Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
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[1]DANFS, Astoria III (CL-90) (builder, dates, TF 38/58 service narrative incl. December 1944 typhoon, disposal; NHHC text via ibiblio HyperWar mirror - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative incl. disposal paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 6 September 1941 at Philadelphia, Pa., by William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Co.; launched 6 March 1943; commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard 17 May 1944, Capt. George C. Dyer in command. Bermuda shakedown June-July; post-shakedown overhaul at Philadelphia; Pacific via the Canal and San Diego from 19 September; Mare Island Navy Yard late October; reported to TG 38.2 at Ulithi 25 November. First war cruise 11 December - screened the carriers during the Mindoro support strikes, then steamed with TF 38 through the infamous 17-18 December typhoon that sank Spence (DD-512), Hull (DD-350), and Monaghan (DD-354), weathering it 'fairly well.' South China Sea raid into January 1945 (Camranh Bay, Hong Kong, Canton, Formosa, Hainan); first TF 58 strikes on Tokyo 16-17 February; 26-hour gunfire support off Iwo Jima from 21 February; Okinawa operation - 80 days at sea screening the carriers, claimed 11 enemy planes; CruDiv 17 antishipping sweeps off Honshu 17-18 and 24-25 July. San Pedro 15 September 1945; Pacific coast through October 1946; Guam/Saipan operations November 1946-February 1948; Far East cruise October 1948-February 1949 (Tsingtao, Shanghai, Inchon, Pusan, Sasebo, Yokosuka); San Francisco 8 March 1949. Out of commission 1 July 1949, San Francisco Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; transferred to the San Diego Group 20 May 1958. Struck from the Navy list 1 November 1969; sold 12 January 1971 to the Nicolai Joffe Corp., Beverly Hills, Calif. Five battle stars WWII.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1941-1971
- Population
- Cramp Shipbuilding construction trades 1941-43; Philadelphia Navy Yard trades 1944; Mare Island trades Oct 1944; crew 1944-49 incl. Seaman First Class deck-force personnel (BVA claimant's rating)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. NHHC text retrieved via the ibiblio HyperWar DANFS mirror because the live NHHC page returns 404; the HazeGray mirror had no CL-90 file. The BVA claimant's service window (March 1944-April 1946) and the shipmate's December 1944 typhoon recollection are both consistent with this entry - see ev-04.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-astoria-cl90-01
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[2]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, 'USS Astoria (CL-90), 1944-1971' narrative (service summary, disposal; via ibiblio HyperWar mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library page narrative for CL-90 (service summary, disposal paragraph)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC Online Library narrative for this hull: commissioned mid-May 1944; Pacific from late September; first combat December 1944 screening TF 38 carriers during the Mindoro invasion; five months of carrier escort against the Asian mainland, Formosa and Japan and support of the Luzon, Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns; claimed 11 hostile aircraft during intense air attacks March-May 1945; repairs in the Philippines June; rejoined for the July-August Japan raids including surface antishipping sweeps; California September 1945; West Coast/Hawaii operations three years incl. Central Pacific October 1946-February 1947; final Far East cruise October 1948-March 1949; decommissioned beginning of July 1949; Pacific Reserve Fleet two decades (San Francisco, then San Diego after 1958); stricken November 1969; sold for scrapping January 1971.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1971
- Population
- Crew 1944-49
- Limitations
- NHHC publication hosted on the ibiblio HyperWar mirror; consistent with DANFS at month level on disposal dates. Narrative only; no materials or asbestos data.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-astoria-cl90-02
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[3]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual, NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960) + DANFS specifications block + Atlas shipyard dataset [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSHIPS 250-000 ch. 39 (scan via Garlock bankruptcy repository); DANFS specifications block and narratives; shipyards.json records
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: Cleveland-class construction (4 boilers, 4 GE geared steam turbines, ~100,000 shp) in 1941-43 at Cramp Shipbuilding, Philadelphia - the class's smallest building program - falls squarely in the documented Navy asbestos-insulation era; the 1960 BuShips Technical Manual insulation chapter enumerates the era-standard suite - 85%-magnesia and amosite pipe covering, asbestos felt, chrysotile cloth/tape lagging, asbestos millboard, finishing cement, molded block. Documented yard windows for this hull: Philadelphia Navy Yard commissioning/post-shakedown work and the October 1944 Mare Island Navy Yard availability; no conversion or reconstruction; reserve from July 1949. The BVA shipmate statement (ev-04) describes work 'on and near asbestos covered pipes' - consistent with era pipe-lagging practice but not an independent material identification.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1941-1949
- Population
- Cramp Shipbuilding construction trades 1941-43; Philadelphia Navy Yard trades 1944; Mare Island trades 1944; crew 1944-49
- Limitations
- Class/era specification and yard-period inference only - the material list names era-standard products, not confirmed installations on this hull; does not quantify material. The hull's ship-specific asbestos record is the BVA remand decision (ev-04), which recites lay allegations, not a materials survey.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-astoria-cl90-03
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[4]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr 1035620, Docket No. 07-11 082 (decision date 20 September 2010; San Diego RO; Board REMAND for readjudication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BVA Citation Nr 1035620 text file, REMAND section - shipmate-statement and service-record paragraphs
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Ship-specific asbestos-exposure record at ALLEGATION/REMAND stage: the veteran's military records show he served aboard USS Astoria as a Seaman First Class (active service March 1944-April 1946). Shipmate J.B. wrote in June 2004 that their duties included chipping paint and painting 'which required working on and near asbestos covered pipes' and work in the laundry room around chemicals; other shipmates described the December 1944 Luzon typhoon and Kamikaze attacks - details matching CL-90's documented history. The issue is service connection for asbestosis/asbestos-related disease. Procedural posture: a January 2006 RO denial; June 2009 Board denial; a March 2010 Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims order vacating on joint motion; this September 2010 decision REMANDS for readjudication/development.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (service); 2004-2010 (claim history)
- Population
- One veteran claimant (Seaman First Class aboard USS Astoria, March 1944-April 1946); shipmate J.B. and other declarants
- Limitations
- REMAND-stage allegation record - the Board did NOT find that the vessel contained asbestos or that any disease resulted from exposure; it recited lay statements and ordered further development. Hull identification as CL-90 rests on the ship name plus the 1944-46 service window and the typhoon/Kamikaze details (the only USS Astoria afloat then; CA-34 was lost in 1942). A VA administrative decision, not a Navy materials survey or a court finding on a product defendant. Does not establish exposure of any other crew member.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-astoria-cl90-04
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[5]Batch-51 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS + Online Library; CourtListener ship-name and hull-number queries (blocked - rate-limited); NVR; museum/disclosure sweep; BVA sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-astoria-cl90-01 through sl-uss-astoria-cl90-06
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Beyond the BVA remand record (ev-04), no additional ship-specific asbestos record was located: all three CourtListener queries for this hull ('USS Astoria', 'U.S.S. Astoria', 'CL-90') hit the 125/day API cap before running and are logged as blocked, not as negative results; the class-profile's completed 2026-09-16 'USS Astoria' + asbestos sweep returned zero. No hull ACM survey, abatement contract, scrapping hazmat disclosure, NVR entry (hull sold 1971, before live-register coverage), or museum record with asbestos data was found in the public sources searched.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- The litigation sweep is INCOMPLETE for this hull - all batch CourtListener queries were throttled; qualifying opinions may exist that this sweep did not reach. Absence of further located records does not prove absence. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility beyond the documented BVA matter.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-astoria-cl90-05