USS Newberry (APA-158)

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]research packet n-packet.md (7 sources cited) [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-newberry-apa158-pkt-n-packet-md

2. [2]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (NAVSHIPS 250-012, Jan 1945), auxiliaries - attack transport (APA) section, NEWBERRY APA-158 rows (shipscribe.com scan) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB1945v3 APA tables, item row 184 (characteristics p.258-259 incl. machinery row 'C.E. hdr.' and builders' table 'Oregon S. B. Corp., Portland ... 6 Oct 44 ... 7 Oct 44')

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (January 1945), APA section lists NEWBERRY (ex-M.C.V. Hull 124), APA-158, item row 184: 455'0" oa, 436'6" pp, 62'0" beam, 24'0" limiting draft, 17.7 knots, 14,837 tons (full) / 12,450 limiting displacement; machinery 1 Westinghouse geared turbine, 8,500 shp, with 2 'C.E. hdr.' (Combustion Engineering header-type) boilers at 465 psi / 750 deg F; armament 1 x 5"/38 cal (D.P.), 4 twin + 1 quad 40mm; cargo 150,000 cu ft, 2,900 dwt; ship's company 56 officers / 480 enlisted, troop accommodations 86 officers / 1,475 enlisted; builder Oregon S.B. Corp., Portland; acquired 6 Oct 44; commissioned 7 Oct 44.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1945

   Population

   Design/engineering reference; no exposed population stated

   Limitations

   Official BuShips data naming this hull; establishes machinery type and steam conditions but contains no insulation-material or asbestos statement - superheated-steam plant implies insulation demand in general terms only. The C.E. header-type boiler make is hull-specific (class-generic summaries print Babcock & Wilcox); boiler make varied by builder within the Haskell class. Scan is OCR-degraded in places; row values cross-checked against DANFS and NavSource. Largest-boom column prints 35 t for this hull while NavSource prints 30 t - minor variance, not adjudicated.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-newberry-apa158-01

3. [3]DANFS entry 'Newberry', Naval History and Heritage Command; retrieved via Internet Archive Wayback capture 20251209185713 - live NHHC URL returns 404 [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS Newberry entry, header block and full narrative text

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry (header block APA-158: dp. 14,837; l. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 24'; s. 17.7 k.; cpl. 536; trp. 1,561; a. 1 5", 12 40mm.; cl. Haskell; namesake 'a county in South Carolina' = Newberry County, SC): Newberry (APA-158) was laid down under Maritime Commission contract 1944-06-10 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Ore.; launched 1944-08-24 (sponsor Mrs. Joseph M. McDonald); acquired by the Navy on a loan-charter basis 1944-10-06; commissioned the next day, Comdr. David R. Phoebus in command. Shakedown off the west coast; departed San Francisco for Hawaii for final amphibious training; embarked units of the 4th Marine Division 1944-12-31; left Pearl Harbor the following month for the invasion of Iwo Jima; for 10 days following 'D-day, 17 February 1945' landed her Marines and took on 439 wounded; departed Iwo for Guam 2-27; via Saipan, embarked part of the 2d Marine Division at Guam 3-08; underway 3-27 for the Okinawa operation; standing in reserve her troops were not needed and she returned them to Saipan in April; remained there until early June; to Espiritu Santo for supplies; returned to Guam 7-02; sailed for San Francisco arriving 7-27. Departed the west coast 8-12 carrying replacement troops to the Philippines; at Leyte took on Army units for occupation duty in the Japanese home islands, debarked them at Aomori, Honshu, and began Magic Carpet duty; sailed 9-29 for Iwo Jima, took on 2,500 passengers for Saipan, exchanged them for 2,300 veterans, arrived San Francisco 10-24; two weeks later headed for Okinawa with replacements and returned to California with veterans. Decommissioned 1946-02-21; returned to the WSA 3 March at Lee Hall, Va.; struck from the Navy List 12 March; berthed James River, Va., National Defense Reserve Fleet. Earned 2 battle stars for World War II service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Population

