Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'USS Tombigbee (AOG-11)' (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Naval History Division) - HyperWar transcription [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS AOG-11 entry, full text; canonical NHHC URLs (history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/tombigbee*.html, legacy content/history paths) returned 404 on 2026-09-24 - HyperWar/ibiblio mirror cited, consistent with Batch-01 documented link rot
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry: Tombigbee (AOG-11), Patapsco class; laid down 23 October 1942 at Savage, Minn., by Cargill, Inc.; launched 18 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. F. R. Stoltz; commissioned 13 July 1944 at New Orleans, Lt. Comdr. A. O. Askland, USNR. Header: dp 4,142 (f.); l. 310'9"; b. 48'6"; dr. 16'8"; s. 14 k.; cpl. 120; a. 4 3". Service: shakedown; departed Galveston 13 Aug 1944, Panama Canal, San Diego, Pearl Harbor 4 Sep; Service Squadron 10 at Eniwetok; fresh-water (not oil) cargo runs Guam-Ulithi through 1944; present at Ulithi 20 Nov 1944 when midget submarine torpedoed Mississinewa (AO-69) 1,600 yd away; Saipan/Tinian Feb 1945; TG 60.9, Iwo Jima 25 Feb-9 Mar 1945; Okinawa from 1 Apr 1945 (kamikaze passed starboard and hit Hinsdale APA-120; Hagushi anchorage; Kerama Retto reloads; general quarters up to 20 hrs/day) through war's end; Sasebo 23 Sep 1945 occupation; Nagasaki-area water; Bikini atomic-test support 1 Apr-5 Sep 1946; west-coast overhaul into 1947; Marshalls ops Jan-Mar 1948; Far East circuit (Guam, Yokosuka, Pusan, Jinsen, Tsingtao, Buckner Bay, Naha, Manila); out of commission in reserve Mare Island 12 Dec 1949; recommissioned Mare Island 28 Jul 1950; MidPac/northern Pacific ops; 1953-64 Pacific logistics incl. operations Rocky Shoals, Twin Peaks, Blue Star, Long Haul, Pack Mule, Green Light, Silver Sword; WestPac spring 1962 (Subic, Yokosuka); departed Pearl 18 Dec 1962 for Port Lyttelton and Operation Deep Freeze 1963, McMurdo Sound ops 18-22 Jan 1963; Exercise Pinetree May 1964; Subic/Kaohsiung/Hong Kong/Yokosuka late 1964-Jun 1965; regular overhaul at Pearl Harbor then Vietnam logistics deployments Mar-Jun and Jul-Aug 1966; homeported Pearl 1967; Danang/I Corps Oct 1967-Mar 1968; Danang Nov 1968 (LCU-1500 assist 22 Dec) into mid-1969; Service Squadron 5 Market Time ops through 1971 with Soviet-warship surveillance; reduced operating status 1 Feb 1972; inactivation 31 May-7 Jul; decommissioned at Pearl Harbor 7 Jul 1972 and transferred to the Greek Navy, renamed Ariadni (A-414), serving through 1979. Two battle stars WWII; 11 engagement stars Vietnam.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1979
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, milestones, and service narrative; DANFS text ends at 1979 ('has served ... through 1979') so the strike/sale dates come from NavSource (see ev-02). DANFS's '11 engagement stars' conflicts with NavSource's nine-campaign-star ribbon table - logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tombigbee-aog11-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USS Tombigbee (AOG-11) page (timeline, specifications block, campaign/ribbon tables, commanding-officer list, photo captions) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AOG-11 page - timeline, specifications, campaign tables, CO list, photo captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource photo-index record supplies the post-1979 milestones and spec block: decommissioned 7 July 1972; struck from the Naval Register 15 April 1978; transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal; sold through the Security Assistance Program to Greece 1 July 1978, renamed HRNS Ariadni (A-414); final disposition 'to be withdrawn from Greek naval service in 2003, fate unknown.' Assigns the ship to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.8.1 (Service Group - Repair and Service Unit) for Operation Crossroads, Bikini Atoll, July 1946. Spec block: 1,850 t light / 4,335 t full; 310'9" x 48'6" x 15'8"; 14 kts; complement 9 officers + 126 enlisted; armament 4 x 3"/50 DP, 12 x 20mm; cargo 2,040 DWT (oil 7,975 bbl; gasoline 410,500 gal); fuel diesel 2,240 bbl; propulsion four General Motors 16-278A diesel engines, single Fairbanks Morse main reduction gear, twin propellers 3,300 shp. Ribbon list incl. Antarctic Service Medal and Vietnam Service Medal with nine campaign stars (campaign table dates listed). Photos document her underway 1962, offloading JP-4 in McMurdo Sound Jan 1963, bow view off Oahu 8 Jun 1967, departing Pearl Oct 1968, and as HRNS Ariadni in an unrep with ex-Semmes (DDG-18)/HRNS Kimon Aug 2001.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-2003
- Limitations
- Specialist volunteer compilation, not a primary record - strike/sale dates, JTF-1 task-unit assignment, spec-block figures, and Greek withdrawal date are NavSource-compiled and not independently confirmed against NVR/MARAD/Greek sources (NVR excludes pre-1987 disposals; MARAD ShipHistory carries no record for this hull). Complement (135) and draft (15'8") conflict with DANFS (120; 16'8") - logged in gaps. No asbestos or insulation-material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tombigbee-aog11-02
-
[3]CourtListener RECAP: Friedel v. Crane Company, D. Haw. 1:17-cv-00517-LEK-KJM (docket_id 34878221, filed 2017-10-13, terminated 2019-04-10); status-conference entry in Hollister v. Crane Co., D. Haw. 1:18-cv-00187 (docket_id 14521334, 2018-10-19 entry); Top Class Actions press account of complaint (2017-11-09) [court_record]
