Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
-
[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Susan B. Anthony' (AP-72), NHHC [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text (hazegray/losthistory.net mirror; canonical NHHC URL returned 404 - link rot as in Batch-01)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Susan B. Anthony (AP-72): passenger steamer built at Camden, N.J., for the Grace Steamship Company; acquired by the Navy 7 August 1942; renamed; converted at Bethlehem Steel's New York yard; commissioned 7 September 1942 (Capt. Henry Hartley assumed command 29 September); Operation Torch landings off Mehdia 8 November 1942; three shuttle voyages to North Africa; Sicily landings off Scoglitti 9-11 July 1943 with two enemy aircraft downed; ten months of Atlantic trooping; mined in a swept channel off Normandy 7 June 1944 under No. 4 hold; all troops and crew evacuated; sank 1010; no one killed, 45 wounded; stricken 29 July 1944; three battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1930-1944
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity and operational history. Contains no asbestos or materials information; the stat block's '605 ft' length figure conflicts with all other sources (505 ft) and its 'launched March 1930' conflicts with the tabulated 1929-11-14 launch - discrepancies logged in gaps. Supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-01
-
[2]Shipscribe.com, 'USS Susan B. Anthony (AP-72) Class' - compiled from official USN vessel registers and Bureau of Ships records (Stephen S. Roberts) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AP-72 class page: Construction and Disposition tables, Class Notes (Philadelphia Navy Yard conversion plans 9 June 1941; Auxiliary Vessels Board 3 Aug 1942; stability findings), Ship Notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship tabulation and conversion record (compiled from U.S. Navy registers and BuShips files): design 'Pass. & Cargo, 1929'; displacement 9,055 light; 505.2 ft oa x 63.5 ft molded; keel laid 4 February 1929, launched 14 November 1929, completed March 1930 (ID-5043); acquired 7 August 1942; commissioned 7 September 1942; stricken 29 July 1944 - lost. SANTA CLARA was a larger U.S.-built version of the British-built Grace liners SANTA MARIA (later USS McCawley, APA-4) and SANTA BARBARA (later USS Barnett, AP-11/APA-5). Conversion timeline: WSA takeover late February 1942 with conversion by Robins Dry Dock (Todd), Brooklyn; merchant armament 1x5"/51 (reassigned from the burned USS Lafayette) and 1x3"/50 installed at Robins February 1942; Navy conversion instructions called for 6 Welin davits and stowage for 25 landing boats and 2 tank lighters; after stability problems ('very critical' per BuShips) the Welin davits were removed and topside weights reduced at the New York Navy Yard in August 1943, with recommendation she be used as a convoy-loaded transport (AP) not an APA.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1929-1944
- Population
- Conversion-yard workers at Robins/Todd (Feb-Mar 1942), Bethlehem 56th St. Brooklyn (Aug-Sep 1942), New York Navy Yard (Aug 1943)
- Limitations
- Compilation transcribing official register/BuShips data - the underlying primary records are at NARA RG 19 (unretrieved). No asbestos or insulation-material content; supports no asbestos claim. Documents three distinct yard periods relevant to era-level exposure context.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-02
-
[3]New York Times, 'New Grace Liner Docks Here Today' (1930-04-11); registry particulars per Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1933 (Steamers) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NYT archive abstract; Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1933 Steamers, entry 'Santa Clara' (archive.org/details/HECROS1933ST)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Merchant identity and delivery: SS Santa Clara, U.S. Official No. 229337, port of registry New York, owner Grace Steamship Co.; turbo-electric, twin screw; built by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden - departing the Camden yard 10 April 1930 for delivery to Grace Line in New York for the New York-Valparaiso service; cost about $3,500,000; reported 22 knots on trials.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1930-1942
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous press and registry data establishing merchant identity/delivery. No asbestos or materials content; supports no asbestos claim. The 22-knot trial figure conflicts with the 18-knot service figure - period trial speeds routinely exceeded service ratings; logged, not resolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-03
-
