Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet 840-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-callisto-lst966-pkt-840-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Callisto (AGP-15) - verbatim transcription at HyperWar (ibiblio.org); identical text mirrored at losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/auxil/agp15.htm; live NHHC Callisto page 404s on all candidate URLs [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (DANFS): 'LST-966 was reclassified AGP-15, 14 August 1944, and assigned the name Callisto. She was launched 29 November 1944 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipbuilding Co., Baltimore, Md.; and commissioned 12 June 1945, Lieutenant Commander C. W. Brooks, USNR, in command. Callisto sailed from Yorktown, Va., 23 July 1945, bound for the Pacific and service with the 7th Fleet. Delayed at Pearl Harbor by the cessation of hostilities, she reported at San Pedro Bay, P.I., 15 October to serve as tender to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 9 ... provided berthing, maintenance, and supply facilities for her assigned squadron until 20 December when she cleared for San Francisco. She was decommissioned 9 May 1946, and transferred to the Maritime Commission 14 May 1948.' Spec block: 'AGP-15: dp. 2,179 l. 328' b. 50' dr. 11'2" s. 12 k. cpl. 119 a. 8 40 mm. cl. Portunus.' Namesake: Callisto, a nymph attendant on Artemis in Greek mythology.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948 (entry coverage)
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1944); Maryland Drydock conversion trades (Jan-Jun 1945); crew and embarked MTB squadron personnel (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. This is the original short-form DANFS entry: it omits the ferry commission, the stricken date (23 Apr 1947 per NavSource/Shipscribe), and the merchant fate; its 'Baltimore, Md.' builder location is a documented error (see ev-10). Live NHHC page for Callisto 404s - the only live NHHC content is the LST-966 stub (ev-02); verbatim transcription mirrors used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-callisto-lst966-01
-
[3]NHHC DANFS, LST-966 (live page, verified 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS L index, LST-966 entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The live NHHC DANFS page for LST-966 states in full: 'LST-966 was redesignated AGP-15 and named Callisto (q.v.) on 14 August 1944.' Confirms this hull's contract identity (LST-966) and its reclassification/redesignation to AGP-15 Callisto on that date, consolidating the two designations to one canonical hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944
- Limitations
- Stub entry only - establishes identity and reclassification date, nothing further (no construction, service, or material content). Live page verified; the Callisto (AGP-15) DANFS entry itself is not on the live NHHC site (all candidate URLs 404).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-callisto-lst966-02
-
[4]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), USS Portunus (AGP-4) class - construction/disposition tables, class notes, and ship notes compiled from BuShips/OpNav and Navy conversion records [other_primary]
- Locator
- AGP04 class page, construction table row AGP-15, disposition table row AGP-15, ship note AGP-15
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe's Navy-records-derived table for this hull: CALLISTO (AGP-15), reclassified 14 Aug 44, builder 'Bethlehem Steel, Hingham', keel 31 Oct 44, launch 29 Nov 44, commissioned 12 Jun 45; decommissioned 9 May 46, stricken 23 Apr 47, disposal 14 May 48 (MC/D, MA Sale 14 May 48). Ship note: 'Ex LST-966 14 Aug 44. Ferry commission as LST-966 22 Dec 44-4 Jan 45. Converted by Maryland DD, Baltimore (begun 5 Jan 45). Approved 27 Jun 46 for lend lease to China, subsequently cancelled. Sold by MC as LST-966 for mercantile service, merc. ELENA 1949, lost as DAYTONA 20 Nov 55.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1955
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel Hingham construction trades (1944); Maryland Drydock conversion trades (Jan-Jun 1945); Maritime Commission/NDRF custodial personnel (1948); merchant crews (1949-55)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific milestones compiled from Navy records; a secondary compilation (not itself a primary document), though its reclassification dates come from BuShips/OpNav records per the page notes. No asbestos or material content. 'Sold by MC as LST-966' indicates the Maritime Commission sale ran under the LST hull designation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-callisto-lst966-03
-
