Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet r2-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: MISMATCH
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- usns-mission-los-angeles-t-ao-117-pkt-r2-packet-md
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[2]Shipscribe, USNS Mission Buenaventura (T-AO 111, T2-SE-A2) class page — construction table and class notes (NVR/BuShips-compiled) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Construction table row T-AO 117 (MISSION LOS ANGELES: Acq 24 Oct 1947, Marinship, keel 25 Apr 1945, launch 10 Aug 1945, svc 24 Oct 1947); Class Notes paragraphs on the 1 Mar 1945 T2-SE-A3 order and 18 Aug 1945 cancellation
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Construction identity: laid down 25 April 1945 at Marinship, Sausalito, launched 10 August 1945, in Navy service 24 October 1947 (AO-117) — per the shipscribe NVR-compiled class table. Per the shipscribe class narrative, the Maritime Commission ordered four additional Marinship tankers (MC hulls 2697-2700) on 1 March 1945 to the new T2-SE-A3 type — a T2-SE-A2 with Navy conversion features built into the plans — and after the Navy's 18 August 1945 cancellation the last three were completed as T2-SE-A2 merchant ships, soon becoming AO 117, AO 123, and AO 137. This hull (MC 2699) is the AO-117 member of that trio.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation drawn from the Naval Vessel Register and BuShips correspondence — the standard reference for auxiliary acquisition chronology; dates cross-check with the MARAD status card (primary). Establishes identity and acquisition history only; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-los-angeles-t-ao-117-01
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[3]MARAD Vessel History Database, Mission Los Angeles (ShipHistory Detail 3401) incl. status-card images 3401_AF.jpg, 3401_6301AF.jpg, 3401_6301BF.jpg, 3401_6301CF.jpg, 3401_6301CB.jpg; name-history link to CONECUH (AO-103) Detail 12821 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Detail 3401 milestones + vessel-name history; status cards: MA-983 Beaumont card (entered 11/12/1957, withdrawn 5/22/1958), MA-983 James River card (entered 8/13/1959, withdrawn 1/2/1976), Form MA-20 Record of Ship Sales (PD-X-1001, Luria Bros, 12/2/75, $219,666), 1946 entry card (7-16-46, withdrawn 10-24-47 to Todd Shipyard Galveston)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record and handwritten status cards (primary custodial documents read directly): Mission Los Angeles (AO-117), Marinship-built 1945, MARAD type T2-SE-A2, Official No. 248886, hull no. MC-2699, 524 ft x 68 ft, 21,880 t full / 5,532-5,621 t light. Cards document: entered NDRF Beaumont 16 Jul 1946 (last voyage terminating at Galveston); withdrawn 24 Oct 1947 and delivered to towing for Todd Shipyard, Galveston, reactivation; entered Beaumont reserve fleet 12 Nov 1957 with title 'Navy - Ready Status' (Group 5, reimbursable layup); withdrawn 22 May 1958, reason 'Navy for operation 1958 Arctic season' (ref. MSTS letter 7 May 1958); entered James River fleet 13 Aug 1959, prior service 'MSTS Nucleus Fleet'; sold for scrap under PD-X-1001 (advertised 17 Oct 1975, bids opened 20 Nov 1975) to Luria Brothers & Co., Inc., awarded 2 Dec 1975, $219,666, condition (2) SCRAP HULL-US; withdrawn 2 Jan 1976. A boilerplate warning requires General Electric (806 15th St NW, Washington DC, Marine Dept) to inspect main generator-turbine control and throttle valve stems before any restoration start (per GE letter of 17 Jan 1947); a note records a steering-gear pump and housing installed by Penn. S/Y, Inc. 1/3/47. MARAD's vessel-name history explicitly links CONECUH (AO-103) (separate record Detail 12821) to this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945-1976
- Population
- Merchant/mariner crew and NDRF maintenance staff (custody contexts only)
- Limitations
- Authoritative primary custody record. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or abatement statement — machinery notes are the GE turbine-valve inspection warning and a steering-gear repair. MARAD 'Specific Type' field mislabels the tanker 'LNG Liquefied Natural Gas' (a 1945 product tanker cannot be LNG) — data-entry artifact; MARAD Type T2-SE-A2 controls.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-los-angeles-t-ao-117-02
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[4]MARAD status card 3401_6301AF (1957 Beaumont entry 'Navy - Ready Status'; 22 May 1958 withdrawal 'Navy for operation 1958 Arctic season'); card 3401_6301BF (James River entered 13 Aug 1959, 'MSTS Nucleus Fleet'); shipscribe disposition table (Strike 13 Aug 1959); DANFS text via NavSource (1957 strike claim); NavSource ('struck, date unknown') [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Status-card ENTERED/WITHDRAWN/REASON fields; shipscribe AOT111 disposition table row AO-117
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Stricken-date and service-end correction: DANFS-derived texts say she was 'struck from the Naval Vessel Register' on 12 November 1957 and 'still berthed at Beaumont into 1969'; NavSource lists the strike date as unknown. The primary status card contradicts both: the 12 Nov 1957 Beaumont entry was under retained Navy title ('Navy - Ready Status', Group 5, reimbursable) — and she was WITHDRAWN 22 May 1958 for Navy operation in the 1958 Arctic season, so Navy service did not end in 1957. The shipscribe NVR-compiled disposition table gives Strike = 13 Aug 1959, matching the James River entry the same day; she remained at James River until the Dec 1975 sale, not Beaumont.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1957-1976
- Limitations
- Resolves a conflict between DANFS-derivative text (struck 12 Nov 1957) and NVR-compiled data (struck 13 Aug 1959) in favor of the 1959 date, corroborated by the card's retained Navy title in 1957 and the documented 1958 Arctic withdrawal. Carry both readings; the 1959 strike is adopted as best-supported. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-los-angeles-t-ao-117-03
