USS Casa Grande (LSD-13)

Evidence

12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).

1. [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-casa-grande-lsd13-pkt-514-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, 'Casa Grande' (LSD-13), 1944-1976 - construction, commissioning, WWII Pacific service, Cold War service through 1960, decommissioning, stricken, sale (live NHHC page verified 2026-09-30) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS 'Casa Grande' entry, narrative paragraphs and spec block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry for this hull: 'Casa Grande (LSD-13) was authorized as a British Mechanized Artillery Transport (BAPM-5) under the Lend Lease Act and to be named Portway (F.144) in the British Royal Navy; reclassifed to a dock landing ship (LSD-13) on 1 July 1942; awarded on 10 September 1942, to Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, Va.; laid down as British dock landing ship Spear on 11 November 1943; renamed Casa Grande during construction; launched on 11 April 1944; sponsored by Mrs. G. Delapalme; and commissioned on 5 June 1944, Lt. Cmdr. Fred E. Strumm, USNR, in command.' WWII service: sailed Hampton Roads 19 July 1944, repaired at Balboa, arrived Pearl Harbor 21 August; Leyte initial assault 20 October 1944, withdrew to Hollandia 22 October; Lingayen Gulf landings 9 January 1945 after surviving the 8 January kamikaze attacks unscathed; Okinawa 1 April, small-boat repair shop at Kerama Retto 4 April-3 June; drydocking at San Francisco from 23 July 1945; occupation and redeployment service (South Pacific, China, Japan, Korea, Okinawa, Philippines, Alaska) through 20 April 1946; decommissioned and placed in reserve at Norfolk 23 October 1946. Recommissioned 1 November 1950; east-coast exercises, Newfoundland and Greenland supply missions, Caribbean amphibious training; first Sixth Fleet deployment 20 April 1953 (Greek Ionian Islands earthquake relief at Cephalonia, August); returned 28 October 1953; second Mediterranean deployment 29 July 1959-9 February 1960; brief Project Mercury participation; Sixth Fleet duty from November 1960. Decommissioned and placed in the Maritime Administration's National Defense Reserve Fleet 6 October 1969; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 11 October 1976; sold for $270,000 to Baxter Shipping, Inc., of Burbank, Calif., 6 April 1992. Three battle stars for WWII. Spec block: 'dp. 4,490; l. 457'9"; b. 72'2"; dr. 18'; s. 15 k.; cpl. 326; a. 1 5-inch, 12 40-millimeter, 16 20-millimeter; cl. Casa Grande.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1944-1992 (entry coverage)

   Population

   USN crew, WWII Pacific (1944-46); USN crew, Atlantic/Med/Arctic service (1950-69); yard workers during documented availability periods

   Limitations

   Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS ends narrative detail at 1960 - post-1960 operations (Cuban Missile Crisis blockade, Dominican Republic 1965, later Med deployments) are covered only by secondary sources. The 'sold ... 6 April 1992' date corresponds to the MARAD card's 'Vessel Scrapped as of 4-6-92' note, not the sale award (awarded 4 Sep 1991, withdrawn 22 Nov 1991) - see correction row ev-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-04.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-01

3. [3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, 'USS Casa Grande (LSD-13)' - full milestone timeline, ONI specifications (7 Apr 1944), campaign/occupation ribbon table, commanding-officer list, and captioned photo record (live page verified 2026-09-30) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/12/1213.htm header block, awards table, ONI specifications block, CO table, and photo captions

