Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet du-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-kenneth-whiting-av14-pkt-du-packet-md
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[2]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 and emergency-construction program under which this C3-hull seaplane tender was built in 1943-44 - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard naval and merchant hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or its class and 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-kenneth-whiting-av14-01
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[3]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), 'Kenneth Whiting (AV-14)' entry - live NHHC page 404s on access date; cited via Internet Archive capture of 2023-09-30 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Kenneth Whiting (AV-14)' full entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS history: launched 15 December 1943 by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co., sponsored by Mrs. Kenneth Whiting; commissioned 8 May 1944, Comdr. R. R. Lyons in command. WWII service in the Marianas (Saipan/Tanapag Harbor), Palau (Kossol Passage), Ulithi, and Okinawa from 25 April 1945, where she also served as fleet post office and housing center for aircraft survivors; on 21 June 1945 a downed kamikaze struck the ship causing minor damage and wounding five men. Postwar: occupation and China duty; Operation Magic Carpet return of 572 officers (December 1945); support forces for the Bikini atomic tests (1946); decommissioned San Pedro 29 May 1947; recommissioned San Diego 24 October 1951; Korean War service out of Iwakuni 1952-53; annual Seventh Fleet deployments including Formosa-Pescadores operations summer 1955; home port Crescent Harbor, Wash. from March 1957; decommissioned at Puget Sound 30 September 1958; struck from the Navy List 1 July 1961; sold 21 February 1962 to Union Minerals & Alloy Corp. Two battle stars for WWII.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1962
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history for identity, service, and disposal; contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation statement - supports no asbestos claim. Disposal sale date (21 Feb 1962) differs from the Shipscribe MARAD-side date (26 Feb 1962); discrepancy carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kenneth-whiting-av14-02
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[4]NHHC, Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons, Vol. 2, Appendix 10 (Patrol Squadron Korean War Deployments); also Vol. 2 Appendix 5 and Naval Aviation Appendix 12 (ships named for naval aviators) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANAS Vol. 2, Appen10.pdf (VP-731, VP-47 entries); Appen5.pdf (class list); app12.pdf (namesake)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC squadron-deployment appendix documents patrol squadrons operating with this hull in the Korean War: VP-731 deployed to NAF Iwakuni aboard Kenneth Whiting (AV-14) and Gardiners Bay (AVP-39), 1 June-8 December 1952 (PBM-5S2; combat loss of a PBM 31 July 1952, 2 KIA/2 WIA), and VP-47, 22 November 1952-31 May 1953 (PBM-5; Yellow Sea/Sea of Japan patrols). Appendix 5 confirms the four-ship class (AV-14 through AV-17) and this hull's 8 May 1944 commissioning and 1 July 1961 strike.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1952-1953
- Population
- Embarked patrol-squadron personnel (VP-731, VP-47), 1952-53
- Limitations
- Confirms embarked squadron operations aboard this specific hull; contains no asbestos or materials information - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kenneth-whiting-av14-03
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[5]NavSource Online, USS Kenneth Whiting (AV-14) photo archive page - specifications, campaign list, award list, and commanding-officer roster compiled from official Navy sources [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AV-14 index page - Specifications, Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns, awards, CO roster
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource detail supplements DANFS: laid down 19 June 1943 as a Maritime Commission type (C3) hull; Asiatic-Pacific campaign entries for Okinawa Gunto (1-11 April 1945 assault/occupation window) and 3d Fleet operations against Japan (10-25 July 1945); assignment to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.1.2 (Technical Group - Instrumentation Units) for Operation Crossroads at Bikini, July 1946; five Purple Hearts dated 21 June 1945 at Okinawa; specifications including two Foster Wheeler D-type boilers (465 psi, 765 deg F), one Allis-Chalmers steam turbine, 8,500 shp single screw; complement listed as 113 officers + 964 enlisted; final disposition sold for scrapping 21 February 1962 to Union Minerals and Alloys Corp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1962
- Limitations
- Volunteer-run archival compilation of official Navy data, not itself a primary record - used for specification-level corroboration only. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement; supports no asbestos claim. Complement figure (1,077) conflicts with the 1944 Ships' Data figure (585) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kenneth-whiting-av14-04
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[6]Port of Tacoma v. Todd Shipyards Corporation, No. 3:08-cv-05132-BHS (W.D. Wash.); order at Dkt. 58 (Sept. 30, 2008) via RECAP gov.uscourts.wawd.150014.58.0; settlement approved at Dkt. 139 (Sept. 9, 2010) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener docket 4841234; RECAP docs 58 (background order) and 139 (settlement approval)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- CERCLA/MTCA contribution litigation over the Mouth of the Hylebos Waterway (part of the Commencement Bay Nearshore/Tideflats Superfund site): the Port of Tacoma alleged that Todd's shipbuilding site - the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. ('Sea-Tac')/Todd Pacific yard that built AV-14 - disposed contaminated material and hazardous substances into the waterway during operations from 1916 through 1946, including the WWII era when this hull was built. Todd assumed responsibility for Sea-Tac's WWII-era liability for purposes of the motion and asserted the U.S. exercised control over wartime operations. Settled with Todd in 2010.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1916-1946 (alleged operations); litigation 2008-2010
- Population
- Shipyard workforce, Tacoma yard (yard-level context)
- Limitations
- Yard-level environmental litigation about sediment contamination, not asbestos and not this hull: establishes that the builder yard handled hazardous substances during WWII shipbuilding but documents no asbestos finding, no vessel attribution, and no exposure. Builder-location value: corroborates the Tacoma (Commencement Bay) site identified by Shipscribe/Navypedia as AV-14's construction yard against DANFS's 'Seattle' wording.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kenneth-whiting-av14-05
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[7]National Archives, Special List No. 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units - ship-number index entry for AV-14 [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL-44 ship-number section, AV-14 row ('AV-14 (Kenneth Whiting) 12/13/1946 2/28/1947')
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List #44 (RG-24 logbook index, by ship number) indexes one AV-14 (Kenneth Whiting) logbook covering 13 December 1946 - 28 February 1947 - the closing months of her first commission. Deck logs for the remainder of her 1944-47 and 1951-58 service exist in NARA custody (RG-24) but were not individually inventoried in this index pass.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1946-1947 (indexed span)
- Limitations
- Index-level confirmation that hull-specific logbooks exist; logbook contents not examined - a deck log records positions/weather/operations and would not normally document insulation materials anyway. Archival lead only; no asbestos implication.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kenneth-whiting-av14-06
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[8]Batch-3036 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket (RECAP) sweeps for 'Kenneth Whiting' and 'AV-14'; VA BVA decision index; NARA SL-44; MARAD ShipHistory; NHHC DANFS/DANAS [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kenneth-whiting-av14-01 through -12
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Kenneth Whiting (AV-14) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener 'Kenneth Whiting' returned only person-name collisions (a C.D. Cal. fraud plaintiff, a N.D.N.Y. defense attorney, an N.D. Cal. trial witness, a N.J. criminal defendant, and a non-vessel-specific full-text mention inside the MDL-875 master asbestos docket); 'AV-14' + asbestos returned zero opinions, and the bare 'AV-14' sweep returned nine token collisions (NC workers-comp form cites, a street address, admiralty strings) - none vessel-related. No BVA decision naming the ship was located. The hull was scrapped in 1962, before the asbestos-litigation era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 steam-plant hull is consistent with era-standard ACM. 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-kenneth-whiting-av14-07