Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 510-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-charleston-lka113-pkt-510-packet-md
-
[2]U.S. Navy, Naval Vessel Register (nvr.navy.mil), SHIPSDETAIL_LKA_113 - archived capture (hull removed from live register after disposal action) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wayback capture 2021-02-24, vessel status and milestone-dates tables
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Naval Vessel Register entry (Wayback capture 2021-02-24): 'CHARLESTON (LKA 113) (ex - AKA 113), AMPHIBIOUS CARGO SHIP'; UIC 05844; status 'Stricken, Final Disposition Pending' with date status changed 08/31/2015; berth 'NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance Office, Philadelphia, PA'; builder Newport News Shipbuilding; milestones: award 06/11/1965, keel 12/05/1966, launch 12/02/1967, delivery 12/05/1968, commission 12/14/1968, decommission 04/27/1992, stricken 08/31/2015.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1965-2021
- Population
- NISMF Philadelphia maintenance staff (inactive-ship period)
- Limitations
- Authoritative official register data (NAVSEA-maintained) for identity, milestones, status, and berth. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information; supports no asbestos claim. 'Final disposition pending' reflects the register as of the 2021 capture, before the 2026 tow.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charleston-lka113-01
-
[3]ShipScribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'USS Charleston (AKA/LKA 113) Class' - compiled from NARA RG 19 Entry P 26 Box 20 and Norman Friedman, U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft (Annapolis, 2002) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class table, class notes (design history, automation program, redesignation correspondence), ship notes for LKA-113, page compiled 29 Jul 2021
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ShipScribe class record (compiled from NARA RG 19 Entry P 26 Box 20 and Friedman, U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft): design SCB Projects 403.65 (promulgated 1964-05-05) and 403.66 (1964-09-17, final change 1966-03-30) - AFS-1-type hull form with Tulare (AKA-112)-type cargo gear, Stulcken heavy-lift derricks replacing quadrupod masts, the only non-well-deck ships able to carry LCM(8)s (four, plus heavy tanks); machinery: steam turbines, 2 boilers (600psi/850deg), 1 screw, 22,000 HP - a Mariner-plant derivative; BUSHIPS/CNO machinery-automation program across the class (~24 watch-stander reduction per AKA estimated). Construction table: ordered 11 Jun 1965, keel 5 Dec 1966, launch 2 Dec 1967, comm 14 Dec 1968, all Newport News. Ship notes: name assigned 27 Sep 1966 as AKA; to LKA 113 on 14 Dec 1968; to MA custody 29 Sep 1992 at JRRF, removed by the Navy 31 May 1994 initially for stripping but then retained for other purposes (only class member in MA custody); at NISMF Philadelphia 20 Apr 2018. Disposition table: all five class members stricken 31 Aug 2015.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1963-2018
- Population
- Newport News construction trades (1966-68); ship's crew and embarked troops (1968-1992)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation quoting official design correspondence and register data - ship-specific facts consistent with NVR and MARAD. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials statements; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charleston-lka113-02
-
[4]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Charleston (LKA-113) ex-AKA-113 page (10/02/02113), last updated 30 Jun 2023 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page head (dates, campaign table, awards), specifications block, CO list, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Online (volunteer naval archive) vessel page: commissioned USS Charleston (AKA-113) 14 Dec 1968; redesignated LKA-113 1 Jan 1969; Vietnam War service in the Vietnamese Counteroffensive Phase VII campaign 4-8 Apr 1971 (one campaign star); awards: Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Navy Battle 'E' (3), National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal (Beirut Lebanon evacuation), RVN Campaign Medal; decommissioned 27 Apr 1992; laid up NISMF Portsmouth VA category 'B'; towed to NISMF Philadelphia; lead ship of five-vessel class with helicopter landing area aft; call sign NNHU; commanding-officer list (Zartman 14 Dec 1968 through Tryon Jr. to 27 Apr 1992); specs: 34 officers / 375 enlisted, troops 15/211, 575'6" x 82' x 26', 20 kts, 4 twin 3"/50 then 2 CIWS. Page explicitly states: 'There is no DANFS history available for USS Charleston (AKA/LKA-113).'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1968-1992
- Population
