Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]DANFS, 'Deimos I (AK-78)', Naval History and Heritage Command (transcription mirror; canonical NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-21 - link rot consistent with batch-01 finding) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, full text; canonical URL https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/d/deimos-i.html (HTTP 404 this session)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for 'the first Deimos (AK-78),' Crater class: dp. 4,023; l. 441'6"; b. 56'11"; dr. 28'4"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 198; a. 1 5", 1 3". Launched 1942-12-28 by Permanente Metals Corp., Richmond, Calif., as Chief Ouray under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. M. Moyer; transferred to the Navy 1943-01-07; commissioned 1943-01-23, LCDR W. L. Sorenson, USNR, in command. Sailed from San Francisco 1943-01-27 with cargo for Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, and Cleveland Bay, Australia; arrived Noumea, New Caledonia, 1943-05-23 to load cargo delivered to Guadalcanal in June. Returning to base, torpedoed 1943-06-23 on the port side, aft; efforts to save her failed; abandoned and sunk by gunfire from O'Bannon (DD-450) in 11-26'S, 162-01'E. Deimos received one battle star for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, construction milestones, service narrative, and loss. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or crew-health information; names no attacking submarine; gives no casualty or stricken date. Supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-deimos-ak78-01
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[2]U.S. Maritime Commission, Instruction Manual for Operating and Maintaining 2500 H.P. Triple Expansion Marine Steam Engines, EC2-S-C1 Cargo Vessels (mirrored excerpt) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Mirrored excerpt, engine-cylinder insulation section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission instruction manual for the EC2-S-C1 plant - the documented design type of this hull (MCE hull 513, Crater-class AKs being Navy-manned EC2-S-C1 conversions) - describes cylinder insulation of magnesia under sheet-iron lagging; insulation products of this era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber, and period steam-system gaskets, packing, and insulation felts commonly contained asbestos. Liberty-type hulls were built to emergency USMC specifications during the period when the federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding. Typical applications for the type: boiler and steam-drum insulation; steam-line lagging between boiler room and engine room; valve and flange gaskets; machinery packing; insulation in accommodation spaces and around the galley; brake linings on winches and windlass.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Construction trades (Permanente Metals Yard No. 1, Richmond, 1942); Navy crew (~5 months commissioned service)
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual names the type, not this vessel, and does not itself state 'asbestos' content. Asbestos presence aboard this hull is era/design inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, individual exposure, or causation; present-day presence is moot for a hull lost in 1943.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-deimos-ak78-02
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[3]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 program under which this EC2-S-C1 hull was mass-produced - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- 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 or the EC2-S-C1 type and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-deimos-ak78-03
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[4]Atlas shipyards.json record 'kaiser-shipyards' (Richmond, CA): California DTSC Site Cleanup listing; EPA CERCLA ID CAD980637557 [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json rows ev-kaiser-shipyards-epa-01 and ev-kaiser-shipyards-epa-02
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The builder of this hull - Permanente Metals Shipyard No. 1, Richmond - is part of the Kaiser Richmond shipyard complex carrying site-level asbestos records in the project shipyards dataset (yard_id kaiser-shipyards, evidence_tier 3): California DTSC Richmond Harbor Restoration Project listing for the former Kaiser yard site, and EPA CERCLA record CAD980637557 (NFRAP determination); the yard record documents asbestos-containing materials in site soils and structures and wartime insulation/fireproofing products used at the Richmond yards, 1940-1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1940-1945 operations; remediation era
- Population
- Kaiser Richmond yard workforce (construction-era, site level)
- Limitations
- Site-level environmental documentation for the construction yard, not a vessel record - does not name this hull and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard, nor any individual exposure. DTSC page returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch 2026-09-21; the row rests on the project yard dataset record, which itself cites DTSC and EPA sources. Construction-site contamination does not prove shipboard content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-deimos-ak78-04
-
