Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]research packet lh-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-joseph-m-auman-de674-pkt-lh-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, 'Joseph M. Auman (APD-117)' (NHHC; live page returns 404 - verbatim Wayback capture 2024-05-24 cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Joseph M. Auman (APD-117)', specifications block and service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 8 November 1943 as DE-674 by Consolidated Steel Co., Orange, Tex.; launched 5 February 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Bernard Tommey, aunt of the namesake; reclassified APD-117 on 17 July 1944; commissioned 25 April 1945, Lt. Comdr. H. A. Steinbach in command. Shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay; departed Norfolk 9 July 1945, reached San Diego 24 July via the Canal Zone; embarked Underwater Demolition Team No. 7 to Yoriage Beach, Shiogama, Japan for landing-beach reconnaissance; returned UDT-7 to San Diego 13 October. Departed San Diego 20 October; embarked 100 Navy passengers at Manila Bay for Samar; delivered cargo to Shanghai, China, 4 December; continued Pacific cargo/passenger runs; decommissioned Green Cove Springs, Fla., 10 July 1946; Atlantic Reserve Fleet until struck from the Navy List 12 December 1963 and sold to the government of Mexico, serving as Tehuantepec (B-5). Specifications: dp. 1,390; 306' x 37' x 12'7"; 24 k.; cpl. 204; 1x5", 6x40mm, 2 dct.; cl. Crosley. Namesake: Pvt. Joseph Martin Auman, USMC (b. Chicago 4 Jan 1922, KIA Guadalcanal 12 Nov 1942 manning a machine gun to cover a withdrawal; posthumous Navy Cross).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1963 (U.S. Navy); 1963-1989 (Mexican Navy)
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction and conversion trades, Orange TX 1943-45; crew (DANFS complement 204) plus embarked troops (up to 162)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, designation, and service history - it does not document materials, insulation, or asbestos content aboard the hull. The live NHHC page (history.navy.mil/.../joseph-si-auman-apd-117.html) returns 404 as of 2026-09-29; the Wayback capture of the NHHC page is cited. DANFS gives 'struck from the Navy List 12 December 1963'; NavSource reads 12 September 1963 - conflict carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-m-auman-de674-01
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[3]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Joseph M. Auman (APD-117) page - build/service chronology, APD specification block, commanding officers, occupation/China service windows, NHHC photo references [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource APD-117 page: chronology block, 'APD Specifications' table, awards/occupation-service table, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource archive record for this hull: Rudderow-class destroyer escort / Crosley-class high-speed transport; laid down 8 November 1943 as DE-674 at Consolidated Steel Shipbuilding Corp., Orange, TX; launched 5 February 1944; redesignated a Crosley-class high-speed transport while under construction; commissioned 25 April 1945 (LCDR Harry A. Steinbach, USNR). Assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater; Navy Occupation Service Medal 2-20 September 1945 and China Service Medal (extended) 4-19 December 1945 (photographed moored at Shanghai 4 December 1945). Decommissioned 10 July 1946 at Green Cove Springs, FL; Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group. Struck from the Naval Register 12 September 1963 per NavSource; transferred to Mexico 12 December 1963 as ARM Tehuantepec (B05); struck from the Mexican Navy 1989, sold for scrapping. APD specification block: 2 Babcock & Wilcox 'D' express boilers, 435 psi/750F; GE turbo-electric drive, 12,000 shp, 2 shafts; complement 12 officers/192 enlisted; troop accommodations 12 officers/150 enlisted; four LCVPs.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1989
- Population
- Crew and embarked troops 1945-46; Mexican Navy crew 1963-1989
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archival reference consistent with the DANFS record; secondary compilation, not an NHHC primary document. Its stricken date (12 September 1963) conflicts with DANFS (12 December 1963) - carried in gaps. The specification block is a class-standard APD data block; documents machinery, not asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-m-auman-de674-02