- Ship's company (34 officers / 375 enlisted per page) and embarked troops; Vietnam-era crew
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained compilation, not an official record - used because no DANFS entry exists; dates cross-checked against NVR and MARAD. Its 'struck 15 August 2015' conflicts with NVR's 08/31/2015 (NVR adopted - see correction row). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charleston-lka113-03
-
[5]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - CHARLESTON (AKA-113/LKA-113), Ship History Detail 916, incl. digitized status card 916_1661AF.jpg [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Detail 916 characteristics and milestone table; status card image
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record for CHARLESTON (AKA-113/LKA-113): year built 1968; type Naval Auxiliary / AKA Attack Cargo Ship; 575.50 ft x 82.00 ft; displacement 10,216 t light / 18,589 t full; mission tag 'Vietnam War'; custody milestones - Entry and Acquisition 10/1/1992 (James River Reserve Fleet), Withdrawal 5/31/1994 annotated 'TO NAVY INACT. FLEET'; fate field 'Unknown'; one digitized vessel status card; U.S. Navy construction photo captioned 'under construction at Newport News, Virginia.' ShipScribe confirms she was the only class member to enter MA custody.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1992-1994 custody record; file active to present
- Population
- JRRF lay-up crews (1992-94); NISMF maintenance staff
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government-custody milestones. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. The record's 'Shipyard' field reads 'T. S. Marvel Company' - a data error contradicted by the record's own photo caption and all other sources (see correction row).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charleston-lka113-04
-
[6]ShipScribe class record (machinery specification, NARA RG 19-derived); era substitution timing per GAO HRD-80-2 full report (Navy's early-1970s move away from asbestos insulation; asbestos deliveries through May 1978) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class table machinery line; GAO HRD-80-2 full report (gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf), 'Navy's policy on use of asbestos' section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 1966-1968-built naval auxiliary with a two-boiler (600 psi/850 deg F), single-screw steam-turbine plant predates the Navy's move away from asbestos: GAO HRD-80-2 (full text retrieved 2026-09-30) records that product specifications for thermal insulation were changed in 1973 to specify asbestos-free materials, that asbestos materials already purchased were 'in some cases installed in ships under construction,' and that 'some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978' - a hull delivered December 1968 precedes even the specification change. Era-typical applications for a steam auxiliary of this design: boiler casing and steam-drum insulation; steam-line lagging; turbine lagging; valve and flange gaskets and packing; machinery packing; deck tile; bulkhead and accommodation insulation; cable insulation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1966-1968 construction; service era 1968-1992
- Population
- Newport News construction trades (1966-68); engine/fireroom crew (1968-1992); yard workers at service-era overhauls
- Limitations
- Class/design and era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey located; names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials on this hull; no quantity; does not establish remaining material aboard, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charleston-lka113-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy's Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - product page and full report PDF [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 highlights; full report https://www.gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf, 'Navy's policy on use of asbestos' and shipyard-program sections
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program (HRD-80-2, full text retrieved 2026-09-30): standing policy issued October 1975 removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified January 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas; GAO records the Navy's estimate that '30 to 50 percent of the asbestos insulation ... normally remains untouched, except for minor maintenance, during the life of a ship,' and that there was no one-time removal program (estimated $2 billion fleet cost). Charleston's entire commissioned service (1968-1992) fell inside this documented policy era, so original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979 report; policy era 1975-1992 relevant to this hull
