USS Chimon (AG-150)

Evidence

7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).

1. [1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Chimon' entry - NHHC (Wayback capture 2024-05-26; live page returned 404 on 2026-09-20); verbatim transcription also mirrored at hazegray/losthistory DANFS (danfs/amphib/lst1102.htm, transcribed 24 Jan 1999) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS 'Chimon' full entry (Wayback capture of history.navy.mil danfs/c/chimon.html, 2024-05-26); mirror transcription losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/amphib/lst1102.htm

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Namesake: 'An island off the coast of Connecticut.' Launched as LST-1102 on 10 January 1945 by Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Works, Evansville, Ind.; sponsored by Mrs. O. Snyder; commissioned 29 January 1945, Lieutenant L. J. Patterson, USNR, in command. Sailed from Gulfport, Miss., 7 March 1945; Pearl Harbor 4 April; cargo to Kwajalein, Eniwetok, Ulithi; joined convoy at Leyte 21 June, arrived Okinawa 5 days later; transported Marines Naha to Hagushi; departed Okinawa 10 July, Pearl Harbor 5 August. Occupation duty: Wakayama 27 September 1945; supported occupation until 4 November 1945; Guam for homeward-bound servicemen; Pearl Harbor 1 December 1945 'to undergo conversion to a mobile spare parts ship.' Conversion completed; underway 4 April 1946 for Far Eastern duty at Shanghai and Tsingtao until 8 October 1947; San Pedro 7 November; San Diego; out of commission in reserve 21 November 1947. Reclassified AG-150 on 27 January 1949; named Chimon 1 February 1949. Recommissioned 27 December 1950 under LT G. W. Hessemer, USNR; Service Squadron 3; sailed 2 May 1951; Sasebo 13 June; alternated Sasebo/Yokosuka supporting the Korean War; 'Reclassified AKS-31 on 18 August 1951'; Far East 7th Fleet service until 20 November 1957 with Hong Kong and Philippine visits; San Francisco 22 December; in commission in reserve 22 January 1958; out of commission in reserve 22 April 1958; 'sold, and removed from naval custody on 2 November 1959.' One battle star (as LST-1102) for World War II service. DANFS header: dp. 3,960; 328' x 50'; dr. 14'1"; 12 k.; cpl. 119; a. 8 x 40mm; cl. LST-1.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1945-1959 (naval service through disposal)

   Population

   Ship's company (13 officers/104 enlisted spec; DANFS header 119) plus embarked troops up to ~163

   Limitations

   Authoritative service history; contains no asbestos, insulation, or hazardous-material information. Does not give a laid-down date (23 November 1944 comes from NavSource/shipscribe). DANFS header assigns class 'LST-1' while NavSource uses the more specific LST-542 class and some secondary sources use 'LST-511-class' - carried in gaps. Live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-20; verbatim text cited via Wayback capture 2024-05-26 and the hazegray transcription mirror.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chimon-ag150-01

2. [2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Chimon (AKS-31) ex USS Chimon (AG-150) ex USS LST-1102 - specification block, flotilla/group/division assignments, campaign table, awards list, CO roster, and captioned photographs [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource page 10/16/161102, specifications block, campaign/awards tables, chronology, CO roster, photo captions

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identifies the hull as LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship. Laid down 23 November 1944 at 'Missouri Bridge and Iron Works' Evansville IN; launched 10 January 1945; commissioned USS LST-1102 29 January 1945, LT Lloyd J. Patterson USNR. Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LST Flotilla Thirty-Two (CDR D. J. Sweeny), LST Group Ninety-Five (CDR J. Capponi), LST Division One Hundred Ninety; campaign: Okinawa Gunto operation, assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto 8-30 June 1945. Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) periods 22 Sep-2 Oct 1945, 15 Oct-5 Nov 1945, 13 Nov 1945-22 May 1946; China Service Medal (extended) 13 Nov 1945-22 May 1946 and 28 Apr 1946-9 Oct 1947. Decommissioned 21 November 1947; reclassified Miscellaneous Auxiliary (AG-150) 27 January 1949; named USS Chimon 1 February 1949; recommissioned 27 December 1950, LT G. W. Hessemer USNR; 'Reclassified (AKS-31), 27 December 1950' (conflicts with DANFS 18 August 1951 - see gaps); decommissioned 22 April 1958; struck from the Naval Register 2 November 1959; sold 2 November 1959, fate unknown. One battle star as LST-1102. Spec block: two GM 12-567A diesels (900 hp each), single Falk main reduction gears, three diesel-drive 100 kW 230V D.C. ship's service generators, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders, 11.6 knots trial - a diesel plant with no boilers; complement 13 officers/104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers/147 enlisted. CO roster through LCDR Walter E. Baker (from 27 Sep 1952). Captioned photos: LST-1102 at anchor in the Whangpoo River, Shanghai, circa 1946 (from ENS Ronald H. Webb, USNR, via Paul Webb); AKS-31 change-of-command ceremony at anchor at Yokosuka 27 September 1952 (photos by Don Allen, SK1); AKS-31 at anchor at Sasebo circa March 1955 (Don Denison). International radio call sign NAUY.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1944-1959