[4]Roland W. Charles, 'Troopships of World War II' (Army Transportation Association, Washington, 1947), pp. 142 (Susan B. Anthony) and 245 (Santa Clara) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Book pp. 142 and 245 (PDF scan pages 148 and 251); LCCN 47004779
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Army Transportation Association reference (1947): SANTA CLARA - 504 ft overall, 63 ft 9 in beam, 25 ft draft, 8,101 gross tons, 19 knots, 8,900-mile radius, turbo-electric (2), passengers 2,074, cargo 122,560 cu ft; built 1930 by New York Shipbuilding; operated in WWII by Grace Line. Converted by Robins Dry Dock & Repair Co. at New York late February 1942; sailed New York 4 March 1942 via Panama to Bora Bora, Melbourne, Townsville, Brisbane, Wellington; reached San Francisco 11 May; departed 26 May for Auckland, Bora Bora, Buenaventura (Colombia); transited canal 9 July; proceeded to New York and Navy jurisdiction. As Susan B. Anthony: returned Boston 17 November 1943; sailed 6 December for the Clyde; New York on New Year's Eve 1943; 18 January 1944 round trip to Newport; 27 February for Belfast; Swansea voyage; Boston 1 May; struck a mine in the English Channel near latitude 49 deg 33 min (near Cherbourg per the Santa Clara entry) and sank 7 June 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Embarked troops and crew during WSA/Army voyages (Feb-Aug 1942)
- Limitations
- 1947 quasi-official Army reference compiled from transport records - authoritative for the WSA/Army trooping period and voyage dates. No asbestos or materials content; supports no asbestos claim. 'Near latitude 49 deg 33 min' differs slightly from the commonly cited 49 deg 29 min wreck position - logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-04
-
[5]Robert J. Cressman, 'This Vessel Most Successfully Accomplished Her Mission,' Naval History (U.S. Naval Institute) Vol. 29, No. 6 (December 2015) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Historic Fleets column (direct fetch 403; verified via Wayback capture 2026-06-06)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Detailed operational history by NHHC historian Robert J. Cressman (USNI Naval History, Dec 2015): Santa Clara completed March 1930, New York home port, Central/South America and California calls; turned over to WSA at 2250 on 28 February 1942, converted hastily to troopship, two Army Transport Service voyages to the South Pacific; delivered to the Navy shortly after midnight 7 August 1942, renamed Susan B. Anthony, AP-72; commissioned 7 September 1942; Capt. Henry Hartley took command 29 September. Torch: arrived off Mehdia, assault 8 November; second Morocco voyage before year-end. Husky: off Scoglitti; ten LCVPs lost in surf at Point Braccetto; two enemy aircraft downed; one man slightly wounded. Trooping to Algiers, Oran, British Isles, Iceland; New York 31 December 1943; three voyages Jan-Apr 1944; sailed for England 13 May, Clyde 23 May. Loss 7 June: 2,317 soldiers embarked; Brig. Gen. Sam Williams commanding troops; mines under No. 4 hold; abandoned in good order; 'disappeared completely' at 1010; one officer and 14 enlisted of the ship's company injured; all 2,317 soldiers and the crew saved with 95 percent of their equipment. Stat block: 8,101 tons; 505 ft 2 in; 63 ft 6 in; draft 25 ft; 14 knots economical/18 max; complement 565; troops 2,430; armament 1x5"/51, 4x3"/50, 8x20mm, 2x.30cal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1930-1944
- Population
- Ship's company (~565) and embarked troops (2,317) at loss
- Limitations
- Authoritative secondary history by NHHC's senior historian drawing on BuShips files and crew accounts. No asbestos or materials content; supports no asbestos claim. 'One officer and 14 enlisted' injuries (ship's company) vs DANFS's '45 wounded' (all aboard) reconciled - figures differ by population counted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-05
-
[6]Guinness World Records, record page 'Greatest rescue without loss of life' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Record 62861, 'Susan B. Anthony', 07 June 1944, 2,689 people
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Guinness World Records lists the evacuation of Susan B. Anthony as the 'greatest rescue without loss of life': 2,689 people, all of whom survived when the vessel was sunk off Normandy on 7 June 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-06-07
- Population
- 2,689 persons aboard at loss (troops + ship's company)
- Limitations
- Establishes the total-persons-saved figure (2,689 = 2,317 troops + ship's company) and zero fatalities - an exposure-population scale indicator only. No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-06
-
[7]Narrative report of Comdr. Byron Huie, Jr., USNR, combat salvage operations at Normandy (mirrored in HyperWar 'Online Library' collection of official USN reports) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar mirror of Huie narrative, section on D+1 operations and wreck-demolition decision
