Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet 514-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-cabildo-lsd16-pkt-514-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Cabildo (LSD-16)' - construction, naming, commissioning, WWII/Korea/Vietnam service narrative, disposal (live NHHC page, updated Robert J. Cressman 16 May 2024) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block, 'Cabildo (LSD-16) 1945-1976'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 24 July 1944 at Newport News, Va., by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.; launched 22 December 1944, sponsored by Miss A. B. Pendleton; commissioned 15 March 1945, Cmdr. Ernest B. Holdorff in command. Sailed New York 6 May 1945 for Pearl Harbor (arrived 8 June); docked and repaired small craft and operated boat pools at Guam and Okinawa (July); carried boats to the Philippines (August); at Wakanoura Wan, Honshu, 11 September embarked Javanese, Dutch, and Australians rescued from Japanese prison camps for transport to Okinawa; Manila 3 October; receiving and repair ship at Sasebo and Yokosuka until 19 April 1946. West coast 12 May 1946; decommissioned 15 January 1947. Recommissioned San Diego 5 October 1950; took part in atomic weapons tests in the Marshalls; sailed San Diego 21 November 1951 for Korean waters - lifted soldiers and marines Japan-to-Korea and to the Inchon battle lines; flagship and tender to Mine Squadron 3; in April off Wonsan received a direct hit from a shore battery but suffered no casualties and continued her mission. San Diego 2 September 1952; Far Eastern deployment 3 July 1953 - 23 April 1954; fitted with mezzanine and helicopter decks in 1955 and thereafter operated with Marine units developing the vertical-envelopment concept; two Far East tours January 1956 - July 1958; Aleutians/Japan/Formosan waters 11 February - 5 June 1959 (UDT detachment carried to the Aleutians); 1960 deployment with Okinawa amphibious exercises. Decommissioned Long Beach 31 March 1970 and laid up in the Reserve Fleet; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 15 October 1976; sunk as a target off San Nicholas Island, California, in September 1985. Two battle stars for Korean service; Vietnam service recognized in seven battle stars. Spec block: dp. 9,375 (trial); l. 457'9" o.a.; b. 72'2"; dr. 18'0"; s. 15.4 k. (trial); cpl. 326; a. 1 5-inch, 12 40mm, 16 20mm; cl. Casa Grande.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1985 (entry coverage)
- Population
- Newport News construction trades (1944-45); crew (1945-47, 1950-70); embarked troops and small-craft populations
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material-content information. DANFS narrative ends at 1960 deployment and gives no Vietnam deployment detail despite crediting seven battle stars; Wikipedia and Islapedia carry a six-star Vietnam figure - DANFS/NavSource seven-star figure carried, variant in gaps. Live page verified 2026-09-30 (NHHC link rot affecting other hulls did not affect this entry).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cabildo-lsd16-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Cabildo (LSD-16) - ONI specification block (7 April 1944), designation/milestone timeline, campaign and award tables, commanding-officer list, photographic record [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/12/1216.htm header, campaign tables, specifications block, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: Casa Grande Class Dock Landing Ship; laid down (date not shown) at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, VA; launched 22 December 1944; commissioned USS Cabildo (LSD-16) 15 March 1945, CDR E. B. Holdorff USNR in command; international radio call sign NZQL. Occupation/China service periods 1945-46 and 1956 tabulated. Decommissioned 15 January 1947 (Pacific Reserve Fleet); recommissioned 5 October 1950 at San Diego. 'Participated [in] the Atomic Energy Commission Project "Operation Greenhouse", in which she was one of the first ships to become radioactive. After extensive decontamination, Cabildo deployed to the Korean Theater of Operation in 1951.' Korean campaigns tabulated (Second Korean Winter; Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952); April 1952 direct hit amidships at Wonsan while loading minesweeping boats for Mine Squadron THREE; mission continued after local repairs. Vietnam-era campaign dates tabulated 1965-1968 (Advisory Campaign, Vietnam Defense, Counteroffensive phases I/III/IV, Tet Counteroffensive, Winter-Spring 1970). Decommissioned 31 March 1970 at Long Beach; Pacific Reserve Fleet; struck from the Naval Register 15 October 1976; 'Final Disposition, utilized as a fleet target, sunk by grounding at San Nicholas Island CA. in September 1985.' ONI specifications (as reported 7 April 1944): displacement 4,032 light / 7,930 seagoing-loaded; length 457'9" o.a.; beam 72'2"; speed 17 kts design; endurance 8,000 mi at 15 kts; complement 17 officers + 237 enlisted; troop accommodations 22 officers + 218 enlisted; propulsion two Newport News Shipbuilding steam turbines, two Babcock and Wilcox oil-fired D-type boilers (two-drum, single-furnace, single-uptake, 250 psi), single Newport News main reduction gears, two turbo-drive 300 kW ship's-service generators, twin propellers 7,000 shp. Commanding officers listed: Holdorff (1945) through Johnston (to 9 July 1970), 16 in all.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1985
