers and 1,074 men of the reinforced 3d Division plus vehicles and supplies; arrived off Fedhala 8 November, landed all troops by 0705; completed unloading 11 November with 30 casualties received from the beach. At 1950 took a torpedo hit in No. 2 hold from U-173; sank at 2032, taking Captain Smith and 'several seamen.' One battle star. DANFS mislabels the attacker 'U-113' in its closing sentence (context makes U-173 unambiguous).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942
- Population
- Crew (358) plus embarked Army troops (80 officers, 1,074 men)
- Limitations
- Official secondary source. Contains no asbestos, construction-material, or conversion-yard information. Casualty figure ('several seamen') conflicts with the specialist wreck record (~100 dead) - carried as an unresolved discrepancy in gaps, not resolved here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, War Damage Report No. 32 (NAVSHIPS 32(424)), 'Transports Torpedoed off Fedala, 11-15 November 1942,' Preliminary Design Section, 14 August 1943 - ARCHIVED COPY (live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-10-05; Wayback capture 2025-12-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- WDR-32 Joseph Hewes narrative (paragraphs 1-3), Discussion paragraphs 28-29, ship data block, reference list (b)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary loss account. JOSEPH HEWES (styled 'APA22' throughout the report) anchored off Fedala in 26 fathoms; at 1950 on 11 November 1942 a second torpedo struck the port side in No. 2 hold near the forward bulkhead, 10-15 feet below the waterline, rupturing both bulkheads; holds Nos. 1 and 2 filled immediately, No. 3 more slowly. 'Fireroom and engine room personnel secured auxiliary machinery and took measures to reduce steam pressure' before abandon ship; sank about 2032. Discussion: at a 26-foot draft with assumed permeability .80 the ship had a floodable length of only two compartments (margin line at main deck); transverse metacentric height about 4.4 feet loaded; she sank from progressive loss of buoyancy with more than two compartments flooded. Report data block gives 'Year Built 1931' (conflicts with DANFS/MARAD 1930 - discrepancy carried in gaps). Reference (b) is 'C.O. JOSEPH HEWES, Action report dated 16 November 1942' - the surviving commanding officer's action report, an open archival lead.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942-11-11 (event); 1943 (report)
- Population
- Crew at time of loss
- Limitations
- Primary engineering analysis of the loss; confirms the ship-specific steam plant but contains no asbestos or insulation-material information - asbestos content of the plant's insulation is era inference only. The '1931' build year in the report block is not resolved against DANFS/MARAD '1930'. Archived copy cited because the live NHHC page is dead; ibiblio HyperWar's transcription of WDR-32 was never published (link commented out in its WDR index, verified 2026-10-05).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, War Damage Report No. 50 (NAVSHIPS 50(374)), 'Destroyer Report: Torpedo and Mine Damage and Loss in Action, 17 October 1941 to 7 December 1944,' 1 May 1945 (ibiblio HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- WDR-50, USS Hambleton (DD455) narrative, paragraph 3-2
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Hambleton (DD-455) narrative records: 'At 1952, a torpedo, fired by a submarine and apparently intended for the transport JOSEPH HEWES (APA22)*, crossed the bow of that vessel and struck HAMBLETON on the port side in way of the forward engineroom' - footnoted to Buships War Damage Report No. 32. Corroborates the WDR-32 loss sequence and the post-loss 'APA22' styling, from an independent BuShips report.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942-11-11
- Limitations
- Neighboring-ship damage record; names this hull only as the torpedo's intended target. No asbestos or material content for either vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-03
-
[5]MARAD Vessel History Database, JOSEPH HEWES (AP-50/APA-22), vessel detail 12579 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD detail 12579 data fields and Shipwreck Information block; detail 7913 (Excalibur) for merchant-era fields
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD carries the hull as 'JOSEPH HEWES (AP-50/APA-22)': Year Built 1930; Shipyard New York Shipbuilding Corporation; length 450 ft; beam 61.5 ft; displacement (lightweight) 14,100 tons; fate 'Sunk - Torpedo'; shipwreck record: incident date November 11, 1942, cause 'Torpedoed by German submarine U-173,' use at loss 'Troop Transportation,' location 'Off Casablanca, Morocco,' owner/operator United States Navy, WWII mission. The companion merchant card (EXCALIBUR, detail 7913) gives Year Built 1930 and 9,359 gross tons but lists shipyard as 'New York Naval Yard' (conflicts with DANFS and MARAD-12579; treated as a MARAD data error - see gaps) and Official Number 230363 vs 230365 on the naval card (both carried in gaps, neither asserted).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942
