Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), "Sgt. Curtis F. Shoup" entry (published 2015-09-09) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS "Sgt. Curtis F. Shoup" entry, full text. Live NHHC URL returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-24; text verified via Wayback Machine capture https://web.archive.org/web/20220601000000/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/sgt-curtis-f-shoup.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS narrative: the namesake, SSgt. Curtis F. Shoup (Co. B, 6th Armored Infantry Battalion, 5th Armored Division), was killed in action near Tillet, Belgium, on 7 January 1945 after standing up under machine-gun fire to close on and grenade an enemy machine-gun nest, and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The ship was laid down 16 April 1945 under a Maritime Commission contract as Spindle Eye (MC hull 2381) by Kaiser Cargo, Inc., Richmond, Calif.; launched 25 May 1945 (sponsor Mrs. Edgar Buttner); delivered to the Lykes Bros. Steamship Co. 9 July 1945; designed to ferry war correspondents, a duty made moot by the war's end, after which most of her early career was spent in the Maritime Administration's National Defense Reserve Fleet. On 16 January 1963 she was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) and placed on the Navy list 1 March 1963. After conversion by Willamette Iron & Steel, Portland, Oreg., for service as a helicopter freighter, she was assigned to MSTS Pacific Area, reporting 14 June 1963; she teamed with USS Harris County (LST-822) in the southwest Pacific servicing survey sites supporting the nation's missile and space projects, with Air Force helicopters flying from her deck and 4-6 oceanographers from the Naval Oceanographic Office embarked; charts and sailing directions for the area were revised as a result. In May 1968 she conducted oceanographic operations along a track roughly 20-140 miles off the Egyptian coast. She was withdrawn from service and stripped of oceanographic equipment 20 December 1969; returned to the Maritime Administration and laid up in the NDRF at Suisun Bay, Calif., 22 January 1970; struck from the Navy list 28 April 1970; sold 9 May 1973 to Mr. John Liu of Washington, D.C., for non-transportation purposes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1945-1973
- Population
- MSTS/Navy civil-service crew and embarked Naval Oceanographic Office personnel and Air Force helicopter detachment, 1963-1969
- Limitations
- Official NHHC/DANFS entry; establishes namesake, construction, service dates, MSTS Pacific Area operations, and disposition. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazmat statement of any kind; supports no asbestos claim. Silent on the 1945-1963 Army-era operating detail and the exact rename date from Spindle Eye - see gaps. Does not establish individual crew exposure, quantity or presence of any hazardous material, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-curtis-f-shoup-01
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[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - SGT. CURTIS F. SHOUP (T-AG-175), Ship History Detail 4521 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 4521: identification, dimensions/tonnage, and milestone fields; digitized status cards referenced on the page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record: Official Number 248213; MARAD type C1-M-AV1; previous vessel name SPINDLE EYE; built 1945 at Kaiser Company shipyard. Dimensions/tonnage on file: length 319.75 ft, beam 50.00 ft, gross tons 3,812.00, net tons 2,132.00 (draft, displacement, speed, engine type, and horsepower fields are blank/not provided). Milestones: entry/acquisition to MARAD custody 1950-01-25; withdrawal/disposition 1973-07-17, fate "Sold - NTU" (non-transportation use).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1945-1973
- Limitations
- Authoritative custody and characteristics record for this specific hull. The length figure (319.75 ft) is markedly shorter than the ~338-339 ft overall-length figure repeated in secondary sources, consistent with this being a length-between-perpendiculars figure rather than length overall - not resolved here, see gaps. The 1973-07-17 disposition date does not match DANFS's 1973-05-09 sale date - see gaps. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-curtis-f-shoup-02
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[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - COASTAL CRUSADER (ORV-16/T-AGM-16/AGS-36), Ship History Detail 1034 (Off. No. 248679), compared against Ship History Detail 4521 (Off. No. 248213) for this hull [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD ShipHistory Detail 1034 vs. Detail 4521 (distinct Official Numbers/hull identities); cross-referenced against the completed AsbestosAtlas record uss-coastal-crusader-ags36.atlas.json (branch batch-771/uss-coastal-crusader-ags36) and against www.usmm.org/msts/specialships.html (Mercogliano roster, non-authoritative, used only as a corroborating lead for the designation label and dates, not as primary evidence)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Correction: this hull never carried an AGS-36 (or any AGS) designation. AGS-36 was assigned in 1969 to a categorically different C1-M-AV1 hull: ex-USNS Coastal Crusader (T-AGM-16), U.S. Official No. 248679 (MC hull 2174, built by Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) - a separate vessel from Sgt. Curtis F. Shoup (Off. No. 248213, MC hull 2381, built by Kaiser Cargo, Richmond, Calif.), confirmed by their distinct MARAD ShipHistory records. The companion AsbestosAtlas record for uss-coastal-crusader-ags36 (independently researched) documents that hull's 1969 AGS-36 reclassification and finds no evidence it ever performed survey operations under that designation before entering NDRF in February 1970. A non-authoritative register roster (credited to naval historian Salvatore R. Mercogliano) separately lists "USNS Sgt. Curtis Shoup (T-AG 175) 1963-70" as a "Survey Support Ship" and "USNS Coastal Crusader (T-AGM 16) 1964-76 (Redesignated T-AGS 36 in 1969)" as two distinct line items, consistent with the MARAD-based finding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1969-1970
- Limitations
- The two-distinct-hulls finding is verified against official MARAD records (different Official Numbers, builders, and custody chains). The specific narrative that an AGS-36 conversion was once planned for the Shoup hull and then redirected to Coastal Crusader comes from a non-authoritative register/enthusiast source (shipscribe.com) and is NOT independently confirmed against an official primary document in this pass; it is not asserted as verified fact here, only the negative fact that this hull (Shoup) never carried the AGS-36 designation. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-curtis-f-shoup-03
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[4]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 era and Maritime Commission contract program under which this hull was built (laid down April 1945 at Kaiser Cargo, Richmond, Calif.) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in American shipyards generally.
- 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, does not address diesel-propelled auxiliary hulls specifically, 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-sgt-curtis-f-shoup-04
-
[5]National Archives and Records Administration, Guide to Federal Records: Record Group 313 (Records of Naval Operating Forces); NARA deck-log guidance for Sea Transport and Sealift Command records [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 313.6.1 MSTS Pacific Area holdings description; https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/sea-transport-and-sealift-command.html (deck logs 1946-1981, Archives II)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - catalog-level mapping only): (a) NARA Record Group 313 (Records of Naval Operating Forces), series 313.6.1 "Records of the Military Sea Transportation Service," holds MSTS Pacific Area subject files, but the publicly described holdings run 1950-56 and 1959 - they do not appear to cover this ship's 1963-1969 operational window in the guide consulted; (b) NARA holds MSTS/MSC deck logs spanning 1946-1981 at Archives II, College Park, MD, which would include this hull's 1963-1969 in-service logs if retained, but the finding aid consulted does not provide ship-level indexing and referred researchers to Archives II Reference Section directly.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1946-1981 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level or ship-level retrieval performed; whether these series hold asbestos-specific documents, conversion specifications, or hull-level records for this ship is unknown until surveyed in person or via Archives II reference staff. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-curtis-f-shoup-05
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[6]Batch-9584 search ledger (this record): DANFS; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 4521; NARA RG 313 guide and deck-log guidance; CourtListener API v4 (opinion searches completed for "Sgt. Curtis F. Shoup," "Curtis F. Shoup," "AG-175," and "Spindle Eye"; docket search completed for "Curtis F. Shoup"; docket search for "AG-175" not completed - fleet pacing) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-usns-sgt-curtis-f-shoup-01 through sl-usns-sgt-curtis-f-shoup-08
- 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 (by any name it carried - "Sgt. Curtis F. Shoup"/"Curtis F. Shoup"/"Spindle Eye" - or by hull designation "AG-175") was found in the sources searched. DANFS, MARAD ShipHistory, and NARA finding-aid text contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement. CourtListener opinion searches for "Sgt. Curtis F. Shoup," "Curtis F. Shoup," "AG-175," and "Spindle Eye" all returned zero results, as did a RECAP/docket search for "Curtis F. Shoup," all on 2026-09-24. A RECAP/docket search for "AG-175" alone was not completed in this session because the shared fleet-wide CourtListener request budget was repeatedly exhausted - see search_ledger.
- 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 1945-built hull converted for further service in 1963 is era-consistent with retained or installed asbestos-containing materials. Opinion-level litigation search is complete across every name and hull designation this ship carried; the RECAP/docket search is complete for the ship's name but not for the bare hull designation "AG-175" (fleet pacing), so a docketed-but-unpublished case findable only by that designation cannot be fully ruled out. Does not establish presence or absence of asbestos; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-curtis-f-shoup-06