Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet 981-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-burlington-pf51-pkt-981-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Burlington I (PF-51) - live NHHC page verified 2026-10-04 (Raymond A. Mann; updated 2016-06-29 and 2022-08-04) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative + photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: first U.S. Navy ship named for Burlington, Iowa; laid down under Maritime Commission contract (M.C. Hull 1462) 19 October 1943 at Wilmington, Calif., by Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd.; launched 7 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Max A. [Florence] Conrad; acquired 31 March 1944; commissioned 3 April 1944, Lt. Cmdr. E. B. Carlson, USCG, in command; USCG-manned. Departed San Pedro 1 August 1944; Espiritu Santo; western New Guinea patrol/escort from 21 August; convoy escort New Guinea-Philippine Islands 16 October-18 November in support of the Leyte invasion; arrived San Francisco 25 December 1944; sailed 18 February 1945 for the Aleutians, Dutch Harbor 26 February, Escort Division 43; repairs and alterations at Tacoma, Wash., 18 July-2 August for Project Hula transfer; departed Seattle 8 August for Cold Bay; decommissioned and transferred to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease 26 August 1945, renamed EK-21 (storozhevoi korabl, escort vessel); returned to U.S. custody 14 November 1949; recommissioned 5 January 1951 at Yokosuka, Escort Squadron 7; Korean operations March 1951-July 1952 (Wonsan, Songjin, Chongjin, Hungnam; TF 92/77; TG 92.11); Philippine exercises July-September 1952; out of commission in reserve at Yokosuka 15 September 1952; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 28 May 1953; transferred to Colombia 26 June 1953, renamed Almirante Brion. Spec block: displacement 1,430; length 303'11"; beam 37'6"; draft 13'8"; speed 20.3 knots; class Tacoma; type S2-S2-AQ1. Two battle stars WWII, five battle stars Korea.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1953 (U.S. record); Colombian service to 1968
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades (1943-44); USCG crew (1944-45, 1951-52); Tacoma repair yard trades (July-August 1945); Soviet crew (1945-49); Colombian crew (1953-68)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, builder, milestones, and service history - not materials or asbestos content. Armament in the spec block reads '2 3-inch' while USCG Historian and NavSource carry three 3-inch/50 mounts - carried in gaps. Photo captions embedded in the entry identify BuShips 19-N and 80-G series originals at NARA Still Pictures, College Park.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burlington-pf51-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Frigate Photo Archive: Burlington (PF 51) ex-PG-159 - live navsource.net page verified 2026-10-04 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource patrol frigate archive page, timeline block + specifications block + commanding officers table + photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline and details for this hull: originally authorized as Patrol Gunboat PG-159; reclassified Patrol Frigate PF-51 on 15 April 1943; Maritime Commission type T. S2-S2-AQ1; laid down under Maritime Commission contract by Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Wilmington, CA; launched 7 December 1943; commissioned USS Burlington (PF-51) 3 April 1944; decommissioned 26 August 1945 at 'Cold Harbor' [sic - Cold Bay], Alaska; transferred under Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union 27 August 1945 and reclassified EK-21; assigned to the Pacific Fleet 5 September 1945; returned to U.S. custody 14 November 1949 at Yokosuka and laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet; recommissioned 5 January 1951 at Yokosuka; out of commission in reserve 15 September 1952; transferred to Colombia and renamed ARC Almirante Brion (F 14) 26 June 1953; scrapped 1968. Specifications: displacement 1,430 t.; length 303'11"; beam 37'6"; draft 13'8"; speed 20.3 kts.; complement 194; propulsion - two three-drum boilers, two 5,500 iHP J. Hendy Iron Works vertical triple-expansion engines, two shafts. Commanding officers: LCDR Edgar Vigo Carlson, USCG (3 April 1944); LT B. W. Cook, USCGR (to 26 August 1945); Capitán de Corbeta Carlos Prieto Silva, Colombian Navy (1953). Photo record: NH 97178 documents the 26 June 1953 transfer ceremony at Yokosuka Naval Base; 80-G-638445 off Oahu 2 May 1954; NH 81518/81519 at Coco Solo, C.Z., 6 July 1955.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1968
- Population
- Construction trades; USCG crew; Soviet crew; Colombian crew
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained naval-history archive - detailed and source-attributed but not an official record. Conflicts carried in gaps: transfer dated 27 August (DANFS and the NHC Project Hula appendix give 26 August); 'Cold Harbor' is a transcription slip for Cold Bay; complement 194 vs USCG 190; boiler/yard details vary. Does not document materials or asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burlington-pf51-02
-
[4]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'USS Burlington, PF-51' (published 2021-03-29) - live uscg.mil page verified 2026-10-04 [other_primary]
- Locator