- Population
- Newport News construction trades (1944-45); crew (1945-47, 1950-70); embarked troops/boat-pool detachments
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; the embedded ONI spec block is attributed to a primary source ('as reported by Office of Naval Intelligence, 7 April 1944'). 'Laid down' date is not shown (DANFS supplies 24 July 1944). 'Sunk by grounding' characterization differs in wording from DANFS 'sunk as a target off' - both carried, discrepancy noted in gaps. 'Wonsan, South Korea' in NavSource text is a geographic slip (Wonsan is on North Korea's east coast); DANFS wording ('off Wonsan') carried. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cabildo-lsd16-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II (NAVSHIPS 250-011, 1945), 'LANDING SHIP, DOCK (LSD)' section - class data table and per-vessel construction/machinery rows (Shipscribe scan of official publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ships' Data Vol. II printed pp. 146-149 (LSD section): p.146 class dimensions/propulsion, p.147 accommodations/armament/fuel, p.148 per-vessel machinery row, p.149 per-vessel construction row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous BuShips data record for this hull: the per-vessel construction row lists CABILDO LSD16 built by Newport News S. B. & D. D. Co., Newport News, Va., keel laid 24 Jul 44, ship launched 28 Dec 44, first commissioned 15 Mar 45; the per-vessel machinery row lists 'N.N.' (Newport News-built) turbine engines, 7,000 shp, N.N. reduction gears, 2 turbo 300 kW 120/240 D.C. ship's-service generators plus 1 diesel 75 kW. Class rows covering LSD1-27: 457'9" o.a. x 454'0" wl x 72'2" beam; limiting navigational draft 18'0"; trial displacement 9,375 tons; trial speed 15.4 kts; two propellers, turbine engines, two boilers '2 drum single pass' 250 psi saturated; armament 1 x 5"/38 cal. DP, 2 twin + 2 quad 40mm A.A.; total accommodations 17 officers + 309 enlisted; fuel oil 11,720 bbls, diesel 160 bbls, gasoline 5,085 gals; well length 392' (252' open), well width 44'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945 (publication); construction dates 1944-45
- Population
- Newport News construction trades (1944-45); crew accommodations population as designed
- Limitations
- Primary BuShips reference data for the class/hull. The construction row's launch date (28 Dec 1944) conflicts with DANFS/NavSource (22 Dec 1944); DANFS carried in the launch field, discrepancy logged in gaps. Ships' Data gives machinery configuration only - no insulation or asbestos-material content. Class rows apply to LSD1-27 collectively and note LSD22-24 differ (Westinghouse, 9,000 shp, 15.6 kts).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cabildo-lsd16-03
-
[5]Defense Nuclear Agency, 'Operation GREENHOUSE 1951' (DNA 6034F, NTPR historical report series; hosted by Defense Threat Reduction Agency) - task-element roster, ship contamination surveys, decontamination report index, personnel dosimetry [other_primary]
- Locator
- DNA 6034F: Table (Task Element 3.3.5, 'Mobile Boat Pool'); ship personnel-location table; D+1 ship radiation survey text; decontamination log entries; reference list items 85-95; film-badge dosimetry and issue tables
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Ship-specific government documentation of a contamination-and-decontamination event aboard this hull: DNA 6034F lists USS Cabildo (LSD-16) as Task Element 3.3.5 'Mobile Boat Pool' (23 officers, 517 enlisted) for Operation GREENHOUSE at Enewetak Atoll - mother ship for the boat pool providing water transportation, boat-movement control, boat maintenance, ship-to-shore transport, island evacuation, search and rescue, and security sweeps; a personnel-location table places Cabildo at Enewetak under TG 3.2 with 751 personnel. Ship radiation surveys in the report: 0.020 R/hr at 1315 on shot day at the Enewetak Island anchorage, and 0.005 R/hr average in a D+1 survey at 1238. The report's reference list includes 'Material Contamination-Decontamination Report Form 442, AVR Cabildo (LSD-16), for dates April 8, 9, 10, 11, 20, 21, May 9, 25, 26, 1951' (shot days and following days across the four-shot series). Film-badge dosimetry table: 375 Navy persons in the Cabildo element, 84 badged - recorded doses ran 12 at 0, 25 at 0.0001-0.5 R, 32 at 0.5-1 R, 9 at 1-1.5 R, 3 at 1.5-2 R, 3 at 2-2.5 R, high 2.380 R; the embarked Boat Pool element (213 persons, 129 badged) recorded higher doses including 7 badges at 4-5 R and a reported high of 20.085 R. A film-badge requirements table issues 10 badges to USS Cabildo plus 215 to the embarked boat pool (5 per LSU) for each shot. NavSource summarizes the same event: 'one of the first ships to become radioactive... after extensive decontamination, Cabildo deployed to the Korean Theater of Operation in 1951.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1951 (April-May shot series)
- Population
