USS New Kent (APA-217)

Evidence

9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).

1. [1]research packet v-packet.md (7 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED. No phantom, no collision. — real identity: USS New Kent (APA-217); namesake: a county in Virginia (New Kent County); DANFS introduces it as "The first New Kent" [DANFS mirror] http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/APA/apa217.html (MIRROR-SOURCED)

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-new-kent-apa217-pkt-v-packet-md

2. [2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'New Kent I (APA-217)' - Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Naval History Division (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription; live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-25) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Full entry; stats line 'dp. 7,190; l. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 24'; s. 18 k.; cpl. 536; a. 1 5", 12 40mm; cl. Haskell'

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS: first New Kent (APA-217), attack transport, laid down under Maritime Commission contract 1944-07-11 by Permanente Metals Corp., Yard #2, Richmond, CA; launched 1944-10-12 (sponsor Mrs. W. J. Maher); commissioned 1944-11-22, Capt. Frank Monroe Jr. in command. After shakedown she carried 4th Marine Aircraft Wing replacements to Majuro/Kwajalein (arrived 1945-02-04), trained at Guadalcanal, landed troops on Okinawa's western beaches D-Day 1945-04-01 and remained in the transport area under frequent air attack until 1945-04-07. Overhaul at Seattle 1945-06-06 to 06-26; berthing compartments enlarged at San Francisco, July 1945. At sea when Japan surrendered; transported occupation troops to Wakayama (arrived 09-25) and a second Japan lift 10-15 to 10-28; Operation Magic Carpet lifts from Manus (2,000 passengers, arrived San Pedro 11-19) and Guam (12-05 to 12-21). Transited Panama Canal mid-March 1946, Norfolk 03-20; amphibious training East/Gulf coasts and Caribbean; decommissioned 1949-07-29, berthed Orange TX Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet; recommissioned 1951-10-10; Casablanca voyage July 1952; inactivated spring 1954, decommissioned Orange TX 1954-07-12; stricken from the Navy List 1958-10-01. One battle star for WWII.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1944-1958

   Population

   Ship's company 536 + embarked troops; construction trades (Richmond, 1944); overhaul/alteration workers (Seattle, June 1945; San Francisco, July 1945)

   Limitations

   Establishes identity, construction, service chronology, and two documented 1945 yard periods (Seattle overhaul; San Francisco berthing enlargement - shipyard not named in DANFS). The narrative contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement and establishes no exposure.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-new-kent-apa217-01

3. [3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (April 1945), NAVSHIPS 250-012, 'Auxiliaries - Transports, Attack (APA)' tables, row 185 (APA217 NEW KENT) - shipscribe.com scan [other_primary]

   Locator

   APA characteristics table p.259 (row 185, dimensions/complement/troops) and machinery table p.261 (row 185, turbine/boilers/steam conditions); boiler cell read via ditto chain from NEWBERRY row ('C. E. hdr')

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 3 (NAVSHIPS 250-012) carries a dedicated row for this hull: NEW KENT, ex-M.C.V. Hull 565, APA217; 455 ft oa / 436 ft 6 in wl; beam 62 ft; designed speed 17.7 kt; full-load displacement 14,837 t (12,450 t in the second table); ship's company 56 officers + 480 enlisted; troop accommodations 87 officers + 1,475 enlisted; machinery: 1 Westinghouse geared turbine, 8,500 shp, 2 'C. E. hdr' (Combustion Engineering header-type) boilers, steam conditions 465 psi / 750 deg F. This is the ship-specific official record that the plant aboard THIS hull was Combustion Engineering boilers - correcting the class profile's generic 'B&W' read (taken from the APA-117 Haskell row).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1945

   Population

   Ship's company 536; troop capacity 1,562

   Limitations

   Official wartime machinery/characteristics table for this hull; establishes plant type and steam conditions only - the table contains no insulation-material or asbestos statement. OCR-degraded scan; boiler-manufacturer cell inherits ditto marks from the row above (C. E. hdr), consistent with the NavSource spec table but read with that caveat.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-new-kent-apa217-02

4. [4]U.S. Maritime Administration, Vessel History Database - NEW KENT (APA-217), Ship History Detail 3589, incl. USMC Vessel Status Card (Form MC-7146a), Reserve Fleet Ship Particulars (Form MA-363), and Record of Ship Sales (Form MA-20) [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   Detail 3589 milestone table + status-card scans (/cards/3589_AF.jpg Record of Ship Sales; /cards/3589_6639AF.jpg Reserve Fleet Ship Particulars; /cards/2ca63c5e-be4f-4089-91b1-679f7939497d.png Vessel Status Card)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   MARAD Vessel History record plus three digitized status cards document the disposal chain: NDRF entry and acquisition 1958-09-17 (permanent transfer from Navy, Mobile AL fleet assignment; reimbursable - Navy bore retention cost $118/ship/month to FY1960 and FY1959 preservation costs up to $16,000/ship per the MA-363 card). Advertised under sale PD-X-918 (dated 1971-09-20, bids opened 1971-10-21, 'Scrap Hull-US'); awarded/sold to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. 1971-10-28 as one hull of a nine-ship lump-sum sale totaling $467,100 under contract MA-6465; withdrawn / physical delivery 1972-07-24.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1958-1972