- Limitations
- Government database of record for name history and fate; contains no construction-material or asbestos information. Internal discrepancies (shipyard field on the merchant card; official numbers between cards) are carried as gaps, not resolved here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-04
-
[6]NavSource Naval History, Transport (AP) Photo Index, USS Joseph Hewes (AP-50), page 09/22/22050 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/22/22050, class block, specifications block, final disposition line, merchant-service photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource records: built in 1930 as SS Excalibur at New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden; acquired 8 January 1942; commissioned 1 May 1942, Capt. Robert McLanahan Smith Jr. in command; 'Struck from the Naval Register, 7 December 1942'; one battle star; speed 15 knots; propulsion 'steam turbines.' Page is styled 'Joseph Hewes Class Transport.' Photo captions document the 1 December 1941 boarding of the neutral SS Excalibur west of Gibraltar by HMS Harvester (Imperial War Museum Admiralty Official Collection, photos A 6922 and A 6924) and a Navy diagram from War Damage Report No. 32 whose plate identifies the ship as APA-22.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer transcription site, not an official source; the stricken date and specifications are transcribed from official records but were not independently verified against the Naval Vessel Register (a 1942 loss predates NVR coverage conventions). Used here as the only located source for the stricken date, the 15-knot speed, and the class-name styling - each flagged accordingly. IWM photo numbers are as captioned on NavSource; the IWM collection itself was not queried.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-05
-
[7]uboat.net, 'USS Joseph Hewes (AP 50) (American Troop transport) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII' [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net allied ships hit record, ship/2407
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Specialist wreck record: position 33 deg 40 min N, 7 deg 30 min W (grid DJ 2519); convoy UGF-1; Task Group 34.9 (Center Attack Group, Western Naval Task Force); complement 358 with '100 dead and 258 survivors'; attacker U-173 (Kptlt. Hans-Adolf Schweichel), torpedoes fired 19.48-19.56 on 11 November 1942, hitting Joseph Hewes (sunk) and damaging Winooski (AO-38) and Hambleton (DD-455); sank 20.32; 'Completed in December 1930 as steam passenger ship Excalibur for American Export Lines Inc, New York'; Master Capt. Robert M. Smith.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942-11-11
- Population
- Complement 358 plus embarked troops and 30 casualties received from the beach
- Limitations
- Specialist reference work, not an official source; used for convoy/position/attacker details and the casualty figure, which conflicts with DANFS ('several seamen') - discrepancy carried in gaps, not resolved. Tonnage (9,359 tons) is gross register tonnage, not displacement; not asserted alongside DANFS displacement without that distinction.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-06
-
[8]USNA Virtual Memorial Hall, 'CAPT Robert M. Smith, Jr., USN' (USNA Class of 1919); corroborated by Military Times Hall of Valor recipient 56465 [other_primary]
- Locator
- USNA Virtual Memorial Hall honoree page; valor.militarytimes.com recipient 56465
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Captain Robert McLanahan Smith Jr. (USNA 1919), lost with his ship, was posthumously awarded the Silver Star; the citation begins 'The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Captain Robert McLanahan Smith, Jr. (NSN: 0-34537), United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity...'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942
- Limitations
- Memorial databases transcribing the award citation; the underlying award record (Bureau of Naval Personnel) was not pulled. Personnel detail only - no bearing on asbestos assessment.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-07
-
[9]DANFS, 'John Penn' (AP-51) and 'Harry Lee' (AP-17), Naval History and Heritage Command - sister-ship entries [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS John Penn (reclassification sentence); DANFS Harry Lee (conversion yard and redesignation sentences); WDR-32 title block and Plate I caption; MARAD detail 12579 title; NavSource 09/22/22050 class styling