[5]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Callisto (AGP-15) - timeline, specifications, commanding officers, awards, NARA-captioned photography (live navsource.net page verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/09/0915.htm header timeline, specifications block, commanding-officers table, photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: authorized as LST-966; reclassified a Motor Torpedo Boat Tender 14 August 1944; laid down 31 October 1944 'at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipbuilding Co., Baltimore, MD' (sic - see ev-10); launched 29 November 1944; placed in reduced commission 22 December 1944 for transit to her fitting out yard, ENS G. A. Johnson in command; commissioned in full USS Callisto (AGP-15) 12 June 1945, LCDR Charles W. Brooks, USNR; decommissioned 9 May 1946, laid up Pacific Reserve Fleet; struck from the Naval Register 23 April 1947; transferred to the Maritime Administration 14 May 1948 for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet; sold for merchant service, date unknown, renamed M/V Elena; renamed M/V Daytona, date unknown; final disposition - lost, cause unknown, 20 November 1955. Awards: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal. Call sign NJYI. CO list: ENS Johnson 22 Dec 44; LCDR Brooks 12 Jun 45-16 Sep 45; LT Norton 16 Sep-20 Dec 45; LT Whitney 20 Dec 45-9 May 46. Specifications: 4,100 t., 328' x 50' x 11'2", 11.6 kts., complement 41 officers + 245 enlisted, two General Motors '12-568A' diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, 1,800 shp, twin rudders, two quad 40mm + eight single 20mm mounts, 2 LCVPs, 60-t. boom, 5 diesel-drive 100kW ship's-service generators.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1955
- Population
- Crew (1945-46); NDRF custodial personnel (1948); merchant crews (1949-55)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track NVR/DANFS but the builder location repeats the DANFS 'Baltimore, MD' error and the engine type prints '12-568A' (a typo for the 12-567A EMD unit; see gaps). Complement (286) conflicts with DANFS (119) and Shipscribe (240) - carried in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-callisto-lst966-04
-
[6]NARA photograph, US National Archives RG-19-LCM photo 19-N-85774, US Navy Bureau of Ships photo (metadata transcribed in NavSource caption; direct catalog verification open) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/09/0915.htm photo caption; NARA RG-19-LCM 19-N-85774
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A Bureau of Ships photograph (NARA RG-19-LCM, 19-N-85774) shows USS Callisto (AGP-15) 'underway in Chesapeake Bay off Port Covington, Baltimore, MD., 19 June 1945, just after completion of conversion. This ship had one "A" frame hoist, to port.' Documents the hull's physical configuration immediately post-conversion - consistent with Shipscribe's note that AGP-14 and AGP 17-18 received a second starboard hoist while AGP-15 carried one. Archival lead for her conversion-yard presence.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-06-19
- Population
- Maryland Drydock conversion trades; crew (June 1945 trials period)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: a photograph establishes post-conversion appearance and Baltimore presence on that date, not what materials were installed - a photo is not a work or material record. NARA catalog is JS-rendered and could not be independently fetched; photo number and caption metadata transcribed via NavSource. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-callisto-lst966-05
-
[7]Shipscribe Portunus (AGP-4) class notes - LST-to-AGP conversion program and modified design for AGP 14-18 (from BuShips/OpNav and Auxiliary Vessels Board records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AGP04 class page, 'Class Notes' section (conversion program; modified design paragraph)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class context from Navy records: the Portunus class were all built under LST contracts and reclassified and fitted as AGPs before entering service; 'all units of this class were converted to AGP's by the Maryland DD Co., Baltimore, except AGP-5 (Tampa SB Co.)'; Gibbs and Cox was the design agent for the LST conversion designs; the class 'was designed with shops and equipment for maintenance of one MTB squadron' with a 50- then 60-ton 'A' frame hoist. The last five units (AGP 14-18, which includes this hull) carried a modified design: bow doors and operating mechanism retained, 3"/50 gun eliminated, forward kingpost/boom replaced by a crane, stern anchor restored under a raised 40mm platform, 60-ton 'A' frame hoist (a second, to starboard, only in AGP-14 and AGP 17-18).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (design and conversion program)
- Population
- Maryland Drydock conversion trades (class-wide); Gibbs and Cox design staff
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - describes the conversion design applied to this hull type, not materials installed aboard this specific ship. No asbestos content; conversion work scope is described functionally (shops, berthing, hoists) without material specifications.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-callisto-lst966-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (Portunus-class diesel tender); NavSource specifications (GM diesels, Falk reduction gear, diesel-drive generator sets); Shipscribe machinery line ('G.M. diesels, 2 screws') and conversion design notes; GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (see ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource specifications; Shipscribe AGP04 machinery/design notes