   Ship's company 536 + embarked troops (up to ~1,561); shipyard workers at Oregon Shipbuilding, Portland

   Limitations

   Authoritative ship biography; establishes identity, builder, service timeline, and disposal framing. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or survey statement - supports no asbestos claim. Live history.navy.mil URL 404s; content verified through the Wayback capture cited. DANFS dates the Iwo Jima landing phase 'D-day, 17 February 1945' - the assault/occupation campaign dates are 19-27 February 1945 (NavSource campaign table); the 10-day span ending with her 2-27 departure is internally consistent, and the variance is logged in gaps rather than adjudicated.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-newberry-apa158-02

4. [4]NavSource Online, Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Newberry (APA-158) file (secondary compilation with primary-source photo captions) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Page 10/03/03158 - timeline, campaign tables, spec block, photo captions (page updated 2024-07-12)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive page for USS Newberry (APA-158): laid down 1944-06-10 as Maritime Commission type VC2-S-AP hull (MCV hull 124) at Oregon Shipbuilding, Portland; launched 1944-08-24; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission 1944-10-06; commissioned 1944-10-07, CDR David R. Phoebus USNR in command; assigned TransRon Fifteen (CAPT W. S. Popham) / TransDiv Forty-Five (CAPT A. C. J. Sabalot); campaign table lists Iwo Jima operation (assault and occupation, 1945-02-19 to 02-27) and Okinawa Gunto operation (1945-04-01 to 04-11); Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) periods 1945-09-20 to 09-29 and 1945-10-08 to 10-10; Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, Iwo Jima). Decommissioned 1946-02-21; returned to the Maritime Commission 1946-03-03 for lay-up NDRF James River, Lee Hall, VA; struck 1946-03-12; two battle stars; sold for scrapping to Connecticut Transport Inc., New York, 1983-09-17, resold the same day to Desguaces Aviles, S.A., scrapped 1984-06-08 in Spain. Specs match the SDB per-hull row incl. 'two Combustion Engineering header-type boilers, 465psi 750 deg', double Westinghouse main reduction gears, and three 300kW turbo-drive ship's service generators. Photo record: NH 80-G-265012 (with USS Cecil APA-96 and USS Bracken APA-64 off Pearl Harbor 1945-01-25, camouflage Measure 32 Design 4T) and a caption documenting transfer of wounded Marines aboard from USS LSM-206 at Iwo Jima between 2-17 and 2-27-1945.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1944-1984

   Population

   Ship's company 536 + embarked troops

   Limitations

   Secondary compilation agreeing with DANFS and the SDB row on all checked points; independently supplies the TransRon/TransDiv assignment, campaign-date tables, medal periods, and disposal wording ('Connecticut Transport Inc. ... resold the same day to Desguaces Aviles, S.A.'). Prints the MCV hull type as 'VC2-S-AP' - a truncation of VC2-S-AP5. No asbestos, insulation, or survey content - supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-newberry-apa158-03

