Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]DANFS, 'Lancewood (YN-67)' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (live NHHC URL returns 404; verbatim transcription via hazegray/losthistory mirror; canonical text also verified against Wayback capture 2024-05-25 of the NHHC page) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body text + spec block (hazegray transcription https://losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/yard/yn67.htm; canonical NHHC page verified via Wayback capture http://web.archive.org/web/20240525211343/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lancewood.html)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC records: net tender laid down as Ironwood (YN-67) 15 October 1942 by Pollack-Stockton Shipbuilding Co., Stockton, Calif.; renamed Lancewood 3 April 1943; launched 2 May 1943; commissioned 18 October 1943, Lt. Tyler Kaune in command. Spec block: dp. 1,100; l. 194'6"; b. 37'; dr. 13'6"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 56; a. 1x3", 4x20mm.; cl. Ailanthus. After shakedown off the California coast, assigned to the 12th Naval District, San Francisco; reclassified AN-48 on 20 January 1944, tending nets and repairing net lines until departing San Francisco 1 December, steaming via San Pedro to Pearl Harbor (arrived 16 December). Sailed for the western Pacific 24 January 1945; via Eniwetok and Guam reached a holding area off Iwo Jima 20 February; from 23 February pulled damaged landing craft off the beaches to facilitate unloading; placed moorings, laid nets, and salvaged landing craft off Iwo Jima until 12 April, then departed for the Marianas. Served at Guam 19 April - 10 June; proceeded to Ulithi, arriving 12 June, as net repair ship; began removing net defenses 30 August; steamed to Yap Island 2 September for the surrender of Japanese forces there the following day; remained at Yap until 7 September; returned to Ulithi 8 September and resumed net removal. Sailed to Saipan 14-17 October loaded with net panels and unloaded; departed 26 October via Midway and Pearl Harbor, arriving San Francisco 25 November. Decommissioned 11 February 1946; berthed Suisun Bay; sold 28 April 1947 to Robert A. Martinolich, San Francisco, and transferred 3 May to the Maritime Commission for simultaneous delivery to her purchaser, the French government, commissioning as Commandant Charcot. One battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Pollock-Stockton construction trades (1942-43); wartime crew (design complement 56)
- Limitations
- Primary Navy historical entry - authoritative for construction, service history, and custody chain. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page (https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lancewood.html) returns 404 to automated fetch (standing NHHC link rot, cf. BATCH-01); the Wayback capture of 2024-05-25 and the hazegray verbatim transcription agree on the text. DANFS spells the builder 'Pollack-Stockton'; secondary sources read 'Pollock-Stockton'.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lancewood-an48-01
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[2]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USS Lancewood (AN-48) ex-YN-67, file 09/18/18048 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/18/18048.htm - specifications block, campaign table, timeline, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource corroborates DANFS and adds detail: call sign November-Yankee-Delta-Xray; laid down as Yard Net Tender Ironwood (YN-67) 15 Oct 1942 at Pollack Stockton Shipbuilding Co., Stockton CA; renamed Lancewood 3 Apr 1943; launched 2 May 1943; commissioned 18 Oct 1943, LT Tyler Kaune USNR; reclassified Net Laying Ship AN-48 20 Jan 1944. Asiatic-Pacific campaign: Iwo Jima operation, assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 20 February - 16 March 1945. Decommissioned 11 Feb 1946; struck from the Naval Register 12 March 1946; one battle star. Sold 28 April 1947 to Robert A. Martinolich, San Francisco, renamed Atiette and re-flagged Guadeloupe; transferred to the government of France in 1947, converted for polar use, renamed Commandant Charcot, re-flagged France; final disposition scrapped 1963. Ship-specific spec block: displacement 1,100 t (lt) / 1,400 t (fl); 194'6" x 37' x 13'6"; 12 kts; complement 4 officers + 52 enlisted; armament one single 3"/50 cal gun mount and four single 20mm AA mounts; fuel capacity 760 bbls; propulsion one Busch-Sulzer BSW539 diesel-electric engine, two diesel-drive 60kW 120V D.C. ship's service generators, single propeller, 1,200 shp. Commanding officers: LT Kaune (18 Oct 1943 - 15 Jan 1944); LT Matthews (temp., 15 Jan - 14 Mar 1944); LT Knowles (14 Mar - 15 Sep 1944); LT Matthews (15 Sep 1944 - 25 Nov 1945); LT Rose Jr. (25 Nov 1945 - 11 Feb 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1963
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official; consistent with NHHC on USN dates and adds the Atiette/Guadeloupe intermediate step and a 'scrapped 1963' fate that English Wikipedia marks unreported (see gaps). Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim. The NavSource 'navsource.org' mirror timed out on fetch; identical content retrieved via navsource.net mirror.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lancewood-an48-02