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- She never served as APA-22. DANFS dates the mass AP-to-APA reclassification twice: John Penn (AP-51, formerly Excambion, launched 1931 by New York Shipbuilding for American Export Lines) was 'Reclassified APA-23 on 1 February 1943,' and Harry Lee (AP-17, the passenger and cargo steamship Exochorda completed 1931 at Camden by New York Shipbuilding for American Export Lines, converted at Tietjen & Lang Dry Dock Co., Hoboken, N.J.) was 'redesignated as an attack transport, APA-10, 1 February 1943' - nearly three months after Joseph Hewes sank. APA-22 was nonetheless applied to this hull retrospectively: WDR-32 (August 1943) styles her 'JOSEPH HEWES (APA22)' throughout, the MARAD card carries 'AP-50/APA-22,' and the WDR-32 plate caption identifies her as APA-22. The canonical record is AP-50; 'APA-22 Joseph Hewes' in any upstream index refers to this same hull and consolidates here. APA-22 was never reissued to another hull. The four American Export Lines sisters (Excalibur, Exeter, Excambion, Exochorda) all went to the Navy: WDR-32's data blocks confirm Edward Rutledge (APA24) as former Exeter with matching dimensions; the 'Harry Lee class' vs 'Joseph Hewes class' lead-ship styling differs between sources (NavSource styles this hull's page 'Joseph Hewes Class Transport') and is flagged as a review item, not asserted as settled.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Limitations
- Correction/consolidation row: the 1 February 1943 reclassification date is DANFS-attested for the two sisters; no located official document assigns APA-22 to this hull before her loss - the retrospective application is documented by WDR-32/MARAD styling, and the reasoning (lost before reclassification) follows from the dates. The '4 Aces' marketing name for the four sisters appears in secondary literature, not in the official sources located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-08
-
[10]Corn JK, Starr J, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987), PMID 3555021 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed abstract, PMID 3555021; NavSource propulsion line; WDR-32 paragraph 3
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference for the asbestos-relevant plant aboard: a 1930 steam passenger-cargo liner (steam turbines confirmed by NavSource; fireroom/engine-room steam plant confirmed ship-specific by WDR-32) converted to a Navy transport in early 1942 carried boiler and steam-line lagging, block insulation, gaskets, packing, and accommodation insulation typical of the period - materials commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber in that era. Corn & Starr document the extensive use of asbestos as fireproofing and insulating material in 1940s shipbuilding, with WWII industrial expansion producing an unprecedented rise in asbestos utilization; her January-May 1942 conversion was a wartime yard job in that documented peak-use period.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1929-1930 (build); 1942 (conversion); 1987 (study)
- Population
- Construction and conversion yard trades (1930 build; 1942 conversion); engine/fireroom crew
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only. Corn & Starr addresses WWII shipbuilding generally; it does not name this hull, this conversion, or any specific product aboard. The conversion yard and scope are undocumented (open gap), and no ship-specific material record exists or can exist for a hull lost November 1942. Never to be read as 'asbestos documented aboard this hull.'
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-09
-
[11]Atlas shipyard registry (shipyards.json), yard_id new-york-shipbuilding, New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, NJ [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json, yard_id new-york-shipbuilding, asbestos_products_documented and evidence rows
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The builder is a documented asbestos-exposure yard in the Atlas shipyard registry: litigation-derived product identifications include Pabco Six-Ply Super Caltemp Block (15% chrysotile), Ehret 85% magnesia insulation, Johns-Manville Transite panels (10-30% asbestos), Bakelite panels (30-40% asbestos), asbestos gaskets, packing materials, asbestos-coated welding rods (5-15% asbestos), ebonized asbestos lumber, wire insulation (75-85% chrysotile), and felt insulation (5-50% asbestos), with cohort findings for yard electricians and ship repair workers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1930 (build era); yard evidence mostly WWII-era and later
- Population
- Yard trades (context)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation, mostly WWII-era and later; it contextualizes the 1929-1930 build but does not prove the content of materials installed in this hull. No product identification ties to this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-10
-
[12]CourtListener API v4 search and document retrieval, 2026-10-05: In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), MDL No. 875 (JPML), doc. 8024-3 (filed 2011-11-04); Savoie v. Pennsylvania General Insurance Co., No. 2:15-cv-01220 (E.D. La.), doc. 137-1 (filed 2017-04-26) - see search_ledger sl-rows 10-18 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-10 through sl-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-18; MDL-875 doc. 8024-3 pages 23 and 46 (OCR); Savoie doc. 137-1 page 74 of 90