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[5]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Mission Los Angeles' — text transcribed in NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive entry for T-AO-117 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NavSource entry narrative block labeled 'Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)'; canonical NHHC page https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/mission-los-angeles.html returns 404 as of 2026-09-25
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry (text as reproduced by NavSource): laid down 25 April 1945 under Maritime Commission contract at Marinship, Sausalito; launched 10 August 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Daniel J. Johnston; delivered 29 October 1945; operated by Los Angeles Tanker Operators, Inc. under charter until returned to the Maritime Commission 16 July 1946 and laid up in the reserve fleet at Beaumont, TX; acquired by the Navy 24 October 1947 and placed in service with the Naval Transportation Service as Mission Los Angeles (AO-117); absorbed into MSTS 1 October 1949 as USNS Mission Los Angeles (T-AO-117); returned to the Maritime Administration 12 November 1957. Named for Nuestra Senora Reina de los Angeles Asistencia (a 'sub-mission' of Mission San Gabriel Arcangel); the only U.S. naval vessel to bear the name.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945-1957
- Limitations
- DANFS text is authentic (same wording appears across independent mirrors) but the canonical NHHC page is unavailable (link rot, same defect class as Batch-01); citation rests on the NavSource transcription. The DANFS narrative omits the 1958 Arctic reactivation shown by the MARAD card — see correction row. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-los-angeles-t-ao-117-04
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[6]NavSource Online, USNS Mission Los Angeles (T-AO-117) entry 09/19/19117 (via 2024 Wayback capture; live fetch blocked to automated access) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Specifications block; Awards/Campaign Ribbons block; Korean War Campaigns table; timeline bullets
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource specifications and awards: displacement 5,532 t light / 21,880 t full; 523'6" x 68' x 30'10"; trial speed 15.1 kt; propulsion one General Electric turbo-electric engine, two Babcock & Wilcox D-type boilers (600 psi / 825 degF), single propeller 10,000 shp, with ship's-service turbo-generators; complement 52 CivMar + 17 US Navy Armed Guard; designed armament one single 5"/38 DP, four single 3"/50 DP, four twin 40mm, four twin 20mm; cargo 120,400 bbl oil + 575,000 gal gasoline. Awards: two battle stars for Korean War service — campaigns Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 (15-25 Jul; 29 Jul-2 Aug; 16 Aug; 29 Aug-5 Sep; 15-21 Sep; 30 Sep-6 Oct; 15-24 Oct; 4-9 Nov; 7-16 Dec 1952) and Third Korean Winter (13-18 Apr 1953); National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal (x2), UN Service Medal, ROK War Service Medal (retroactive).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945-1959
- Population
- Civilian mariner crew (~48-52) plus designed Armed Guard detachment; Korean-theater crew during listed 1952-53 periods
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation — its specs and award tables are standard reconstructions of NVR/award records, corroborated here by MARAD (type, dimensions) and the Korean campaign entries. NOTE: NavSource's 'MC 1818' hull number is contradicted by the MARAD status card's 'MC-2699' (card adopted; see gaps). Armament listed is the designed wartime fit — the ship completed merchant and served civilian-manned; guns may never have been fitted. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-los-angeles-t-ao-117-05
-
[7]Meier v. The Texas Company (Two Cases), 168 F. Supp. 119 (E.D. Pa., May 13, 1958), Ganey, C.J. — CourtListener opinion 1981857 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text, factual-narrative paragraphs at *122-*123 (crew service aboard U.S.N.S. Mission Los Angeles, 30 May - 6 Sep 1955)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener exact-name opinion search hit classified as OTHER LITIGATION (non-asbestos): Meier v. The Texas Company, 168 F. Supp. 119 (E.D. Pa. 1958) — a Jones Act / maintenance-and-cure settlement dispute over an injury aboard the Texaco tanker S.S. Virginia. The opinion incidentally documents that libellant Meier 'became a member of the crew of the U.S.N.S. Mission Los Angeles' at a Texas port on 30 May 1955 and returned from that service 6 September 1955 with a progressive neurological illness diagnosed as an unclassified demyelinating disease. The vessel was not a party; no asbestos allegation, exposure finding, or product identification is involved.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1954-1958
- Population
- Civilian merchant crew (one named seaman documented, May-Sep 1955)
- Limitations
- Non-asbestos litigation: the ship appears only as the plaintiff's interim employer-vessel; his claim concerned a 1954 injury aboard S.S. Virginia and a later demyelinating disease, not asbestos exposure. Value to this record is documentary — it confirms civilian mariner crews aboard this hull out of Gulf ports in 1955. Pleadings/settlement-stage dispute; no merits finding about the vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-los-angeles-t-ao-117-06
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[8]uboat.net Allied Warship Commanders entry for T/Cdr. Robert Roy Sampson, USN (drawing on his published obituary, ussmuliphen.com PDF), corroborated by MARAD status card 3401_6301AF [other_primary]
- Locator
- Sampson commander entry, 'Project 572 or Mission BAFOX' paragraph; MARAD card withdrawn-reason field