- USCG Historian's Office asset page, specifications block + history narrative + source list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Coast Guard history for this hull: builder Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Wilmington, CA; launched 7 December 1943 under Maritime Commission contract, sponsored by Mrs. Max A. Conrad, wife of the Mayor of Burlington, Iowa; Navy acquired 31 March 1944; commissioned 3 April 1944 under LCDR E. B. Carlson, USCG; Coast Guard-manned. Service narrative matches DANFS through the Leyte, Aleutian, Project Hula, and Korean periods; decommissioned at Cold Bay 26 August 1945 and 'leased to Russia on the following day,' commissioned into the Soviet Navy as EK-21; returned 14 November 1949; out of commission in reserve at Yokosuka 15 September 1952. Specs carried: length 303'11"; beam 37'6"; draft 12'8" fl; displacement 2,230 tons; propulsion 2-shaft VTE, 3 boilers; range 9,500 nm at 12 knots; top speed 20 knots; complement 190; armament 3 x 3"/50, 4 x 40mm (2x2), 9 x 20mm, 1 Hedgehog, 8 depth-charge projectors, 2 depth-charge racks. Cited sources: The Coast Guard At War, Transports and Escorts Vol. V No. 1; Conway's 1922-1946 pp. 148-149; DANFS Vol. 1 p. 178; Russell, Project Hula (Naval Historical Center, 1997) pp. 39-40.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1952
- Population
- USCG crew (1944-45, 1951-52)
- Limitations
- Official USCG source documenting the Coast Guard manning of this Navy hull - not a materials or asbestos record. Spec conflicts carried in gaps: displacement 2,230 tons vs DANFS/NavSource 1,430; draft 12'8" vs 13'8"; '3 boilers' vs NavSource two three-drum boilers; lease 'the following day' (27 August) vs DANFS/Russell 26 August.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burlington-pf51-03
-
[5]NHHC Naval Subjects Collection photo record L45-38.04.03, 'USS Burlington (PF-51) off San Francisco, California,' original date 1945-02-16; plus BuShips 19-N-84269/19-N-84270/19-N-84273 and 80-G-638445 identified in DANFS captions (NARA RG 19 Still Pictures, College Park) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC L45-38.04.03 catalog record; DANFS photo captions; NARA RG 19/24 (Still Pictures; deck logs)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC photo catalog documents this hull at San Francisco 16 February 1945 (Naval Subjects Collection L45-38.04.03), and the DANFS captions identify Bureau of Ships photographs 19-N-84269, 19-N-84270 and 19-N-84273 (January-February 1945) plus 80-G-638445 (as Almirante Brión off Oahu, 2 May 1954) in NARA Still Pictures holdings - the photographic record exists for condition/documentation leads. NARA RG 24 deck logs for this hull are held at College Park; digitization status unverified.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945; 1954
- Population
- Wartime USCG crew depicted
- Limitations
- Photo and deck-log records document appearance and movements, not materials; the BuShips 19-N series shows external configuration only. RG 24 deck-log digitization for this specific hull not verified (NARA catalog is JS-rendered; API returned the SPA shell this session).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burlington-pf51-04
-
[6]Richard A. Russell, 'Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan,' Naval Historical Center / Dept. of the Navy, 1997 (ISBN 0-16-049376-5), Appendix table of U.S. Navy combatant ships transferred May-September 1945 - mirrored transcription at generalstaff.org [other_primary]
- Locator
- Project Hula appendix, combatant-ships transfer table (Burlington (PF 51)/EK-21 row)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Naval Historical Center monograph on Project Hula lists this hull in its transfer appendix: 'Burlington (PF 51)' -> 'EK-21', transfer date 26 Aug., disposition 1949-returned - corroborating the DANFS transfer date of 26 August 1945 against the NavSource 27 August reading. The monograph (written with access to Soviet-era records; cited by the USCG Historian's Office page for this ship at pp. 39-40) documents the Cold Bay transfer program in which this hull's Coast Guard crew trained the incoming Soviet crew.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945; monograph published 1997
- Population
- USCG crew at Cold Bay; incoming Soviet crew
- Limitations
- Mirror transcription of an official NHC/GPO publication - the generalstaff.org host is not itself an official domain; content verified against the publication's table structure. Documents the transfer program and this hull's line entry; says nothing about materials or asbestos. Program-level narrative sections (Cold Bay, return negotiations) are context.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burlington-pf51-05
-
[7]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton), 'Consolidated Steel, Wilmington - Long Beach and Wilmington CA' yard production table - live page verified 2026-10-04 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Consolidated Wilmington table, 'Built in Wilmington' section, hull 536 row (Burlington)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Consolidated Steel Wilmington production table records this hull: yard hull 536, name Burlington, type S2-S1-AQ1 [sic - DANFS and NavSource carry S2-S2-AQ1; see gaps], Maritime Commission hull 1462, contract 8 December 1942, delivery 3 April 1944 (= commissioning date), 'PF 51, to USSR 1945 as EK-23 [sic - DANFS, NavSource, and the NHC Project Hula appendix all give EK-21; see gaps], to Colombia 1953 as Almirante Brion (FG 14), scrapped 1968.' The table shows Burlington as the last of the Wilmington yard's 18-frigate run (yard hulls 519-536, PF-34 through PF-51). Yard history: the Wilmington yard was built new in 1941 with $13mm USMC investment, peaked at 12,000 employees, and was liquidated after the war.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1968
