Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]DANFS Vol. 1 (1959, repr. 1964), 'Banner II (AKL-25)' - verbatim transcription via hazegray mirror (live NHHC page 404 on 2026-09-20) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. 1B part 2, 'Banner II (AKL-25)' entry
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- DANFS identifies this hull as the second Banner: built for the Army as FS-345 by 'Kewaukee' (sic - Kewaunee) Shipbuilding and Engineering Corp., Kewaunee, Wis.; transferred to the Navy 1 July 1950; commissioned 24 November 1952, LT H. W. Atkisson in command; assigned to Service Division 51, Pacific Fleet; departed Pearl Harbor 3 February 1953 for Guam via Midway; operated 1953-1956 transporting supplies, diesel fuel oil, ammunition, and passengers between Guam and Yokosuka via Chichi Jima, plus Okinawa, Iwo Jima, Saipan, and Luzon. Specs in entry: dp. 550, l. 177', b. 33', dr. 10', s. 12 k., cpl. 40, cl. Camano.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1956 (coverage ends at DANFS publication)
- Population
- Crew (1952-1956 service period); construction trades (Kewaunee, 1944)
- Limitations
- DANFS Vol. 1 predates the 1965 conversion and the AGER era entirely (entry ends 1956); contains no asbestos information. 'Kewaukee' is a DANFS typo - the yard was Kewaunee Shipbuilding and Engineering Corp. Live NHHC page unavailable; transcription mirror cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banner-ager1-01
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[2]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'World War II Coast Guard-Manned U.S. Army Freight and Supply Ship Histories' (media.defense.gov; retrieved via Wayback capture - direct fetch returns HTTP 403) [other_primary]
- Locator
- FS-345 section of USCG Historian's Office PDF (44 pp.)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- FS-345 (this hull's Army identity) was a Coast Guard-manned Army vessel commissioned at Kewaunee, WI on 26 July 1944, LTJG G. W. Oberst, USCGR, commanding; assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area and at Guam; anchored in Manila Harbor July-August 1945 undergoing overhaul of main engines and generators. Per the document's own table, FS-345 was of Army 'Design 381' (all USCG-manned FS hulls other than FS-34 and FS-140 through FS-234).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- USCG crew (1944-1945); Army Transportation Corps
- Limitations
- Documents Army/USCG-era service only; no asbestos information and no post-1945 coverage. Does not give the vessel's Army name (Capt. William M. Galt - that rendering is from secondary archives).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banner-ager1-02
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[3]Robert E. Newton, 'The Capture of the USS Pueblo and Its Effect on SIGINT Operations,' United States Cryptologic History, Special Series Crisis Collection Vol. 7, Center for Cryptologic History, NSA, 1992 (declassified; GPO govinfo GOVPUB-D-PURL-gpo73818) [other_primary]
- Locator
- govinfo PDF pp. 10-12 (conversion/tasking), 29 (harassment/arming), 38-39 (1967 NK patrol + advisory), 55-57 (Shanghai/Vladivostok harassment), 100-104 (FORMATION STAR deployment), 173-174 (program termination)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NSA's official history documents: conversion work on this hull began at the Bremerton, Washington naval shipyard in 1964 and she was ready for SIGINT operations October 1965 as the first AGER (a six-position collector for telemetry, Morse, multichannel, and radiotelephone, plus acoustic intelligence, photography, and visual observation; ~33 NAVSECGRU specialists); operations under codeword CLICKBEETLE began December 1965; she received 'Heave to or I will open fire' signals from Soviet units in the Sea of Japan off Vladivostok in 1965-66 and from Chinese units off Shanghai (first Shanghai mission November 1966; six armed trawlers surrounded her 12 December 1967); a brief early-1967 patrol off North Korea proceeded despite an NSA advisory; CNO ordered her armed with .50-cal machine guns late December 1967; she was recalled from patrol 23 January 1968 (Pueblo seizure), joined FORMATION STAR/Enterprise units 30 January 1968 under heavy escort planning; deactivated 14 November 1969, ending the AGER program with Palm Beach (2 December 1969).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1964-1969
- Population
- USS Banner crew + ~33 NAVSECGRU SIGINT detachment (1965-1969)
- Limitations
