USS Lancewood (YN-67)

Name
USS Lancewood
Hull designation
YN-67
Vessel class
Ailanthus
Evidence tier
Tier 2
Evidence entries
14
Record ID
uss-lancewood-yn67
Dataset version
2026.10.12-rc.1
Canonical URL
https://asbestosatlas.org/ships/uss-lancewood-yn67

Evidence

14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).

  1. [1]research packet 1089-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
    Finding type
    vessel_history
    Finding
    Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Evidence ID
    uss-lancewood-yn67-pkt-1089-packet-md
  2. [2]DANFS, 'Lancewood' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (live NHHC page verified loading 2026-10-05) [nhhc_danfs]
    Locator
    DANFS entry body text + spec block
    Finding type
    vessel_history
    Finding
    NHHC/DANFS 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
    2026-10-05
    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 page verified this session (a prior batch session on 2026-09-24 saw 404 - NHHC link behavior is intermittent; verbatim text also mirrored at hazegray https://losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/yard/yn67.htm). DANFS spells the builder 'Pollack-Stockton'; many secondary sources read 'Pollock-Stockton'.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-lancewood-yn67-01
  3. [3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USS Lancewood (AN-48) ex-YN-67 ex-Ironwood, 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. 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
    2026-10-05
    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. Page verified live on navsource.net this session.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-lancewood-yn67-02
  4. [4]U.S. National Archives Bureau of Ships photos 19-N-91593 (RG-19-LCM) and BS 91597, captions transcribed in the NavSource Lancewood photo file [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
    2026-10-05
    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-naval-shipyard related_shipyards link; supports no asbestos claim.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-lancewood-yn67-03
  5. [5]Naval History and Heritage Command photo catalog, NH 73440 (USS Lancewood AN-48) [other_primary]
    Locator
    NHHC NH 73440 catalog entry - title, caption, original date 1944-11-18
    Finding type
    historical_record
    Finding
    NHHC photographic catalog holds NH 73440, 'USS LANCEWOOD (AN-48) - Off San Francisco, California, 18 November 1944' - the same date as the Bureau of Ships alteration photographs; NavSource associates this NHHC print with NARA photo 19-N-91593.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-10-05
    Study period
    1944-11-18
    Limitations
    Official photo catalog entry confirming the ship's presence off San Francisco 18 November 1944. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-lancewood-yn67-04
  6. [6]NHHC Online Reading Room, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' [other_primary]
    Locator
    Pacific Fleet organization table, net laying ship (AN) section - AN-48 row
    Finding type
    historical_record
    Finding
    The NHHC 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' table lists AN-48 LANCEWOOD with Lt. Cdr. J. L. Matthews (USNR) - corroborating the NavSource commanding-officer chronology (Matthews in command 15 Sep 1944 - 25 Nov 1945) and the ship's Pacific Fleet assignment during the Iwo Jima/Ulithi phase.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-10-05
    Study period
    1945-05-01
    Limitations
    Fleet-list primary corroboration of designation, commanding officer, and theater assignment as of 1 May 1945. The org table styles Matthews 'Lt. Cdr.' while the NavSource CO table lists him as 'LT' - a minor rank-style variance (possible promotion), noted but not resolved. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-lancewood-yn67-05
  7. [7]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; French supplementary sources 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 add that the 1947 purchase was made 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
    2026-10-05
    Study period
    1947-1951
    Population
    French Navy crew 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. 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; 26 Nov 1949 sailing per Polar Record) - see gaps.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-lancewood-yn67-06
  8. [8]NARA, 'Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives' - Special List #44 by ship name; NARA online deck-log holdings list [other_primary]
    Locator
    Special List #44 name list, 'Lancewood (YN-67) 10/18/1943 - 6/30/1945'; online list https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (not listed)
    Finding type
    historical_record
    Finding
    NARA Special List #44 (List of Logbooks of US Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947) inventories surviving deck logs for Lancewood (YN-67) covering 18 October 1943 - 30 June 1945 - corroborating in-scope U.S. Navy service from commissioning through the WWII Pacific operations period. The logs are not digitized: Lancewood does not appear in the NARA 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' online list.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    archival_lead
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-10-05
    Study period
    1943-10-18 to 1945-06-30
    Limitations
