USS Clarion (AK-172)

Evidence

8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).

1. [1]DANFS, 'Clarion (AK-172)' (NHHC page published 2023-03-08; live history.navy.mil page returned 404 on all URL patterns tried 2026-09-21; Wayback capture 2024-05-26 read; verbatim transcription of the same entry at losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/auxil/ak172.htm) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Wayback capture 2024-05-26, full Clarion entry; hazegray ak172.htm, full entry

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   CLARION (AK-172), named for Clarion County, PA, Alamosa class (displacement 2,474; length 338'6"; beam 50'; draft 21'1"; speed 12 knots; complement 79; armament one 3-inch): launched 22 October 1944 by Froemming Brothers, Inc., Milwaukee, WI, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Miss V. L. Huebner; acquired by the Navy 10 May 1945; commissioned 27 May 1945, Lt. F. L. Johnson, USNR, in command. After loading cargo at Gulf ports she reached Pearl Harbor 21 July 1945; three days later sailed for San Francisco to load cargo for Manila, arriving 1 October. Carrying cargo to support occupation activities she called at Jinsen, Korea, and Tsingtao, Taku, and Shanghai, China; sailed for the east coast from Tsingtao 21 January 1946; reached Norfolk 11 March; decommissioned at Baltimore 13 May 1946; transferred to the War Shipping Administration 18 May 1946.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Population

   Construction trades (Froemming Brothers, Milwaukee, 1944-45); commissioned crew (~79 per DANFS)

   Limitations

   Establishes identity, construction framing, service timeline, and disposition framing only - the DANFS entry contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information and supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page 404s on all patterns (standing link-rot issue since batch-01); citation is the 2024-05-26 Wayback capture of the NHHC page plus the verbatim hazegray transcription. DANFS gives no laid-down date, no striking date, and no post-WSA disposition.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-clarion-ak172-01

2. [2]USS Clarion (AK-172) War Diary, May-November 1945 - the ship's own submitted monthly war diaries (scans of the NARA-held records contributed by Frank Gerhardt, hosted at navsource.net; 18-page PDF) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource-hosted 18-page scan, monthly diary pages May through November 1945 (signed F. L. Johnson, Commanding Officer)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Ship-specific primary record read directly. May 1945: placed in commission at 1400 on 27 May at Westwego, Naval Supply Dock, New Orleans, LA, by Commander George D. Cooper, USN, for the Commandant, Eighth Naval District; Lt. Frank L. Johnson, USNR, assumed command. 1-2 June: drydocked in Dry Docks 2 and 3, Todd-Johnson Dry Dock Company, New Orleans, per Eighth Naval District Industrial Manager movement schedule (restricted letter of 28 May 1945) - a documented commercial-yard availability. June: ammunition at Naval Ammunition Depot, Belle Chasse, LA (2 June); down the Mississippi to Section Base Burrwood, LA; shakedown 4-14 June incl. transit Burrwood-to-Galveston (6 June), deperming, calibration runs, and first firing of all guns (257 rds 20mm, 6 rds 3"/50); post-shakedown availability at Amphibious Training Base, Galveston (moored Pier 43) 14-18 June; then Gulfport, MS and loading general cargo at Naval Supply Depot, New Orleans 22-26 June. July: New Orleans to Cristobal, CZ (Coco Solo Submarine Base 2 July); departure for Pearl Harbor 3 July in company with USS Diablo (SS-479) with training exercises; moored Berth N-4, Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor 21 July. August: San Francisco Bay arrival 4 August; moored Pier 4, Berth Fox, Naval Supply Depot, Oakland, CA 18 August; commenced loading second cargo load 27 August. September: departed Oakland 1 September for Ulithi (anchored berth 9, Ulithi Lagoon 23 September); underway for Manila 25 September. October: anchored Manila Bay 1 October (ComServDiv 73); underway 23 October for Jinsen, Korea; anchored Chemulpo Anchorage, Jinsen 31 October (CTU 70.2.2). November: at Jinsen through 16 November; underway for Tsingtao, China, anchored berth E-36 Tsingtao Harbor 17 November (CTU 71.6.45); underway 25 November for Shanghai; moored buoy 28, Hwangpoo River, Shanghai 27 November (CTG 70.2).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1945-05 to 1945-11