- Documents program/operational history, not material condition - no asbestos content. Conversion-start date ('1964') conflicts with secondary sources placing the physical yard period August-October 1965 after departure from Guam 25 July 1965; likely program-start vs. yard-availability difference - unreconciled. Author's monograph disclaimers apply (CCH publication, not necessarily official NSA views).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banner-ager1-03
-
[4]Richard A. Mobley, 'Lessons from the Capture of the USS Pueblo and the Shootdown of a US Navy EC-121 - 1968 and 1969,' CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence (unclassified) [other_primary]
- Locator
- cia.gov Studies in Intelligence PDF, pp. ~9-10 and 'How did DPRK prepare for the Pueblo seizure?' section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- CIA's study confirms the early-1967 NSA advisory that the DPRK might act against USS Banner (AGER-1) during an impending mission off North Korea (patrol conducted anyway; no hostile reaction), and reports that a North Korean officer interrogating Pueblo crewmembers was familiar with Banner and that the DPRK 'had been waiting for the chance to seize it'; NKN communications at the Pueblo seizure showed confusion over hull number because they expected AGER-1 rather than AGER-2.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1967-1968
- Population
- USS Banner crew/detachment (1967)
- Limitations
- Corroborating official history; no asbestos or materiel content. Analytic conclusions are the author's (Studies in Intelligence), drawn from declassified NSA material.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banner-ager1-04
-
[5]Declassified OSD/JCS planning document, 'Index of Possible Actions' / 'Reconnaissance Action No. 1' (TOP SECRET, declassified 15 Oct 2009; National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book 453, doc 4) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NSAEBB453 doc04 PDF, 'Index of Possible Actions' item 1 and 'Reconnaissance Action No. 1' section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A declassified contingency plan drafted during the Pueblo crisis lists as option 1: 'Sail USS BANNER with escort (Reconnaissance)' - sending Banner, escorted by two destroyers, one cruiser, continuous combat air patrol, and early-warning aircraft, along the North Korean coast in the area where Pueblo was seized, with aggressive self-defense rules of engagement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1968
- Population
- USS Banner crew/detachment (1968, planned operation)
- Limitations
- Contingency planning document - the escorted re-entry was planned but never executed; per the NSA history, Banner joined FORMATION STAR units ~125 miles off P'ohang, South Korea on 30 Jan 1968 and did not enter the Wonsan area. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banner-ager1-05
-
[6]Jacob et al. v. Plastics Engineering Company (PLENCO) et al., No. 1:19-cv-00108 (D. Guam, filed 20 June 2019) - docket via Justia PACER mirror; vessel list per complaint as quoted by Pacific Daily News (guampdn.com, 26 Jun 2019) and postguam.com (Jun 2019) [court_record]
- Locator
- Justia docket 1:2019cv00108 (Filings 1-8); postguam.com article quoting complaint vessel list
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Docketed federal asbestos personal-injury complaint (Nature of Suit 'P.I.: Asbestos,' 28 U.S.C. 1332). Eusebio V. Jacob, journeyman electrician at the Navy Ship Repair Facility, Guam (ca. 1962-1985), alleged he installed asbestos-containing gaskets in the defendants' equipment aboard USS Banner and nine other ships (Asheville, Brister, Engage, Fortify, Grasp, Haverfield, Impervious, Inflict, Ponchatoula), developed malignant mesothelioma diagnosed August 2018. Alleged products: PLENCO thermostat plastic molding materials and Rockwell/Allen-Bradley controllers, circuit breakers, and switches containing asbestos. PLENCO filed an answer 6 August 2019.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1962-1985 employment (Banner window ~1962-1965); filed 2019
- Population
- Guam Navy Ship Repair Facility journeyman electrician (alleged exposure ~1962-1965 for this hull); mesothelioma
- Limitations
- PLEADING-STAGE ALLEGATION ONLY - a complaint's vessel list is an allegation, not a finding; exposure aboard this hull is unadjudicated and no merits disposition was located (docket mirror stale at 2019-08-06; PACER/RECAP not retrievable this session - CourtListener throttled). Banner departed Guam July 1965 and was Yokosuka-based thereafter, bounding any alleged at-Guam exposure window to ~1962-July 1965. Complaint PDF not directly retrieved; vessel list verified via two independent Guam press reports quoting the complaint.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banner-ager1-06
