Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]DANFS, 'Portunus' (I) entry, Naval Historical Center / NHHC (live NHHC URLs return 404 across danfs/p/ patterns - verbatim text retrieved via Internet Archive Wayback capture 20041217003030 of the legacy URL www.history.navy.mil/danfs/p10/portunus-i.htm) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Portunus' I entry, spec block + full narrative (Wayback capture 20041217003030 of legacy NHC URL)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records for this hull: spec block '(AGP-4: dp. 3,960; l. 328'0"; b. 50'0"; dr. 13'6"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 283; a. 2 3", 8 40mm., 8 20mm.; cl. Portunus.)'. Laid down as LST-330 by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 12 November 1942; launched 11 February 1943 as Portunus (AGP-4); commissioned at Baltimore, Md., 12 June 1943, Lt. Comdr. James R. Hanna in command. After east-coast shakedown departed the U.S. 23 July 1943 in TG 29.6 for the Panama Canal, thence Australia; at Cairns 10 October loaded PT Base 4 gear for Kana Kope, New Guinea; arrived Buna 20 October and until 4 July 1944 repaired and serviced U.S. and Australian naval units along the New Guinea coast; underway 4 July in convoy with Hilo and 8 units of MTB Squadron 25, arriving Mios Woendi 9 July; overhaul at Brisbane through December; returned to Mios Woendi 29 January 1945; underway 20 February for Leyte thence Iloilo, Panay, supporting MTB Ron 33 and establishing a patrol base; 2 April underway for Samar and Leyte; 16 April joined TG 78.2 to land the 24th Infantry Division and secure Parang, Mindanao; steamed Mindanao-Samar supplying MTBs until 16 July, then convoy to Okinawa - anchored off Hagushi 21 July, shifted to Togouchi Harbor 22 July; serviced and repaired MTB Rons 31 and 37 and other units through 29 September, then prepared for California and inactivation; decommissioned Mare Island 18 April 1946; struck from the Navy List 13 November 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 6 February 1948 and simultaneously delivered to Kaiser Co., Oakland, for scrapping; 3 battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Construction trades (Philadelphia NYd 1942-43; Maryland Drydock 1943); ship's company 283 per spec block; embarked MTB squadron personnel; Mare Island decommissioning workers 1946; Kaiser Oakland breaking crews 1948
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and spec block, not materials or asbestos content - supports no asbestos claim. Its spec block conflicts with other official sources on draft (13'6" vs 11'2" in SDB/NavSource), 3"-gun count (2 vs 1 in NavSource/shipscribe), and is silent on the reclassification-date mechanics documented in the shipscribe row - flagged in the correction row and gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-portunus-agp4-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Portunus (AGP-4) file 09/09/0904 - chronology, specification block, campaign table, awards, commanding-officer table, captioned NARA/NHHC photographs [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 09/09/0904 - chronology, Specifications block, campaign table, awards, CO table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Specification block for this hull: displacement 3,960 t. lt / 4,100 t. fl; 328' x 50'; draft 11'2"; 11.6 kts; complement 37 officers / 252 enlisted; largest boom 50 t.; two LCVP; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two quad 40mm AA mounts, eight single 20mm AA mounts; fuel 4,480 bbls diesel plus 62,000 gals gasoline (PT-boat fuel); propulsion two GM 12-567A diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, five diesel-drive ship's service generators (3x 100kW 120/240V DC + 2x 100kW 450V AC), two propellers 1,800 shp, twin rudders - a diesel plant with no boilers. Chronology: laid down as LST-330 12 Nov 1942 at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard; reclassified Portunus-class MTB tender; launched 11 Feb 1943; commissioned USS Portunus (AGP-4) 12 Jun 1943 at Baltimore, LCDR James R. Hanna USNR. Campaigns: Eastern New Guinea (designated MTB duty 20 Oct 1943-24 Jul 1944), Western New Guinea (6 Jul-15 Nov 1944), Consolidation/capture Southern Philippines Mindanao (17-23 Apr 1945); occupation service 5-21 Oct 1945; decommissioned 18 Apr 1946 Mare Island; struck 13 Nov 1946; 3 battle stars; transferred to Maritime Commission 6 Feb 1948 and delivered to Kaiser Co., Oakland for scrapping. Awards include Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3), Navy Occupation Service Medal w/ Asia clasp, Philippines Presidential Unit Citation, Philippines Liberation Medal. Six commanding officers tabulated (Hanna, Bamberger, O'Toole, McKinnie, Krisfalusky, Hargett). Photos: NARA photo 80-G-76562 (departing Norfolk 23 Jul 1943 outbound for Panama Canal) and an undated shot with PT boats alongside.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Ship's company ~283-289 per spec blocks; embarked MTB squadron personnel