   Population

   NDRF lay-up/preservation workers (1958-1972); shipbreaking workers (1971-72)

   Limitations

   Custody and sale record only - contains no materials survey, condition report, or asbestos statement. 'Scrap Hull-US' on the sale card indicates domestic scrapping, but the breaking yard is not named. Documents the lay-up/preservation and shipbreaking phases - the lifecycle stages where insulation disturbance occurs - without describing any material condition.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-new-kent-apa217-03

5. [5]Consolidated era inference anchored to BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v3 machinery row for APA-217 (this record, ev-02) and Corn & Starr, Am. J. Ind. Med. 11(3):359-373 (1987) for era practice [other_primary]

   Locator

   BuShips SD-1945 v3 APA machinery table row 185; Corn & Starr AJIM 11(3):359-373

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/design inference: this hull is a 1944 superheated-steam ship - 2 header-type boilers at 465 psi / 750 deg F feeding a geared turbine (BuShips row, ev-02) - built at the peak of wartime asbestos use, when the federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding. A plant at these steam conditions required thermal insulation of boilers, steam lines, turbine, and auxiliaries, plus gaskets, packing, and accommodation insulation; products serving those functions in 1944 commonly contained asbestos fiber. Troop-berthing build-outs (documented enlargement July 1945) added interior joiner/insulation scope. Typical applications for the type: boiler and fireroom insulation; steam-line and exhaust lagging; turbine lagging; valve and flange gaskets; machinery packing; accommodation insulation.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1944-1972

   Population

   Construction trades (Permanente Metals Yard No. 2, Richmond, 1944); engineering crews (1944-1954); overhaul workers (Seattle 1945, San Francisco 1945); NDRF lay-up workers (1958); shipbreakers (1971-72)

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no located source names insulation material aboard this hull. Establishes no quantities, no locations, no condition, no individual exposure, and no causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-new-kent-apa217-04

6. [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 program and era under which this VC2-S-AP5 hull was mass-produced - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in ship 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 remained aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-new-kent-apa217-05

7. [7]CourtListener API v4 search, 2026-09-25: opinion queries '"New Kent" asbestos', '"USS New Kent"', '"APA-217"'; docket queries '"New Kent"', '"APA-217"' - see search_ledger rows sl-06 through sl-10 [court_record]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-new-kent-apa217-06 through sl-uss-new-kent-apa217-10

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener sweep (API v4, authenticated, 2026-09-25): opinions - 'New Kent' + asbestos returned 9 hits, every one a name collision (New Kent County VA property/employment matters, Fifth Circuit employment cases, Schwab v. Philip Morris tobacco class action); 'USS New Kent' returned 0; 'APA-217' returned 0. Dockets (RECAP) - 'New Kent' returned 626 hits dominated by New Kent County, Virginia entities (e.g., New Kent Courthouse Village LLC bankruptcy, New Kent Highway addresses); 'APA-217' returned 13 hits, all Administrative Procedure Act / form-number collisions (e.g., Archdiocese of St. Louis v. Sebelius). No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull or its hull number was located.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   2026-09-25

   Limitations

   Sweep covers CourtListener's opinion and RECAP docket indexes only; 'New Kent' is a high-collision county name (Virginia) that under-covers filings naming the vessel without its hull number, and state-court filings outside RECAP are not covered. Absence of a located docket is not proof no claim was ever filed.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-new-kent-apa217-06

8. [8]Batch-2290 search ledger (this record): DANFS/HyperWar; NHHC live (404); BuShips SD-1945 v3; MARAD Vessel History Detail 3589 + 3 status cards; NavSource (secondary cross-check); CourtListener API v4 [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-new-kent-apa217-01 through sl-uss-new-kent-apa217-11

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS New Kent / APA-217 was found in the public sources searched (DANFS narrative, BuShips Ships' Data 1945 ship row, MARAD Vessel History + status cards, CourtListener opinion and RECAP sweeps - 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 superheated-steam hull sold for scrap in 1971 without a documented abatement program is era-consistent with retained asbestos-containing materials at end of life. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-new-kent-apa217-07

9. [9]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - deck logs), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 181 (Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments) [other_primary]

   Locator

   RG 24 deck logs; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/181.html

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel) holds this ship's deck logs for 1944-1949 and 1951-1954, which would document the June 1945 Seattle overhaul and July 1945 San Francisco berthing-enlargement work scope; RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) Construction Division / West Coast Director for Construction files may hold MCV hull 565 contract and outfitting specifications for Permanente Metals Yard No. 2; RG 181 (naval district/shipyard records) covers the Seattle and San Francisco 1945 yard periods and the 1949/1954 Orange TX inactivation work.

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1944-1972 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-new-kent-apa217-08