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), 'Kaula' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Kaula' entry full text; live NHHC URL returned 404 - text verified via Wayback Machine capture 20250221230837 (https://web.archive.org/web/20250221230837/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/k/kaula.html)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: Kaula (AG-33) was built in 1938 by Henry Robb, Ltd., Leith, Scotland; acquired as Cubahama 3 January 1941 from owner Balboa Shipping Co., N.Y.; renamed Kaula 15 January; commissioned at Baltimore 22 January, Lt. Comdr. W. L. Ware in command. Departed Hampton Roads 4 February 1941 for Hawaii via Panama Canal and the West Coast, reaching Pearl Harbor 17 March; carried cargo to Hawaiian-chain islands and Johnston and Palmyra; en route to Palmyra during the 7 December 1941 attack. Operated the Hawaiian Sea Frontier to Midway and Palmyra carrying military equipment, ammunition, and Seabee contingents until sailing for the U.S. 18 May 1945, arriving Seattle 26 May. After a two-month overhaul, departed 31 July for Alaska; assigned to the 13th Naval District, steamed for the U.S. Coast Guard to Ketchikan, Juneau, Seward, Kodiak, and Dutch Harbor, returning to Seattle 18 September; operated in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca; to Blake Island Anchorage 6 December; decommissioned 14 January 1946; struck from the Naval Register 12 March; transferred to the Maritime Commission 15 July for sale to her former owner. Namesake: Ka'ula, a small rocky islet ~20 miles west-southwest of Niihau.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1938-1946
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction origin, and operational history. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information - supports no asbestos claim. Canonical NHHC URL currently 404 (standing NHHC link rot documented in BATCH-01); Wayback capture is the stable copy.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaula-ag33-01
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[2]Shipscribe (S. S. Roberts), USS Kaula (AG-33) class notes and construction/disposition tables - compiled verbatim from U.S. Navy Ships' Data / Naval Vessel Register and Bureau of Ships records; photos page cites NHHC and NARA RG-19-LCM photo numbers [other_primary]
- Locator
- AG33.html class notes, construction and disposition tables; AG33-p.html photo table (19-N numbers and sources)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled BuShips/Naval Vessel Register-derived record: 932-ton twin-screw motor cargo vessel CUBAHAMA delivered 1938 by Henry Robb Ltd., Leith, to Bahama Line, Ltd. (subsidiary of Balboa Shipping Co. and United Fruit Co.); designed banana carrier, engines aft and bridge amidships; near-sister KOPARA later became AG-50. CNO directed acquisition 23 November 1940 (probably on 13 Nov 1940 District Craft Development Board recommendation) to carry cargo to outlying 14th Naval District bases (Johnston, Palmyra). Acquired 3 Jan 1941 for limited conversion by Bethlehem SB Co., Key Highway Plant, Baltimore; early correspondence misspelled the name 'KAULAHE' and the error was welded on her stern. No guns mounted during initial conversion - armament (1-4"/50, 2-3"/50) added at Pearl Harbor 1942; hold sprinklers fitted 1942 because much of her cargo was ammunition/explosives; urgent operational need delayed completion of final conversion until 18 April 1943 (14th ND report); substitution of 4-20mm for four .50-cal machine guns authorized 27 Mar 1943 but not done by June 1945. On 26 Sep 1945 ComThirteenthND requested ~60 days' use to dump authorized ammunition at sea (ComWesSeaFron concurred). Resold to former owner through MC (WSA) 1946; merchant Cubahama 1947, Wandajean 1976; deleted from registers 1993. Data: 1,200 light / 2,250 lim tons; 266.75 ft oa; complement 89 (1944); 2 Polar Atlas 7-cyl diesels, 2 screws, 2,240 hp, 15.1 kts. Photos: 19-N-48584 (NHHC, ~21 Apr 1943); 19-N-89167/-89168/-89169 (NARA RG-19-LCM, Naval Station Seattle, 26 Jul 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1938-1993
- Population
- Construction/conversion yard workers (Robb, Leith 1938; Bethlehem Key Highway, Baltimore 1941; Pearl Harbor 1942-43; Seattle overhaul Jun-Jul 1945); wartime crew (89 complement, 1944)
- Limitations
- Compiled transcription of official Navy records by a private researcher, not itself an official publication - figures treated as reliable Navy-tabulated data but not independently re-verified against the underlying Ships' Data volumes. Establishes conversion yard, wartime modifications, diesel propulsion, and postwar disposal. Contains no asbestos or materials statement; supports no asbestos claim. 'No guns during initial conversion; armament added 1942 at Pearl Harbor' places documented yard work on the hull in 1942-43.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaula-ag33-02
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[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, Vessel History Database - KAULA (AG-33), ShipHistory Detail/12520; contrast ZIZANIA/Adario Detail/11842 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail/12520 (stub fields, vessel name history); Detail/11842 (1888 Zizania/Adario record); ShipList queries for CUBAHAMA and WANDAJEAN returned no result