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource timeline for this hull: authorized under the Lend-Lease Act as British Mechanized Artillery Transport BAPM-5; reclassified Landing Ship Dock LSD-13 1 July 1942; contract awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. 10 September 1942; laid down 11 November 1943 'as HMS Spear'; launched 11 April 1944; 'Lend-Lease canceled or modified never commissioned in Royal Navy as HMS Portway (F-144)'; commissioned USS Casa Grande 5 June 1944, LCDR F. E. Strumm USNR in command; decommissioned 23 October 1946 at Norfolk, Atlantic Reserve Fleet Norfolk Group; recommissioned 1 November 1950; occupation service Europe 4 May-17 October 1953; decommissioned 6 October 1969; struck 11 October 1976; sold 6 April 1992 for $270,000 to Baxter Shipping Inc., Burbank CA ('fate unknown'). Campaign credits: Leyte (landings 20, 31 Oct-9 Nov and 13-21 Nov 1944), Lingayen Gulf (9 Jan 1945), Okinawa Gunto (1 Apr-3 Jun 1945); Navy Occupation Service periods Oct 1945-Feb 1946 plus China Service (extended, 1 Jan-16 Feb 1946); Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Cuba, Dominican Republic). Commanding officers listed: LCDR Fred E. Strumm (5 Jun 1944-28 Jun 1946), LT Bernard Maxwell Kassell USN (28 Jun-23 Oct 1946). Specifications as reported by ONI 7 April 1944: displacement 4,032 light / 7,930 seagoing loaded; length 457'9" o.a.; beam 72'2"; design speed 17 kts; endurance 8,000 miles at 15 knots; complement 17 officers + 237 enlisted, troop accommodations 22 officers + 218 enlisted; propulsion two Newport News Shipbuilding steam turbines, two Babcock & Wilcox oil-fired D-type boilers (two-drum, single furnace, single uptake, 250 psi), single Newport News main reduction gears, two 300 kW turbo-drive DC ship's-service generators, twin propellers 7,000 shp; armament one 5"/38 DP mount, two quad and two twin 40mm, sixteen 20mm. Captioned photo record includes: departing Hampton Roads 30 April 1951 (Norfolk Navy Yard photo NY6 7214, USS Missouri BB-63 in frame); discharging LCU-1491 (All Hands, Sep 1957); Landformed 1-66 Med cruise March-August 1966 cruise book; Grand Harbour, Valletta, Malta July 1967; 'in the Antarctic ice, circa June-July 1969'; moored at Thule, Greenland circa June-July 1969 with USS Nipmuc (ATF-157) (photo by LTjg Bernard Schenck, USS Glacier). Call sign NJNH.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1942-1992

   Population

   NNSD&D construction trades (1943-44); USN crew and embarked troops (1944-69); NDRF James River caretakers (1970-91); Navy stripping parties (1983, 1990-91); scrap-yard workers (1991-92)

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; its ONI-block transcription is a period document reproducer. Its 'fate unknown' for final disposition is refuted by the MARAD status cards ('Vessel Scrapped as of 4-6-92') - see correction row. 'Antarctic ice' caption and the Thule/Greenland caption coexist for the same period and are unverified at primary level. Contains no asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-02

4. [4]MARAD Vessel History Database, CASA GRANDE (LSD-13), Ship History Detail 833 - milestones plus digitized status cards (MA-383 Reserve Fleet Ship Particulars, MA-199 Vessel Status Card, MA-20 Record of Ship Sales) [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov Detail/833 - Milestones table; card images 833_1490AF.jpg (MA-383 front), 833_1490BF.jpg (MA-383 back), 166_01.png (MA-199), 833_1490BB.jpg and 833_AF.jpg (MA-20), 833_AB.jpg (card back, scrapping note)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD's own record for this hull: Fate 'Sold - Scrap'; year built 1944; builder Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company; milestones Entry/Acquisition 21 Oct 1970, Disposition/Withdrawal 22 Nov 1991 ('CUST 1970 NDRF 1970'). The digitized MA-199 status card documents the custody chain at James River: Department of the Navy to Maritime Administration 21 Oct 1970 ('Custody'), permanent transfer 1 Sep 1971; Maritime Administration back to Department of the Navy 29 Mar 1983 ('Permanent Transfer - Withdrawn for stripping'); Navy to Maritime Administration 11 Apr 1984 ('In from Navy Special Hold'). The MA-383 card adds: fleet James River; entered 21 Oct 1970; withdrawn 29 Mar 1983 'Withdrawn by Navy for stripping'; re-entered 11 Apr 1984; withdrawn 19 Sep 1990 'INACTSHIPFAC for stripping'; re-entered 1 Apr 1991; withdrawn 22 Nov 1991 'Sold for scrap'; typed note '2-1-92 - Contract & Surety Released / Vessel Scrapped as of 4-6-92'. The MA-20 Record of Ship Sales documents: awarded to Baxter Shipping, Inc., c/o A.L. Burbank (Shipbrokers), 4 Sep 1991, purchase price $270,000, contract no. MA-12647, LSW 4,479 tons, location James River Reserve Fleet; remarks 'IFB No. EXC-8617 DTD. 6-28-91, SCRAPPING OF HULL WITHIN 24 MOS. U.S. OR APPROVED FOREIGN COUNTRY SEC. 510(I), AS AMENDED PL 101-595, 11-16-90'. Handwritten card entries give LOA 475.4', breadth 76.2', '4790 standard displacement tons / 9375 full load', 7000 SHP twin screw - conflicting with the database's own 504.0 ft length / 68.2 ft beam fields and with DANFS/ONI figures - conflicts carried in gaps.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1970-1992

