Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet s-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-mccracken-apa198-pkt-s-packet-md
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, DANFS: 'McCracken (APA-198) 1944-1958' (published 2025-02-13); live page returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-25 - text verified via Internet Archive Wayback capture 2025-12-09 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Canonical NHHC URL (404 live); Wayback capture https://web.archive.org/web/20251209185717/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/mccracken.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC DANFS entry 'McCracken (APA-198) 1944-1958' (published 2025-02-13): laid down 1944-06-08 at Vancouver, Wash., by Kaiser Co., Inc. under Maritime Commission contract (M.C. Hull 666); launched 1944-09-29 (sponsor Mrs. Albert Bauer); acquired and commissioned 1944-10-21 at Astoria, Ore., Cmdr. Brainerd N. Bock in command. Post-shakedown repairs incl. bent screw/shaft at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, San Pedro, from 1944-12-19. WWII service: Noumea/Guadalcanal training; TransDiv 52 to Okinawa invasion - landed assault troops 1945-04-01, offloaded cargo under air attack, received casualties (transferred to USS Comfort AH-6); Saipan, Pearl Harbor, Buckner Bay Okinawa 1945-07-05; 6th Marine Division (incl. Maj. Gen. Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr.) Hagushi to Guam 1945-07-09 to 16; 1,400+ Army troops San Pedro to Manila 1945-08-16/09-12; occupation troops (161st Regt., 25th Inf. Div.) to Nagoya 1945-10-28-29; Magic Carpet lifts (760 sailors Sasebo, 737 veterans Nagasaki) reaching San Pedro 1945-12-01; second Magic Carpet cruise to Manila, Los Angeles 1946-01-25. Inactivation overhaul Mare Island from 1946-04-02; decommissioned Stockton 1946-10-10 into Pacific Reserve Fleet (Mare Island Group 1949-06-17; Stockton Group 1950-11-28; San Diego Group 1958-03-30). Authorized for MARAD transfer 1958-09-05; stricken from Naval Vessel Register 1958-10-01; entered Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet 1958-10-02. Sold to Zidell Explorations 1975-05-08; withdrawn 1975-05-24 and delivered for scrapping. One battle star (Okinawa Gunto, 1945-04-01 to 06).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1975
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, service history, and disposal chain. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or condition-survey statement; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page currently returns 404 - canonical URL cited, content verified via Wayback snapshot.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccracken-apa198-01
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[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - McCRACKEN (APA-198), Ship History Detail 3303, incl. three digitized status cards (3303_6137AF.jpg, 3303_AF.jpg, 6714e432-f55d-42c0-a10f-147ee99d063a.png) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 3303, milestone table and status card scans
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record and digitized status cards for McCRACKEN (APA-198): MARAD type VC2-S-AP5; hull no. MCV-666; built 1944 by Kaiser Co., Inc. at Vancouver, Wash.; completed 10-20-44; DWT 5,914, gross 7,750, speed 17. Reserve Fleet - Ship Particulars card (Form MA-1023): entered Suisun Bay fleet 1958-10-02 1345 PST, permanent transfer/permanent layup, title reimbursable (Navy to bear retention costs $118/ship/month until FY1960 and preservation costs to $16,000/ship for FY1959 per Navy letter 1958-06-13 / MARAD reply 1958-06-20); withdrawn 1975-05-24 1045 PDT, reason 'Sold for NT use under PD-X-996, 5/8/75 to Zidell Explorations, Inc. for $231,777.99.' Record of Ship Sales card (Form MA-20): contract MA-7922, advertised under PD-X-996 dated 1975-03-25, opened 1975-04-25, two conditions (1) NTU (2) SCRAP HULL-US, award under condition (1) NTU; light ship weight 5,800. USMC Vessel Status Card (Form MC-7146a): physical delivery to Zidell Explorations, Inc. (Nontransportation Use) 1975-05-24 10:45 AM PDT at Suisun Bay.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1975
- Limitations
- Authoritative for custody milestones and sale terms. Award condition was NTU (non-transportation use), not the alternate 'SCRAP HULL-US' condition - NHHC DANFS independently states 'delivered to her purchasers for scrapping.' Cards contain no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; support no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccracken-apa198-02
-
[4]NHHC DANFS McCracken article (Wayback capture 2025-12-09) vs HyperWar/ibiblio DANFS transcription; NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive APA-198 page (navsource.org/archives/10/03/03198.htm); NavalCoverMuseum McCracken page [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text; NavSource APA-198 chronology/specifications sections; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/McCRACKEN_APA_198