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[4]shipbuildinghistory.com (Colton), Consolidated Steel Orange TX yard production table - DE-674 row; destroyerhistory.org, 'Consolidated Shipbuilding, Orange, TX' yard history [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com Consolidated Orange table, DE-674 row; destroyerhistory.org Orange yard narrative
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard context: the Consolidated Steel emergency yard at Orange, Texas - expanded under a 1940 Navy crash program - built 12 Fletcher-class destroyers, approximately 102 destroyer escorts, and 27 Gearing-class destroyers, peaking near 20,000 employees; postwar it became a U.S. Steel fabricating division, later Signal International, now Westport Orange Shipyard. The yard production table lists the DE-674 'Joseph M. Auman' row (contract dated 13 June; keel 8-Nov-43; delivery 25-Apr-45) with the disposition note 'Transferred from Dravo, converted to APD 117, to Mexico as Tehuantepec (B 05) 1963, struck 1989' and a launch date of 2-May-44.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940-1945
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange yard workforce (peak ~20,000); Dravo Pittsburgh workforce if the transfer note is accurate
- Limitations
- Yard-level and secondary-compilation context only - no asbestos content in either source. Two conflicts with DANFS are carried in gaps, not resolved: (1) 'Transferred from Dravo' (matching the Wikipedia infobox 'Dravo Corporation, Pittsburgh, completed at Consolidated Steel') vs. DANFS 'laid down ... by Consolidated Steel Co., Orange'; (2) launch 2-May-44 vs. DANFS/NavSource 5-Feb-44.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-m-auman-de674-03
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[5]NavSource APD-117 specification block (propulsion plant) + Rudderow-class/Crosley-class design context (TEV turbo-electric escort type) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource APD-117 'APD Specifications' propulsion block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: the hull was completed 1943-45 with the Rudderow/Crosley turbo-electric steam plant - two 'D' express boilers at 435 psi/750F feeding GE turbo-electric machinery at 12,000 shp. A steam plant of these parameters in a 1943-45 warship would have been built to period-standard practice in which boiler casings, steam lines, valves, flanges, and machinery spaces were insulated and sealed with asbestos-containing materials (insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1989
- Population
- Construction/conversion trades 1943-45; engineering crew 1945-46; reserve-fleet caretakers 1946-63; Mexican Navy crew 1963-89; scrapping workers 1989
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-specific finding. No material specification, hull survey, or abatement record for DE-674/APD-117 was located; asbestos presence aboard this specific hull is reasonable era inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantities, locations, or present-day material (the hull was scrapped in 1989).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-m-auman-de674-04
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[6]Batch-4450 litigation sweep (see search_ledger sl-uss-joseph-m-auman-de674-07): CourtListener v4 exact-name and hull-number queries [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-joseph-m-auman-de674-07 (opinion index) and -08 (docket index)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation located. CourtListener v4 sweep 2026-09-29: "Joseph M. Auman" type=o and type=r = 0 results; "USS Joseph M. Auman" type=o = 0; "APD-117" type=o = 0; "Auman asbestos" type=o = 3 hits, all name collisions (unrelated parties: Beerman Realty v. Alloyd Asbestos Abatement; Halliday v. Beltz; Robinson Township v. Knoll - none reference this vessel). Hull-number queries "APD-117" type=r (6 hits) and "DE-674" type=o (9 hits) / type=r (47 hits) returned only string collisions - docket-number, statute, and exhibit fragments in unrelated civil, criminal, and property-registry cases; none are asbestos matters and none reference this vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Index-level sweep only: CourtListener results were screened by case name and snippet; the 47-row "DE-674" docket return was sampled against case names (all non-asbestos civil/criminal/bankruptcy matters) - individual filings were not opened. Absence of a located docket does not prove no claimant ever alleged exposure aboard this hull; state-court and non-digitized proceedings are outside the index's coverage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-joseph-m-auman-de674-05