Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet av-packet.md (6 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-laertes-ar20-pkt-av-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Laertes (AR-20) - Naval Historical Center entry (verbatim transcription; live NHHC URL returns 404, Wayback capture of history.navy.mil/danfs/l1/laertes.htm used) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text, Laertes (AR-20), paragraphs 1-5
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Laertes (AR-20), Xanthus class, Maritime Commission type EC2-S-C1: laid down as SS Dutiful under Maritime Commission contract 1944-08-07 by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc., Baltimore, MD; launched 1944-09-14 (sponsor Mrs. F. A. R. McNab); acquired by the Navy 1944-09-28; converted into a repair ship by Maryland Dry Dock Co., Baltimore; commissioned 1945-03-24. WWII service: shakedown out of Norfolk; departed 1945-05-06 for the Pacific; Pearl Harbor 1945-06-06; Eniwetok from 1945-06-19 for almost 4 months repairing ships damaged in the final battles; Okinawa 1945-10-16 to 25; Bremerton, WA from 1945-12-01 as preinactivation repair ship; San Diego from 1946-04-17; decommissioned 1947-01-15. Korean War: recommissioned 1951-12-19 at San Diego; Service Force Pacific Fleet; deployed 1952-06-07, Sasebo from 1952-07-10 with Service Squadron 3, servicing 7th Fleet ships at Sasebo and Pusan, Korea, for more than 5 months; returned San Diego 1953-01-27; Pearl Harbor deployment 1953-03-10 to 06-06; Long Beach 1953-07-08; decommissioned San Diego 1954-02-26; San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; joined MARAD Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, August 1961. Awarded two battle stars for Korean service. DANFS stats: dp. 5,801; l. 441'6"; b. 56'11"; dr. 22'; s. 12.5 k.; cpl. 525; a. 1 5", 3 3", 4 40mm., 12 20mm.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1961
- Population
- Ship's company and repair personnel (1945-1947, 1951-1954); conversion trades at Maryland Dry Dock (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, conversion yard, service timeline, complement, and honors for this hull. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazardous-material statement of any kind - supports no asbestos claim. DANFS renders the commissioning CO 'Comdr. Leslie H. Hawkins' and the 1951 CO 'Capt. Beth A. Shepard'; NavSource's command roster renders 'Leslie Herman Hawkinson' and 'Seth A. Shepard' - name discrepancies logged, not resolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laertes-ar20-01
-
[3]Naval Historical Center, Online Library of Selected Images - USS Laertes (AR-20), 1945-1972 (HyperWar/ibiblio mirror of history.navy.mil page) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Page narrative and photo captions NH 96913, 80-G-632291, 80-G-446560
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHC photo catalog describes Laertes as an 5,801-ton Xanthus class repair ship built at Baltimore, converted from a 'Liberty' ship while still under construction, commissioned March 1945; repaired ships in the Pacific in the final months of WWII; decommissioned January 1947; recommissioned December 1951; repair services from Japan in support of operations off Korea July 1952-January 1953; decommissioned February 1954; sold for scrapping about 1972. Catalog entries place her at Norfolk 1945-04-01 (photo NH 96913) and at Sasebo, Japan, 1952-10-08 with nine minesweepers and a harbor tug alongside (photo 80-G-632291, NARA collections).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1972
- Limitations
- Ship-specific Navy historical-catalog material confirming hull identity and employment; contains no asbestos or materials information. ibiblio/HyperWar is a transcription mirror of a live NHHC page - the canonical NHHC URL was not re-verified this session (NHHC link rot documented since 2026-09-14).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laertes-ar20-02
-
[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - LAERTES (AR-20), Ship History Detail 2923; corroborating archived PMARS detail record (Wayback 2011-07-21 capture of pmars.marad.dot.gov/detail.asp?Ship=2923) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 2923, Milestones table and Status Cards tab
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD record for LAERTES (AR-20): year built 1944; shipyard Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard; MARAD type EC2-S-C1; Navy Repair ship; length 441.50 ft; beam 56.90 ft; gross tons 7,176; fate 'Sold -NTU'. Milestones: Entry 1961-08-22 and Acquisition 1961-08-22 (PMARS specifies fleet site SBRF, Suisun Bay CA, Pacific region, reimbursable customer); Disposition 1972-09-08 'Scrap Sale'; Withdrawal 1972-09-08; remarks 'CUST 1961 NDRF 1962'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1961-1972
- Population
- NDRF custodial crews, Suisun Bay (1961-1972); scrapping-yard workforce, Tacoma (1972)
- Limitations