   Population

   Ship's company ~117 per spec block; embarked troops up to ~163

   Limitations

   Volunteer-compiled archival page quoting Navy sources; consistent with DANFS where they overlap. Spec data are equipment descriptions only - no asbestos content stated or implied. Yard name shortened to 'Missouri Bridge and Iron Works' vs DANFS 'Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Works' - noted in gaps. Its AKS-31 reclassification date (27 December 1950, identical to the recommissioning date) conflicts with DANFS (18 August 1951), with the shipscribe class monograph, and with NavSource's own sister-ship entries (Electron AKS-27 and Colington AKS-29 both show 18 August 1951) - DANFS date carried, conflict in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chimon-ag150-02

3. [3]Stephen S. Roberts, shipscribe.com - 'ELECTRON (AKS 27, ex LST) class' monograph (compiled 18 Aug 2021): construction/disposition tables, class notes, and per-ship notes for the five-ship LST-to-spare-parts-issue-ship conversion group (AKS-27 Electron/ex-LST-1070, AKS-28 Proton/ex-LST-1078, AKS-29 Colington/ex-LST-1085, AKS-30 League Island/ex-LST-1097, AKS-31 Chimon/ex-LST-1102) [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipscribe.com/usnaux2/AKS/AKS27.html - ELECTRON (AKS 27, ex LST) class page, class notes + ship note for AKS-31 CHIMON

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Class monograph documents the conversion program and this hull's timeline. Class notes: the five early-1945 LSTs 'were converted to mobile spare parts issue ships between December 1945 and April 1946 and were reassigned to Commander Service Force Pacific effective 1 January 1946'; LST-1078 and LST-1102 were the two sent to Tsingtao, China; on 9 December 1948 CNO asked the Chief of Naval Personnel to name the five LSTs whose alterations had changed their characteristics to Spare Parts Issue Ships; island names proposed 10 January 1949, approved 1 February 1949; all but Colington ordered reactivated for Korean War service August 1950; 'The five ships were reclassified from AG 146-150 to AKS 27-31 on 18 August 1951' (corroborating DANFS against NavSource's 27 December 1950). Chimon ship note (verbatim-derived): ex AG 150, ex LST-1102, comm 29 Jan 1945; reassigned ComServPac effective 1 Jan 1946; 'Converted to mobile spare parts issue ship at Pearl Harbor Dec 1945 to Mar 1946'; ICE & H&M (internal combustion engine and hull & machinery) spare parts issuing vessel at Tsingtao June 1947; designated for inactivation 26 Aug 1947; reported to Pacific Reserve Fleet San Diego Group 15 Nov 1947; decommissioned in advance 21 Nov 1947 '0% inactivated, not drydocked, not dehumidified, not packaged, and personnel transferred to SubGrp3'; placed OCIR 19 Mar 1948; to AG-150 and named 1 Feb 1949; reactivation ordered 31 Aug 1950; recommissioned 27 Dec 1950; to AKS-31 18 Aug 1951; homeport shifted from Mare Island to Sasebo late 1954; scheduled for inactivation Oct 1957; on sale list Dec 1958; to buyer 2 Nov 1959. Class note on disposal: 'PROTON and CHIMON were inspected in September 1957 while still active and found fit for future service. However subsequently they were stripped of their General Stores Issue facilities which were used for the modernization of POLLUX (AKS 4), resulting in seriously impairing their mobilization potential as AKS and in their early disposal.' Class data: 1,780 t light / 3,640 t full; 328' oa x 50' x 13'; 12-17 officers / 116-160 enlisted; geared diesel, 2 screws, 1,800 hp; armament (1956) 2 twin 40mm + 6 single 40mm.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1944-1959

   Population

   Ship's company in both configurations; conversion-yard workers at Pearl Harbor (Dec 1945-Mar 1946); reactivation workforce (Aug-Dec 1950); 1957 stripping workforce

   Limitations

   Privately compiled reference monograph drawing on official records (compiler Stephen S. Roberts); corroborates DANFS and adds detail not in DANFS. Its disposition table shows Chimon 'Decomm Oct 1957 / Strike 1 Jan 1959 / Disposal 9 Jul 1959' which conflicts with its own ship note ('on sale list Dec 1958; to buyer 2 Nov 1959') and with DANFS/NavSource (struck and sold 2 November 1959) - the table's Oct 1957 appears to compress 'scheduled for inactivation Oct 1957'; DANFS/NavSource dates carried, conflict in gaps. Contains no asbestos or materials information; the Pearl Harbor conversion is documented as to location and scope of work only.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chimon-ag150-03

