Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]Franke K, Paustenbach DJ, 'Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: A state of the science evaluation (1900 to 1970),' Inhalation Toxicology 23(sup3):1-20 (2011) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Review article, DOI 10.3109/08958378.2011.643417; era-history sections covering 1900-1929 naval-vessel insulation practice
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed state-of-the-science review of U.S. government and Navy asbestos knowledge (1900-1970) documents that beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into the 1950s, amosite and chrysotile fibers (and to a much lesser extent crocidolite) were used extensively as insulating materials on naval ships because of their incombustibility, low thermal conductivity, light weight, and strength - a documented Navy materials practice spanning this hull's entire commissioned career (1917-1933).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1880s-1950s (era coverage); ship's U.S. Navy service 1917-1933
- Population
- U.S. Navy shipboard engineering and accommodation-space crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Institutional/era-level review - does not name this hull or any AK-series vessel; establishes Navy-wide insulating-materials practice, not installation aboard this ship. Does not establish quantity, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kittery-ak2-01
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[2]'Sailors and the Risk of Asbestos-Related Cancer,' International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18(16):8417 (2021) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Review article, shipboard ACM product-category sections
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed review of asbestos-related cancer risk among sailors catalogs shipboard asbestos-containing products of the steam era: insulation on hot-water and steam piping, inside and outside of boilers and tanks, machinery parts, joiner bulkhead systems, and bulkhead panels - the product categories typical of a 1905-era steam vessel's machinery and accommodation spaces.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 20th-century steam-era fleets (general)
- Population
- Seagoing crews (general)
- Limitations
- General shipboard product survey - does not name this hull and does not distinguish build eras or flags. Use as product-category context only; not evidence of asbestos aboard this ship.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kittery-ak2-02
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[3]Naval History and Heritage Command, Online Library of Selected Images - 'USS Kittery (1917-1933, later AK-2), Originally S.S. Praesident (German Passenger-Cargo Ship, 1905)' (ibiblio/HyperWar mirror; live NHHC page 404s) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC photo-history narrative; photo NH 52074 (ship at Santo Domingo, August 1917) corroborates 1917 commission
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC Online Library photo history: 1,839 gross ton (3,300 tons displacement) combination passenger and cargo ship built at Bremerhaven, Germany, in 1905 as S.S. Praesident; HAPAG Caribbean feeder service between Haitian, Dominican, Jamaican, Danish West Indies, and Puerto Rican ports; tender to Odenwald (later USS Newport News, AK-3) and German Navy radio link in early WWI; refuge at San Juan December 1914; seized April 1917, turned over to the Navy a month later; renamed Kittery in June, refitted at Philadelphia, placed in commission July 1917; fitted with passenger accommodations for 24 officers and 200 enlisted men; career carrying cargo and passengers between the Caribbean and the U.S. East Coast, primarily Charleston, S.C., and Norfolk, Va.; Naval Overseas Transportation Service January 1918-late 1919; alternated schedules with USS Gulfport until late 1921; classified AK-2 in July 1920; last Caribbean voyage December 1932; decommissioned and stricken April 1933; transferred to U.S. Shipping Board June 1933; scrapped 1937.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1905-1937
- Population
- Ship's U.S. Navy complement (~85-137 depending on era source); embarked troops/passengers up to ~200 enlisted and 24 officers
- Limitations
- Official NHHC photographic-history summary consistent with DANFS; contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information - supports identity and service timeline only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kittery-ak2-03
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[4]Shipscribe, U.S. Navy Auxiliary Vessels - USS Kittery (AK-2) class page (Stephen S. Roberts; compiled 2012 from Navy Ships' Data Books, SecNav correspondence, and inspection reports) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AK-2 class page: specification block, construction/disposition tables, class notes, ship notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe auxiliary-vessel class page (compiled from Navy Ships' Data Books and SecNav correspondence): built 1905 by G. Seebeck A.G., Geestemunde - launch 26 Aug 1905, completed 30 Nov 1905; sailed Hamburg 9 Dec 1905 for Caribbean basing; Havana 25 Sep-1 Dec 1914, then San Juan refuge 12 Dec 1914; seized under Executive Order 2619-A (14 May 1917) and towed to Philadelphia with Odenwald; name Kittery promulgated in General Order 301 (9 Jun 1917); Board of Inspection 8 Jun 1917 recommended West Indies supply/passenger service and four 3-inch guns; commissioned Philadelphia 6 Jul 1917, departed 18 Jul 1917; 1917 fit - 16 staterooms (24 officers) plus space for 200 troops, complement 85; 1922 crew assessment 'flat bottomed, light draft, specially built for West Indies run... very good, except for deterioration due to age'; route rotations with Gulfport (AK-5), Henderson (AP-1), Beaufort (AK-6); complement 137 (1929); designed speed ~12 kts despite 15.5-kt Ships' Data listing, 10.3 kts by 1933; decommissioned Philadelphia Navy Yard 4 Apr 1933; stricken 11 Apr; USSB transfer authorized 12 May, turned over 26 Jun 1933, laid up James River; Maritime Commission bids 27 May 1937 - Union Shipbuilding Co., Baltimore, high bidder on 14 of 28 ships including Kittery; scrapped September 1937.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1905-1937
