Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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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-san-francisco-t-ao-123-pkt-r2-packet-md
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[2]Consolidated era inference - shipscribe Mission Buenaventura class machinery data (T2-SE-A2, turbo-electric, 2 boilers 600psi/825deg) + wartime T2 construction practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe T-AO 111 class page, class machinery block and construction table row for AO-123
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull is a 1945 T2-SE-A2 tanker with turbo-electric drive - two oil-fired boilers (600 psi/825 deg F class data) feeding steam turbo-generators - the asbestos pathway for the type is boiler and steam-line lagging, turbine/machinery insulation, gaskets, packing, and accommodation-space insulation typical of wartime emergency construction at Marinship.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945-1958
- Population
- Construction trades at Marinship, Sausalito (1945); civilian mariners operating her 1945-57; salvage and shipbreaking workers (Philadelphia NSY, Boston Metals Co., 1957-58)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-specific material schedule, survey, or invoice located for this hull; propulsion figures used are class data, not a hull-proven materials record. Establishes no quantity, no location, no present-day presence, no exposure, no causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-san-francisco-t-ao-123-01
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[3]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
- 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 program era under which this Marinship T2 tanker was built, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard hulls of this type.
- 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 or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-san-francisco-t-ao-123-02
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[4]Shipscribe.com Mission Buenaventura (T-AO 111, T2-SE-A2) class page (compiled from NARA/Navy records): AO-123 row + MC-hull narrative; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 3407 [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe AOT111 page (A3-order narrative; AO-123 ship note; MC 2700); MARAD ShipHistory Detail 3407 (vital data block, milestones 4/14/1946, fate Sold - Scrap)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MC hull 2700, Marinship yard no. 91, Sausalito CA. One of four hulls ordered 1 Mar 1945 to the new T2-SE-A3 type (a T2-SE-A2 with Navy conversion features built into the plans); ordered for the Navy as USS Contoocook (AO-104); Navy acquisition canceled 18 Aug 1945; completed without the Navy features as a T2-SE-A2 merchant tanker and delivered 11 Oct 1945 as SS Mission San Francisco (U.S. Official No. 248850, 10,388 gross tons). MARAD ShipHistory record confirms year built 1945, Marinship, MARAD type T2-SE-A2, official no. 248850, fate 'Sold - Scrap.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, type designation, and custody milestones. MARAD record contains data quirks (specific type field reads 'LNG Liquefied Natural Gas' - a database error, this was an oil tanker; a stray vessel-name-history link to TAMALPAIS AO-96) - neither is adopted. Neither source contains asbestos or insulation-material data; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-san-francisco-t-ao-123-03
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[5]DANFS 'Mission San Francisco' entry text (NavSource transcription; canonical NHHC URL 404s as of 2026-09-25) corroborated by shipscribe AO-123 ship note and aukevisser MARAD-status-card timeline [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NavSource T-AO-123 page career bullet list; shipscribe AOT111 AO-123 ship note; aukevisser id85 history block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Service timeline: completed/delivered 11 Oct 1945 and chartered to Deconhill Shipping Co.; returned to Maritime Commission 14 Apr 1946 for layup in NDRF Mobile AL; acquired by Navy 28 Oct 1947 and placed in service with Naval Transportation Service as Mission San Francisco (AO-123); delivered 7 Jan 1948 after reactivation to Tankers Co. Inc. for operation; transferred to MSTS 1 Oct 1949 and redesignated USNS Mission San Francisco (T-AO-123); returned to MARAD 18 Jan 1954 (Maritime Reserve Fleet, Beaumont TX); delivered to MSTS at Orange TX 19 Oct 1956 amid the 1956 tanker shortage (NavSource dates reacquisition 20 Oct 1956); chartered to Mathiasen's Tanker Industries.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945-1957