   Population

   NDRF James River caretakers (1970-91); Navy stripping parties (1983 withdrawal, 1990-91 INACTSHIPFAC period); scrapping-contract workforce (1991-92)

   Limitations

   Documents custody, sale, and scrapping completion; contains no asbestos or hazardous-material content. 'Sold for scrap' withdrawal (22 Nov 1991) and 'Vessel Scrapped as of 4-6-92' resolve NavSource's 'fate unknown' but do not identify the breaking yard or location. MARAD's Dimensions/spec fields conflict internally and with Navy sources - carried as spec conflicts, none used for the record's dimension fields. The 'Documents' tab on this MARAD page contains a vessel card for a different ship named Casa Grande (a T2-SE-A1 tanker delivered at Portland, Ore., December 1944) - a same-name misfiling inside MARAD's own record, noted in the search ledger.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-03

5. [5]MARAD Vessel History Database status cards (MA-383, MA-20) + NAVSEA SEA21 inactive-ships history list (ship_history_28june2011.pdf), 'LSD 0013 CASA GRANDE 22-Nov-91 MARAD scrap sale' [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   MARAD Detail/833 cards 833_1490BF.jpg, 833_1490BB.jpg, 833_AB.jpg; navsea.navy.mil ship_history_28june2011.pdf LSD section

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   CORRECTION/clarification of the disposal timeline: secondary sources give divergent or incomplete versions - NavSource prints 'fate unknown'; DANFS prints 'sold ... on 6 April 1992'; uboat.net prints 'sold to be broken up for scrap on 6 April 1992'. The contemporaneous MARAD record shows the fuller sequence: sale awarded to Baxter Shipping, Inc. 4 September 1991 ($270,000, contract MA-12647 under IFB EXC-8617 of 28 June 1991); hull withdrawn from the James River fleet 22 November 1991 marked 'Sold for scrap'; contract and surety released 1 February 1992; 'Vessel Scrapped as of 4-6-92'. The DANFS 'sold 6 April 1992' date corresponds to the scrapping-completion note on the MARAD card, not the contract award or fleet withdrawal. NAVSEA's inactive-ships list independently records 'LSD 0013 CASA GRANDE 22-Nov-91 MARAD scrap sale', matching the card withdrawal date.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1991-1992

   Population

   Scrap-yard workforce, location undocumented (1991-92)

   Limitations

   Resolves fate and date order at the documentary level. The breaking yard and demolition location remain undocumented in the public record (IFB permitted scrapping in the U.S. or an approved foreign country); 'scrapped as of 4-6-92' is MARAD's typed card note, not a witnessed event record. NAVSEA PDF was reachable only via third-party fetch (direct fetch returned HTTP 403); the extracted table line was verified against the document text.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-04

6. [6]Conner v. Alfa Laval, Inc. (incl. Stone v. Alfa Laval, Inc.), 799 F. Supp. 2d 455 (E.D. Pa. 2011), MDL-875, Robreno, J.; RECAP docket: Stone v. Alfa Laval Inc., No. 2:09-cv-93726 (E.D. Pa.), cause '28:1332 Diversity-Asbestos Litigation', filed 16 Dec 2009, terminated 18 Sep 2012 [court_record]

