USS Cape Johnson (AP-172)

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII, the era and Maritime Commission program under which this C1-B hull was mass-produced, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard government and merchant-type hulls.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1940s era documented; article 1987

   Population

   WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cape-johnson-ap172-01

2. [2]MARAD reserve-fleet vessel data card for CAPE JOHNSON (AP-172) ('Trooper / Turbine', fuel-oil entry inventory) + ShipScribe AP-172 class machinery data (Westinghouse turbine, 4,000 hp) + era practice per Corn & Starr, AJIM 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]

   Locator

   MARAD ShipHistory Detail 759, status-card scans; ShipScribe https://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/AP/AP172.html class block

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   The ship's documented machinery - an oil-fired steam plant driving a Westinghouse geared turbine ('Trooper / Turbine' on the MARAD reserve-fleet card; 3,761 bbl Bunker C aboard at lay-up) - is of the type that in 1943 U.S. shipbuilding was insulated with asbestos-containing boiler, steam-line, gasket, packing, and insulating-cement products; the 1943-44 Navy conversion added troop accommodation for ~1,300-1,580 personnel, spaces built out with period fireproofing/insulation practice.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1942-1946

   Population

   Shipbuilders (Consolidated Steel, Wilmington; Los Angeles SB&DD conversion); Navy engine-room and maintenance ratings; embarked troop passengers

   Limitations

   The steam plant is ship-proven; the asbestos content of its insulation is era inference, not ship-proven - no insulation schedule, outfitting spec, survey, or abatement record for this hull was located. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence (hull scrapped 1963-64), individual exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cape-johnson-ap172-02

3. [3]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Cape Johnson' (AP-172) - via Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images (HyperWar/ibiblio mirror) and NavSource DANFS transcription [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   NHC Online Library 'USS Cape Johnson (AP-172), 1944-1946' text and photo captions NH 98652/98653/98708/83401; NavSource archive 09/22/22172 DANFS block and commanding-officer roster

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS/NHC service history: 5,668-ton MC C1-B built at Wilmington, CA; launched 1943-02-20 (sponsor Mrs. A. C. Steward); merchant service from May 1943; designated December 1943 for conversion and converted by Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. to a troop transport; acquired under bareboat charter and commissioned 1944-06-01 (CDR L. C. Farley, USNR). Pacific service: four months redistributing Army/Marine forces among the Marianas and South Pacific bases; reported to TF 79 at Hollandia 1944-10-31; resupply echelon to Leyte, survived heavy air attack 1944-11-13, landed troops at Samar 1944-11-15; Lingayen Gulf landings (Luzon) January 1945; off Iwo Jima mid-February through March 1945 landing Marine troops and cargo; embarked 5th Marines to Pearl Harbor, then San Francisco (arrived 1945-04-22); troops to Manila; cleared Philippines 1945-08-16; delivered occupation troops to Wakayama, Honshu 1945-09-27; Operation Magic Carpet returns; decommissioned 1946-07-25 and returned to the Maritime Commission the next day; sold for scrapping May 1963. Two battle stars.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1943-1963

   Population

   Ship's company and embarked troops (1944-1946)

   Limitations

   Authoritative for identity and service narrative; contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or industrial-hygiene information and supports no asbestos claim. Live history.navy.mil DANFS page returned 404 on 2026-09-25 (NHHC link rot, standing defect) - transcription mirrors cited; canonical NHHC URL still needs re-locating.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cape-johnson-ap172-03

4. [4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - CAPE JOHNSON (AP-172), Ship History Detail 759, including digitized Form MA-20 Record of Ship Sales, Reserve Fleet Division vessel-data card, and CapeJohnson_759_001.pdf (USCG radio-sealing report) [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   ShipHistory Detail 759 - milestone table, status-card scans (759_AF.jpg, 760_1366AF.jpg), documents/CapeJohnson_759_001.pdf

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD ShipHistory record and digitized status cards for CAPE JOHNSON (AP-172): U.S. Official No. 242993; MC hull 507 (contract Ma-3340); type C1-B; built for the Maritime Administration by Consolidated Steel Corp., year built May 25, 1943; entered NDRF (Olympia, WA group, fleet PUG. G28) 1946-07-26 with 3,761 bbl Bunker C aboard and 'SEATTLE' recorded as termination port of her last voyage; passenger capacity 1,581 and 'Trooper / Turbine' on the reserve-fleet card; advertised under sale PD-X-633 1963-04-17, bids opened 1963-05-08, award to Zidell Explorations, Inc. 1963-05-10 at $212,579.96 for BOTH ships (pairing: SS Santa Cruz), 'Scrap Hull US'; withdrawn from the fleet 1963-06-10 11:00 hrs and delivered to Zidell Explorations. An attached USCG radio-sealing report (wartime, 12th Naval District, San Francisco) records merchant owner Pacific States Steamship Co., master J. V. Gibson.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1943-1963