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- 1958 Arctic operation identified in secondary sources: T/Cdr. Robert Roy Sampson's biography records him commanding Joint Task Group 'Project 572 / Mission BAFOX' — an icebreaker, landing craft, and a large tanker sent into the Foxe Basin ice fields to test DEW Line resupply — and names the tanker Mission Los Angeles, reportedly the largest ship to penetrate that region. This aligns with the primary MARAD card entry: withdrawn from the Beaumont fleet 22 May 1958, 'Navy for operation 1958 Arctic season' (MSTS letter 7 May 1958).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1958
- Limitations
- The operation name and 'largest ship to penetrate Foxe Basin' detail rest on a secondary biographical source; the withdrawal itself and its Arctic purpose are primary (status card). Ship-level identification of the BAFOX tanker is consistent across the sources found but not confirmed by an official operation record. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-los-angeles-t-ao-117-07
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[9]Shipscribe Mission Buenaventura class notes (T2-SE-A2 design: HP/HT boilers, crowded machinery spaces) + NavSource machinery specifications (2 B&W D-type boilers 600psi/825degF, GE turbo-electric, 10,000 shp) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe Class Notes (T2-SE-A2 design paragraphs) + NavSource 19117 specifications block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era exposure pathway (inference, not a hull finding): the documented plant — two Babcock & Wilcox D-type boilers at 600 psi/825 degF feeding a GE turbo-electric set, single 10,000-shp screw — is a wartime high-pressure/high-temperature steam installation. For the T2-SE-A2 type the MC deliberately fitted high-pressure, high-temperature boilers with special alloy fittings into a crowded machinery space; era-standard practice insulated such plants with asbestos-containing lagging, block and felt insulation, gaskets, packing, and accommodation-space insulation. Typical applications for the type: boiler and steam-drum lagging; steam-line insulation; turbine casing insulation; valve and flange gaskets; machinery packing.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945 design / 1945-1959 service
- Population
- Marinship construction trades (1945); engine-room crew (merchant, USNT, and MSTS eras)
- Limitations
- Machinery specification is documented; asbestos content is NOT documented for this hull — the insulation pathway is era/type inference only. Does not establish that asbestos was installed, remains, or caused any exposure aboard this vessel; does not establish quantity, location, or condition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-los-angeles-t-ao-117-08
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[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
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Era context: peer-reviewed scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. WWII shipbuilding — the program and period under which this hull was mass-produced at an emergency yard (Marinship, Sausalito) — and that federal policy had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding.
- 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 documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and establishes nothing about presence, quantity, condition, individual exposure, or causation aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-los-angeles-t-ao-117-09
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[11]Batch-1840 search ledger (this record): MARAD ShipHistory + status cards; NavSource; shipscribe; DANFS; aukevisser/shipbuildinghistory T2 lists; CourtListener name/hull searches; NVR check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-usns-mission-los-angeles-t-ao-117-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull (Mission Los Angeles / AO-117 / T-AO-117 / MC-2699) was found in the public sources searched — the MARAD status cards contain no asbestos or insulation statement; DANFS, NavSource, shipscribe, and the shipbuilding compilations contain none; CourtListener name and hull-number searches returned one non-asbestos admiralty case naming the ship (Meier, classified other-litigation) and one unrelated name collision.
- 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 1945 steam tanker is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation, and scrapping-era (1975-76) documentation is likewise unlocated. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-los-angeles-t-ao-117-10
-
[12]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission); NARA merchant-vessel logbook guidance (RG 26 regional distribution); MSTS correspondence referenced on MARAD status card 3401_6301AF [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 178 Construction Division; https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/merchant-vessels-pl.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved — research-room or reproduction order required; no spend authorized): NARA RG 178 (Records of the U.S. Maritime Commission) — Construction Division files should hold the 1 March 1945 four-ship order and hull-level records for MC 2699 including the canceled T2-SE-A3 Navy conversion features and any material/insulation schedules; MSTS/NTS operational records (incl. the MSTS letter of 7 May 1958 referenced on the status card and Korean-theater tasking) at NARA; merchant-vessel logbooks 1939+ in RG 26 (U.S. Coast Guard), distributed to regional NARA facilities by port of submission — this ship's 1945-46 charter logs would follow Los Angeles/Galveston ports.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945-1959 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only — no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for MC hull 2699 is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-los-angeles-t-ao-117-11