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Wilmington construction trades (12,000 peak employment)
- Limitations
- Secondary yard-production reference (the standard shipbuilding-history table series used in prior batch records), not an official record. Two transcription-level errors in this row's disposition cell (EK-23 for EK-21; S2-S1-AQ1 type designation vs S2-S2-AQ1 elsewhere) are documented in gaps rather than propagated; the hull-level facts it confirms (yard hull 536, MC 1462, contract/delivery dates, scrapped 1968) agree with DANFS/NavSource.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burlington-pf51-06
-
[8]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (published 18 October 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 highlights
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure, covering 'the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing asbestos from Navy ships, and compensation programs for asbestos-related disabilities'; the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace asbestos insulation only when damaged, modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - establishing that asbestos insulation remained standard and largely undisturbed aboard Navy ships through and beyond this hull's 1944-52 U.S. service life (and through her 1968 scrapping under Colombia).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979 (report); program covers 1940s-1970s Navy asbestos era
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; the GAO fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not Consolidated Steel. Supports era context only - not any fact specific to this hull. Product page verified live via rendered fetch 2026-10-04; full report PDF not extracted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burlington-pf51-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (two three-drum boilers, two J. Hendy Iron Works vertical triple-expansion engines, 5,500 iHP, two shafts); USCG Historian propulsion block (2-shaft VTE); Maritime Commission T. S2-S2-AQ1 design; GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block; USCG Historian propulsion block; GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-07)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A Maritime Commission steam patrol frigate built October 1943-April 1944 at Consolidated Steel, Wilmington, sits squarely inside the wartime asbestos-shipbuilding era. As a steam vessel she carried boilers feeding two vertical triple-expansion engines - the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway applies. Era-standard applications aboard a frigate of this design and period were boiler and steam-line insulation and lagging, flange and valve gaskets, machinery packing, fireproofing, and accommodation insulation; insulation products of this era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1968
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades (1943-44); USCG crew (1944-45, 1951-52); Tacoma repair trades (July-August 1945); Soviet crew (1945-49); Colombian crew (1953-68); scrapping trades (1968)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for PF-51. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The asbestos content of materials actually installed aboard is not proven by any located source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burlington-pf51-08
-
[10]Batch-8457 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live page verified); USCG Historian's Office; NavSource PF-51 page; ShipbuildingHistory Consolidated Wilmington table; NHHC photo catalog L45-38.04.03; Russell Project Hula appendix (NHC 1997, mirrored); GAO HRD-80-2; NVR ship-detail URL probe; NARA catalog; CourtListener via cl-auth-search.py (see ledger); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-burlington-pf51-01 through sl-uss-burlington-pf51-16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or verified litigation naming USS Burlington (PF-51 / ex-PG-159 / EK-21 / Almirante Brión) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener: exact-name "USS Burlington" returned 0 opinion and 0 docket results; hull-number "PF-51" docket returned 41 hits - the reviewed results page was entirely non-qualifying name collisions ('PF-51' as a form/procedural code in unrelated dockets), and the overflow-authorized "PF-51"+asbestos variant returned 6 non-qualifying collisions; the "PF-51" opinion query could not be executed (fleet pacing contention) and is logged blocked - an open gap, not a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos aboard Tacoma-class frigates generically - excluded by source policy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-consistent inference supports the likelihood, but this record asserts no ship-specific finding. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Hull scrapped 1968 - no modern survey, museum, or abatement record can exist.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burlington-pf51-09