5. [5]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - NEWBERRY (APA-158/LPA-158), Ship History Detail 3600, incl. digitized vessel status card, Reserve Fleet vessel-data card (front/back), and two Form MA-20 Records of Ship Sales [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   ShipHistory Detail 3600; status cards ffedabdb-...-b440fa817e3e.png (typed custody card), 3600_6658AF.jpg / 3600_6658AB.jpg (vessel-data card front/back), 3600_AF.jpg and 4bbec868-...jpg (Form MA-20 sale records)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD ShipHistory record and digitized status cards for NEWBERRY (APA-158/LPA-158), Detail 3600: registry lists Oregon Shipbuilding Company, type VC2-S-AP5, built 1944, fate 'Sold - Scrap'. Vessel status card: hull no. MCV124; 'Built by Oregon SB Corp. At Portland, Ore. Completed 10-6-44'; custody chain - builders delivered to USMC at Astoria, Ore. 1944-10-06 2:02 PM PWT; USMC delivered to Navy Dept. on loan-charter (LB) at Astoria 10-06 3:30 PM PWT; Navy to WSA Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Va. 1946-03-03 12:35 PM EST; withdrawn to T. J. Stevenson & Co., Inc. (Repair Program) under GAA at James River 1955-05-04 12:25 PM EST; returned to Reserve Fleet, James River 1955-07-22 11:45 AM EST; sold to Desguaces Aviles S.A. (for scrapping in Spain) 9-17-83; physically delivered 10-20-83 11:05 AM EDT. Reserve Fleet vessel-data card: fleet JR unit 9, '4TH IN UNIT 9 FROM SHORE TO CHANNEL' moored ALONGSIDE HIGHLANDS (APA-119); fleet entry 3-3-46; fuel at entry 1,789 bbl Bunker C / 888 diesel; lay-up defect note 'DELIVERED FOR LAYUP WITH OVERBOARD DISCHARGE VALVE FROM THE BALLAST AND BILGE PUMP LEAKING'; termination port last voyage NORFOLK. Earlier MA-20 remarks: 'Reserve Fleet memo of 7-23-70 strikes this ship off the scrap list as of July 1, 1970, and returns it to retention status.' Sale MA-20: awarded to Connecticut Transport, Inc. c/o Ogden Marine, Inc., 280 Park Ave., New York, 1983-09-17, contract MA-11430, lightship 5,530 t, location James River Reserve Fleet; 'immediately resold ... to Desguaces Aviles, S.A., a Spanish corporation, for scrapping in Spain. Vessel completely scrapped as of June 8, 1984.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1944-1984

   Population

   NDRF caretaker crews; T. J. Stevenson-contracted repair workers (1955); shipbreakers at Desguaces Aviles, Spain (1983-84)

   Limitations

   Government custody and sale records naming this hull; documents the 1955 T. J. Stevenson GAA repair withdrawal/return, the 1970 scrap-list strike and return to retention, and the 1983 sale chain to a Spanish scrapper - but contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; the FY-1955 repair scope (which spaces/systems were disturbed) is not stated. Establishes no asbestos claim. Scanned handwriting partially legible (OCR-aided); registry 'General Type: Training (School)' and the 'LPA-158' suffix are MARAD cataloging artifacts (hull stricken 1946, pre-dating the 1969 APA-to-LPA redesignation).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-newberry-apa158-04

6. [6]Consolidated era inference - BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v3 per-hull APA-158 row (machinery spec) + Corn & Starr AJIM 1987 (WWII shipbuilding asbestos documentation) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB1945v3 APA machinery table, row 184; AJIM 11(3):359-373

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   No ship-specific material record exists; era/design inference only. Newberry is a VC2-S-AP5 Victory-derived attack transport with a superheated geared-steam plant (2 Combustion Engineering header-type boilers, 465 psi/750 deg F, Westinghouse turbine) built June-October 1944 at Oregon Shipbuilding, Portland - the peak period of asbestos consumption in U.S. shipbuilding. Typical applications for this machinery arrangement in the era: boiler and steam-drum insulation, steam-line and turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets, machinery packing, accommodation insulation, winch/windlass brake linings.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1944 (construction); 1944-1946 (active service)

   Population

   Construction trades (Oregon SB Portland, 1944); ship's company engineering ratings; embarked troops under way

   Limitations

   Class/design and era inference, not a hull record - no source searched names this vessel's materials. Does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-newberry-apa158-05

7. [7]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 program under which this VC2-S-AP5 hull was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type and naval auxiliary 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-newberry-apa158-06

8. [8]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 and type.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   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 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-newberry-apa158-07

9. [9]Batch-2230 search ledger (this record) [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-newberry-apa158-01 through sl-uss-newberry-apa158-18

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Newberry or APA-158 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener sweeps by exact name and hull number returned only collisions ('APA-###' = Administrative Procedure Act administrative-record pagination cites and Allied Pilots Association tokens; 'Newberry' asbestos hits are plaintiff-surname cases - e.g., Newberry v. ACandS, Newberry v. American Standard - plus J.J. Newberry Co. premises-defendant and attorney/locality matches; none names the vessel).