- Population
- Ship's complement (85 in 1917; 137 in 1929 per source); embarked troops up to ~200
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary reference compiled from primary Navy records, not itself a primary document - quoted SecNav/Board-of-Inspection material is transcription. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material information; supports identity/timeline only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kittery-ak2-04
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[5]Cross-source collation: NHHC Online Library (photo NH 52074, Aug 1917); Shipscribe AK-2 construction/disposition tables; DANFS transcription (hazegray mirror); NavSource AK-2 archive; Wikipedia infobox (non-authoritative, discrepant values only) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe construction table vs DANFS spec/narrative; NHHC photo NH 52074 caption
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved: (a) Commission year - NavSource and Wikipedia give '6 July 1918,' but the NHHC photo history states the ship was 'placed in commission in July 1917,' NHHC photo NH 52074 shows her at Santo Domingo in August 1917, and Shipscribe gives 6 Jul 17; adopted 6 July 1917. (b) Launch date - DANFS, NavSource, and Wikipedia record 'launched 30 November 1905'; Shipscribe's construction table gives launch 26 Aug 1905 and its ship notes record 'completed 30 Nov 05' - the DANFS date is likely the completion date; both carried, German merchant register not consulted. (c) Decommission - DANFS '5 April 1933' vs Shipscribe '4 Apr 33'; one-day discrepancy carried unresolved (DANFS adopted for the field). (d) Builder - DANFS 'G. Seebach Co., Bremerhaven'; Shipscribe 'G. Seebeck A.G., Geestemunde'; Wikipedia 'Schichau Werft' conflates F. Schichau (Danzig) with Seebeckwerft; adopted Seebeck.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1905-1933
- Limitations
- Resolves registry-metadata discrepancies among secondary sources; none involves asbestos or insulation materials; does not establish presence or absence of asbestos aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kittery-ak2-05
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[6]Batch-876 search ledger (this record): NHHC photo history + DANFS mirror; Shipscribe AK-2; NavSource AK-2 archive; CourtListener API v4 + web UI (blocked); MARAD ShipHistory (blocked); open-web litigation query [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kittery-ak2-01 through sl-uss-kittery-ak2-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located in the sources searched: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming this hull was found. The NHHC photo history, DANFS transcription, Shipscribe class notes, and NavSource archive contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement. An open-web litigation query returned only a non-authoritative marketing vessel-list (freeasbestostesting.com) that includes 'USS Kittery (AK-2)' in a generic auxiliary-ships list - excluded per source rules; it carries no evidentiary value.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 2026-09-21
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1905 steam vessel in U.S. Navy service 1917-1933 sits inside the documented Navy asbestos-insulation era. The CourtListener litigation search could NOT be completed this session (authenticated API returned HTTP 429, shared daily quota exhausted; web UI returned HTTP 403) - the hull-specific litigation surface is unresolved, not negative. German-era (1905-1917) materials records were not surveyed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kittery-ak2-06
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[7]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Naval Personnel - ship deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 181 (Naval Districts and Shore Establishments), RG 32 (U.S. Shipping Board), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov record-group guide pages (index-level)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - research-room or reproduction order required; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel) deck logs for USS Kittery, 1917-1933; RG 19 (Bureau of Construction and Repair / Bureau of Ships) Ships' Data Books and hull plans; RG 181 (Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments) Philadelphia Navy Yard records, including the June 1917 Board of Inspection file and refit work records; RG 32 (U.S. Shipping Board) and RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) custody and 1937 sale records for the James River reserve-fleet period.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1917-1937 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether asbestos-specific documents exist for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kittery-ak2-07