Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]DANFS, Livingston (AP-163) - NHHC page published 2020-03-20; live URL returns 404 (2026-09-25); verbatim text retrieved via Internet Archive Wayback capture 2024-05-26 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Canonical https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/livingston-ap-163.html (404 on 2026-09-25); Wayback capture 20240526180527, article body + AP-163 datasheet line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS (NHHC): laid down as Josiah D. Whitney 1943-03-22 by California Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington, Calif., under Maritime Commission contract; launched 1943-04-16; acquired by Navy 1943-10-25; renamed Livingston 1943-10-30; commissioned 1943-11-10. Service: Majuro reinforcement Feb 1944; Saipan support Jun-Jul 1944; Marshall/Gilbert/Marianas transport; reclassified AK-222 1944-08-20; four months of cargo runs from Eniwetok; departed Saipan 1945-01-26 for stateside overhaul; resumed mid-April 1945; Tarawa arrival 1945-06-12; Micronesia service through war's end and post-surrender shuttle until late Nov 1945; Seattle 1945-12-19; San Francisco 1946-01-06; decommissioned 1946-02-27 and returned to WSA same day; NDRF Suisun Bay. Datasheet: dp 4,023; l 441'6"; b 56'11"; dr 24'6"; s 12.8k; cpl 280; a 1x4", 4x3", 8x20mm; cl. Crater; T. EC2-S-C1. Two battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Ship's company (complement 280) and embarked troops (~1,000-1,050 capacity)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for construction, commissioning, wartime operations, and decommission/WSA return. DANFS states no strike date (the stricken-date discrepancy is carried in gaps). Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-livingston-ap163-01
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[2]U.S. Naval Historical Center, Online Library of Selected Images: USS Livingston (AP-163, later AK-222), 1943-1973 (photo NH 98738 page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library page (mirrored at ibiblio HyperWar), narrative paragraphs + photo NH 98738 caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Naval Historical Center Online Library narrative: built as Liberty ship Josiah D. Whitney at Wilmington, Calif.; completed April 1943; converted by the War Shipping Administration to carry about 1,000 troops; renamed October; acquired and commissioned by the Navy November 1943; 'similar in configuration and function to some Liberty cargo ships of the Crater (AK-70) class'; overhaul at San Francisco Jan-Apr 1945; decommissioned February 1946 and 'stricken from the Navy list in March 1946'; nearly 27 years in the Maritime Commission reserve fleet; sold for scrapping 1973.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Limitations
- Official NHC (NHHC predecessor) publication; supplies the March-1946 stricken date (conflicts with secondary compilations' 1946-02-27 - logged in gaps) and documents the WSA ~1,000-troop conversion without naming the converting yard. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-livingston-ap163-02
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[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - JOSIAH D. WHITNEY, Ship History Detail 2795 (characteristics, milestones, status cards 2795_5204AF/AB and 657f558c PNG, two historical-document uploads) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 2795 - Milestones table; Status Cards scans (front 2795_5204AF fields 1-22; reverse 2795_5204AB tonnage block; second card 657f558c-7f10-496f-9b06-5b1e08a6b621.png operator table); documents JosiahDWhitney_2795_001/002.pdf
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD Vessel History Database, JOSIAH D. WHITNEY detail 2795 + three digitized status cards (O.N. 243289): type 'Trooper EC2' and 'CARGO EC2'; MCE hull 1637; built by California S.B. Corp. at Los Angeles, completed 4-28-43; basis to WSA owned 4-28-43 10:45AM PWT Los Angeles; operator entries - Matson Navigation Co. (GAA, Los Angeles, 4-28-43), Navy Dept. 'now Livingston AK-222' (bareboat charter BB, San Francisco, 10-25-43 noon), WSA Reserve Fleet (Suisun Bay, 2-27-46 12:30PM PST), Chi Shun Hua Steel Company Ltd. for scrapping in Taiwan (purch. 2-13-73), physical delivery 3-27-73 9:55am PST; fleet 'SUISUN 9Y'; 'Pass. Cap. 1050'; reason-for-layup field; 'Repair damage over $100,000, per Mar AD - Navy Planning Group Sept. 23, 1953'; 'Sold scrap under PD-X-953, 2-13-73 ... for $185,150'; DWT 10,572/10,590c; gross 7176, net 4380, disp. 14230; IHP 2500; '2 WTB'; handwritten note 'often incorrectly referred to as JOSHUA D. WHITNEY'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- NDRF custody period 1946-1973; Taiwan scrapping workers 1973 (undocumented)
- Limitations
