Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet u-packet.md (7 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED. No phantom, no collision. — real identity: USS Tazewell (APA-209); namesake: Tazewell County, Illinois and Tazewell County, Virginia [secondary] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Tazewell
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-tazewell-apa209-pkt-u-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), 'Tazewell' (APA-209) entry, published 2015-09-25; live NHHC page returns 404 - Wayback capture cited. Corroborating NHHC Online Library photo page (NHC photos NH 98749, NH 83489) at ibiblio.org mirror [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text (paragraphs 1-6 + ship-data line); NHHC Online Library photo page https://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-t/apa209.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: Tazewell (APA-209; dp. 7,190; 455' x 62' x 24'; 17.7 k; cpl. 536; trp. 1,562; 1 5-in., 12 40mm; cl. Haskell; type VC2-S-AP5), named for counties in Illinois and Virginia, was laid down under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 557) 1944-06-02 at Richmond, Calif., by Permanente Metals Corp.; launched 1944-08-22, sponsored by Mrs. Samuel I. Rosenman; commissioned 1944-10-25, Comdr. H. S. Olsen, USNR. After shakedown she departed Seattle 1945-01-02 with garrison troops for the Palaus (Peleliu 1/31), then Leyte; assigned TransRon 17 / TG 51.1 for the Okinawa invasion - Kerama Retto landings 1945-03-26, Hagushi anchorage, Ie Shima run 4/16; on 4/27 her boats rescued seven survivors of a Liberty ship kamikaze-crash sinking 2,500 yd off her port bow (taken to USS Hope AH-7). Departed Saipan 5/22 for the U.S.; Seattle yard availability June 1945; Tinian/Saipan run July; in drydock at San Pedro when hostilities ended. Postwar: Manila/Lingayen cargo and passengers, occupation troops to Japan (TransRon 19), ~500 5th Marine Div. Marines from Sasebo to San Francisco (arrived 11/9), then Operation Magic Carpet runs (Philippines, Yokosuka) until 1946-08-09. Decommissioned San Francisco 1946-12-27; in reserve 12 years; transferred to the Maritime Administration 1958-09-25; struck from the Navy list 1958-10-01; sold to Zidell Explorations, Inc., Portland, Oreg., 1972-12-11 and scrapped. One battle star for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Population
- Wartime ship's company 536 plus embarked troops up to ~1,562 (1944-1946)
- Limitations
- Official ship-history narrative; establishes identity, construction, operations, and disposal chain. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or health-hazard content; supports no asbestos claim. DANFS 'transferred to the Maritime Administration 1958-09-25' refers to NDRF custody entry (reimbursable basis) - see correction row ev-03 for the 1958/1967 discrepancy in secondary sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tazewell-apa209-01
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - TAZEWELL (APA-209/LPA-209), Ship History Detail 4771: milestone table plus digitized status cards (USMC MC-7146a vessel status card; two MA-383 reserve-fleet particulars cards, Astoria and Olympia fleets; MA-20 record of ship sale) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Status-card images 4771_AF.jpg (MA-20 sale record), 4771_8800AF.jpg (Olympia particulars), 4771_8800BF.jpg (Astoria particulars), a5911479-1a68-415b-ac86-14782cf88a34.png (MC-7146a); milestone table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD custody chain for MCV-557: delivered to Reserve Fleet (Astoria, Oreg.) under 'Permanent Transfer' 1958-09-25 10:42 PST - a reimbursable arrangement per the Astoria particulars card ('Navy agrees to bear costs of retention at rate of $118 per ship per month until FY 1960' and up to $16,000/ship for FY-1959 preservation; Navy letter 1958-06-13, MARAD reply 1958-06-20); withdrawn from Astoria 1967-09-15, delivered to Olympia, Wash. fleet 1967-09-17 (entered/berthed 9-18, 19 S Row B) because Astoria was closing; withdrawn to Bremerton, Wash. 1972-04-13; sold to Zidell Explorations, Inc. 1972-12-11 under PD-X-951 (advertised 11-8-72, bids opened 12-7-72; two award conditions offered - (1) non-transportation use / (2) scrap hull - US; awarded under condition (1) NTU) for $51,000, sale contract MA-6849. Card data: VC2-S-AP5, built Permanente Metals Corp., Richmond, completed 1944-10-25; gross 7,750 t, DWT 5,914; light load 6,720 t / full load 12,450 t; draft 24'; speed 17 kt; handwritten 'LPA-209' annotation applied over the APA-209 designation on the USMC card (former name APA-209).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1958-1973
- Population
- NDRF caretaker and fleet-transfer personnel (Astoria, Olympia, Bremerton, 1958-1973); Zidell disposal workers
- Limitations
- Government custody and disposal record - primary source for reserve-fleet and disposal dates, sale terms, and the NTU award condition. Milestone table conflates events (Disposition/Withdrawl both listed 1972-04-13, the Bremerton transfer date; physical withdrawal after sale was 1973-01-09 per NavSource). No asbestos, material-condition, or hazardous-substance content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tazewell-apa209-02
-