- Limitations
- Dates agree across DANFS text, shipscribe, and aukevisser except the Oct 1956 reacquisition (19 vs 20 Oct - delivery-to-MSTS vs acquisition date). NHHC canonical page unreachable (link rot); text verified through NavSource transcription. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-san-francisco-t-ao-123-04
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[6]In re United States, 155 F. Supp. 714 (D. Del. 1957) (collision facts); Home Shipping Co. v. United States, 239 F. Supp. 226 (D. Del. 1965) (Cosmic strike on floating stern wreck); corroborated by DANFS text, NavSource disposal line, aukevisser casualty page [court_record]
- Locator
- 155 F. Supp. 714 opening facts (time/location); 239 F. Supp. 226 (floating stern section); NavSource T-AO-123 disposal bullet; aukevisser id923 casualty page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Loss: at approximately 0030 on 7 Mar 1957 between Pea Patch Island and New Castle DE on the Delaware River, collided with Liberian freighter SS Elna II (Oskar Tiedemann & Co.); in ballast but not gas-freed, the tanker caught fire and exploded, breaking in two; 10 killed including master Capt. William Allen; Elna II grounded avoiding the burning hulk; USCG rescued Elna II's crew and the Mission San Francisco survivors. Bow section lost; floating stern section struck by SS Cosmic on 27 May 1957, then towed to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard; declared unsalvageable; stricken 20 Mar 1957; stern section sold 25 Sep 1957 to Boston Metals Co. ($116,666.66); sections towed to breakers 1958.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1957-1958
- Limitations
- Collision date/time/location and wreck status are court-documented; casualty count (10) and master identification rest on the DANFS-derived history texts and contemporary press, not the opinions themselves; 'in ballast but not gas-freed' is from the aukevisser caption, a specialist secondary source. Breaker destination reported as Boston (aukevisser) while buyer Boston Metals Co. was Baltimore-based - destination ambiguity logged. No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-san-francisco-t-ao-123-05
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[7]Petition of the United States and Mathiasen's Tanker Industries, 367 F.2d 505 (3d Cir. 1966); In re Oskar Tiedemann & Co., 367 F.2d 498 (3d Cir. 1966); and the 1957-64 D. Del./3d Cir. docket cited in finding_value [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener clusters 273378, 273377/8890151, 246168/7016156, 246169/7016157, 253705/7019952, 8741995, 8742428, 8745249, 1522589, 8747489, 2238928
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Documented litigation naming this hull is collision/admiralty limitation-of-liability litigation, NOT asbestos exposure litigation: Oskar Tiedemann & Co. (Elna II owner) and the United States/Mathiasen's Tanker Industries filed exoneration/limitation petitions in D. Del. (155 F. Supp. 714, 158 F. Supp. 470, 1957); claimants included estates of the dead (e.g., widow Theodora Andanar); interlocutory decrees refused exoneration to both petitioners (3d Cir. appeals 259 F.2d 605/608 (1958) re Admiralty Rule 54 claims, and 289 F.2d 237 (1961)); discovery and reopening rulings 172 F. Supp. 609 (1959), 179 F. Supp. 227 (1959), 183 F. Supp. 129 (1960); damages assessed 236 F. Supp. 895 (1964); merits resolved 367 F.2d 498 (Tiedemann) and 367 F.2d 505 (U.S./Mathiasen's), 3d Cir. 12 Sep 1966; cert. denied sub nom. Black v. United States, 386 U.S. 932 (1967).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1957-1967
- Population
- Claimants: collision survivors, decedents' estates, Elna II interests, cargo and pilotage parties
- Limitations
- All items are marine-collision liability litigation (property damage, cargo, and wrongful-death claims), described at their procedural stage; none alleges or adjudicates asbestos exposure. Death-claim captions (e.g., Andanar) are collision-casualty claims, not occupational-disease claims. No asbestos relevance beyond establishing the hull's litigation surface.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-san-francisco-t-ao-123-06
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[8]367 F.2d 505 (3d Cir. 1966) as cited in Santos v. RCA Service Co., 603 F. Supp. 943 (E.D. La. 1985) and Lovetro v. United States, 602 F. Supp. 574 (S.D.N.Y. 1984) [court_record]
- Locator
- Santos opinion text quoting/citing 'Petition of United States (U.S.N.S. Mission San Francisco), 367 F.2d 505, 509' with cert-denied history; Lovetro quoting same at 510