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archival page quoting Navy sources and NHHC/NARA photo captions; consistent with DANFS where they overlap. Spec data are equipment descriptions only - no asbestos content stated or implied. Enlisted complement 252 conflicts with SDB 1945 v3's 247 (DANFS total 283); draft 11'2" conflicts with DANFS 13'6"; 3"-gun count (1) conflicts with DANFS (2); 'occupation service 5-21 Oct 1945' sits in tension with DANFS's 29 Sep departure for inactivation - all flagged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-portunus-agp4-02
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 1945), AGP section per-hull rows for PORTUNUS AGP4 (shipscribe.com scan of the official BuShips publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 AGP tables (construction, dimensions, limiting, personnel, machinery rows for PORTUNUS AGP4 in the PDF text layer, AGP section)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 3 carries per-hull rows for PORTUNUS AGP4 across the AGP tables: 'PORTUNUS (ex-LST330)' dimensions 328'0" oa / 316'0" pp x 50'0" beam, 11.6 kts, 3,960 t design; limiting table 4,100 t, draft 11'2"; personnel 36 officers / 247 enlisted (283 total - matches DANFS cpl. 283); machinery 2 G.M. Diesel 12-567A engines, 1,800 (shp); construction row: builder 'Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pa.', keel 12 Nov 42, launch 11 Feb 43, first commission 12 Jun 43.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Authoritative wartime BuShips publication naming this hull - confirms identity, builder, diesel machinery plant, manning, and construction dates. OCR of the scanned tables is columnar and partially garbled; values cross-verified against DANFS and NavSource. Contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-portunus-agp4-03
-
[4]shipscribe.com U.S. Navy Auxiliary Ships, PORTUNUS (AGP-4) class page - construction/disposition tables (BuShips/OpNav-derived), class notes, and per-hull ship note for AGP-4 [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe AGP04.html - construction/disposition tables, Class Notes, Ship Notes AGP-4 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Per-hull ship note for AGP-4 PORTUNUS: 'Ex LST-330 25 Jan 43, ex LST-328 13 Jan 43. Converted by Maryland DD, Baltimore, Md. (arrived from Philadelphia for conversion 25 Feb 43, no ferry commission being needed for this inland waterways transit). Sold by MC as LST-330 for scrap.' Class notes: all units of the class were converted to AGPs by Maryland DD Co., Baltimore, except AGP-5 (Tampa SB Co.); all were built under LST contracts and reclassified/fitted as AGPs before entering service; Gibbs & Cox was design agent for the LST conversion designs; the class was designed with shops and equipment for maintenance of one MTB squadron, initially two ten-ton booms, to which a 50-ton 'A'-frame hoist was added capable of supporting a stripped PT boat; on earlier AGPs the bow ramp and bow-door control gear were not installed and the bow doors were welded shut. Conversion-history detail: CominCh directed two LST-to-MTB-tender conversions 18 Dec 1942; ARL/ARB/AGP type designations approved by SecNav 13 Jan 1943; on 25 Jan 43 the LSTs designated for the ARB/AGP conversions were changed from LST 326-328 to LST 328-330 'to minimize unnecessary work by the shipbuilder,' and that date is carried in BuShips records as the reclassification date. Class table: design Navy LST; 2,028 t light / 4,100 lim; 328' oa x 50' x 11.2' lim; complement 240 (1944); 11.6 kts; 1,800 HP GM diesels, 2 screws; original armament 1-3"/50, 2-40mmQ, 8-20mm (1943-44 AGP 4-5, 10-11 group).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Limitations
- Compilation from BuShips/OpNav records by a named researcher (Stephen S. Roberts); the per-hull note names this hull directly and resolves the 13 Jan vs 25 Jan 1943 reclassification-date variance in other sources (see correction row). No asbestos, materials, or insulation information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-portunus-agp4-04
-
[5]Bulkley, Robert J., Jr., Capt. USNR (Ret.), 'At Close Quarters: PT Boats in the United States Navy' (Naval Historical Division official history, 1962), Part VIII + Sources page - HyperWar transcription [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar CloseQuarters PT-8.html, Part VIII sections 18-19 (Panay; East to Davao) + Okinawa transfer passage; PT-Sources.html 'Portunus war diary' citations