   Population

   Commissioned crew (DANFS cpl. 79); Todd-Johnson Dry Dock Co. workforce (drydock 1-2 June 1945); Naval Ammunition Depot Belle Chasse and Naval Supply Depot New Orleans/Oakland handling crews

   Limitations

   The ship's own war diary - strongest possible identity/service corroboration, and it fixes the commissioning location (Westwego, New Orleans) that DANFS omits. Covers May-November 1945 only; the December 1945-May 1946 segments (Taku call, Tsingtao departure 21 January 1946, Norfolk arrival, Baltimore decommissioning) are not in this scanned set and rest on DANFS alone. Scans hosted on a volunteer site; underlying records are the NARA war-diary series. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-clarion-ak172-02

3. [3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - CLARION (AK-172), Ship History Detail 994, with two digitized status cards and two digitized documents (USMC transfer order; custody/delivery ledger) [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   ShipHistory Detail 994; cards /cards/994_1807AB.jpg and /cards/994_1807AF.jpg; documents /documents/Clarion_994_001.pdf (USMC Transfer Order) and /documents/aac6acd1-87cf-41b3-ad17-196b22902071.pdf (custody ledger)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD record and card text read directly. Detail page: year built 1945; shipyard Froemming Brothers; type C1-M-AV1 break-bulk cargo; length 338.50 ft, beam 50.00 ft; gross 3,805 / net 2,123 tons; displacement 7,450 (summer) / 2,382 (lightweight); fate 'Sold - Foreign Flag Op.' Status card (Reserve Fleet Division - vessel data): name CLARION, AK-172, type C1-M-AV1; ownership WSA; fleet 'JR' (James River); built Froemming Bros. 1945; hull no. 2145; date entered fleet 5-18-46; tonnage 3805 gr / 2123 net; draft 21 5/8; BHP 1700; 'Dky Blr' (donkey boiler fitted); registered dimensions length 323.9, breadth 50.1, depth 26.5; termination port last voyage HAMPTON ROADS; ships papers PRELIM ALLOC 230 & 232A, FINAL ALLOC 4/10/47 #261; date withdrawn from fleet 2-25-47 2 P.M., delivered to OPER (operator); red-ink annotation reading approximately 'Lovdal / Sold. / Norwegian flag 2/10/47 / renamed' (manuscript, partially legible). Custody ledger: Navy Dept. -> Reserve Fleet 5-18-46 10:00 AM EDT at Lee Hall, Va.; Reserve Fleet -> Dichmann, Wright & Pugh 2-25-47 2:00 PM EST at Lee Hall (GAA); Dichmann, Wright & Pugh -> Kingdom of Norway 3-7-47 3:45 PM EST at Baltimore, Md. (GAA/Purch). U.S. Maritime Commission Transfer Order No. C-5023, 'Approving the Sale Alien and Transfer to Norwegian Registry and Flag of the Undocumented M/V CLARION': sale of the undocumented M/V CLARION to the Government of the Kingdom of Norway (represented by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Commerce) authorized 1947-01-09; Section 37, Shipping Act 1916 approval for alien sale with transfer to Norwegian registry and flag ordered 1947-02-06; signed A. J. Williams, Secretary.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1945-1947

   Population

   NDRF James River (Lee Hall) custodial crews 1946-47; Dichmann, Wright & Pugh delivery crew Feb-Mar 1947

