Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet 380-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: Kailua; hull IX-71; unclassified miscellaneous vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-kailua-ix71-pkt-380-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Kailua (IX-71)' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text and characteristics line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records: Kailua (IX-71), formerly Dickenson, launched 1923 by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester, Pa.; acquired by the Navy 19 May 1942 on a bare-boat basis; commissioned 5 May 1943, Lt. C. R. Bower in command; departed Pearl Harbor 15 May 1943 for the Service Force, 7th Fleet; arrived Pago Pago 25 May 1943; at Milne Bay, New Guinea, from June 1943 for about a year laying cables, ASW nets, and buoys; returned to Pearl Harbor 4 July 1944 for similar services for the rest of the war; decommissioned at Pearl Harbor 29 October 1945 and 'later sunk intentionally.' DANFS characteristics: dp. 1,411; l. 189'9"; b. 30'; dr. 15'9"; s. 9.8 k.; cpl. 61; a. 1-3", 4-.50 cal. mg., 2 dct.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1923-1946
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history establishing identity, acquisition, service, and disposal. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, crew-exposure, or abatement information; supports no asbestos claim. DANFS does not state the sinking date or the stricken date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kailua-ix71-01
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[3]Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. hull construction list (shipbuildinghistory.com, T. Colton): hull 57, official no. 222822, Dickenson, supply ship for Com. Pac. Cable; plus Independence Seaport Museum finding aid for Sun Shipbuilding records (ISM 84.76) listing Contract number 57: S.S. Dickenson [other_primary]
- Locator
- Sun hull list row for hull 57; UPenn/Philadelphia Area Archives finding aid ISM_84.76, Drawer 1 Folder 5 and Oversized 1 (57-700A-B)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Sun Shipbuilding yard list records hull 57 as Dickenson for Commercial Pacific Cable Co., a supply ship, U.S. official number 222822, laid down 16 November 1922, launched 17 February 1923, completed/delivered 26 April 1923, with the note 'Later Kailua 1942 ... sunk as target 1946.' The Philadelphia Area Archives finding aid for the Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company records (Independence Seaport Museum, ISM 84.76) independently confirms Contract number 57 as S.S. Dickenson, including a general-arrangement plan dated 14 September 1922.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1922-1946
- Limitations
- shipbuildinghistory.com is a compiled shipyard construction list (secondary compilation from yard records), not the yard record itself; the ISM finding aid confirms the contract exists but the drawings were not inspected. Completion date 26 April 1923 conflicts with a secondary-source delivery date of 4 May 1923 (unresolved - see gaps). Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kailua-ix71-02
-
[4]University of Hawaii / NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries announcement, 'Intact ghost ship discovered off the coast of Oahu' (2014-12-05); corroborated by HURL Maritime Heritage Gallery artifact page SBB-27 and the specialist cable-ship history atlantic-cable.com CS Dickenson page (register dimensions, cable gear, 1946-01-30 total-loss declaration) [other_primary]
- Locator
- UH news release body; HURL Maritime Heritage Gallery SBB-27 artifact table; atlantic-cable.com/Cableships/Dickenson
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- UH/NOAA announcement: Dickenson was launched in Chester, Pennsylvania, in early 1923 for the Commercial Pacific Cable Co.; arrived in Hawaii and began work July 1923; repaired cable and carried supplies serving the remote stations at Midway and Fanning Island 1923-1941; chartered by Cable and Wireless Ltd. in 1941 to evacuate company employees from Fanning Island and arrived at Pearl Harbor with evacuees on the morning of 7 December 1941; chartered by the U.S. Navy and entered service as USS Kailua (IX-71) servicing cable and submarine nets in the South Pacific; 'sunk as a target by submarine torpedo fire on February 7, 1946'; the wreck was found in 2013 in 2,000 feet of water nearly 20 miles off Oahu, upright, with ship's wheel in place and no observed torpedo damage. atlantic-cable.com adds register dimensions (174.3 ft x 30.1 ft x 21.8 ft, 831 GRT), cable outfit (one 20-ft-diameter x 8-ft cable tank, modified cargo-winch cable gear, two 18-in bow sheaves, 12-passenger accommodation, two cargo holds), and that the ship was declared a total loss 30 January 1946 before sinking 7 February 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1923-2014
- Limitations
- Institutional press release plus specialist (non-government) cable-history site; HURL gallery self-flags approximations. The 'sunk by torpedo' framing is the institutional account, while the same sources' dive observations found no torpedo damage - mechanism unresolved (see correction row). No asbestos, materials, or exposure information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kailua-ix71-03