- Custody and disposal record only - MARAD milestones contain no materials, asbestos, or hazmat content and no Navy striking date. 'CUST 1961 NDRF 1962' remark is consistent with (but does not state) a 1962 striking. Status-card images for this hull exist on the MARAD page but could not be pulled through the public document endpoint this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laertes-ar20-03
-
[5]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USS Laertes (AR-20) page (compiled from Navy sources; spec sheet, campaign list, command roster, disposition detail) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NavSource AR-20 page - class data block, specifications block, Korean War campaign table, commanding officers roster, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record: laid down 1944-08-07 as Dutiful, Maritime Commission type EC2-S-C1, MCE hull 2674, Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard Inc., Baltimore; intended for Great Britain as HMS Dutiful (F-176); launched 1944-09-14; acquired by the Navy 1944-09-28; commissioned 1945-03-24; decommissioned 1947-01-15 San Diego; recommissioned 1951-12-19; Korean War campaign dates: Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 (1952-08-25; 1952-09-25 to 27) and Third Korean Winter (1952-12-12 to 13); decommissioned 1954-02-26 San Diego; Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group; transferred to the Maritime Commission for layup in the NDRF Suisun Bay; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; two battle stars; sold for scrapping 1972-07-10 to Zidell Explorations, Portland, OR, under MARAD contract PD-X-940 of 1972-06-12 for $121,349.99, delivered 1972-09-08; photos show the ex-ship at a Tacoma, WA breakers yard circa 1972. Spec sheet: one Hoover, Owens, Rentschler Co. triple-expansion steam engine; two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers; three 500 kW diesel-drive and two 60 kW turbo-drive generators; single propeller, 2,500 shp; displacement 5,801 t. (lt) / 14,350 t. (trial); complement listed as 27 officers and 1,497 enlisted.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1972
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked repair personnel (1945-1947, 1951-1954)
- Limitations
- Secondary volunteer-compiled naval archive, not an official source - used for specification and disposition detail that official sources do not publish; every date it asserts that conflicts with DANFS/MARAD was resolved to the official source. Its complement figure (27+1,497) conflicts with DANFS cpl. 525 and is carried only as a conflict, not adopted. Pennant F-176 and the 1972-07-10 sale date rest on this source. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laertes-ar20-04
-
[6]DANFS, Xanthus (AR-19) - Naval Historical Center entry (verbatim transcription; live NHHC URL returns 404, Wayback capture used) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Xanthus (AR-19) entry, data line and final paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents sister ship Xanthus (AR-19) on the same pattern as this hull: a Maritime Commission EC2-S-C1 hull (MCE hull 2664) laid down 1944-06-06 at Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, as Hecla; delivered to the Navy on a loan basis 1944-08-16; renamed Xanthus and designated AR-19 on 1944-12-06; commissioned 1945-05-09 as a repair ship; struck from the Navy List 1962-09-01 - the same date secondary sources report for Laertes's striking.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1962
- Limitations
- Class/program-level context only - describes a sister hull, not this vessel's materials. No asbestos or materials content. The sister ship's documented 1962-09-01 striking lends circumstantial support to secondary-source claims of the same date for Laertes, but the Laertes striking remains unverified against a primary register source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laertes-ar20-05
-
[7]U.S. Maritime Commission, Instruction Manual for Operating and Maintaining 2500 H.P. Triple Expansion Marine Steam Engines, EC2-S-C1 Cargo Vessels (mirrored excerpt) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Mirrored excerpt, engine-cylinder insulation section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The USMC operating manual for the EC2-S-C1 plant - the hull/machinery type this vessel was built on before conversion - describes cylinder insulation of magnesia under sheet-iron lagging; insulation products of this era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber, and period steam-system gaskets, packing, and insulation felts commonly contained asbestos. NavSource's spec sheet for this hull lists the same type-consistent plant (triple-expansion engine, two boilers, 2,500 shp). Liberty-type hulls were built to emergency USMC specifications during the period when the federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Construction trades (Bethlehem-Fairfield, 1944); conversion trades (Maryland Dry Dock, 1944-45); engine-room and repair personnel (1945-1954)