- Cabildo ship's company and embarked Mobile Boat Pool (375 Navy in element, 84 badged; boat pool 213, 129 badged); Task Group 3.2/3.3 populations at Enewetak
- Limitations
- Radiological record, not an asbestos record - included because it is the only ship-specific government contamination/decontamination documentation located for this hull and it confirms that physical decontamination records for Cabildo exist in federal holdings (the cited Form 442 series is a lead at NTIS/DOE CIC). DTRA hosts the PDF but blocks non-browser agents (HTTP 403 to direct curl confirmed 2026-09-30); full text was extracted via Firecrawl rendering - a live document behind a bot wall, not an archive copy. OCR of this scanned report is imperfect ('Cabilido', 'Cab11do' variants) - figures quoted were cross-checked across multiple tables. Does not establish asbestos presence, individual exposure of any asbestos type, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cabildo-lsd16-04
-
[6]NavSource photo captions, USS Cabildo (LSD-16): Navy photos LSD 16 25311-5-55 (engineering trials off the south end of Mare Island, 10 May 1955) and LSD 16 35880-8-57 (off the south end of Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 1 August 1957) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/12/1216.htm photo table, images 10121611 and 10121610
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- U.S. Navy file photographs place this hull at Mare Island Naval Shipyard twice in the documented record: conducting engineering trials at the south end of Mare Island 10 May 1955, and off the south end of Mare Island Naval Shipyard 1 August 1957. The 1955 presence falls in the year DANFS records her fitting with mezzanine and helicopter decks; the photographs establish physical presence at the yard, not what work (if any) the yard performed.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1955-1957
- Population
- Crew and any Mare Island yard trades during 1955/1957 presences
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: file-numbered Navy photos establish presence at the yard, not an availability or overhaul record - no work order, availability, or yard job documentation for Cabildo at Mare Island was located. Whether the 1955 mezzanine/helicopter-deck installation was performed at Mare Island is inference, not established. No asbestos content in the photo captions themselves.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cabildo-lsd16-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (Casa Grande class, steam-driven LSD); ONI specification block via NavSource (two Newport News steam turbines, two Babcock & Wilcox oil-fired D-type boilers 250 psi, NN main reduction gears, 7,000 shp); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product list for newport-news-shipbuilding (Kaylo insulation, Unibestos, Johns-Manville products, raw asbestos mud) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource ONI specifications (7 April 1944); shipyards.json product list for newport-news-shipbuilding
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steam-driven dock landing ship built 1944-45 at Newport News Shipbuilding sits inside both the Navy's documented asbestos era (insulation substitution did not begin until the early 1970s) and that builder's documented asbestos-use record. Era-standard applications aboard a steam vessel of this type and period were boiler and steam-drum insulation, steam-line lagging between boiler and engine spaces, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, turbine and machinery lagging, and insulation in accommodation spaces; the propulsion record (B&W boilers feeding NN turbines) identifies the machinery spaces where such materials were era-standard.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1985
- Population
- Newport News construction trades (1944-45); crew (1945-47, 1950-70); yard/base trades during availabilities; target-preparation and sinking crews (1985)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or plan located for LSD-16. Names era-standard applications on the documented propulsion plant, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cabildo-lsd16-06
-
[8]Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology 28(1):9-16 (January 1946), PMID 21016030 (National Library of Medicine catalogue record verified) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed PMID 21016030 bibliographic record (NLM efetch verified 2026-09-30)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- A contemporaneous U.S. Public Health Service industrial-hygiene survey of pipe-covering operations in naval-vessel construction - the era-documented occupational pathway for insulation workers building ships of Cabildo's type and build window (1944-45). Carried as era context for the construction-trade population at her documented builder.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1946 (publication); wartime construction era
- Population
- Naval-vessel construction pipe-covering/insulation trades (era context)
- Limitations
- Era/program-level industrial-hygiene record; does not name this hull or this yard and does not establish that asbestos-containing material was installed aboard LSD-16. Bibliographic record verified via NLM efetch (title, journal, pagination, 1946); article full text not retrieved - findings detail not quoted beyond what the title and indexing establish.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cabildo-lsd16-07