   Locator

   Opinion at 799 F. Supp. 2d 455, Section II.C 'Stone v. Alfa Laval, Inc.' and Conclusion/Order; CourtListener opinion 2176736; RECAP docket 4964783 (gov.uscourts.paed.339227)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   QUALIFYING ASBESTOS LITIGATION at pleading/discovery stage: in the consolidated MDL-875 action Stone v. Alfa Laval, Inc., plaintiffs James and Elsie Stone alleged that Mr. Stone's mesothelioma was caused by exposure to asbestos-containing products during Navy boiler-tender service from 1959 to 1976, and the court's background section states 'Mr. Stone served aboard the USS Boxer and the USS Casa Grande.' (the duties quoted - 'maintaining the main propulsion generators and associated equipment' and work 'on the piping, valves and pumps, turbines, and reduction gear' - are attributed to the Boxer period in the passage). The published omnibus opinion decided only the choice-of-law question: maritime law governs the Conner, Prange, and Stone claims (sea-based Navy workers); state law governs Willis (predominantly land-based Charleston Naval Shipyard work). Defendants' summary-judgment motions were granted only to the extent of applying maritime law; all other issues were reserved for separate disposition. The Stone docket shows filing 16 December 2009 in the E.D. Pa. MDL-875 transferee docket and termination 18 September 2012.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   2009-2012 (litigation); alleged exposure period 1959-1976

   Population

   Navy boiler tender, alleged service 1959-1976 (Boxer and Casa Grande)

   Limitations

   Litigation-stage discipline applies: this is an allegation recited in a choice-of-law opinion, NOT a finding that asbestos exposure occurred aboard this hull, and NOT a product identification tied to Casa Grande. The opinion never finds Stone's duties or exposures aboard Casa Grande specifically, does not adjudicate causation, and the record establishes only that the ship was named in the pleading-stage background. Case terminated 18 Sep 2012; outcome beyond the maritime-law ruling was not located in public sources. Does not establish exposure, causation, or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-05

7. [7]Allen v. United States, 178 F. Supp. 21 (E.D. Pa. 1959), No. 241 of 1957, Layton, J. - Public Vessels Act admiralty libel arising from repair work aboard USS Casa Grande (LSD-13); opinion text verified via case-text reproduction [court_record]

   Locator

   Opinion text at 178 F. Supp. 21-28 (E.D. Pa. July 1, 1959); CourtListener opinion 1642409; text read via casemine reproduction

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   OTHER LITIGATION - NOT asbestos: federal admiralty proceeding under the Public Vessels Act of 1925 by Wilbert Allen, a shipyard welder employed by Keystone Drydock & Ship Repair Co., injured in a fall while removing temporary staging inside the forward ballast tank of USS Casa Grande (LSD-13) during a contract overhaul. The opinion documents the hull event in detail: on 7 June 1956, while en route Sondrestrom to Goose Bay, Labrador on Arctic base supply duty, Casa Grande was struck by an iceberg causing a 20-foot-high by 40-foot-long hull hole with extensive cracking; she returned to Norfolk, drydocked at Sun Shipbuilding Co. for damage assessment (special-alloy ice propellers removed and installed on another LSD), and was towed to the Keystone yard in Philadelphia for a repair, overhaul, and alteration package - entire-hull stiffening for Arctic service, removal of the mast for new radar - that the court characterized as 'in effect, Casa Grande was being converted for use in Arctic waters.' The work took in excess of 2.5 months (about 1.5 months drydocked), employed 275 Keystone workers, and cost approximately $700,000 (nearly $1,000,000 including government-furnished radar equipment). Held: Allen was not performing traditional seamen's work, so no unseaworthiness warranty ran to him, and no government negligence was shown (defective staging was erected by Navy crewmen working off-hours for Keystone); the indemnity claim against Keystone necessarily failed.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1956-1959 (event and opinion)

   Population

   Keystone Drydock & Ship Repair Co. workers (275 employees on the contract, incl. libelant welder Allen); Sun Shipbuilding drydock crew; Casa Grande crew aboard during yard custody (maintenance watch, some off-hours welding for contractor)