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual names the type, not this vessel, and does not itself state 'asbestos' content. The repair-ship conversion replaced internal arrangements and possibly machinery-room outfitting, so exact manual applicability to this hull's as-converted state is not established. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laertes-ar20-06
-
[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 and Maritime Commission emergency construction program under which this EC2-S-C1 hull was built and converted - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard ship 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, class, or builder and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laertes-ar20-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket search, 2026-09-26 (authenticated via fleet helper): 'Laertes' (type=o, 39 results; type=r, 82 results); '"USS Laertes"' (type=o, 0 results); '"AR-20"' (type=o, 302 results; type=r, 10,093 results) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-laertes-ar20-05 through sl-uss-laertes-ar20-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located in CourtListener. 'Laertes' opinion search returned 39 hits, all name collisions - the recurring ones being Laertes Solar LLC (NY tax-assessment litigation), individuals surnamed Laertes (e.g., Laertes F. Noiva, Laertes F. Dimick), and opinions quoting Shakespeare's Hamlet (Polonius's speech to Laertes); zero hits contained 'AR-20', 'USS Laertes', or 'repair ship'. '"USS Laertes"' returned 0 results. '"AR-20"' returned 302 opinion hits and 10,093 docket hits, all unrelated to the hull - the string appears as an administrative-record/regulation citation (overwhelmingly Social Security appeals; 'AR' = administrative record); no asbestos or maritime content located in the returned result text. 'Laertes' docket (RECAP) search returned 82 hits, all name collisions - bankruptcy debtor names (e.g., Laertes Vasiliadhi, Sage Laertes Dixon) and unrelated commercial dockets; incidental 'asbestos'/'ship' substrings are unrelated (e.g., 'conjugal partnership', a GM asbestos creditors' committee).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- CourtListener index coverage is not exhaustive - state trial-court filings, settled cases, and claims brought under owner/operator names are underrepresented; absence of a located docket does not prove no claim was ever filed. Hull-name searches do not capture suits naming only 'Bethlehem-Fairfield' or 'Maryland Dry Dock' for work on this vessel. The 39-result 'Laertes' and 302/10,093-result 'AR-20' sets were reviewed at limit-20 depth plus full-result-text grep; deeper pages were not enumerated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laertes-ar20-08
-
[10]Batch-2526 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC (archived); NHC Online Library photo catalog; MARAD ShipHistory/PMARS; NavSource; CourtListener opinion/docket indexes; web sweep for surveys, abatement, or hazmat records [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-laertes-ar20-01 through sl-uss-laertes-ar20-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Laertes / AR-20 / SS Dutiful was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No NRHP/NHL nomination exists (vessel scrapped 1972) - the nomination-negative-finding channel available for surviving museum ships is absent here.
- 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 EC2-S-C1 hull converted to a repair ship and scrapped in 1972 without known abatement is consistent with era-typical materials. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laertes-ar20-09
-
[11]NARA record-group path mapping (not retrieved): RG 24 Navy deck logs (commissioned periods 1945-1947 and 1951-1954); RG 19 Bureau of Ships records incl. the RG-19-LCM photo series (e.g., 19-N-80869, conversion-completion photo 1945-03-24); RG 178 USMC Construction Division / East Coast Director files (MCE hull 2674, Bethlehem-Fairfield); MARAD NDRF Suisun Bay custody files [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 24 / RG 19 / RG 178 record-group mapping; MARAD status cards 2923_5437AF.jpg, 2923_AF.jpg
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The most promising unexploited primary records for this hull: BuShips conversion plans/work packages for the Liberty-to-AR conversion at Maryland Dry Dock (would show insulation and machinery-space materials); Navy deck logs in RG 24; USMC construction files for MCE hull 2674; and the MARAD status card (images present on the ShipHistory page but not retrievable via the public document endpoint this session). None of these holdings are digitized; retrieval requires research-room or paid reproduction, which was not authorized.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Archival-lead mapping is not evidence about this hull - it identifies where ship-specific materials records would live if they exist. Record-group mapping verified against established batch-05 NARA path documentation; no box-level pull performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laertes-ar20-10