4. [4]Corn JK, Starr J. 'Historical perspective on asbestos: policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding.' Am J Ind Med 12(4):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Am J Ind Med 12(4):359-373 (1987), DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700120402

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that WWII-era U.S. shipyards extensively installed asbestos-containing insulation, lagging, and gaskets in naval construction - the era and program under which this hull was built (laid down November 1944, wartime LST mass production at an inland 'cornfield' yard). For a diesel-powered LST with no boilers, the era-relevant applications concentrate in diesel exhaust lagging, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, gaskets and packing, deck coverings, accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings; the documented 1945-46 spare-parts-ship conversion, 1950 reactivation, and 1957 stores-facility stripping are additional disturbance events.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1941-1945 (study scope); applied 1944-1959

   Population

   WWII-era shipyard workers (Evansville, 1944-45); wartime crew; conversion/reactivation/stripping yard workers (1945-1957); crew during stores-ship service (1950-1958)

   Limitations

   Era-level scholarship plus class/type inference; the source does not name this hull or class and does not establish that any specific material aboard this ship contained asbestos. No ship-specific product is verified; the diesel plant (no boilers) narrows the exposure-relevant scope relative to steam vessels.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chimon-ag150-04

5. [5]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 the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or when required for repairs, modified in 1979 toward selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place on active Navy hulls for decades.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1979

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review (not this hull)

   Limitations

   Program-level Navy documentation that never governed this hull: she was out of commission in April 1958 and sold in November 1959, well before either policy existed. Context for the era fleet picture only - also relevant as a caution that long-lived hulls of this build era typically retained original insulation while in service (she served through 1958). Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403); content via product-page description, consistent with prior batches.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chimon-ag150-05

6. [6]U.S. National Archives (NARA) deck-log holdings - RG 24 Logs of U.S. Naval Ships and Stations cover commissioned Navy vessels; WWII-era logs (as USS LST-1102, 1945-47) and Korean-era/postwar logs (as AG-150/AKS-31, 1950-58) for this hull are the standard archival lead [other_primary]

   Locator

   archives.gov/research/military/navy - deck logs research guidance; catalog.archives.gov query attempted 2026-09-20 (JS-driven catalog, no parseable result)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Ship-generated primary records (deck logs, muster rolls, war diaries where kept) for LST-1102/Chimon are held in NARA's naval records groups; sister hulls in this database have had such records located digitized via NavSource (e.g., LST-510's Feb 1945 muster roll and war diary). For this hull, no digitized ship records were located on NavSource during this pass, and the NARA catalog did not render for automated query - retrieval of deck-log or conversion-work-package records remains the open lead (the December 1945-March 1946 Pearl Harbor conversion and the 1957 stripping would be the documents most likely to name materials).

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1945-1958

   Population

   Wartime and postwar ship's company

   Limitations

   Archival lead, not an asbestos finding: deck logs document operations and personnel, not materials; conversion work packages (if extant at NARA or the former Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard records) are the records most likely to carry materials information. No NARA record for this hull was independently retrieved during this pass - the catalog interface did not render for automated fetch.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chimon-ag150-06

7. [7]Batch-648 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS via Wayback capture and hazegray transcription; NavSource 161102; shipscribe ELECTRON-class (AKS-27) monograph; navalmarinearchive AG table; CourtListener API and web index; NVR shipdetail pages; NPS NPGallery/NRHP; NARA catalog; shipyards.json [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-chimon-ag150-01 through sl-uss-chimon-ag150-12

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or materials disclosure naming USS LST-1102 / USS Chimon (AG-150 / AKS-31) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No qualifying litigation naming the hull located - CourtListener API throttled at shared daily quota (HTTP 429) and index search returned name collisions only ('Chi Ming Chao' export-control complaint; 'Shimon Maimon' patent case; 'Kimon P. Daifotis' securities litigation; 'United States v. Chimney'; partial-string noise on 'Cimino' asbestos dockets). An asbestos lead-generation marketing page for 'USS Chimon AG-150' exists (mesotheliomasymptoms.com) - a non-qualifying source excluded per batch rules; it asserts no ship-specific documentation.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   2026-09-20

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-built LST is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the hull underwent documented interior disturbance (1945-46 conversion, 1950 reactivation, 1957 stripping) with no public hazmat record for any event. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Docket-level litigation coverage is incomplete due to the documented rate-limit block.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-chimon-ag150-07