   Limitations

   Authoritative government custody and disposition record. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim beyond establishing the hull's existence, Navy/merchant service path, and scrapping at Zidell's Portland yard.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cape-johnson-ap172-04

5. [5]ShipScribe, 'USS Cape Johnson (AP-172) Class' (S. S. Roberts compilation of BuShips/NVR and Auxiliary Vessels Board records) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Class block, Construction/Disposition tables, Class Notes, Ship Notes (MC# 507)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   ShipScribe (Stephen S. Roberts) class compilation from official records: Cape Johnson class AP-172/AP-174, MC design C1-B; AP-172 keel laid 1942-11-28 at Consolidated Steel, Wilmington; merchant completion 1943-05-25; converted for WSA by Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock, San Pedro, 1943-12-30 to 1944-06-01; complement 265 (1944); Westinghouse turbine 4,000 hp, one screw, 14.7 kn; conversion plans provided 70 officers + 1,350 troops with deck/hatch stowage for 2 LCM(3) and 4 LCVP; decommissioned 1946-07-25, struck 1946-08-15; to buyer 1963-06-10, scrapped by 1964-01-21. Class notes document the Auxiliary Vessels Board's 1943-10/11 selection of five C-type ships (AP 171-175) for Navy-manned troop conversion in lieu of Liberty AK conversions.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1942-1964

   Limitations

   Secondary compilation of official records; keel date, strike date, and scrapped-by date are sole-source (NavSource lists keel and strike dates as unknown) and complement 265 conflicts with the 371 repeated by secondary sources - discrepancies logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cape-johnson-ap172-05

6. [6]Naval Historical Center Online Library, photo captions NH 98652 and NH 98653 (Official U.S. Navy Photographs) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Photo captions NH 98652/98653, 'repairs at the U.S. Naval Drydocks, Hunters Point ... Alterations made during the repair period are circled'

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The ship underwent a repair availability at the U.S. Naval Drydocks, Hunters Point, San Francisco in spring 1945: NHC photographs NH 98652 and NH 98653 show her in San Francisco Bay on 1945-05-18 'after repairs at the U.S. Naval Drydocks, Hunters Point, San Francisco,' with alterations made during the repair period circled. DANFS records her arrival at San Francisco 1945-04-22 after the Iwo Jima operation; she then ran west-coast-to-Manila troop lifts.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1945-04 to 1945-05

   Population

   Hunters Point shop and ship's force personnel (spring 1945)

   Limitations

   Establishes a documented repair availability at a yard with known asbestos history (Hunters Point is a documented asbestos-contaminated former naval shipyard - ATSDR public health assessment, 1995). No repair work orders, job cards, or material records for this availability were located; any asbestos scope is inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish exposure aboard this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cape-johnson-ap172-06

7. [7]NavSource Online, USS Cape Johnson (AP-172) commanding-officer roster; O'Hara, Kieran D., 'A Brief History of Geology' (Cambridge University Press, 2018), p. 141 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 09/22/22172 CO roster (CDR Hess, Harry Hammond, May 1945 - 9 August 1945); O'Hara 2018 p. 141

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   CDR Harry Hammond Hess, USNR, commanded Cape Johnson May 1945 - 1945-08-09 (NavSource commanding-officer roster). Hess - the Princeton geologist - ran the ship's echo sounder continuously on her Pacific tracks and collected the flat-topped seamount profiles he later termed 'guyots,' data that contributed to the foundation of plate-tectonics theory (documented in scholarly literature; the wartime survey tracks correspond to her Marianas-Philippines-Iwo Jima operations).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1945

   Limitations

   Historical/personnel record only; no asbestos information. The command dates rest on the NavSource roster (compiled from official sources); the guyot-discovery narrative rests on the scholarly biography literature.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cape-johnson-ap172-07

8. [8]Oregon DEQ, 'Zidell Waterfront Property Cleanup' site document (oregon.gov ECSI No. 689); corroborating site history: Oregon Public Broadcasting, 'Portland's Toxic Graveyard For World War II Ships' (Battle Ready series) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Oregon DEQ Zidell cleanup advisory document (contaminant list incl. asbestos; 336 ships dismantled; asbestos abatement project); OPB https://www.opb.org/news/series/battleready/shipbuilding-ship-breaking-clean-up-willamette-river/

