Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Kaweah' (AO-15) (page published 2015-07-28) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full entry incl. spec line. Live NHHC page returned HTTP 503 on 2026-09-24; text read from Wayback capture 2025-12-09: https://web.archive.org/web/20251209191436/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/k/kaweah.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Kaweah (AO-15), Kaweah class: launched 1919 by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, under U.S. Shipping Board (USSB) account; acquired by the Navy 1921-10-20; commissioned 1921-12-28; after a 1922 cruise to the Canal Zone and Gulf of Mexico, decommissioned 1922-08-15 at Norfolk. Recommissioned 1940-12-16, Comdr. Charles B. McVay in command. 1941: oil runs between East Coast and Caribbean ports; arrived Argentia, Newfoundland 1941-11-17 for North Atlantic duty; next 14 months operated between Iceland, Greenland, and Boston supplying gasoline and diesel oil; departed New York 1943-01-13 for Casablanca with diesel oil, returning 1943-03-12, and made another round trip to Casablanca in April 1943; resumed fueling at Halifax 1943-06-26; convoy fueling between New England and Iceland for the rest of 1943; thereafter North American coast, Greenland, and Caribbean with aviation fuel and diesel oil. Arrived Hampton Roads 1945-09-26; decommissioned at Norfolk 1945-11-16; transferred to the WSA 1946-05-28 and sold to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, for scrapping. DANFS spec line: dp. 14,450; l. 446'; b. 58'2"; dr. 25'6"; s. 11 k.; cpl. 252; a. 2 5", 2 3", 2 .50 cal., 2 .30 cal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1919-1946
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, commissioning periods, operating areas, and disposition. DANFS contains no asbestos, insulation, boiler-material, overhaul-scope, or crew-health statement; this row supports no asbestos claim. Complement (252) is a DANFS spec-line figure with no date attached; it does not establish how many men served aboard over the ship's career. Read from an archive capture because the live page was down; the capture is the NHHC page itself, not a transcription.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaweah-ao15-01
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[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - KAWEAH (AO-15), Ship History Detail 6051 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 6051, vessel information table and tabs (Milestones, Status Cards, Documents, Plans all empty)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record KAWEAH (AO-15) (1919): Official Number 219154; shipyard William Cramp and Sons Shipbuilding Company; general type tanker (crude oil); MARAD type 'USSB 1128'; length 430.00 ft; beam 58.00 ft; gross tons 7,253; immersion summer 14,450 tons, lightweight 4,250 tons; fate 'Sold - No Further Info'; mission World War II. No historical narrative, milestones, status cards, documents, or plans are posted for this vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1919-1946
- Limitations
- Government record for the hull's USSB/MARAD identity and fate. The 430-ft length is MARAD's figure and differs from DANFS 446 ft (see correction row); MARAD does not say which measurement it uses. No custody milestones, status card, or materials information is posted; this row supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaweah-ao15-02
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory Detail 6051, imagery files Kaweah_6051_016.jpg and Kaweah_6051_019.jpg (Norfolk Navy Yard photo serials 2847(42), 2850(42), 1942-03-25) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/images/Kaweah_6051_016.jpg ; https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/images/Kaweah_6051_019.jpg (captions burned into the prints)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory imagery for this hull includes a captioned U.S. Navy photo series showing U.S.S. Kaweah at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va., dated 1942-03-25 (captions read 'Looking for'd. from bridge', photo serial 2847(42); 'View of bow from above', photo serial 2850(42)). The photos show the ship alongside at the yard with deck guns and gun tubs fitted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-03-25
- Limitations
- Places the ship at Norfolk Navy Yard on 1942-03-25 only. The photos do not say what work was done, how long the ship stayed, or whether engine-room, boiler, or insulation work was part of it; nothing about asbestos can be read from them. Only two of the 16 posted images were examined caption-by-caption; the other images' captions are not relied on (one image failed to download).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaweah-ao15-03