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD Vessel History Database carries a stub record 'KAULA (AG-33)' (Detail/12520): Year Built placeholder '9999', all characteristics blank, General Type 'Naval Combatant / Naval Combatant Other', no milestones, no status cards, no documents. Its vessel name-history field lists 'KAULA (AG-33)' and 'ZIZANIA' - an apparent erroneous cross-link, since MARAD's own ZIZANIA record (Detail/11842) documents a different hull (1888 Ramsey & Son lighthouse tender, later USS Adario YNT-25/YTM-743) and itself cross-displays 'KAULA (AG-33)'. No MARAD record exists under CUBAHAMA or WANDAJEAN.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1946-1993
- Limitations
- Record is a bare stub - the ZIZANIA name-history entry is a data-quality anomaly, not evidence the two hulls are related; flagged so a future pass does not propagate it. Contains no asbestos, materials, milestone, or status-card data; supports no asbestos claim. Ship never entered NDRF custody (resold to former owner 1946), consistent with the empty record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaula-ag33-03
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[4]Batch-661 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC (via Wayback); shipscribe compiled record; MARAD ShipHistory Detail/12520 + ShipList queries; NavSource page (lead only); CourtListener API v4 + HTML search (blocked); general web litigation search [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kaula-ag33-01 through sl-uss-kaula-ag33-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or museum/archive materials statement naming the Kaula/Cubahama hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Litigation screening incomplete: CourtListener API v4 returned HTTP 429 (125/day anonymous quota exhausted, ~12h reset) and the HTML opinion/RECAP search was Cloudflare-blocked (HTTP 202/403) throughout the research window; a general web search located only a law-firm marketing page (freeasbestostesting.com) listing 'USS Kaula (AG-33)' in a generic auxiliary-ships roster - non-qualifying, not evidence. No docketed case naming the hull was located in reachable sources.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard. CourtListener was unreachable, so the docket check is INCOMPLETE - the ship may appear in unsearched filings or under operator/owner names (Balboa Shipping, Bahama Line, United Fruit) rather than the hull name. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaula-ag33-04
-
[5]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 scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era of this hull's documented U.S. yard work (1941 Bethlehem Key Highway conversion; 1942-43 Pearl Harbor modifications; June-July 1945 Seattle overhaul). For this hull the era inference is weaker than the fleet norm: she was Scottish-built to merchant specification in 1938 and diesel-powered, so the boiler/steam-line insulation pathway that dominates class-era inference does not apply; residual era-consistent pathways aboard such a vessel are exhaust/machinery insulation, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, deck coverings, and friction materials.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII-era U.S. shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level documentation of asbestos use in U.S. WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel. The study addresses U.S. yards - this hull was built in Scotland in 1938, before the documented U.S. wartime program, and only her 1941-45 U.S. conversion/repair work falls within the era. Does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaula-ag33-05
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[6]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel / deck logs) and RG 38 (CNO records / WWII war diaries); NHHC and NARA RG-19-LCM photo numbers per shipscribe photos page; Scottish shipbuilding archive holdings [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 24 guide https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; RG 38 guide https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/038.html ; RG 19 guide https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html ; photo numbers via https://shipscribe.com/usnaux/AG/AG33-p.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 24, 'Logs of U.S. Naval Ships and Stations' (College Park) - Kaula deck logs 1941-1946 would record shipyard periods, drills, and material events; (b) NARA RG 38 WWII war diaries for the hull's Hawaiian Sea Frontier service; (c) NHHC photo 19-N-48584 (~21 Apr 1943) and NARA RG-19-LCM photos 19-N-89167/-89168/-89169 (Naval Station Seattle, 26 Jul 1945) - configuration evidence from the documented yard periods; (d) builder's records for Henry Robb yard no. 262 (Cubahama construction/outfitting specifications) via Scottish archives (National Records of Scotland / University of Glasgow shipbuilding collections); (e) Bethlehem Key Highway Plant conversion correspondence via BuShips records (RG 19) - the 1941 'limited conversion' scope is the single most relevant undocumented event for materials assessment.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1938-1946 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; digitization status of Kaula's deck logs and war diaries unconfirmed (NARA catalog API requires key - not queried). Existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaula-ag33-06