[4]MARAD ShipHistory Detail 4771 status cards (MC-7146a; MA-383 Astoria and Olympia cards; MA-20 sale record) vs. DANFS 'Tazewell' entry and NavSource APA-209 page [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Astoria card 'Withdrawn 9-15-67 ... priority transferred to Olympia due to closing of Astoria'; USMC card custody rows 9-25-58 / 9-17-67 / 4-13-72 / 12-11-72; NavSource page text 'Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration, 17 September 1967'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Resolves a secondary-source conflict over the MARAD transfer date. DANFS and the MARAD record agree the hull entered Maritime Administration reserve-fleet custody (Astoria) on 1958-09-25 - the Navy-retention 'reimbursable' custody arrangement documented on the Astoria particulars card - and she was struck from the Navy list 1958-10-01. The '17 September 1967' custody-transfer date carried by NavSource and downstream compilations (and Wikipedia's 'transfer to the Maritime Administration, 17 September 1967' phrasing) is not the initial MARAD acquisition: the cards document it as an intra-MARAD fleet move (Astoria withdrawn 9-15-67, delivered Olympia 9-17-67, entered 9-18-67) when the Astoria site closed. Also logged: Wikipedia's infobox lists a 'LPA-208' hull symbol - a typo; the MARAD card annotation reads LPA-209.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1958-1973
- Limitations
- Corrects the public-record timeline only. The stricken hull's administrative redesignation to LPA-209 (fleet-wide APA-to-LPA change effective 1969-01-01) is corroborated by the card annotation but the 1969-01-01 effective date itself is secondary-sourced. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tazewell-apa209-03
-
[5]NavSource Online, Amphibious Photo Archive - USS Tazewell (APA-209) page (call sign NPPE; specifications; campaign and service tables; commanding officers; photo catalog) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Specifications block; campaign/awards tables; disposition lines
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compiles: armament one single 5-in/38 dual-purpose mount, four twin 40mm AA, one quad 40mm AA, ten single 20mm AA; boats two LCM, one open LCPL, one covered LCPL (captain's gig), two LCPR, eighteen LCVP; complement 56 officers / 480 enlisted, troop accommodations 87 officers / 1,475 enlisted; propulsion one Westinghouse geared turbine, two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers 465 psi / 750 F, double Westinghouse main reduction gear, three 300 kW 120/240 V DC turbo ship's-service generators, single propeller 8,500 shp; fuel NSFO 7,780 bbl + diesel 970 bbl; cargo 2,900 DWT / 150,000 cu ft non-refrigerated; largest boom 35 t. Campaigns: Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation, 1945-03-26 to 04-30), TransRon 17 / TransDiv 49; Navy Occupation Service 1945-10-12 to 10-27 and China Service (extended) periods 1946-02-23 to 03-04, 05-06 to 05-19, 07-16 to 07-25. COs: CDR H. S. F. H. Olsen (to 1946-06-15), CDR Robert Gentry Norman USNA '25 (to decommissioning). Acquired on loan-charter; Pacific Reserve Fleet Astoria tow 1958-07-26; final withdrawal 1973-01-09.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive, not a primary document; carried because its specifications reconcile with DANFS published figures (536/1,562; 12 40mm barrels = 4 twin + 1 quad) and it reproduces MARAD status-card facts. The 'custody transferred ... 17 September 1967' line reflects the Astoria-to-Olympia fleet move (see correction row). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tazewell-apa209-04
-
[6]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (Jan 1945), APA section - VC2-S-AP5 type machinery data (shipscribe.com scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 APA machinery table (Haskell row read for the type); NavSource specifications corroborate the plant for this hull
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this hull: Tazewell is a VC2-S-AP5 Victory-derived attack transport built 1944 with a single-screw geared-steam plant - two superheated Babcock & Wilcox boilers at 465 psi/750 F feeding a Westinghouse turbine (8,500 shp). Vessels of this plant type and construction era were built with asbestos-containing boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line and turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets, machinery packing, accommodation insulation, and winch/windlass brake linings; troop-carrying outfitting added interior joiner and insulation scope. The hull's commissioned career ran only 1944-1946, so disturbance exposure concentrates in wartime construction/maintenance, 12 years of Pacific Reserve Fleet lay-up, 14 years of NDRF custody transfers (Astoria, Olympia, Bremerton), and 1972-73 disposal.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Population
- Construction trades at Permanente Metals Yard No. 2, Richmond (1944); crew 536 + embarked troops (1944-46); reserve-fleet/NDRF caretakers (1946-1973); disposal workers at Zidell (1972-73)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - BuShips data documents the type's machinery, not materials, and does not name this hull. No asbestos itemization exists for this ship; presence is inference from design and era, not ship-proven. Establishes no quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tazewell-apa209-05
-
[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
- 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 emergency program under which this VC2-S-AP5 hull was mass-produced under Maritime Commission contract - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard 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 aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tazewell-apa209-06
-