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[4]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Kaweah (AO-15) (page last updated 2020-11-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Specification block, disposition lines, and CO list. Live site unreachable on 2026-09-24 (DNS failure/gateway 502); read from Wayback capture 2024-05-27: https://web.archive.org/web/20240527082608/http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/19/19015.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Online (volunteer photo archive) service-ship page for USS Kaweah (AO-15) reports details not in DANFS: struck from the Naval Register 1945-11-28; sold 1946-05-28 to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, for $15,500.00 (PD-X-145); withdrawn from the James River Reserve Fleet and delivered to Boston Metals 1946-06-11; scrapping completed 1947-07-01. Propulsion: one Cramp triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine, three single-end boilers at 190 psi saturated, single propeller, 2,800 shp; ship's service generators two 75 kW and one 60 kW turbo-driven 120 V DC. Complement 15 officers and 237 enlisted. Commanding officers: LCDR O. Bevelagua (1921-22), CDR Charles B. McVay III (1940-42), CDR Theodore G. Haff (1942-Jan 1943), CDR Herbert B. Fluck (Jan 1943-Dec 1944), CDR Delwyn Hyatt (Dec 1944-Nov 1945).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1919-1947
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not an official source. It is used here only as a lead and cross-check: its disposition dates, sale price, and propulsion/generator details are not confirmed by DANFS or MARAD, so none of them is treated as verified. The 15 + 237 complement matches the DANFS total of 252. Boilers and steam propulsion are recorded as plant description only and are NOT evidence of asbestos aboard this hull. No asbestos information on the page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaweah-ao15-04
-
[5]Comparison of DANFS 'Kaweah' (AO-15); MARAD ShipHistory Detail 6051; NavSource AO-15 page [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS spec line and narrative; MARAD vessel table (https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/6051); NavSource specification block and CO list (https://web.archive.org/web/20240527082608/http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/19/19015.htm)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies logged, not resolved: (a) displacement - DANFS 'dp. 14,450' (matches MARAD summer immersion 14,450 tons) vs NavSource 14,950 t full load and 4,410 t light (MARAD lightweight 4,250); (b) length - DANFS and NavSource 446 ft vs MARAD 430.00 ft (likely overall vs. between-perpendiculars, not stated by either source); (c) armament - DANFS 2 5", 2 3", 2 .50 cal., 2 .30 cal. vs NavSource two 5"/38, four twin 40mm, two .50 and two .30 cal. (likely different dates of fit; neither source dates its list); (d) first commanding officer spelled 'Beuilagua' in DANFS vs 'Bevelagua' in NavSource; (e) 1940 recommissioning - DANFS and the NavSource event line give 1940-12-16 while the NavSource CO list starts McVay on 1940-12-15; 1940-12-16 adopted per DANFS; (f) stricken date 1945-11-28 appears only in NavSource, not DANFS or MARAD.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1919-1946
- Limitations
- Records where the sources disagree; the comparison itself is verified, but no discrepancy is resolved by a controlling primary document except (e), where DANFS is adopted. None of these points concerns asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaweah-ao15-05
-
[6]Corn, J.K., and Starr, J., 'Historical perspective on asbestos: policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987), PMID 3555021 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract (PubMed 3555021, retrieved via PubMed on 2026-09-24)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents extensive use of asbestos as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding in the 1940s, when World War II industrial expansion drove an unprecedented rise in asbestos use, with asbestos disease later affecting thousands of shipyard workers exposed in the 1940s and postwar period. This hull was recommissioned in December 1940 and was photographed at Norfolk Navy Yard in March 1942 (ev-03), i.e., it was in naval service during the era the study covers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII-era shipyard workers and ship crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level scholarship about 1940s shipbuilding generally. It does not name this ship or the Kaweah class. The hull was built in 1919, before the era the study describes, so the study does not speak to her original construction. It does not show that asbestos was installed on, removed from, or disturbed aboard this hull, and it says nothing about quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation. Context only: this is not a ship-specific finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaweah-ao15-06