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- An LST-542-type hull built and converted in 1944-45 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a diesel-powered hull of this type were thermal insulation, machinery and exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, joiner/accommodation insulation, and friction materials (brake/clutch linings) on deck machinery and winches; the AGP conversion added repair shops and squadron berthing built to era-standard practice. As a diesel-mechanical ship she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the principal lagging pathways are the main diesel exhaust runs and auxiliary generator sets (five diesel-drive 100kW units per NavSource).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1955
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1944); Maryland Drydock conversion trades (1945); crew + embarked MTBRon 9 personnel (1945-46); NDRF custodial and merchant crews (1948-55)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LST-966/AGP-15. Names era-standard applications, 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-callisto-lst966-07
-
[9]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), conversion (1945), and commissioned service era (1945-46), plus NDRF custody (1948).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- 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, confirmed 2026-10-03) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-callisto-lst966-08
-
[10]Batch-7509 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS stub + transcriptions; Shipscribe Navy records; NavSource; NARA photo lead; GAO product page; CourtListener (blocked); NVR (blocked); MARAD vessel history (pending); secondary web litigation sweep; shipyards.json check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-callisto-lst966-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS Callisto (AGP-15) / LST-966 was found in the public sources searched. CAVEATS: (1) CourtListener could not be queried this session - the authenticated helper reported the shared daily quota exhausted (~6.8 h wait to reset); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. (2) Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing content (e.g., freeasbestostesting.com listing the hull among 'auxiliary ships' asserted asbestos-bearing without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy). (3) Name collision classified: 'Callisto' hits in litigation refer to the Callisto Surface Mine, Boone County, WV (e.g., Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, S.D.W. Va. 2007) - a coal mine, not this vessel; classified name collision/other litigation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (quota-blocked, not run). NARA RG 24 deck logs, BuShips conversion work packages for this hull (Maryland Drydock contract), and Maritime Commission disposal/status cards are undigitized or unreachable leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-callisto-lst966-09
-
[11]DANFS (live NHHC), Alecto (AGP-14) - revised entry for the sister hull on the identical build-then-convert pipeline; cross-checked against Shipscribe AGP04 construction table and NARA photo caption [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS Callisto entry (transcription) vs history.navy.mil/danfs/a/alecto.html and Shipscribe AGP04 construction table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the DANFS Callisto entry locates her builder as 'Bethlehem-Hingham Shipbuilding Co., Baltimore, Md.' and NavSource repeats 'Baltimore, MD' as the lay-down location. Both are wrong as to location: the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipbuilding Co. yard was at Hingham, Massachusetts (Shipscribe construction table: 'Bethlehem Steel, Hingham'; consistent with the revised DANFS entry for sister ship Alecto, AGP-14: 'laid down on 12 December 1944 at Hingham, Mass., by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipbuilding Co.' and 'decommissioned [at Baltimore] for conversion by the Maryland Drydock Co.'). The older Callisto DANFS text conflates the conversion-yard city with the builder; Callisto was at Baltimore only for the Maryland Drydock conversion (NARA photo 19-N-85774 places her 'off Port Covington, Baltimore ... just after completion of conversion').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (construction/conversion window)
- Limitations
- Corrects a builder-location misprint, not a material or asbestos claim. The original DANFS text is internally consistent for a reader who knows 'Bethlehem-Hingham' is a company name, but the appended city is wrong; the corrected reading is confirmed by two independent sources (Shipscribe construction table; the newer NHHC entry for AGP-14) plus the NARA photo caption.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-callisto-lst966-10