   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 is era-consistent with asbestos insulation, and reserve-fleet layup (1946-1983), the 1955 T. J. Stevenson repair withdrawal, and foreign scrapping at Aviles, Spain (1983-84) would all have been disturbance opportunities. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-newberry-apa158-08

10. [10]Wikipedia 'USS Newberry' infobox (cross-check only); MARAD ShipHistory Detail 3600 registry fields; asbestos-ships.com USS Newberry page (competitor site - collision/accuracy screening only); controlling sources DANFS (Wayback capture), BuShips SDB row 184, NavSource [other_primary]

    Locator

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Newberry infobox; ShipHistory Detail 3600 title/General Type fields and MA-20 'NEWBERRY (LPA-158)'; asbestos-ships.com/ships/uss-newberry-apa-158

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Corrections/disambiguation: (a) Wikipedia infobox prints '12,450 tons (full load)' and '19 knots' - the 12,450 t figure is the SDB limiting-displacement column, not full load (DANFS and SDB agree 14,837 t full), and 19 knots is uncorroborated (DANFS and SDB print 17.7 kts trial); Wikipedia is not used as a source. (b) MARAD registry artifacts - the ShipHistory page titles the vessel 'NEWBERRY (APA-158/LPA-158)' and files it under 'General Type: Training (School) / Specific Type: Training Ship'; the hull was stricken from the Navy List in 1946, pre-dating the 1969 APA-to-LPA redesignation, so 'LPA-158' is a registry convention (it does appear on the 1983 MA-20), and the training-school type is a classification artifact inconsistent with the documented attack-transport role. (c) Name-collision screening: the hull is named for Newberry County, South Carolina (DANFS); 'Newberry' in litigation and web text resolves overwhelmingly to Newberry County SC, Newberry SC/MI/FL localities, the surname Newberry, and commercial namesakes - any 'Newberry' litigation hit must be resolved to a party/context before attribution to APA-158. (d) Competitor marketing page asbestos-ships.com for this hull was screened: its stated dates, commander (Comdr. David R. Phoebus), complement (536), and 1983 scrap-sale framing match DANFS - but it is a non-qualifying marketing source and is cited for no fact.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    correction

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-25

    Study period

    2026-09-25

    Limitations

    Resolves publication-level discrepancies and maps name-collision patterns; does not affect identity or the service/custody timeline materially. No asbestos content in any of these sources; the competitor page is not evidence of anything about the hull.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-newberry-apa158-09

11. [11]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 357 (Maritime Administration); MARAD ShipHistory Detail 3600 status cards as the on-point lead [other_primary]

    Locator

    archives.gov record-group pages 024/019/178/357; MARAD Detail 3600 status-card annotations

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for USS Newberry 1944-1946 (RG 24, NARA College Park - catalog.archives.gov returned a JS application shell to automated queries 2026-09-25, no APA-158-specific catalog entry verified); the ship's war-history submission to SecNav if extant (a sister hull's, Colbert APA-145, is digitized as NAID 77635590 - Newberry's was not located in digitized form); BuShips records incl. VC2-S-AP5 contract plans and Booklets of General Plans (RG 19); USMC/WSA construction and custody records for M.C.V. Hull 124 at Oregon Shipbuilding (RG 178); MARAD/NDRF custody file for the 1946-1983 James River lay-up incl. the FY-1955 T. J. Stevenson GAA repair scope, the 1970-07-23 retention memo, and the MA-11430 trade-out/exchange contract file (would document the exchange terms and delivery particulars already summarized on the cards).

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-25

    Study period

    1944-1984 records

    Limitations

    Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for MCV-124 is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-newberry-apa158-10