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not this hull or its builder. Supports era context for why insulation persisted aboard ships of the era, not any fact specific to this hull. Full report retrieved via Firecrawl on 2026-09-30 (gao.gov 403s plain automated fetches) - resolves the standing batch-01/batch-985 'full text blocked' gap.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charleston-lka113-06
-
[8]National Archives and Records Administration, Unauthorized Disposition case file UD-2022-0036 (Department of the Navy - USS Charleston, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard) [other_primary]
- Locator
- UD-2022-0036 report text (NARA summary of Navy report and attachments incl. a Business Insider article)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA unauthorized-disposition case file UD-2022-0036 documents that approximately 300 boxes of Navy records - including Iowa-class battleship plans, manuals, and engineering logs - were stored in the cargo hold of the ex-USS Charleston at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (NISMF); that the records were erroneously transferred to two private museums due to a misinterpretation of records-management guidance; that the Navy recovered the records; and that the Navy had allowed private nonprofit organizations aboard to 'locate, tag, and photograph' items for later removal before scrapping.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2020-2022
- Population
- Personnel granted access to cargo holds (museum volunteers, Navy records staff), 2020-2021
- Limitations
- Official NARA record documenting the hull's post-retirement use as a federal-records store and the recovery of mis-transferred records. Contains no asbestos, materials, or environmental information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charleston-lka113-07
-
[9]NJ.com/NJ Advance Media, 'N.J. battleship museum scrambles to save hundreds of pieces of history' (July 2021, incl. NAVSEA spokeswoman K. Bienfang); Battleship New Jersey Museum & Memorial curator appeal (R. Szimanski, March 2026, reproduced) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NJ.com article text incl. NAVSEA confirmation (retrieved via Firecrawl - nj.com 403s plain automated fetches); curator appeal text (museum_official communication) reproduced at lewin-of-greenwich-naval-history-forum and explorenewjersey.org; tow visually corroborated by shipwatch video 2026-03
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Disposal record: NJ.com reported (July 2021), with Naval Sea Systems Command spokeswoman confirmation, that the ex-Charleston had been designated for disposal and was set to be scrapped between October 2021 and September 2022; Battleship New Jersey curator Ryan Szimanski had inventoried ~300 boxes of stored materials aboard in December 2020 and tagged items for later recovery. The actual disposal ran years later: per the museum's subsequent appeal, the ship's cargo hatches were sealed March 5, 2026 for a final tow to a Brownsville, Texas scrapyard, with the museum allowed roughly four weeks after arrival to extract tagged items (Iowa-class parts, manuals, a WWII steam whistle) before dismantlement.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2021-2026
- Population
- Dismantlement-yard workers (Brownsville, 2026); tow crews; museum salvage team
- Limitations
- Disposal designation is Navy-confirmed (2021); the March 2026 tow rests on the museum's own appeal plus video corroboration - no NAVSEA sale/disposal notice located, and a 2026-09-30 news sweep found no newer public record (arrival/scrapping status undocumented). The 2021-stated scrapping window (Oct 2021-Sep 2022) slipped ~4.5 years. Ship-dismantling contracts routinely include hazardous-materials handling, but no asbestos-specific scope or survey for this hull is public; this row asserts no asbestos fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charleston-lka113-08
-
[10]NVR (Wayback) stricken-date and designation fields; ShipScribe ship notes (OPNAV 19 Nov 1968 advice); NavSource/navysite/Wikipedia variant readings; MARAD Detail 916 shipyard field vs photo caption [other_primary]
- Locator
- ShipScribe class notes (redesignation correspondence) and disposition table; NVR Wayback 2021-02-24; NavSource page head; MARAD Detail 916
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved: (a) LKA-113 effective date - NavSource/navysite/Wikipedia record commissioning as AKA-113 on 1968-12-14 and redesignation to LKA-113 on 1969-01-01 (the fleet-wide SECNAV date); ShipScribe ship notes, citing the 1968-11-19 OPNAV telephone advice, record the redesignation effective at commissioning, 1968-12-14. Both symbols denote one hull - consolidated here, not separate vessels. (b) Stricken date - NVR (via Wayback capture) gives 08/31/2015, matching ShipScribe's all-five-ships disposition table; NavSource and navysite give 15 Aug 2015, a propagation error - NVR adopted. (c) MARAD ShipHistory 'Shipyard' field reads 'T. S. Marvel Company' - contradicted by the record's own U.S. Navy photo caption ('under construction at Newport News, Virginia') and every other source; Newport News Shipbuilding is controlling. (d) navysite's narrative decommissioning date 'April 14, 1968' is internally impossible (predates commissioning); NVR's 1992-04-27 adopted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1968-2015