    Inventoried surviving logs establish the coverage window, not contents - no asbestos, materials, or casualty detail is implied; the logs themselves are undigitized and were not retrieved (research-room access required; no spend authorized). Post-June-1945 logs (Ulithi/Yap/Saipan ops, decommissioning) are not covered by this inventory entry.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-lancewood-yn67-07
  9. [9]Batch-9240 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS (live); NavSource 09/18/18048; NHHC photo catalog NH 73440 and Pacific Fleet org table; NARA Special List 44 + online deck-log list; Polar Record 6(46):755-764; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, paced); MARAD ShipHistory; EPA Superfund site profile; indexed-web litigation checks [other_primary]
    Locator
    search_ledger rows sl-uss-lancewood-yn67-01 through sl-uss-lancewood-yn67-12
    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 (authenticated): 'Lancewood' opinion search executed this session returned 17 hits, all name collisions - lancewood timber in nineteenth- and twentieth-century customs/tariff opinions (1895-1968) plus an unrelated bankruptcy and administrative matters; the 'Lancewood' docket sweep and the quoted-phrase '"AN-48"' opinion/docket sweeps were starved by fleet-wide request pacing this session (logged blocked, not negative; an unquoted 'AN-48' opinion call returned a meaningless 707k term-split result and was discarded) - the identical queries ran cleanly in the parallel batch-1796 session (2026-09-24) returning only name/code-fragment collisions (372 docket hits all collisions; 143 'AN-48' opinion hits all code-fragment collisions; 'USS Lancewood', 'YN-67', 'Lancewood'+asbestos, 'Commandant Charcot' all zero opinions). Indexed-web checks surfaced no law-firm ship list or litigation naming this hull.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    negative_finding
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-10-05
    Study period
    2026-10-05
    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-yn67-08
  10. [10]NavSource AN-48 spec block (Busch-Sulzer BSW539 diesel-electric plant); DANFS class entries characterizing Ailanthus-class ships as wooden-hulled net-laying ships built at wartime yards incl. Pollock-Stockton, Stockton (DANFS 'Viburnum (AN-57)') [other_primary]
    Locator
    NavSource 09/18/18048 spec block; DANFS Viburnum entry https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/v/viburnum.html ('a wooden-hulled net-laying ship ... at Stockton, Calif., by the Pollock-Stockton Shipbuilding Co.')
    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 (Pollack-Stockton, Stockton) with a diesel-electric plant - one Busch-Sulzer BSW539 diesel-electric engine on a single shaft (1,200 shp per NavSource) 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
    2026-10-05
    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-yn67-09
  11. [11]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
    Article page, AJIM 11(3):359-373 (Wiley, verified live via DOI resolution 2026-10-05)
    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
    2026-10-05
    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-yn67-10
  12. [12]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 (metadata verified via NCBI eutils 2026-10-05); 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
    2026-10-05
    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 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has been heavily criticized in later literature.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-lancewood-yn67-11
  13. [13]U.S. EPA Superfund Information Systems, site profile and document list - HUNTERS POINT NAVAL SHIPYARD, San Francisco, CA (id 0902722) [other_primary]
    Locator
    EPA Superfund site profile 0902722, document list (ATSDR health consultation, asbestos air monitoring, Parcel A, 09/30/2008, doc 100027650)
    Finding type
    environmental_record
    Finding
    EPA lists San Francisco Naval Shipyard (Hunters Point) as a Superfund site (site ID 0902722); the site document set includes an ATSDR health consultation reviewing asbestos air-monitoring data collected during grading activities at Hunters Point Parcel A (2008). Lancewood underwent a documented alteration availability at this yard on 18 November 1944 (NARA BuShips photos, ev-03).
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    context
    Documentation level
    context_only
    Accessed
    2026-10-05
    Study period
    site listing; documents through 2019
    Population
    Hunters Point yard workers and site remediation personnel (site-level)
    Limitations
    Yard-level documentation decades after Lancewood's visit: the Superfund record characterizes site contamination and 2000s-era monitoring, not 1944 shipboard materials or conditions aboard this hull. The visit is ship-documented; any connection between yard work and asbestos aboard the vessel is unrecorded. Does not establish presence, exposure, or causation.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-lancewood-yn67-12
  14. [14]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), the 18 Oct 1943 - 30 Jun 1945 run inventoried in NARA Special List #44 (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) plus the cataloged RG-19-LCM photos 19-N-91593 / BS 91597; 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
    2026-10-05
    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-yn67-13

Attribution

Compiled by
Paul Danziger; Rod de Llano
Publisher
Danziger & De Llano, LLP
License
CC-BY-4.0
Citation
Danziger, P., and De Llano, R. (2026). AsbestosAtlas Navy Vessel Asbestos Exposure Dataset. Danziger & De Llano, LLP. DOI: not yet assigned
Dataset version
asbestosatlas-ships-2026.10.12-rc.1
DOI
not yet assigned