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation names this hull. Base searches (exact name and hull number, opinion and docket indexes) returned zero hits referring to USS Joseph Hewes (AP-50). Every vessel match is the other ship of the name, USS Joseph Hewes (DE-1078/FF-1078), a 1971-1994 Knox-class frigate: (1) an MDL-875 exhibit (doc. 8024-3, a transferred-case civil docket sheet for Young v. Georgia-Pacific Corp., No. 3:11-cv-05154-NC, N.D. Cal.) whose plaintiff ship list includes 'JOSEPH HEWES (DE-1078)' among DE-1054 through DE-1097 escorts - a pleading-stage allegation list for the frigate, not a finding, and not this hull; (2) a Savoie exhibit (doc. 137-1, 'Vessels Constructed at Avondale Since Founding of Company') listing 'DE1078 JOSEPH HEWES, 35,000 HP Steam Turbine, DE 1078 Class Ocean Escort Vessel, U.S. Navy' - an insurance-coverage exhibit about the Avondale-built frigate. Remaining name hits are collisions with the 18th-century signer (Harper v. Hall x2, N.C. 2022; United States v. Newak, A.F.C.M.R. 1982; the 2004 OLC Second Amendment opinion), the Joseph Hewes Hotel of Edenton (Harding v. Southern Loan & Insurance, N.C. 1940), a law-firm partner named Joseph Hewes Reinhardt (United States v. Kaplan, D. Mass. 1992), and a military appellant (Wirth v. Hewes, C.M.A. 1971). 'AP-50' hits are bankruptcy adversary-proceeding and form/docket-number collisions; the 'AP-50 asbestos' opinion variant returned zero.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- Searched 2026-10-05; underlying filings 1991-2025
- Limitations
- Absence of located dockets does not prove no claim was ever filed (pre-electronic records, offline PACER gaps); it establishes that the searchable CourtListener opinion and RECAP indexes contain no case naming this hull. The DE-1078 matches are pleading/exhibit-stage material for a different hull - classified down per litigation-stage discipline and excluded from this record's exposure evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-11
-
[13]Karrels, 'Reconstructing a Wartime Journey: The Vollard-Fabiani Collection, 1940-1949,' International Journal of Cultural Property 22(4):505-526 (2015); NavSource 09/22/22050 merchant-service photo captions (IWM A 6922/A 6924) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DOI 10.1017/S0940739115000296 landing page; NavSource 09/22/22050 photo captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Merchant-career context: Excalibur served American Export Lines' New York-Mediterranean route from early 1931 (completed December 1930 per uboat.net). In August 1940 she carried the Duke and Duchess of Windsor from Lisbon to Bermuda (they continued to Nassau on Lady Somers) - the crossing is widely documented in secondary literature including the peer-reviewed cultural-property journal cited. On 1 December 1941, six days before Pearl Harbor, the neutral liner was stopped west of Gibraltar and boarded by HMS Harvester for a papers inspection, documented by Imperial War Museum photographs A 6922 and A 6924.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1931-1941
- Population
- Merchant passengers and crew
- Limitations
- The Windsor crossing rests on secondary/peer-reviewed literature; the Karrels article was confirmed to exist (DOI resolves) but its full text was not read, and no official passenger record was located - verification partial. The IWM photographs are cited as captioned on NavSource; the IWM collection was not queried directly. Precise merchant dates (laid down 4 November 1929; launched 5 August 1930; maiden voyage 24 January 1931) appear only in wiki/commercial-tier sources and are carried in gaps, not asserted here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-12
-
[14]Archival leads identified but not retrieved (see search_ledger sl-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-19) [other_primary]
- Locator
- WDR-32 reference list item (b)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Open primary-source leads: (1) C.O. JOSEPH HEWES action report dated 16 November 1942 (WDR-32 reference (b)) - the surviving officers' firsthand account of the sinking, NARA RG 38; (2) BuShips conversion work orders and correspondence for the January-May 1942 conversion, NARA RG 19 - the only plausible source for conversion yard, scope, and materials; (3) deck logs for the May-November 1942 commission; (4) IWM photographs A 6922/A 6924 (December 1941 boarding) direct from the Imperial War Museum.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942
- Limitations
- Leads only - none retrieved; no claim in this record rests on them. The conversion yard and materials question is unanswerable from public web sources located and stays in gaps pending archival work.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-hewes-ap50-13