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy PT-boat history documents this hull's 1945 tender operations in detail: on 18 March 1945 Squadron 33 under Lt. A. Murray Preston, USNR, arrived off the southwestern coast of Panay with tender Portunus (Lt. Comdr. Ralph E. McKinnie, USNR) to support consolidation of the western central Philippines; after the Army took Iloilo City 20 March a small advance PT base was installed there, permitting withdrawal of Portunus on 2 April. On 17 April the 24th Division landed at Malabang and Parang across Moro Gulf accompanied by Squadron 24 (Lt. Edgar D. Hogland, USNR) and Portunus; a small advance base shipped for Polloc Harbor was never unloaded as the Army advanced overland. Two days after 30 April the squadron moved with Portunus to Sarangani Bay, and by 6 May Portunus anchored in Malalag Bay, Davao Gulf. In June Capt. Bowling was ordered to transfer a tender to Commodore Bates's Okinawa organization for Squadron 31; the Portunus was transferred 15 July and arrived at Okinawa 21 July. The volume's Sources page cites the 'Portunus war diary' as a source for its Dreger Harbor, Panay, and tenders/logistics sections - confirming the war diary exists in the official record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1945-03-18 to 1945-07-21 (narrative); war diary 1943-1945 (cited source)
- Population
- Ship's company; embarked MTB squadron staff (ComMTBRonsPac organization); Squadron 24/31/33/37 PT crews alongside
- Limitations
- Official narrative history - documents tender operations and command assignments for this hull. No asbestos, materials, or insulation content; the repeated advance-base moves and alongside repair work are operational events, not material findings. Confirms the Portunus war diary exists (NARA RG 38 lead).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-portunus-agp4-05
-
[6]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (Jan 1945), LST design table (shipscribe.com scan) - consolidated with lst-1-class.class.json era analysis and shipscribe AGP-4 class notes [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table; shipscribe AGP04 class notes; lst-1-class.class.json class analysis (BuShips design grouping LST1-490)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a diesel-powered LST-hull conversion built at a Navy yard in 1942-43: NO boilers or steam plant - the steam-lagging pathway does not apply; plausible asbestos applications on this type concentrate in diesel exhaust lagging, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, gaskets and packing throughout the engineering spaces, electrical insulation/cable, deck coverings (incl. tank-deck surfaces), accommodation-space insulation, and brake/friction linings on winches and the stern-anchor windlass. The AGP conversion design (Gibbs & Cox) reworked the tank deck and interior into MTB repair shops and expanded berthing for tender-plus-squadron manning - a greater interior-outfit scope than a base LST, consistent with class-profile notes that AGP/ARL/ARB conversions added interior rework.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Philadelphia NYd construction trades 1942-43; Maryland Drydock conversion workers Feb-Jun 1943; wartime crew; Kaiser Oakland breaking crew 1948
- Limitations
- Class/era and conversion-design inference only - no hull-level material schedule, insulation spec, conversion workscope itemization, or survey exists in the public record for this ship; the 1943 Maryland Drydock conversion is a documented event whose material scope is undocumented. Does not establish presence, absence, or quantity of ACM aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-portunus-agp4-06
-
[7]Corn JK, Starr J. 'Historical perspective on asbestos: policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding.' Am J Ind Med 12(4):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Am J Ind Med 12(4):359-373 (1987), DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700120402
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that WWII-era U.S. shipyards extensively installed asbestos-containing insulation, lagging, and gaskets in naval and merchant construction - the era and program context in which this hull was built (1942-43, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard) and converted (1943, Maryland Drydock, Baltimore MD).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (study scope); applied 1942-1948
- Population
- WWII-era shipyard workers and crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level scholarship only; the source does not name this hull or class and does not establish that any specific material aboard this ship contained asbestos. The diesel plant (no boilers) narrows the exposure-relevant scope relative to steam vessels.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-portunus-agp4-07
-
[8]Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr, Gade RL, Drinker P. 'A Health Survey of Pipe-Covering Operations in Constructing Naval Vessels.' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (1946) - USMC-commissioned wartime industrial-hygiene survey (PMID 21016030) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned 1944-45 industrial-hygiene survey of pipe-covering work in naval-vessel construction found amosite asbestos to be 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels' - era-level documentation of asbestos-containing insulation practice during the period this hull was built and converted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- 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/converter 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-portunus-agp4-08