- Locator
- RECAP docket stub (no entries in RECAP); Hollister docket status-conference minute entry listing 'Friedel v. Crane Company, et al 1:17-cv-00517-LEK-KJM'; topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/couple-file-lawsuit-over-navy-asbestos-exposure/
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Friedel v. Crane Company et al., U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii, No. 1:17-cv-00517-LEK-KJM (CourtListener RECAP docket_id 34878221, PACER case 136601): filed 13 October 2017, assigned to Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi, terminated 10 April 2019. Per the legal-press account of the complaint, plaintiff Vernon Friedel alleged he developed mesothelioma (diagnosed May 2017) from asbestos exposure while in the U.S. Navy aboard USS Tombigbee and USS Abnaki (ATF-96) during roughly 1955-1959, when the ships were overhauled at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard; alleged daily inhalation of asbestos fibers from asbestos products and machinery requiring removal/change of asbestos-containing parts; named defendants Crane Company, Viking Company, Ingersoll-Rand Company, plus up to 25 unnamed entities; nine causes of action including failure to warn, negligence, conspiracy to commit fraud, fraudulent concealment; wife alleged loss of consortium. An October 2018 status-conference entry in the coordinated Hawaii asbestos docket (via the Hollister v. Crane Co. docket, 1:18-cv-00187) lists Friedel v. Crane Company alongside Tilford, Widmark, Hollister, and Jones cases, with mediation anticipated in the first quarter of 2019; the case terminated April 2019 - consistent with settlement/dismissal, disposition unpublished.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1955-1959 alleged exposure; 2017-2019 litigation
- Population
- Navy crew aboard AOG-11 and ATF-96 during alleged ~1955-1959 Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard overhaul windows
- Limitations
- PLEADING-STAGE ALLEGATION, classified down per litigation-stage discipline: the complaint's vessel list and exposure narrative are allegations, not findings. No merits adjudication located - RECAP carries the docket stub only (0 entries); the 2019-04-10 termination disposition is unpublished and consistent with settlement or voluntary dismissal, neither confirmed. The press account is the only located source for complaint contents (alleged exposure window ~1955-1959, ship names, product list) and is internally inconsistent on the co-plaintiff's first name. Product list is boilerplate - it names boilers among alleged asbestos products, but Tombigbee was a diesel ship with no boiler plant. Establishes that an allegation naming this hull was filed and litigated to termination; does not establish that asbestos was present aboard, that exposure occurred, or any legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tombigbee-aog11-03
-
[4]Consolidated era/design inference - NavSource AOG-11 spec block (plant, cargo) + DANFS-documented overhaul/availability timeline + wartime Navy construction practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; DANFS overhaul/availability passages
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a 1942-44 Navy-spec diesel auxiliary built at Cargill's inland yard - four GM 16-278A diesel engines through reduction gearing on twin screws (NavSource spec block) or diesel-electric (HyperWar/Wikipedia), with no boilers or steam plant in any source - is consistent with period-standard asbestos-containing diesel exhaust and muffler lagging, machinery-space insulation, flange gaskets and valve packing on the fuel/water cargo piping (the ship carried gasoline, oil, JP-4, and potable water), electrical insulation in switchboards and cabling, accommodation-space bulkhead and overhead insulation, deck coverings, and winch/windlass brake linings. Documented maintenance periods - Navy Yard Pearl Harbor technical/restricted availabilities (1964), regular overhaul at Pearl Harbor (completed early 1966), inactivation work 31 May-7 Jul 1972 - and the Friedel-alleged ~1955-1959 Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard overhauls are events that would have disturbed installed insulation if present.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-2003
- Population
- Cargill Port Cargill construction workforce (Savage, MN, 1942-43); New Orleans fitting-out workforce (1944); naval crew (~120-135, 1944-49, 1950-72); Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard overhaul/availability workforces (1950s-1972); Hellenic Navy crew (1972-2003)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no document names an asbestos product aboard this hull, and the inference is weaker than for steam auxiliaries because this diesel plant had no boiler/steam system (the largest typical asbestos mass on steam auxiliaries). Establishes no quantities, locations, condition, individual exposure, or causation. The Pearl Harbor availabilities are disturbance opportunities, not documented abatement events; no abatement-era paper trail located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tombigbee-aog11-04
-
[5]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
- 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 Navy-spec auxiliary hull was built at Cargill, Savage - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard hulls of this period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- 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, the Patapsco class, or Cargill's Savage yard 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-tombigbee-aog11-05