   Limitations

   Authoritative for government custody chain, sale approval, and tonnage/dimension summary; status cards are handwritten/typed scans - transcription best-effort ('Dky Blr', the red-ink annotation, and its date read as 2/10/47 are partially legible; sale price $693,862 circulates in secondary compilations but does not appear on the documents read). The '2/10/47' red-ink date is not reconciled with the ledger's 3-7-47 delivery to Norway. MARAD 'Year Built 1945' is a completion-year convention vs the October 1944 launch; card 'length 323.9' is a registered-length figure vs DANFS 338'6" overall - neither asserted as overall. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-clarion-ak172-03

4. [4]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 emergency Maritime Commission program under which this C1-M-AV1 hull was built (Froemming Brothers, Milwaukee, 1944) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls. For this diesel-powered design, era-consistent applications run to exhaust/machinery insulation, gaskets, packing, joiner and refrigeration insulation, electrical insulation, and brake linings rather than boiler/steam-line lagging; the status card's 'Dky Blr' notation indicates an auxiliary boiler whose insulation and small-bore steam lines are additional era-consistent candidates.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   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, does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, and establishes neither quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, nor causation. The application list is type-level inference, not a survey of this ship; no C1-M-AV1 outfitting manual or ship-specific materials document was located in this pass.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-clarion-ak172-04

5. [5]Zeringue v. Allis-Chalmers Corporation, No. 2:15-cv-04516 (E.D. La., filed 2015-09-17, terminated 2017-12-20) - CourtListener RECAP docket [court_record]

   Locator

   CourtListener docket 5300732; MDL-875 docket cluster 1245688; match located via type=r full-text index (document text, not docket-entry descriptions)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Qualifying asbestos litigation in which the string 'USS Clarion' appears in indexed filing text: an asbestos personal-injury suit (Nature of Suit 368 P.I.: Asbestos; 28 U.S.C. 1332 diversity) brought by Howard Zeringue in Orleans Parish Civil District Court (No. 2015-7524), removed to the E.D. La. by Crane Co., remanded (order 12/2015; reconsideration denied 2/12/16), appealed by Crane Co. to the Fifth Circuit (No. 16-30058; USCA judgment issued as mandate 2017-02-13), and litigated through termination 2017-12-20. Defendants included asbestos-product and premises defendants typical of the New Orleans docket (Crane Co., GE, Reilly-Benton, Cleaver-Brooks, Asbestos Corp. Ltd., Bell Asbestos Mines, Hopeman Brothers, Huntington Ingalls, CBS, Flowserve, others). 'USS Clarion' also appears once in filing text within In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), MDL-875 (E.D. Pa.).

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   2015-2017 litigation; alleged exposure period unstated in retrievable text

   Population

   Plaintiff Howard Zeringue (alleged exposure population)

   Limitations

   Pleading/discovery-stage appearance only - classified at the less-final stage per batch rule. The RECAP documents are not available in the archive (is_available=false), so the exact context of the 'USS Clarion' mention could not be read: in Louisiana asbestos petitions a vessel list typically alleges where the plaintiff worked or was exposed, but whether exposure aboard this hull was alleged, or the name appears in a boilerplate vessel/exhibit list, is unverified. No adjudicated exposure finding exists for this hull; a remand-and-termination posture leaves no merits determination of any vessel-specific allegation. The MDL-875 mention context is likewise unretrieved.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-clarion-ak172-05

6. [6]Wright v. Cia. (Cion) Corp. Peruana de Vapores, 171 F. Supp. 735 (S.D.N.Y. 1959) - reporter citation corroborated by quotation in Empire Seafoods, Inc. v. Anderson (5th Cir. 1968) [court_record]

   Locator

   Opinion text (S.D.N.Y., Cashin, D.J.), 171 F. Supp. 735; CourtListener opinion 1555816; citing passages in opinions 8879127 and 281034