[8]California DTSC, Richmond Harbor Restoration Project / Kaiser Richmond Shipyard (Site ID 400137001); EPA CERCLA record CAD980637557 (Kaiser Alum & Chem Co Shipyard #2, NFRAP determination) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DTSC Kaiser Richmond Shipyard project page; EPA Superfund site profile CAD980637557
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The builder yard - Permanente Metals Corporation Yard No. 2, one of the Kaiser Richmond shipyards - is a documented asbestos site in government environmental records: DTSC documents asbestos-containing materials in soils and structures at the former Kaiser shipyard site within the Richmond Harbor Restoration Project, and EPA carries Kaiser Alum & Chem Co Shipyard #2 under CERCLA ID CAD980637557 (NFRAP). Wartime construction at this yard is the relevant exposure pathway for the hull's 1944 build.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940-1945 operations; remediation documentation 1990s-2010s
- Population
- Permanente Metals / Kaiser Richmond construction workforce (1944)
- Limitations
- Yard-level environmental record only - documents the construction site, not materials installed aboard this hull. CERCLA record is NFRAP (site did not qualify for NPL). Establishes no shipboard asbestos, no quantity, and no individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tazewell-apa209-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 sweeps, 2026-09-25 (authenticated): q='Tazewell' type=o (3,325 opinions - sampled top results all Tazewell County IL/VA name collisions); q='"USS Tazewell" OR "APA-209" OR "LPA-209"' type=o (2 opinions, both fragment matches - Kross v. Ruff, 2017 Ohio 4276, dormant-minerals case; Jiggy Puzzles, LLC v. Steelhead Acquisition EE, Inc., Del. Super. N24C-10-212) and type=r (16 dockets, all unrelated civil/administrative cases matching text fragments); q='Tazewell asbestos' type=o (11 opinions - county-area asbestos litigation, e.g., Holmgren v. National Big-4 Asbestos Removal (Ill. App. 1992), Cochran v. Smith & Nephew (C.D. Ill. 2017), Virginia Vermiculite v. W.R. Grace (W.D. Va. 2001)) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-tazewell-apa209-05 through sl-uss-tazewell-apa209-07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying litigation located naming USS Tazewell, APA-209, or LPA-209 - no asbestos opinion, no asbestos docket, and no litigation of any kind naming the hull across the opinion and RECAP docket indexes searched. All hits classify as name collisions (the ship is named for Tazewell Counties in Illinois and Virginia, both of which generate substantial litigation volume) or text-fragment matches.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- RECAP and opinion indexes under-cover unreported state-court filings and settled MDL-875 claims; a county-name vessel sweep cannot retrieve filings that name only 'Tazewell' without 'USS' or a hull number - coverage is limited to digitized text containing a qualifying string. Absence of a located docket does not prove no claim was ever filed; it establishes only that no indexed case naming the hull was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tazewell-apa209-08
-
[10]Batch-2281 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404; Wayback capture); NHHC Online Library photo page (ibiblio); NavSource APA-209; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 4771 + four status-card scans; CourtListener opinion + docket sweeps; NavSource research FAQ (NARA deck-log custody) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-tazewell-apa209-01 through sl-uss-tazewell-apa209-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, industrial-hygiene file, or docketed case naming the Tazewell hull was found in the public sources searched. DANFS, the MARAD status cards and sale record, and the NavSource page contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement (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 combat transport is era-consistent with installed asbestos-containing materials, and the hull was scrapped in 1973 before asbestos documentation practices modernized. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tazewell-apa209-09
-
[11]NARA record-group path for this hull: RG 24 deck logs (1944-1946 commissions fall in the 1942-1961 series held by Textual Reference, College Park per NavSource/NARA researcher guidance); WWII war diaries and action reports (RG 38); BuShips general plans for stricken vessels (Bureau of Ships collection); a 1945-dated USS Tazewell cruise book exists (commercial digitization at e-yearbook.com - crew-published artifact; NHLC cruise-book holdings for APA-209 unverified) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 24/RG 38/RG 178 guides; NavSource 'Sources for Individual Ship Study' FAQ (deck-log custody 1942-1961); e-yearbook listing 'Tazewell (APA 209) Naval Cruise Book, Class of 1945'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not retrieved (no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 24 deck logs 1944-10 to 1946-12 - machinery-maintenance entries could document insulation work aboard; (b) RG 38 war diaries/action reports incl. the Okinawa operation; (c) BuShips Booklet of General Plans / drawings for APA-209 - stricken-ship plans are held for most hulls stricken from the register; (d) 1945 cruise book (digitized commercially) - crew-published artifact that may describe shipboard spaces and maintenance; (e) Permanente Metals/Kaiser Richmond contract records under NARA RG 178 (US Maritime Commission) for MC hull 557 outfitting specifications.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1973 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-tazewell-apa209-10