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[5]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Kailua (IX-71) page (specifications, commanding officers, awards, stricken date) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource IX-71 page, Specifications block, Struck line, Commanding Officers table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource records for IX-71: struck from the Naval Register 19 December 1946 (ten months after the February 1946 sinking); propulsion one vertical triple-expansion steam engine with two Scotch boilers (185 psi) and a single propeller, 9 knots trial, NSFO fuel capacity 1,300 bbls; complement 7 officers + 54 enlisted; wartime armament one 3"/50 mount, four .50-cal machine guns, two depth-charge tracks; call sign NXPW; awards American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal; commanding officers LT Carl R. Bower (5 May 1943), LT Charles A. Markham (30 Sep 1944), LT Julian L. Peabody (Jan 1945), ENS Arthur J. Reimer (27-29 Oct 1945); assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, Service Squadron Seven.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Naval crew, 1943-1945 (61 complement)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive drawing on registers and contributors - propulsion, complement itemization, and the 19 December 1946 stricken date were not independently verified against the Naval Vessel Register (no NVR detail page exists for this pre-1987 disposal) or primary registers; treated as partial verification. 'Service Squadron Seven' vs DANFS 'Service Force of the 7th Fleet' is a naming-level difference, not a conflict. No asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kailua-ix71-04
-
[6]Delgado, J.P., Van Tilburg, H.K., Varmer, O., Kerby, T., 'Rediscovery of USS Kailua (IX-71) Ex-SS Dickenson,' Journal of Maritime Archaeology 19(4):619-637 (December 2024), DOI 10.1007/s11457-024-09422-6 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract, Journal of Maritime Archaeology volume 19, pages 619-637
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed wreck site study: the former USS Kailua (IX-71), ex-SS Dickenson, rests on the seabed off Oahu in the Pearl Harbor defensive zone; the wreck is a highly preserved artifact of early-to-mid-twentieth-century service as a cable ship for laying and maintaining telegraphic cables and as a vessel taken into military service during WWII, and a rare surviving example of the specialized cable-ship type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2013-2024 (survey/publication); 1923-1946 (subject period)
- Limitations
- Verification is at abstract level - full text is subscription-access and was not retrieved; no asbestos, insulation, or materials assessment appears in the abstract and none is asserted. Supports the wreck's identity, condition, and significance only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kailua-ix71-05
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[7]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology 28:9-16 (January 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- J Ind Hyg Toxicol 1946;28:9-16; PubMed record PMID 21016030
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- USPHS industrial-hygiene survey of two Government Navy yards and two Navy contract yards documents that an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels of the WWII era was amosite asbestos, and that asbestos cloth and asbestos cement were likewise used; pipe coverers' dusty operations produced measurable asbestos dust exposure and asbestosis cases. Establishes that asbestos insulation was standard material in steamship construction during the period in which this vessel received its 1942-43 Navy conversion and wartime service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- WWII construction era; article published 1946
- Population
- Pipe coverers and construction trades at four surveyed yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era/program-level documentation of naval-vessel construction practice - does not name this hull, does not address 1923 commercial construction at Sun Shipbuilding, and does not establish that asbestos was or is aboard this vessel, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kailua-ix71-06
-
[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
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era of this vessel's Navy acquisition, conversion, and service - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. The ship's original 1923 commercial construction predates the study's WWII scope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kailua-ix71-07
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[9]Batch-4864 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC; Naval Vessel Register; Sun hull construction list; UH/NOAA wreck announcement; HURL Maritime Heritage Gallery SBB-27; Delgado et al. 2024 (J. Maritime Archaeology); NavSource IX-71; atlantic-cable.com; NARA catalog (RG 24 muster rolls); CourtListener opinion and RECAP/docket searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kailua-ix71-01 through sl-uss-kailua-ix71-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials assessment, or docketed case naming USS Kailua, IX-71, or the cable ship Dickenson (U.S. Official No. 222822) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The 2013 wreck survey and 2024 peer-reviewed site study document hull condition and identity only - no materials assessment.