-
[9]shipyard-exposure-map yard record 'newport-news-shipbuilding' (documented products: Kaylo insulation, Unibestos, Johns-Manville products, raw asbestos mud; litigation-documented product list incl. Pittsburgh Corning, Unarco, Celotex/Philip Carey, Eagle-Picher, Raybestos-Manhattan, H.K. Porter Thermoid) plus underlying epidemiology: Tagnon et al., Cancer Res 40:3875 (1980), PMID 7471040; Blot et al., JNCI 65:571 (1980), PMID 6931936 [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json entry newport-news-shipbuilding (yard_id; asbestos_products_documented; evidence rows ev-newport-news-01/-02); PubMed 7471040 and 6931936
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- This hull's builder is a documented asbestos-exposure yard: the Atlas shipyard record for Newport News Shipbuilding carries a documented product list (Kaylo, Unibestos, Johns-Manville products, raw asbestos mud; litigation-documented manufacturer list extending to Pittsburgh Corning, Unarco, Celotex/Philip Carey, Eagle-Picher, Raybestos-Manhattan, and H.K. Porter Thermoid) and the supporting epidemiology - a roughly four-fold mesothelioma incidence excess among white males in coastal Tidewater, Virginia (1972-1978, 61 cases, three-fourths with shipbuilding employment) and a smoking-adjusted lung-cancer RR 1.7 (95% CI 1.2-2.4) for pre-1950 coastal-Virginia shipyard employment. The yard-era window covers this hull's 1944-45 construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-45 (build); epidemiology study windows 1950-1980 / 1972-1978
- Population
- Newport News Shipbuilding construction trades (1944-45); Tidewater VA shipyard workforce
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation, not a hull record: documents asbestos use and disease burden at the builder's yard and the surrounding Tidewater cluster - LSD-16 is not named in any cited source. Does not establish materials installed aboard this hull, individual exposure, or quantity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cabildo-lsd16-08
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire construction (1944-45) and commissioned service era (1945-47, 1950-70).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, standing since batch 01) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cabildo-lsd16-09
-
[11]Batch-5804 search ledger (this record): live DANFS; live NavSource; DNA 6034F full text; Naval Vessel Register; CourtListener API v4 (opinion and docket indexes, name and hull-number queries); secondary web litigation sweep; usscabildo.org association site; NARA catalog [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cabildo-lsd16-01 through -15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS Cabildo (LSD-16) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener (authenticated API, 2026-09-30): 'USS Cabildo' returned zero opinions and zero dockets; bare 'Cabildo' returned 80 opinions, every one a name collision (Cabildo Construction Co. of New Orleans; the Cabildo building/state museum; individuals surnamed Cabildo/Rosas-Cabildo); 'Cabildo' + asbestos returned one opinion (Perez v. Evenstar, Inc., La. App. 2013) citing Sherman v. Cabildo Construction Co. - a collision, not the ship; 'LSD-16'/'LSD 16' docket hits (27) were all collisions (controlled-substance and unrelated matters). Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos aboard without primary sourcing (freeasbestostesting.com, simmonsfirm.com, sokolovelaw.com, elslaw.com, mesotheliomahelp.org, ratemyvso.net) - excluded by source policy. The Naval Vessel Register carries no entry (ships disposed before 1987 excluded).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-45 steam ship sits squarely in the documented asbestos era, so ship-proven status remains open, not negative. Deck logs (RG 24), Newport News work packages, 1950-70 availability records, and any 1985 target-preparation/survey records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cabildo-lsd16-10
-
[12]National Archives, Guide to Federal Records, Record Group 19: Records of the Bureau of Ships (technical records incl. ship-design records, material specifications, and vessel plans) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 19 guide, technical-record descriptions (ship design; specifications for materials; plans)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead only: NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships records) identifies technical series - ship-design records, specifications for materials, and vessel plans - a potential path to this hull's contract plans, material specifications, or alteration files. No Cabildo-specific box, folder, or drawing was retrieved; RG 24 deck logs (1945-1970) are the parallel open lead.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1970 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only; no box-level or drawing-level retrieval performed, and the existence of Cabildo-specific asbestos documentation in these series is unknown. Not an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cabildo-lsd16-11