-
[7]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (18 Oct 1979); machinery data per ShipScribe AGER-1 class compilation (S. S. Roberts, shipscribe.com, compiled from official records) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2; shipscribe.com/usnaux2/AGER/AGER01.html machinery block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference only: a 1944-built steel auxiliary with geared diesel propulsion (twin screw, ~1,000 hp - no boilers or steam plant) would have carried the era-consistent asbestos applications documented for WWII-built Navy/auxiliary construction: exhaust and engine-room lagging, engine and flange gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation/components, bulkhead board, deck coverings, and winch brake linings. Her August-October 1965 conversion at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard was a documented yard period at a Navy yard during peak asbestos-use years.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944; 1965; era 1940s-1970s
- Population
- Construction trades (Kewaunee, 1944); PSNSY conversion workers (1965); crew/detachment
- Limitations
- CLASS/ERA INFERENCE - no ship-specific insulation survey, bill of materials, or abatement record located. Diesel propulsion reduces (does not eliminate) the thermal-insulation footprint vs. steam plant. GAO HRD-80-2 is program-level (fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk, not Puget Sound); full text unreachable (gao.gov HTTP 403, product-page description used). Conversion asbestos scope at Puget Sound NSY is inference, not documented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banner-ager1-07
-
[8]ShipScribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'USS Banner (AGER 1, Army Design 381) Class' - compiled from official Ships' Data/NVR records; cross-checked against NavSource archive 09/61/6101 [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe.com/usnaux2/AGER/AGER01.html construction/disposition tables and ship notes; navsource.org/archives/09/61/6101.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disposition reconciliation: ShipScribe tables give decommissioned/stricken 14 November 1969, disposal 25 May 1970 ('Navy sale'), and 'To Japanese scrap buyer 22 Jun 1970'; NavSource gives 'sold 5 June 1970, for scrapping to Mitsui & Co., Tadotsu, Japan.' The variants plausibly separate sale date from delivery date; the endpoint is consistent - scrapped in Japan in 1970. Also corrects: Wikipedia's 'found unfit for further service' is uncorroborated; the NSA history attributes deactivation to the budget-driven termination of all Navy shipborne SIGINT collectors (Packard acceptance, Aug-Oct 1969).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1969-1970
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of official data (not itself the underlying record); exact disposal-date variant unresolved pending the vessel's NVR/ships-data card or MARAD-adjacent sale file. NavSource is a volunteer archive - used here for reconciliation only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banner-ager1-08
-
[9]Batch-719 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live + hazegray mirror; USCG Historian FS-vessels PDF; NSA CCH Newton monograph (govinfo); CIA Mobley study; NSAEBB453 declassified JCS plan; Justia/PACER docket; Guam press; NVR; CourtListener API and HTML; NavSource; ShipScribe [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-banner-ager1-01 through sl-uss-banner-ager1-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying adjudicated ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat/disposal disclosure, or merits-stage litigation finding naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only ship-specific asbestos documentation is the pleading-stage Jacob complaint (ev-uss-banner-ager1-06). CourtListener opinion/docket search could not be completed this session (API throttled at 125/day; HTML interface 403) - 'Banner' is a high-collision term (e.g., 'Roy Banner,' NSA General Counsel, appears in the source corpus), so a qualifying-opinion sweep remains an open task.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-built hull converted at a Navy yard in 1965 is era-consistent with asbestos materials. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-banner-ager1-09