   Limitations

   Not asbestos litigation - a wartime-act personal-injury/unseaworthiness case decided against the libelant. Its value to this record is ship-specific documentation of a major 1956-57 repair/conversion event aboard this hull at identified Philadelphia yards (Sun Shipbuilding assessment drydock; Keystone Drydock contract work) - a material-disturbance event contemporaneous with the ship's asbestos era, though the opinion contains no insulation or material-content findings.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-06

8. [8]Class/era inference assembled from the ship's documented plant (ONI characteristics via NavSource) and era shipbuilding practice [other_primary]

   Locator

   Inference row keyed to ev-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-02 (ONI plant) and ev-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-06 (1956 repair event)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   A steam-powered dock landing ship built November 1943 - June 1944 at Newport News sits inside that yard's and the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a steam vessel of her type and period were boiler and turbine lagging, steam-pipe insulation, machinery insulation, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation. Her well deck, ballast tanks, and auxiliary machinery (including the documented 300 kW turbo-drive DC generators) shared the era's insulation and gasket practices; WWII-damage repair (1956) and multiple yard availabilities (documented: Sun Shipbuilding assessment, Keystone Drydock conversion 1956; secondary: Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 1958-59, Charleston FRAM II 1961, Bethlehem Steel Baltimore 1966) are the maintenance-disturbance pathway typical for hulls of her era.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1943-1992

   Population

   Construction trades (Newport News, 1943-44); repair-yard workers (multiple availabilities 1945-1969); engine-room crew

   Limitations

   Era/design inference, not a hull record: no manifest, survey, or shipyard work package naming asbestos aboard this specific hull was located. The 1956 court record documents the repair event but names no insulation material. Does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-07

9. [9]Tagnon I, Blot WJ, Stroube RB, et al., 'Mesothelioma associated with the shipbuilding industry in coastal Virginia,' Cancer Res 40(11):3875-3879 (1980), PMID 7471040 (verified via NCBI E-utilities 2026-09-30; PubMed page reCAPTCHA-blocked); shipyard dataset: newport-news-shipbuilding asbestos products (Kaylo insulation, Unibestos, Johns-Manville products, raw asbestos mud) and yard litigation record incl. Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Minton (Va. 2013) [other_primary]

   Locator

   PMID 7471040 abstract (Cancer Res 40:3875-9); shipyards.json yard_id newport-news-shipbuilding evidence rows

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   Builder-yard documentation: Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. - this hull's builder - is a yard with documented asbestos product use (Kaylo insulation, Unibestos, Johns-Manville products, raw asbestos mud) and documented worker litigation covering pre-1981 employment; epidemiology documents a 4-fold mesothelioma excess among white males in coastal Tidewater, Virginia 1972-1978 (61 cases, three-fourths with shipbuilding employment, excess among WWII temporary workers) and a smoking-adjusted lung-cancer RR 1.7 for pre-1950 shipyard employment (PMID 6931936) - the yard and era in which this hull was built.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1972-1978 cases; WWII exposure era

   Population

   Coastal Tidewater VA shipyard workforce (WWII construction era, incl. Newport News)

   Limitations

   Yard- and cohort-level documentation; the epidemiology is multi-yard Tidewater scope and does not isolate Newport News Shipbuilding as sole yard or name this vessel. Establishes that the builder operated inside a documented asbestos-use environment during the construction era - not that specific products were installed aboard this hull, and not evidence of exposure or causation for any individual.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-08

10. [10]GAO HRD-80-2, 'Information on Navy Asbestos Use and Removal From Ships' (Oct 1979) - product page and highlights verified live 2026-09-30 [gao]

    Locator

    gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2 highlights section (full report 26 pp., PDF link on page)

    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 era (1943-44) and her entire active service (through 1969). GAO also documented the Navy's 1975 policy (modified 1979) of removing/replacing damaged or maintenance-required asbestos insulation, and selectively replacing asbestos in high-maintenance areas - the policy frame under which this hull's stripping availabilities and scrapping occurred.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    class_or_era