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[3]U.S. National Archives photos documented via NavSource: RG-19-LCM photo 19-N-91593 (NHHC photo NH 73440) and Bureau of Ships photo BS 91597, both dated 18 November 1944 at San Francisco [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/18/18048.htm image captions - NARA RG-19-LCM 19-N-91593 / NH 73440; NARA BS 91597 (San Francisco Naval Shipyard, Hunters Point, 1944-11-18)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Two NARA-held Bureau of Ships photos document a November 1944 alteration availability on this hull: 19-N-91593 shows USS Lancewood (AN-48) at San Francisco on 18 November 1944 'after alterations' - the former searchlight platform and its gun removed, two 20mm guns fitted at the after end of the superstructure, and the mainmast replaced by a short pole; BS 91597 shows her docked at San Francisco Naval Shipyard (Hunters Point) the same day wearing camouflage Measure 31/20L, with circles marking modifications made by the yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-11
- Population
- Hunters Point yard trades (Nov 1944 alteration); ship's crew
- Limitations
- Documents that a yard alteration event occurred on this hull at Hunters Point in November 1944 - a maintenance/disturbance event consistent with the DANFS 12th Naval District assignment. The photo captions carry no materials or asbestos information; whether the work disturbed or installed asbestos-containing materials is unrecorded. Supports the Hunters Point related_shipyards link; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lancewood-an48-03
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[4]Liotard, A.-F., and Barre, M., 'French Antarctic Expedition, 1949-52,' Polar Record 6(46):755-764 (1953), Cambridge University Press [other_primary]
- Locator
- Polar Record 6(46):755-764, expedition-preparation section; https://www.amaepf.fr/recits-polaires/la-seconde-tentative-du-commandant-charcot ; http://philadelie.free.fr/47-53.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A peer-reviewed account of the French Antarctic Expedition documents the post-Navy career of this hull: Expeditions Polaires Francaises bought at San Francisco the Atiette (ex-Lancewood), described as 'a wooden vessel built in 1943 as U.S. Navy net-layer AN-48'; the vessel was brought to France and adapted for polar navigation, 'the hull being strengthened at the stem and stern,' renamed Commandant Charcot, and commissioned by the French Navy to carry the expedition to and from Terre Adelie. Engine trouble delayed the planned September 1949 departure; the vessel did not leave Brest until 26 November that year. French secondary sources (AMAEPF expedition annals; philatelic history of Terre Adelie) add that the 1947 purchase was made by the Ministere de la France d'Outre-mer for EPF under Paul-Emile Victor, that adaptation was done at the Cherbourg and Brest arsenals, and that an earlier first attempt (departed Brest 26 November 1948) was turned back by dense pack ice in February 1949; the successful 1949-50 voyage landed eleven men who founded the Port-Martin base in January 1950, marking France's return to Terre Adelie.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1947-1951
- Population
- French Navy crew (9 officers, 39 men per AMAEPF) and EPF expedition members (1947-51); Cherbourg/Brest arsenal trades (refit)
- Limitations
- Documents the hull's French polar career - a post-Navy chapter that included an arsenals refit (Cherbourg/Brest) and Antarctic voyages under a French Navy crew (nine officers and thirty-nine men per AMAEPF). No materials or asbestos information; the refit and polar service are undocumented disturbance phases. Departure-date detail differs across sources (26 Nov 1948 first attempt per philadelie; 20 Sep 1949 second departure per AMAEPF; Polar Record describes a delayed 26 Nov 1949 sailing) - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lancewood-an48-04
-
[5]NavSource AN-48 spec block (Busch-Sulzer BSW539 diesel-electric plant) + Wikipedia Ailanthus-class article (wooden-hulled class of 35 net laying ships, builders incl. Pollock-Stockton; class propulsion Busch-Sulzer 539 diesel-electric, 1 shaft, 1,200 hp) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/18/18048 spec block; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ailanthus-class_net_laying_ship (class overview: wooden-hulled, Busch-Sulzer 539 diesel-electric, 1 shaft 1,200 hp)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull is a 1942-43 wooden-hulled Ailanthus-class net laying ship built at a wartime California yard (Pollock-Stockton, Stockton) with a diesel-electric plant - one Busch-Sulzer BSW539 diesel-electric engine on a single shaft (1,200 shp per NavSource/class data) plus two diesel-driven 60kW 120V D.C. ship's service generators; no steam boilers or turbines, so the boiler/fireroom lagging pathway dominant on steam combatants does not apply. Small wooden auxiliaries of this era commonly carried asbestos-containing diesel engine and exhaust lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, bulkhead/joiner insulation, deck coverings, and brake linings on winches and net-handling deck machinery. Net laying work itself (handling heavy wire, moorings, and winch brakes) is a brake-lining exposure pathway typical of the type.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1963