-
[7]CourtListener (Free Law Project) API v4 via the authenticated CourtListener connector - opinion, RECAP docket, and RECAP document searches (see search_ledger) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kaweah-ao15-05 through sl-uss-kaweah-ao15-09
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation located for this hull. CourtListener opinion searches for "USS Kaweah" / "U.S.S. Kaweah" / "Kaweah (AO-15)" / "Kaweah AO-15" returned zero results; "Kaweah" AND asbestos (opinions) returned zero; "AO-15" AND asbestos/mesothelioma returned one non-maritime Texas construction case. "Kaweah" with ship/vessel/navy terms returned 10 opinions, all name collisions (Kaweah River / Tulare County water, citrus, bankruptcy, and watercraft-tort cases, plus a 1914 Alabama opinion that predates the ship's 1919 launch). RECAP: 441 dockets match "Kaweah" (dominated by Kaweah Delta / Kaweah Health hospital cases); the 34 RECAP documents matching "Kaweah" AND asbestos/mesothelioma were all reviewed and are collisions (hospital malpractice removals, Tulare County removals, and creditor mailing lists in the Motors Liquidation, PG&E, Rite Aid, Ditech, Steward, and Nuo bankruptcies where 'Kaweah' is an address or entity name).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- A negative search result, not a merits ruling. CourtListener does not hold most state-court asbestos dockets, bankruptcy-trust claim files, or unpublished trial-level filings, and a complaint could name 'Kaweah' in a way the full-text index did not capture. This row does not establish that no one was exposed aboard, and it does not defeat any claim or eligibility question. The name 'Kaweah' collides heavily with a California hospital district and river, so the bare-name docket searches were reviewed by hand rather than counted as hits.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaweah-ao15-07
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[8]Batch-1861 search ledger (this record): DANFS; MARAD ShipHistory 6051; NavSource AO-15; CourtListener opinion/RECAP searches; NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 24 and RG 19 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kaweah-ao15-01 through sl-uss-kaweah-ao15-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement record, hazmat disclosure, overhaul work order naming insulation, or docketed case naming this hull was found in the sources searched. DANFS, the MARAD ShipHistory record (no milestones, status cards, documents, or plans posted), and the NavSource cross-check contain no asbestos or insulation statement. The ship was scrapped by Boston Metals Co. in 1946-47 (DANFS; completion date per NavSource only), so no hull survives to survey.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Not finding a public record does not prove the ship carried no asbestos. A 1919 steam tanker in naval service 1940-45 is the kind of ship where asbestos-containing insulation and packing were common, but that is an era inference, not a ship-proven fact. This row establishes neither presence nor absence, and it neither establishes nor defeats any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaweah-ao15-08
-
[9]NARA Guide to Federal Records: Record Group 24 (sec. 24.2.2 Logs; 24.2.3 Muster rolls) and Record Group 19 (sec. 19.8.1 General records; 19.12 Still pictures) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 24 secs. 24.2.2-24.2.3; RG 19 guide https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html secs. 19.8.1, 19.12; NARA deck-log guidance https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead (not retrieved; needs research-room work or a paid reproduction order, and no spend is authorized): NARA RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel) holds logs of U.S. naval ships and stations 1801-1946 and 1945-61, and microfilm muster rolls of ships 1939-71; Kaweah's 1921-22 and 1940-45 deck logs and her 1940-45 muster rolls would sit in these series. NARA RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships, 1940-66 successor to the Bureau of Construction and Repair) holds general correspondence 1940-45 and 1946-66 and a Bureau of Ships general photographic file; any 1940 reactivation or 1942 Norfolk Navy Yard work correspondence, and the original prints of the 1942 Norfolk photo series, would be looked for there.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1921-1946 records
- Limitations
- Maps record groups only; no box-level search was done. Whether these series hold any Kaweah-specific asbestos, insulation, or yard-work documents is unknown until someone surveys them. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kaweah-ao15-09