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Merits-stage admiralty litigation involving this hull after foreign-flag sale: consolidated actions arising from the 1956-12-09 Delaware River (Liston Range) collision between the motor vessel Urubamba - 'a dry cargo and bulk ore carrier of 3,893 tons, measuring 338 feet in length and 50 feet 3 inches in the beam with a depth of 29 feet,' outbound from Baltimore in ballast - and the tug Coot, which sank with the death of her owner/captain John J. Wright and injury to mate Howard A. Hughes. The court found both vessels at fault (Urubamba for failure to sound a compulsory passing signal; Coot for her sudden starboard veer), applied the divided-damages rule, found Wright died immediately (rejecting the conscious-pain-and-suffering claim), and noted Urubamba's port lifeboat could not be lowered due to a mechanical defect. Owner respondent 'Cion Corp. Peruna Desvaspores' = Corporacion Peruana de Vapores, Callao - the same buyer and the same Urubamba identity NavSource records for this hull's 1956 Peruvian sale; dimensions match the AK-172 hull.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1956-12-09 collision; 1959 opinion

   Population

   Merchant crew of M/V Urubamba (1956); tug Coot crew (fatality/injury)

   Limitations

   Ship-specific for the hull but a collision/negligence decision - NOT asbestos litigation and not exposure evidence; carried as vessel-history litigation only. The ex-AK-172 identity link is established by owner name (Corporacion Peruana de Vapores), vessel name (Urubamba), and matching dimensions against the NavSource sale record - the opinion itself does not state the ex-Navy identity, so the link is verified-by-correspondence rather than stated in the record. The 5th Cir. Empire Seafoods opinions cite Wright only as divided-damages precedent.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-clarion-ak172-06

7. [7]Batch-850 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback + hazegray transcription; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 994 incl. status cards, USMC transfer order, and custody ledger read directly; ship's war diary May-Nov 1945; CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep (opinions + RECAP dockets); NVR; NARA record-group guides; NavSource corroboration [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-clarion-ak172-01 through -10

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, NRHP/NHL nomination, or adjudicated exposure finding naming USS Clarion (AK-172), MC hull 2145, or her merchant identities was found in the public sources searched. Litigation surface: 'USS Clarion' and 'AK-172' return zero opinion hits on CourtListener; the 22 'Clarion'+asbestos opinion hits are all name collisions on inspection ('clarion call/clarion clear' rhetoric; Clarion Hotel; Clarion Hospital; Clarion County, PA entities; GGNSC Clarion LP). The single qualifying appearance is the Zeringue asbestos docket (pleading/discovery-stage mention, ev-05). 'Lovdal' returns 55 surname-collision opinions (predominantly California Lovdal-family litigation predating or unrelated to the 1947 rename); 'Urubamba' returns the 1959 collision decision (ev-06) plus two Empire Seafoods opinions citing it as precedent.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   2026-09-21

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 Maritime Commission hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the hull went on to ~23 years of foreign merchant service and a 1970 wreck loss, with the scrapping/salvage pathway undocumented. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. The Zeringue filing-text context is unretrieved (no RECAP document).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-clarion-ak172-07

8. [8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 248 (War Shipping Administration), RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 38 (CNO records - war-diary series) [other_primary]

   Locator

   archives.gov guide-fed-records groups 178, 248; archives.gov/research/military/logbooks

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): RG 178 Construction Division records may hold MC hull 2145 outfitting/material records for the Froemming Brothers (Milwaukee) contract, and the Commission's sale file for the 1947 Norway transfer (authorizing action 1947-01-09; Transfer Order 2/6/47; final alloc 4/10/47 #261); RG 248 covers the WSA custody window (1946-05-18 to 1947-03-07) including the James River layup and the Dichmann, Wright & Pugh GAA arrangement; RG 24 deck logs cover the commissioned period 1945-05-27 to 1946-05-13 including the December 1945-May 1946 months absent from the scanned war diary; RG 38 holds the war-diary originals of which the NavSource PDF is a scan.

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-21

   Study period

   1944-1947 records

   Limitations

   Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents in these series is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-clarion-ak172-08