    Accessed

    2026-09-30

    Study period

    Report published Oct 1979; covers policy era through 1979

    Population

    Navy ships and shipyard workforce (program level)

    Limitations

    Program-level documentation; GAO's fieldwork was Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not this vessel. Establishes the era policy frame only - not asbestos presence aboard, condition, or exposure aboard this specific hull.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-09

11. [11]USS Casa Grande (LSD-13) Reunion Association compiled history, 'History of the USS Casa Grande' (Larry Guthrie, historian emeritus), via Wayback Machine capture of usscasagrande.org 2 Dec 2008 [other_primary]

    Locator

    web.archive.org capture 20081202222557 of usscasagrande.org/new/2006/06/history.html

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    The reunion association's compiled operational history (apparently drawn from deck logs/command histories) supplies post-1960 detail absent from DANFS and a yard-availability list useful as research leads: Moore's Drydock Co., Oakland (voyage repairs 1 Aug-1 Sep 1945); Kaiser Shipyard Richmond (27 Apr 1946); activation at Brooklyn Naval Shipyard (from 13 Sep 1950); overhaul at Baltimore (Jul-Oct 1952); Charleston Naval Shipyard overhaul (1954); Philadelphia overhaul Jun-Sep 1956 (the site says 'Philadelphia Naval Shipyard', conflicting with the federal court record placing the 1956 repair contract at Keystone Drydock & Ship Repair Co.); Portsmouth yard period Dec 1957; shipyard availability at Newport News Shipbuilding Apr 1958; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Dec 1958-Mar 1959; four-month FRAM II overhaul at Charleston Naval Shipyard Jul-Nov 1961; routine overhaul 'at a civilian shipyard in Newport News' 1963; regular overhaul at Bethlehem Steel Co., Baltimore Sep-Dec 1966; transfer to Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility Portsmouth 15 Sep 1969; Cuban Missile Crisis blockade Oct-Dec 1962; Dominican Republic deployment 28 Apr-11 Jun 1965; tenth and last Mediterranean deployment Mar-Aug 1969; NDRF James River transfer 21 Oct 1970 (matches the MARAD card exactly); stricken '1 November 1976' (conflicts with DANFS/NavSource 11 Oct 1976 and the Wikipedia infobox's 15 Apr 1976).

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-30

    Study period

    1944-1976

    Population

    Yard workers at the listed availabilities (1945-1969), undocumented at primary level

    Limitations

    Secondary, association-compiled history - not an official record; individual events were not independently verified at primary level and are carried as leads. The stricken date it prints (1 Nov 1976) conflicts with the primary record (11 Oct 1976). Its 'Philadelphia Naval Shipyard' attribution for mid-1956 conflicts with the contemporaneous court record (Keystone Drydock) - the court record controls. Where its detail is cited in prose it is labeled secondary.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-10

12. [12]Batch-5801 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC live page; NavSource; MARAD Vessel History Database incl. status cards; CourtListener opinion + RECAP docket search; uboat.net; NAVSEA SEA21 inactive-ships list; NARA catalog; reunion-association history (Wayback); Wikipedia cross-check; law-firm/listicle sweep [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-01 through sl-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-13

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No ship-specific asbestos documentation located beyond the pleading-stage Stone allegation: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated exposure finding naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only litigation located naming the hull is (a) the Stone MDL-875 pleading-stage allegation (unadjudicated) and (b) the non-asbestos Allen admiralty case. Marketing/listicle pages asserting asbestos aboard LSD-13 (gorilaw.com, freeasbestostesting.com, levylaw.com, mesothelioma.com, simmonsfirm.com, sokolovelaw.com, elslaw.com, mesotheliomahelp.org, mesothelioma.net) carry no primary sourcing - excluded by source policy, none cited.

    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 - the hull's 1943-44 construction at a documented asbestos yard, its steam plant, and its documented repair/stripping history are consistent with era-standard material. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. The scrapping contract's legal frame (Sec. 510(i), PL 101-595) is a regulatory context only - no hazmat content for this hull's demolition was located.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-casa-grande-lsd13-11