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Doctrinal aftermath: 367 F.2d 505 held that the Suits in Admiralty Act remedy against the United States is exclusive of suits against private operators of government-owned public vessels (Mathiasen's operating T-AO-123 under MSTS contract), and the case is still cited for that public-vessel exclusivity rule in seaman-injury litigation - e.g., Santos v. RCA Service Co., 603 F. Supp. 943 (E.D. La. 1985), and Lovetro v. United States, 602 F. Supp. 574 (S.D.N.Y. 1984). Relevant frame: any period asbestos claim arising from service aboard this government-owned, contract-operated tanker would face the same exclusivity analysis.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1966-1985
- Limitations
- Santos and Lovetro cite this vessel's collision opinion as precedent only - neither involves this hull nor asbestos. The exclusivity point is doctrinal context, not a ruling on asbestos claims against this vessel's operators; no asbestos claim against MSTS/Mathiasen's was located for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-san-francisco-t-ao-123-07
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[9]DANFS 'Contoocook' entry (hazegray transcription) + shipscribe MC-2700 note; variant spellings per NavSource/aukevisser [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray DANFS Contoocook page (cancellation sentence); shipscribe AOT111 A3-order paragraph and AO-123 ship note
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Correction of the alias record: DANFS documents that 'Contoocook was the name assigned AO-104 but her construction was canceled on 18 August 1945' - the name/hull-number pairing existed only as a planned Navy acquisition and the ship never served as USS Contoocook. Per shipscribe, MC hull 2700 was ordered as T2-SE-A3 but completed as T2-SE-A2 for the Maritime Commission as Mission San Francisco; secondary sources alternately tag her A2 or A3, and 'Contocook' (one 'o') is a common spelling variant in the primary compilations. This hull's service identity is Mission San Francisco (AO-123 / T-AO-123).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Resolves the Contoocook/Contocook naming and the T2-SE-A2-vs-A3 designation conflict in secondary sources; does not bear on asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-san-francisco-t-ao-123-08
-
[10]Batch-1841 search ledger (this record): MARAD 3407; NavSource; shipscribe; aukevisser; shipbuildinghistory; DANFS mirrors; CourtListener name/hull/asbestos sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-usns-mission-san-francisco-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull (Mission San Francisco / AO-123 / T-AO-123 / MC 2700 / Official No. 248850) was found in the public sources searched - MARAD ShipHistory 3407 and status-card set contain no asbestos data; DANFS-derived histories contain none; CourtListener sweeps (ship name + 'asbestos', 'tanker', hull numbers, 'Elna II', 'Contoocook/Contocook') returned the 1957-66 collision litigation and citing/name-collision opinions only - zero asbestos opinions or dockets (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 1945 turbo-electric tanker is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation, and her 1957 destruction/1958 scrapping precede modern survey regimes. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-san-francisco-t-ao-123-09
-
[11]MARAD ShipHistory 3407 status-card tab; NARA RG 178 Guide to Federal Records; USCG marine casualty records guidance [other_primary]
- Locator
- MARAD ShipHistory Detail 3407 'Status Cards' section; NARA RG 178 guide; USCG casualty-records path (undigitized)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): (a) MARAD status-card scans posted on ShipHistory Detail 3407 (files 3407_6317AB, 3407_6319AB, 3407_AF) - digitized but not read line-by-line this session; status cards sometimes carry builder/material notes. (b) NARA RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) construction/contract records for MC hull 2700, Marinship contract. (c) USCG marine-casualty investigation file for the 7 Mar 1957 Delaware River collision (RC-26 casualty records). (d) Boston Metals Co. 1957 purchase/1958 breaking records via MARAD disposal files.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945-1958 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and custody mapping only - no page-level retrieval performed; whether any of these files document insulation materials or asbestos is unknown until examined. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-mission-san-francisco-t-ao-123-10