- Population
- Pollock-Stockton construction trades (1942-43); wartime crew (complement 56); Hunters Point alteration workforce (Nov 1944); Cherbourg/Brest refit trades (1947-48); French Navy/EPF crews (1948-51)
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant and construction era - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming AN-48/YN-67 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation. Wooden-hulled diesel auxiliaries generally carried less asbestos scope than steam combatants; presence aboard this hull remains unproven.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lancewood-an48-05
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[6]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 Ailanthus-class net layer was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- 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 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-lancewood-an48-06
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[7]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at two Navy yards and two Navy contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in wartime naval-vessel construction of exactly this hull's era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard (whether Pollock-Stockton was among the surveyed contract yards is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized - see the 2026 critique at DOI 10.1177/10482911261446696.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lancewood-an48-07
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[8]Batch-1796 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Wayback capture 2024-05-25 and hazegray/losthistory verbatim transcription; NavSource 09/18/18048 (.net mirror); Wikipedia EN/FR ship articles (secondary corroboration); Polar Record 6(46):755-764; AMAEPF and philadelie expedition histories; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, paced); indexed-web litigation checks; NVR; MARAD ShipHistory; NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lancewood-an48-01 through sl-uss-lancewood-an48-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming the hull under any alias (Lancewood / AN-48 / YN-67 / Ironwood / Atiette / Commandant Charcot) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener API v4 executed cleanly this session: 'USS Lancewood' (type=o) 0 results; 'YN-67' 0; 'Lancewood' + asbestos 0; 'Commandant Charcot' 0; 'Lancewood' 17 opinions - all name collisions (lancewood timber in customs/tariff opinions, 1895-1968, plus one unrelated bankruptcy); 'AN-48' 143 opinions - all code-fragment collisions (form/regulation/docket references, none naming the vessel); 'Lancewood' docket search 372 hits - all name collisions (Lancewood Communications Ch. 11 bankruptcy; Trustees Southeast v. Lancewood, Inc. ERISA suit; street-address mentions in consumer-debt cases). Alias variants Ironwood and Atiette were covered by the indexed-web sweep rather than dedicated CourtListener queries. Indexed-web checking surfaced no law-firm ship list or litigation naming this hull; VA BVA hits for 'Lancewood' are address collisions only.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942-43 naval auxiliary of any type is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and undocumented phases (Nov 1944 Hunters Point alteration; 1947-48 Cherbourg/Brest polar refit; 1948-51 Antarctic service; disputed scrapping 1963) are unrecorded disturbance events. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lancewood-an48-08
-
[9]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships - incl. RG-19-LCM photos 19-N-91593 / BS 91597 already cataloged), RG 181 (Records of naval districts, shipyards, and shore establishments - 12th Naval District / San Francisco Naval Shipyard alteration records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html ; /groups/181.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for USS Lancewood (YN-67/AN-48) 1943-1946 (RG 24, NARA College Park); BuShips records incl. any YN-67/AN-48 Booklet of General Plans or General Information Book carrying per-hull material specifications (RG 19) - the same lead type flagged for Laffey in batch-07 and Signet in batch-1275; 12th Naval District and San Francisco Naval Shipyard (Hunters Point) records covering the documented 18 November 1944 alteration availability (RG 181); Maritime Commission 1947 transfer file for the Martinolich/Atiette-to-France delivery; French Navy and Expeditions Polaires Francaises records for the Commandant Charcot leg (1947-1963), including the Cherbourg/Brest refit scope and final disposition documentation.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1963 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lancewood-an48-09