-
[9]Source-discrepancy resolution: shipscribe BuShips/OpNav-derived class notes and ship note vs DANFS (Wayback), NavSource, NavalCoverMuseum, and SDB 1945 v3; plus two-ship name disambiguation (DANFS Portunus I vs II) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe AGP04 class notes + ship note AGP-4; DANFS Portunus I entry (Wayback 20041217003030); DANFS Portunus II/ARC-1 entry (Wikipedia mirror); NavalCoverMuseum PORTUNUS AGP 4 page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Reclassification-date variants resolved: secondary sources variously give 13 Jan 43 (shipscribe construction table 'Reclas.') or 25 Jan 43 (DANFS-derived lists, NavalCoverMuseum, historycentral) as the reclassification date. Per the shipscribe class notes, SecNav approved the ARL/ARB/AGP type designations 13 Jan 43 with the AGP-4 designation initially attached to LST-328; on 25 Jan 43 the designated hulls were changed from LST 326-328 to LST 328-330 'to minimize unnecessary work by the shipbuilder,' making LST-330 the AGP-4 hull - and 25 Jan 43 is the date carried in BuShips records as the reclassification date. Both dates are documentable; 25 Jan 43 governs this hull. Name disambiguation: this is the FIRST USS Portunus (AGP-4, ex-LST-330, 1942-1948); the second USS Portunus (ARC-1, ex-LSM-275, Federal Shipbuilding Kearny NJ, 1944-1959, later Portuguese Medusa/Sao Rafael) is a different hull - no consolidation. 'Portunus' is also a genus of swimming crabs - a name-collision source in any text search.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level date variants and prevents the documented two-ship name collision; no asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-portunus-agp4-09
-
[10]Batch-742 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Wayback; NavSource 0904; BuShips SDB 1945 v3; shipscribe AGP-4 class page; Bulkley official history; CourtListener (blocked); indexed-web litigation checks; VA BVA index; NVR; MARAD ShipHistory; NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-portunus-agp4-01 through sl-uss-portunus-agp4-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, material specification, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Portunus / AGP-4 / LST-330 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener API v4 was rate-limited this session (HTTP 429, 'Rate limit exceeded' - shared 125/day quota exhausted by prior batch work on this machine; backed off per instruction rather than retrying into a ban). Indexed-web litigation checks surfaced only name collisions (the Portunus crab genus; USS Portunus ARC-1 ex-LSM-275, a different hull) and law-firm marketing pages asserting era-typical asbestos on Navy vessels generally - excluded source class. No VA BVA decision naming the hull located; NVR has no record (hull disposed 1948, pre-1987 coverage); MARAD ShipHistory detail record for LST-330 not located (JS-driven search non-responsive to automated query).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943 diesel amphibious hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the Maryland Drydock conversion rework is an undocumented material-disturbance phase. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. Systematic CourtListener name/hull sweeps were not run via API (quota exhausted); negative litigation coverage rests on indexed-web checking only - logged honestly as partial coverage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-portunus-agp4-10
-
[11]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships), RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 38 (WWII war diaries), RG 178/357 (Maritime Commission / MARAD custody) - record-group mapping only [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html ; /groups/024.html ; /groups/038.html ; /groups/178.html ; /groups/357.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): the 'Portunus war diary' is a documented source for Bulkley's official history (RG 38 WWII war diaries, NARA College Park); RG 24 deck logs for LST-330/USS Portunus 1943-46; RG 19 BuShips records would hold the Gibbs & Cox AGP conversion design and the Maryland Drydock conversion contract/workscope for this hull; NARA still-picture holdings include photo 80-G-76562 (the ship departing Norfolk 23 Jul 1943, captioned via NavSource); RG 178/357 Maritime Commission custody files cover the 1948 Kaiser sale - and a MARAD ShipHistory status card likely exists under the LST-330 identity (sibling LST-135's card is digitized as Detail 9259; this hull's was not located via the JS-driven search).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1948 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-portunus-agp4-11