- Primary government custody record - strongest source for ownership chain, NDRF entry, and scrapping sale. Database milestone table lists 'Disposition/Withdrawl 6/27/1973' while the handwritten card gives sale 2-13-73 and delivery 3-27-73 (the card is controlling for event dates). Card handwriting partially legible; 'Pass. Cap. 1050' is a layup-reason entry. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-livingston-ap163-03
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[4]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 U.S. Maritime Commission instruction manual for the EC2-S-C1 plant (the design of this vessel's hull and machinery) 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. The ship was 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
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943
- Population
- Construction trades (California Shipbuilding, 1943); engine-room crew
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual names the type, not this vessel, and does not itself state 'asbestos' content (era magnesia lagging was typically asbestos-fiber-reinforced, but the manual text is silent on fiber). Asbestos presence aboard this hull is era inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-livingston-ap163-04
-
[5]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 program under which this EC2-S-C1 hull was mass-produced - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- 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 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-livingston-ap163-05
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[6]In re Joint Eastern and Southern Districts Asbestos Litigation (Robinson v. United States), 891 F.2d 31 (2d Cir. 1989) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 891 F.2d 31 (No. 1547, docket 89-6109)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Second Circuit ruling addressing mesothelioma claims by a mariner aboard War Shipping Administration vessels; the court considered jurisdiction over a personal-injury claim against the United States for asbestos exposure aboard the WWII government merchant fleet and held the claims barred on discretionary-function grounds. This hull was a WSA-owned vessel (built under USMC contract, WSA-operated Apr-Oct 1943, NDRF custody 1946-1973) that spent its Navy period under bareboat charter as a commissioned USS warship.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1989 (opinion); wartime exposure period
- Population
- WWII merchant mariners (class context)
- Limitations
- Fleet-level jurisdictional ruling for merchant-manned WSA vessels; does not name this hull and finds no asbestos conditions aboard any vessel. This hull's commissioned Navy operation (Lt. Comdr. in command, complement 280) distinguishes it from the civilian-crewed merchant ships at issue - the ruling's relevance is to the ship's WSA-owned frames (merchant conversion period and NDRF custody), not to Navy-service exposure theories.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-livingston-ap163-06
-
[7]Batch-2090 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS canonical + Wayback; NHC Online Library; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 2795 + status cards; CourtListener API v4 opinion/docket sweeps; Atlas shipyards.json yard check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-livingston-ap163-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Livingston (AP-163/AK-222) or Josiah D. Whitney was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion sweeps by ship name, both hull numbers, and merchant name returned zero ship-naming opinions, and the RECAP docket search for 'USS Livingston' returned zero; the sole 'Livingston'+'AP-163' hit is an unrelated Texas case (Livingston city/surname collision), and 'Livingston' asbestos hits are plaintiff-surname or attorney collisions.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943 EC2-S-C1 hull scrapped in Taiwan in 1973 is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials throughout (construction, 1943 troop conversion, 1945 overhaul, 27-year NDRF layup, scrapping). Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-livingston-ap163-07
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[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 178 (US Maritime Commission), RG 248 (War Shipping Administration), RG 24 (Navy deck logs) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html and /248.html; NARA deck-log guidance
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 WWII deck logs for USS Livingston (AP-163/AK-222) would document operating periods, yard availabilities, and possibly the 1945 San Francisco overhaul yard; RG 248 (War Shipping Administration) vessel files may hold the 1943 troop-conversion contract and scope; RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) construction files cover MCE hull 1637; California Shipbuilding Corp. yard records (yard absent from Atlas shipyards.json dataset).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1973 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents in these series is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-livingston-ap163-08