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved: (a) launch date - the HyperWar/ibiblio transcription of the printed DANFS entry reads 'launched 20 September 1944,' while the current NHHC DANFS article (2025 revision), NavSource, and NavalCoverMuseum all give 29 September 1944; 1944-09-29 adopted, the '20 September' treated as a transcription artifact. (b) Decommissioning location - NHHC DANFS and the HyperWar transcription say 'decommissioned at Stockton' 1946-10-10 after inactivation overhaul at Mare Island; NavSource's compiled chronology says decommissioned 'at Mare Island Navy Yard'; Stockton adopted per DANFS. (c) Transport division - NHHC DANFS: 'Assigned to Transportation Division 52'; NavSource campaign table lists TransRon 18 / TransDiv 53; DANFS adopted as controlling for the Okinawa assignment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies across the primary entry and secondary compilations; does not affect identity or custody timeline materially. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccracken-apa198-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (Jan 1945), APA machinery section (shipscribe.com scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 APA machinery table, Haskell (APA-117) class row
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/design documentation: the VC2-S-AP5 (Haskell-class) plant is a Victory-derived single-screw geared-steam installation. Bureau of Ships Ships' Data 1945 v3 lists for the class (APA-117 row): Westinghouse geared turbine 8,500 shp, 2 Babcock & Wilcox boilers at 465 psi/750 deg F - a superheated steam plant of the type that was era-typically insulated with asbestos-containing lagging, gaskets, and packing during 1944-45 construction.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Construction trades (Kaiser Vancouver, 1944); ship's company and embarked troops (era pathway)
- Limitations
- Class/design data, not a hull record - does not name this vessel and does not state 'asbestos'; asbestos presence aboard this hull is era inference, not ship-proven. NavSource-compiled specs for this hull give Allis-Chalmers turbine and Combustion Engineering boilers - vendor assignments may have varied by builder/hull and remain unresolved. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccracken-apa198-04
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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
- historical_record
- 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 program under which this Kaiser-built VC2-S-AP5 hull was mass-produced - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in naval and merchant-type construction.
- 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-mccracken-apa198-05
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[7]Zidell Explorations, Inc., OSHRC Docket No. 12408 (Commission decision May 2, 1977) [court_record]
- Locator
- OSHRC decision text, Docket 12408; underlying inspection 1975-01-21
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Disposal-phase context: the purchaser of this hull operated a documented shipbreaking business at the delivery location. OSHRC Docket No. 12408 records that Zidell Explorations, Inc. was 'engaged in the business of shipbreaking in Portland, Oregon' and was inspected by a DOL compliance officer on 1975-01-21 while dismantling ex-USS Bunker Hill at a Willamette River pier - the same Portland operation that took physical delivery of McCracken at Suisun Bay-to-Portland in May 1975. The Commission affirmed dismissal of the contested housekeeping-standard citation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1975-1977
- Population
- Zidell shipbreaking workforce, Portland (context only)
- Limitations
- Documents the purchaser's shipbreaking operation contemporaneous with this hull's 1975 delivery; does not name McCracken and contains no asbestos finding (a housekeeping-citation merits decision in Zidell's favor). Ship-level scrapping records for this hull not located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccracken-apa198-06
-
[8]Woodruff v. Zidell Explorations, Inc., Wash. Ct. App. Div. II No. 56257-0-II (unpublished, filed 2023-01-24); Wash. Supreme Court petition for review No. 101864-9 (courts.wa.gov docketed filings) [court_record]
- Locator
- Division II unpublished opinion; Supreme Court petition/answer/cross-petition PDFs under No. 101864-9
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Disposal-phase litigation context: Washington appellate records document that decommissioned Navy ships dismantled by the Zidell companies in the 1970s contained asbestos insulation. In Woodruff v. Zidell Explorations, Inc. (Wash. Ct. App. Div. II, No. 56257-0-II, unpublished opinion filed 2023-01-24), a former Zidell Dismantling (Tacoma) worker alleged mesothelioma from asbestos exposure while dismantling Navy ships 1970-73; a jury awarded $11.2M, and Division II affirmed that Zidell Explorations owed a duty as owner of at least one dismantled ship but reversed on a spoliation-instruction error and remanded for a new trial; Washington Supreme Court review was sought under No. 101864-9. The record does not name McCracken.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1970-1975 exposure alleged; opinion 2023