-
[6]MNopedia (Minnesota Historical Society), 'Savage Shipyard' entry; Scott County Historical Society, 'Little Shipyard on the Prairie' parts 1-3 (yard history incl. the 18-AOG production list and the downriver delivery route) [other_primary]
- Locator
- MNopedia Savage Shipyard entry; scottcountyhistory.org/blog little-shipyard-on-the-prairie-part3 (AOG production list, delivery route)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard documentation: in 1942 the U.S. military repurposed Cargill's Savage, Minnesota barge yard as 'Port Cargill,' a Navy shipyard chosen for local shipbuilding skill, labor pool, and inland safety from attack; the yard's initial contract was six AOGs, and by war's end it employed ~3,500 at peak and had built 18 AOGs plus four Army towboats - Agawam (first, launched 6 May 1943), Elkhorn, Genesee, Kishwaukee, Nemasket, Tombigbee, Chehalis, Chestatee, Chewaucan, Maquoketa, Mattabesset, Namakagon, Natchaug, Nespelen, Noxubee, Pecatonica, and Pinnebog. Hulls launched into a dredged Minnesota River pool, towed downriver past bridge clearances to the Mississippi and on to New Orleans for final fitting-out, then proceeded via the Panama Canal to the Pacific - matching this hull's New Orleans commissioning and Pacific route.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Port Cargill construction workforce (~3,500 peak, 1942-45)
- Limitations
- State-historical-society and county-historical-society secondary accounts - authoritative for the yard's existence, contract scale, workforce, and delivery logistics, and consistent with DANFS construction facts, but not shipyard record primary documents. Neither source contains any asbestos, insulation-material, or occupational-health statement; supports no asbestos claim. Cargill/Port Cargill is not in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tombigbee-aog11-06
-
[7]Batch-1954 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches (opinions + dockets); MARAD ShipHistory ShipList; NVR; NHHC canonical URLs; DANFS; NavSource; MNopedia/SCHS [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-tombigbee-aog11-07 through sl-uss-tombigbee-aog11-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located beyond the Friedel allegation: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum documentation, or adjudicated exposure finding names this hull. CourtListener authenticated searches: opinions 'USS Tombigbee' 0; 'AOG-11' 0; 'Tombigbee' + asbestos 13 hits - all Alabama/Mississippi regional name collisions (Tombigbee Electric/Healthcare/Pharmacy entities, Johnston-Tombigbee furniture, Warrior Tombigbee Transportation, Tombigbee River geography; e.g., W.C. Lane v. Celotex cites only the Warrior Tombigbee case name); dockets 'Tombigbee' 1,357 - regional entity collisions throughout. MARAD ShipHistory holds no record for Tombigbee/Ariadni (ShipList searches return none). NVR excludes pre-1987 disposals - no entry expected or found. NHHC canonical DANFS URLs 404 (standing link rot). DANFS, NavSource, and the historical-society yard accounts contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942-44 Navy-spec diesel auxiliary is era-consistent with installed asbestos-containing materials, the hull's 59-year career (1944-2003 including 31 years of Greek service) spanned the entire abatement era without generating a located disclosure, and foreign-military-service records are outside English-language public coverage. The Friedel allegation is a pleading, not documentation. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tombigbee-aog11-07
-
[8]NARA 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' page (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online) - Tombigbee (AOG-11) panel listing digitized monthly logs 1956-1970; NARA logbook guidance (RG 24/594258; RG 38 war diaries); PACER/CourtListener RECAP docket record [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov navy-online page, 'Tombigbee (AOG-11)' panel (commission/decommission/recommission dates + 1956-1970 monthly catalog links); catalog.archives.gov/id/594258 series
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved): (a) NARA HAS DIGITIZED DECK LOGS FOR AOG-11 covering 1956-1970 - monthly files in the catalog series 'Logbooks of the U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978' (NAID 594258 family; the archives.gov navy-online page lists per-month catalog IDs for Tombigbee, e.g., Jan 1956 id 210631714) - these span most of the Friedel-alleged 1955-59 overhaul window, the Deep Freeze 1963 deployment, and the Vietnam deployments, and are the likeliest primary corroboration of overhaul/availability periods; (b) WWII deck logs 1944-49 and war diaries - textual at Archives II (RG 24/RG 38), not in the digitized set; (c) Bureau of Ships plan/contract files (RG 19) for the Cargill-built AOGs - likeliest repository of outfitting/insulation material schedules; (d) the Friedel case file itself via PACER D. Haw. 136601 - RECAP carries the stub only; (e) Hawaii First Circuit state-court file if a removed companion exists; (f) Greek Navy disposition records for A-414 post-2003.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-2003 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - the digitized logs were located but not opened/read; whether they contain material-relevant entries (yard availabilities, insulation work) is unknown until reviewed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tombigbee-aog11-08