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous U.S. Navy salvage narrative: Comdr. Byron Huie, Jr., reported that among D+1 combat-salvage work the transport Susan B. Anthony 'struck a mine close off the beach, caught fire and began to sink rapidly'; fleet tug Pinto was first alongside and made 'a fender out of herself' so other rescue craft could take off survivors; ATR-2 secured astern and fought the fires; rescue of 2,200 Army and Navy personnel credited. Divers surveyed the Anthony and Empire Broadsword wrecks for demolition as navigation menaces but, given the explosives required, decided to mark them with light buoys and leave them.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-06
- Population
- Rescue/salvage personnel, June 1944
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous primary-source narrative. '2,200' is Huie's rough field figure vs. the documented 2,689 total - noted, not merged. No asbestos or materials content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-07
-
[8]'The Underwater Navy at Normandy,' Naval History (U.S. Naval Institute), June 2009 - reporting NHHC underwater archaeology surveys 2000-2002 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History June 2009 article, Omaha Beach survey section; salvor Jacques Lemonchois account
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- NHHC underwater archaeology survey, 2000-2002 (reported in USNI Naval History, June 2009): the wreck of Susan B. Anthony was located in the Omaha Beach survey area; forward masts, booms, and bow guns still visible on the wreck; damage at the No. 1 cargo hold suggested a possible second mine impact. Postwar French commercial salvage - blowtorches and explosives cutting wrecks just above the mud line to feed the scrap-metal demand - took about five years to reduce the Susan B. Anthony to a 10-meter relief on the seabed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-2002
- Limitations
- Documents wreck location, extant fabric, and postwar demolition-scale salvage - the only 'condition' record for this hull. No asbestos or hazmat sampling was performed or reported; supports no asbestos claim. 'Omaha Beach survey area' conflicts with 'bound for Utah Beach' secondary accounts - wreck location vs. destination are different facts; discrepancy logged.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-08
-
[9]U.S. National Archives photo series (RG-19-LCM BuShips prints; 80-G combat photo) via Shipscribe photo index and HyperWar Online Library picture-data page; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 12588 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe AP-72 photographs page; https://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/images/g210000/g215100c.htm ; https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/12588
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official U.S. Navy photographs document the hull in NARA custody: 19-N-34066 (near New York Navy Yard, 14 September 1942), 19-N-35860/35861 (Norfolk Navy Yard, 7 October 1942), 19-N-44037 (Norfolk Navy Yard, 13 May 1943, rearmed configuration) - BuShips photo series in NARA RG-19-LCM - and 80-G-215100 (at Oran, Algeria, 5 July 1943, photographed from USS Ancon). MARAD's ShipHistory database carries a stub record for 'SUSAN B. ANTHONY (AP-72)' (Detail 12588) with no status card, milestones, or documents.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1943 (images); record to present
- Limitations
- Photographic/documentation leads only - images do not establish materials content. MARAD stub record confirms custody trail (vessel lost while under U.S. government charter) but holds no data. No asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-09
-
[10]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
- AJIM 11(3):359-373 - era/program-level documentation
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference: a turbo-electric passenger-cargo liner of 1929-30 U.S. construction embodied the period's standard marine insulation practice - asbestos-containing boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine and machinery lagging, flange and valve gaskets, machinery packing, electrical insulation around the turbo-generator plant, and structural fireproofing. Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as fireproofing and insulation in U.S. shipbuilding and that wartime demand drove unprecedented utilization aboard converted merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1929-1944
- Population
- Construction trades (Camden, 1929-30); merchant and Navy engineering crews; conversion-yard workers
- Limitations
- Era/program-level scholarly documentation; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, exposure, or causation. Pre-war passenger-liner insulation practice is separately documented but was not independently pulled for this batch.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-10