- Population
- Zidell dismantling workers, Tacoma/Portland (context only)
- Limitations
- Litigation record for the purchaser's sister operation (Zidell Dismantling, Tacoma) plus Zidell Explorations' ship ownership; does not name McCracken and finds no asbestos condition aboard this hull. Stage discipline: jury verdict reversed on spoliation-instruction grounds and remanded - exposure findings stand at trial-record level, not affirmed judgment. Unpublished WA opinion cited as factual litigation record, not precedent.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccracken-apa198-07
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[9]CourtListener API v4 search, 2026-09-25 (authenticated; fleet-paced helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-mccracken-apa198-05, -06, -07; CourtListener /api/rest/v4/search type=o and type=r
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-25): exact-name opinion search 'USS McCracken' returned 7 hits, all name collisions classified non-qualifying - McCracken v. United States (D. Conn. 1980; sailor-surname habeas/military case aboard USS Fulton AS-11), Blancha v. Raymark Industries (3d Cir. 1992; asbestos products case citing the unrelated McCracken precedent), Librizzi v. United States Navy (D. Conn. 1981), Brown v. Dunleavy (E.D. Va. 1989), Brown v. State (Md. App. 2024 x2) - none naming this hull. Exact hull-number opinion search '"APA-198"' returned 0. Docket search '"APA-198"' returned 12 hits, all tokenized noise (Lehman Brothers SIPA, environmental and administrative cases) - none naming this hull. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS McCracken or APA-198 located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- CourtListener covers published opinions and RECAP dockets - not all state trial-court filings, MDL-875 claimant registers, or unreported dispositions. Absence of a docketed opinion naming the hull does not prove no claim was ever filed; it means no qualifying hull-specific litigation record was located in this repository.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccracken-apa198-08
-
[10]Batch-2268 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404 + Wayback capture); HyperWar/ibiblio DANFS transcription; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 3303 + status cards; NavSource APA-198 page; NARA catalog record enumeration; CourtListener name/hull searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-mccracken-apa198-01 through sl-uss-mccracken-apa198-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, condition report, or docketed case naming the McCracken hull was found in the public sources searched - the NHHC DANFS entry contains no materials statement; MARAD ShipHistory record and all three status cards contain none; digitized NARA holdings for the hull are operational war diaries and an action report, not materials or survey records (see search_ledger).
- 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 1944 geared-steam auxiliary is era-consistent with asbestos-containing construction. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccracken-apa198-09
-
[11]NARA Catalog record enumeration (catalog.archives.gov search, 2026-09-25); NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 178 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog hits for 'McCracken APA-198' (war diaries, war history, operation report naIds); https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (digitized indices exist; content not page-reviewed): NARA Catalog enumerates a USS McCracken War History (naId 77667805), monthly War Diaries 1944-10 through 1945-11 (e.g., naId 139788319 for 11/44, 139816433 for 12/44, 139922640 for 2/45, 633409118 for 3/45, 139999924 for 4/45, 140052389 for 5/45, 101746940 for 6/45, 83565625 for 7/45, 77508708 for 8/45 [mis-keyed 'USS MCCRAKEN'], 77544138 for 9/45, 77567862 for 10/45, 77592461 for 11/45), and the Okinawa operation report (naId 101748415, 'Rep of opers in the invasion of Okinawa Jima, Ryukyu Islands, 4/1-6/45'). WWII deck logs (RG 24) not located in the digitized deck-log series search. Construction/outfitting records for MC hull 666 would lie in NARA RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission construction files, Kaiser Vancouver).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1946 records
- Limitations
- Record enumeration only - war diaries/action reports are operational documents that rarely record materials or insulation data; no page-level review performed and existence of asbestos-specific documents for hull 666 is unknown. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccracken-apa198-10