- 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 - the ship's 1923 steam construction and 1942-43 Navy conversion fall squarely within eras of standard asbestos marine insulation, and the intact un-stripped wreck may retain era materials. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kailua-ix71-08
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[10]NARA RG 24 file unit 'Kailua - Muster Rolls' (NAID 120178794, series 594996, 1939-1949), 189 digitized images; Independence Seaport Museum, Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company records, ISM 84.76 - Contract 57 S.S. Dickenson drawings (Philadelphia Area Archives finding aid) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/120178794; findingaids.library.upenn.edu/records/ISM_84.76 (Drawer 1 Folder 5; Oversized 1, 57-700A-B)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Hull-specific archival material survives and is partially digitized: (a) NARA Record Group 24 muster-roll file unit for Kailua contains 189 digitized images spanning the ship's Navy service (earliest image dated 31 December 1942), via the Ancestry-digitized WWII muster-roll series - crew rosters establishing who served aboard, not materials records; (b) the Sun Shipbuilding records at Independence Seaport Museum include Contract 57 (S.S. Dickenson) drawings - a general-arrangement plan dated 14 September 1922 and a dimension-annotated plan - the surviving builder documentation for this hull; (c) WWII deck logs for IX-71 were not located in digitized NARA holdings in this search.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (muster rolls); 1922 (drawings)
- Population
- Crew listed in muster rolls, 1942-1945
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - muster rolls enumerate personnel (relevant to who was aboard, not what they were exposed to); the ISM drawings were not inspected and their materials annotations are unknown; deck logs may exist undigitized at NARA College Park. No asbestos determination is possible from catalog records alone.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kailua-ix71-09
-
[11]HURL Maritime Heritage Gallery artifact page SBB-27 (loss-date field '2-Jul-1946', 'no sign of torpedo damage,' ~10 miles off Barber's Point) vs UH/NOAA release ('sunk as a target by submarine torpedo fire on February 7, 1946,' ~20 miles off Oahu) and atlantic-cable/shipscribe (declared total loss 1946-01-30, sunk 1946-02-07); NavSource stricken 19 December 1946 [other_primary]
- Locator
- HURL SBB-27 artifact table ('Lost', 'Circumstance of Loss', 'Artifact Condition', 'Additional Information' fields); UH news release; atlantic-cable Dickenson page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Discrepancies resolved or logged: (a) sinking date - the preponderant record (UH/NOAA, atlantic-cable citing shipscribe, NavSource, NavalCoverMuseum) is 7 February 1946; the HURL gallery's 'Lost: 2-Jul-1946' field is treated as a data-entry artifact (consistent with a 2/7<->7/2 format collision), not adopted; (b) mechanism - institutional accounts say torpedoed as a target, while the discovering team observed no torpedo damage on the intact hull and assess scuttling as more likely - the record states sinking on 1946-02-07 without asserting mechanism; (c) position - '20 miles off Oahu' (press) vs ~10 miles off Barber's Point (HURL); (d) the ship was stricken 19 December 1946, ten months after sinking - retained as sourced. A stray HURL note that 'one source shows' transfer to the USSR as 'Viborg' is uncorroborated and excluded.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1946; 2013-2015 (survey and publication)
- Limitations
- Correction row documents source-level discrepancies; the 7 February 1946 sinking date is the controlling record but the mechanism (torpedo vs scuttle) remains genuinely unresolved in the sources. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kailua-ix71-10
-
[12]CourtListener API v4 searches, 2026-09-29: opinions '"Kailua" asbestos' (4 hits, all Hawaii place-name collisions - e.g., Aana v. Pioneer Hi-Bred, Flor v. Holguin, Kienker v. Bauer, Adams v. Yokooji); opinions '"USS Kailua" OR "Kailua IX-71" OR "Kailua IX 71"' (0 results); RECAP/dockets 'Kailua' (1,710 dockets, all surname/place-name collisions - bankruptcy, forfeiture, probate; none maritime or asbestos); opinions '"Dickenson" asbestos "cable" OR "ship" OR "vessel"' (27 hits, all surname/judge-name collisions) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search queries as recorded in search_ledger sl-uss-kailua-ix71-07 through -09
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Kailua, IX-71, or the cable ship Dickenson was located in CourtListener opinion or RECAP docket indexes. Every 'Kailua' hit is a collision on the Hawaii place name or personal surname; every 'Dickenson' hit is a collision on party or judge surnames. No opinion or docketed case treats this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29 (search date)
- Limitations
- Search-index coverage only - RECAP covers dockets incompletely, state-court and asbestos-trust claims (e.g., Jones Act-era crew claims against Commercial Pacific Cable Co.) are largely outside CourtListener, and a name match is not itself evidence. Absence of located litigation does not establish that no exposure occurred or that no claim was ever filed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kailua-ix71-11