-
[11]Conversion chronology per shipscribe USN-register compilation (ev-02); era yard-asbestos documentation per Corn & Starr (AJIM 1987) and the accumulated yard records in this atlas's shipyards dataset [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe AP-72 class notes; shipyards.json yard entries for new-york-shipbuilding, brooklyn-navy-yard, bethlehem-shipbuilding, todd-shipyards
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Conversion-yard context: this hull underwent three documented wartime yard periods - Robins Dry Dock & Repair (Todd), Brooklyn (February 1942, WSA troopship conversion and merchant armament); Bethlehem Steel 56th Street yard, Brooklyn (August-September 1942, Navy conversion with Welin davits and boat stowage); New York Navy Yard (August 1943, davit and topside-weight removal). New York-area naval and commercial repair yards of this era are documented centers of asbestos handling and exposure; work of this kind - ripping out and installing insulation, piping, machinery, and deck fittings - is the classic disturbance pathway for asbestos-containing ship materials.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Conversion-yard workers, Brooklyn NY, 1942-1943
- Limitations
- Yard attendance is ship-specific and documented; the asbestos scope of the work done on this hull is NOT documented - no work package, specification, or exposure record was located. Do not read yard-era documentation as a ship-specific finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-11
-
[12]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 (2d Cir. 1989), CourtListener 533004
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Fleet-level litigation posture for the WSA operating period (28 February - 7 August 1942, Grace Line as WSA agent): in Robinson v. United States the Second Circuit held claims against the government for asbestos exposure aboard War Shipping Administration vessels barred on discretionary-function grounds. This is the controlling jurisdictional ruling for mesothelioma claims arising from the WWII government merchant/auxiliary fleet of which this hull was part for five months.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1989 opinion; 1942 WSA period
- Population
- WSA-period crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Fleet-level jurisdictional ruling; does not name this hull, finds no asbestos conditions aboard any specific vessel, and establishes only the litigation posture for WSA-period claims. Reporter citation previously confirmed in Batch-01 work.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-12
-
[13]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 38 (CNO operational records), RG 248 (War Shipping Administration), RG 26 (Coast Guard - merchant logbooks) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA record-group guides; shipscribe class notes documenting the Philadelphia NY drawing transmittal and BuShips stability files
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no research-room or reproduction spend authorized): NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships records under ID-5043, including the conversion drawings the Philadelphia Navy Yard delivered to the Bureau of Construction and Repair 9 June 1941 and the BuShips stability correspondence; ship's deck logs and war diaries/action reports 1942-44 (RG 38, NARA College Park); WSA vessel acquisition/operation files for Santa Clara (RG 248); merchant logbooks for the Santa Clara years (RG 26, distributed by port of submission - New York).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1941-1944 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether any asbestos-specific documents exist for ID-5043 is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-13
-
[14]Batch-2144 search ledger (this record): DANFS (hazegray mirror); shipscribe register compilation; USNI Naval History Dec 2015 and Jun 2009; Charles 1947; MARAD ShipHistory 12588; NARA photo-series leads; CourtListener name/hull searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-01 through sl-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, NRHP/NPS nomination, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Susan B. Anthony (AP-72) or SS Santa Clara (Official No. 229337) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The ship's 1944 loss forecloses the survey/abatement record class that later-hull records depend on; the wreck lies in French waters and was commercially demolished postwar.
- 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 1930 steam-driven liner lost in wartime is era-consistent with installed asbestos-containing materials that went down with the hull. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-susan-b-anthony-ap72-14