   Finding type

   environmental_record

   Finding

   The hull was delivered to Zidell Explorations, Inc. for scrapping at Portland, OR on 1963-06-10 and scrapped by 1964-01-21. Oregon DEQ documents the Zidell Willamette River waterfront shipbreaking site (32 acres upland + 12 acres in-water sediment) as contaminated with metals, petroleum hydrocarbons/PAHs, PCBs, tributyltin - and asbestos - from ship dismantling; DEQ records ~336 ships dismantled there over ~30 years from 1946, and the site remedy included a dedicated certified asbestos-abatement project.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1946-2012 site record; this hull 1963-1964

   Population

   Zidell shipbreaking workers (1946-1970s era, site-wide)

   Limitations

   Site-level environmental documentation: DEQ does not name this hull and does not establish that this hull carried asbestos into the site, the quantity removed, or worker exposure during its 1963-64 dismantling. The sale/delivery of THIS hull to Zidell is ship-specific (ev-04); the asbestos documentation is site-level context only.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cape-johnson-ap172-08

9. [9]Sumner v. FCE Industries, Ltd., 308 A.D.2d 440, 764 N.Y.S.2d 113 (N.Y. App. Div., filed 2003-09-08), CourtListener opinion 6231767; vessel identity resolved via MARAD ShipHistory Detail 760 (CAPE JOHNSON AK-5075 milestones) [court_record]

   Locator

   Opinion text ('the M/V Cape Johnson, a ship in dry dock at the Brooklyn Navy Yard'); MARAD Detail 760 interim-movement milestones Oct 1997-Jan 1998

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Name collision resolved: the only case-name or text hit located on CourtListener for a vessel called 'Cape Johnson' is Sumner v. FCE Industries, Ltd., 308 A.D.2d 440, 764 N.Y.S.2d 113 (N.Y. App. Div. 2003) - a welding-burn Labor Law sec. 241(6) action arising aboard 'the M/V Cape Johnson, a ship in dry dock at the Brooklyn Navy Yard' on 1997-12-15. That M/V is SS Cape Johnson (AK-5075) - ex-M.M. Dant/Mormacsaga, a 1962 NASSCO-built C4-S-1u breakbulk in MARAD's Ready Reserve Fleet - whose MARAD milestone record shows 'Tow to GMD S/Y' 1997-10-22 and 'At GMD Shipyard for scheduled drydocking' 1997-10-24 to 1998-01-31. It is a different vessel, and the case is not asbestos litigation.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1997-2003

   Limitations

   Different vessel, different era, different injury theory (burns, not asbestos). Carried so the collision cannot later be misattributed to AP-172. No merits-stage ruling on asbestos exists for this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cape-johnson-ap172-09

10. [10]Batch-2099 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHC + NavSource + ShipScribe histories; MARAD ShipHistory 759 cards/documents; CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket searches ("Cape Johnson", "AP-172"); Oregon DEQ Zidell file; NARA catalog [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-cape-johnson-ap172-01 through sl-uss-cape-johnson-ap172-12

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, MARAD materials declaration, or docketed asbestos case naming AP-172 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion and docket indexes return only name collisions (geographic Cape Johnson in Makah treaty-fishing litigation; M/V Cape Johnson AK-5075 in Sumner; adversary-proceeding 'ap-172' docket numbers; statutory/section references).

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-25

    Study period

    2026-09-25

    Limitations

    Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943 C1-B steam plant is era-consistent with asbestos insulation, and no demolition-era survey requirement existed in 1963. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-cape-johnson-ap172-10

11. [11]NARA catalog entry 78516179 ('USS CAPE JOHNSON - War Diary, 6/1-30/44', Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations WWII War Diaries), via DPLA aggregation [other_primary]

    Locator

    NARA catalog id 78516179 (micro serial 78748, file A16-3); RG 24 deck-log series and RG 178 USMC Construction Division record paths not surveyed

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads (not retrieved - reading-room or digitization order required; no spend authorized): (a) NARA WWII War Diaries series holds 'USS CAPE JOHNSON' war-diary entries beginning June 1944 (NARA catalog id 78516179, micro serial 78748) - the series should cover the commissioned period and could document operations, repairs, and material events; (b) RG 24 deck logs and muster rolls for AP-172; (c) RG 178 USMC Construction Division files for MC hull 507 (construction/outfitting specs are the likeliest primary source for insulation material).

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-25

    Study period

    1943-1946 records; cataloged to present

    Limitations

    Lead only - the war diary and construction files were not retrieved or read; their contents are unknown and may contain no asbestos information. Only the June 1944 diary entry's existence is confirmed by the catalog record.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-cape-johnson-ap172-11