- Limitations
- Resolves secondary-source discrepancies against register-level and correspondence-derived sources; does not affect the custody timeline materially. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charleston-lka113-09
-
[11]Batch-985/5779 search ledger (this record): NVR (Wayback); MARAD ShipHistory 916 + status card; NavSource; ShipScribe; NARA UD-2022-0036; NJ.com + Battleship NJ appeal; NHHC DANFS/COR checks; CourtListener authenticated API v4 opinion searches 2026-09-30 ('USS Charleston' 5 hits, 'LKA-113' 1 hit, 'AKA-113' 0 hits - zero qualifying asbestos litigation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-charleston-lka113-01 through -12 incl. -08b/-08c/-08d (batch-985, carried forward, 15 rows) and sl-uss-charleston-lka113-13 through -18 (batch-5779 re-verification, 6 rows)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no DANFS entry exists for this hull; no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, donation condition, or docketed case naming the Charleston (AKA-113/LKA-113) hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The NVR entry, MARAD record and status card, NARA UD-2022-0036 file, and disposal reporting contain no asbestos or materials statements. CourtListener authenticated API (2026-09-30, HTTP 200): opinion index - 'USS Charleston' returned 5 hits (one names this hull: Coffey v. Commanding Officer, USS Charleston (LKA 113), 33 M.J. 938, NM CMR 1991, a crew member's coram nobis petition - military justice, NOT asbestos; four partial-term matches naming no hull: Ross v. United States; United States v. Lemoine; United States v. DeBarrows; Aviz v. Carver); 'LKA-113' returned exactly 1 hit (the same Coffey case); 'AKA-113' returned zero hits. RECAP docket index - 'USS Charleston' returned 7 dockets, all non-qualifying, including a verified name collision: Doucet v. Asbestos Corporation Ltd (E.D. Pa. 2:11-cv-67223, MDL-875 member) and its MDL-875 tag-along (MDL 875 doc 7541, C.D. Cal. 2:11-cv-05845) plead decedent Richard Doucet's asbestos exposure as a Massachusetts Maritime Academy cadet aboard 'USS Charleston' 1951-1954 - the PG-51-era training ship, decades before this hull (built 1966-68) existed; remaining dockets are criminal/civil-rights matches on unrelated text (Fields; Butler x2; US Navy SEALs v. Biden; Kyne v. Wolfowitz). No qualifying asbestos litigation names this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-21; re-verified 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1968 steam-powered auxiliary is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and ~34 years of inactive-fleet lay-up plus a dismantlement tow make retained ACM plausible but unproven. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. Both indexes (opinions and RECAP dockets) were queried for name and hull strings on 2026-09-30 - the negative is established at CourtListener coverage. The Doucet/MDL-875 collision is documented because the hull name does appear in an asbestos docket - for a different USS Charleston (the 1948-1957 Massachusetts Maritime Academy training ship); auditors counting raw name hits would otherwise misclassify it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charleston-lka113-10
-
[12]NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 19; NHHC command-operation-reports series (existence for era verified via Tarawa LHA-1 example); NARA UD-2022-0036 attachments; NAVSEA NISMF program [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 19 record-group page; UD-2022-0036 file; NHHC COR series (Charleston reports not located online)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships records behind the SCB 403.65/403.66 design history (ShipScribe's own cited source, Entry P 26 Box 20 - class-level, may include hull outfitting specifications); NHHC ship command operation reports for USS Charleston (the OPNAV 5750-1 series exists for this era - e.g., Tarawa LHA-1 1985 is digitized - but no Charleston report was located online); NAVSEA inactive-ship maintenance and disposal records for the hull at NISMF Portsmouth/Philadelphia, including the scrapping contract scope; the Business Insider article and Navy email attached to NARA UD-2022-0036.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1963-2026 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and program mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charleston-lka113-11