[5]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Deimos (AK-78) page; ShipbuildingHistory.com Kaiser Permanente No. 1 Liberty-ships table (row 513); NavalCoverMuseum DEIMOS AK-78 page - all secondary compilations, carried as corroborating detail only [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/09/13/130078.htm (retrieved via search index; host unreachable by direct fetch this session); shipbuildinghistory.com/merchantships/2libertyships2.htm row 513; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/DEIMOS_AK_78
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Build and service details outside DANFS scope rest on mutually consistent secondary compilations: laid down 1942-11-27 as an EC2-S-C1 Maritime Commission contract hull (MCE hull 513; yard no. 513; way 5) at Permanente Metals Yard No. 1, Richmond; delivered 1943-01-12 per the ShipbuildingHistory Kaiser Permanente No. 1 yard table. Name-history conflict: NavSource and the yard table record the hull as SS Chief Ouray from laying, while references tracing to the MARAD status card (NavalCoverMuseum; Wikipedia) give the laid-down name as SS Hugh McCulloch, renamed Chief Ouray before launch. NavSource additionally records the Asiatic-Pacific campaign credit 'Consolidation of southern Solomons, 15 June 1943,' CO LCDR Walter Louis Sorenson (1943-01-23 to 1943-06-23), and awards including retroactive Combat Action Ribbon (1943-06-23).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Limitations
- All sources in this row are secondary compilations, not official records - consistent with each other but unverified at primary level. The MARAD status card (primary source for the name history) could not be retrieved: the ShipHistory search endpoint errors and the archived copy is unreachable (Wayback offline). Laid-down name carried as Hugh McCulloch -> Chief Ouray per the status-card-tracing references, with the NavSource 'Chief Ouray from laying' variant retained here and in gaps. DANFS gives no laid-down date or hull numbers.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-deimos-ak78-05
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[6]This record's search ledger: DANFS; NavSource; ShipbuildingHistory; NavalCoverMuseum; MARAD ShipHistory (blocked); CourtListener API (blocked, 429) + site-restricted mitigation search; combinedfleet.com TROM; NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-deimos-ak78-01 through sl-uss-deimos-ak78-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Deimos, AK-78, Chief Ouray, or Hugh McCulloch was found in the public sources searched (DANFS, NavSource, MARAD-oriented searches, CourtListener site-restricted search - see search_ledger). The hull was lost to enemy action ~5 months after commissioning; no post-war survey, refit, repair, or abatement history exists.
- 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 1942 EC2-S-C1 hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. The CourtListener API sweep was blocked by daily-quota throttling (logged sl-06); the site-restricted mitigation search surfaced only a name collision (Deimos Distributors, Inc., unrelated EDNY insurance litigation), so the litigation result is 'no qualifying hit found' rather than a completed sweep. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-deimos-ak78-06
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[7]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 38 (CNO records incl. action/war-damage reports), RG 178 (US Maritime Commission); MARAD ShipHistory database [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov record-group guides 24/38/178; vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 24 deck logs for USS Deimos AK-78, January-June 1943, including the 1943-06-23 torpedoing and abandonment; (b) NARA RG 38 / CNO war-damage and action reports - USS O'Bannon (DD-450) action report covers the scuttling and post-war JANAC assessment may confirm the attacking submarine; (c) NARA RG 178 U.S. Maritime Commission Construction Division / West Coast Director files for MCE hull 513 outfitting and material records; (d) MARAD ShipHistory status card for CHIEF OURAY - the primary source for the Hugh McCulloch name-history detail.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1942-1943 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents in these series is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-deimos-ak78-07
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[8]Hackett, Bob, and Sander Kingsepp, 'IJN Submarine RO-103: Tabular Record of Movement' (combinedfleet.com, rev. 3, 2017) [other_primary]
- Locator
- combinedfleet.com/RO-103.htm, entry for 23 June 1943
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The attacking submarine is identified in specialist secondary research as Imperial Japanese Navy submarine RO-103 (Lt. Ichimura Rikinosuke): the combinedfleet.com Tabular Record of Movement for RO-103 records that on 1943-06-23, ~50 nm south of the eastern tip of San Cristobal, Ichimura attacked a convoy of three transports escorted by three destroyers, sinking USS Aludra (AK-72, rendered 'ALDURA' in the TROM) and damaging the 7,176-ton 'Liberty' ship USS Deimos (AK-78) near 11-26S 162-01E, Deimos then being scuttled by O'Bannon (DD-450) at 11-35S 162-08E.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-21
- Study period
- 1943
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation, not an official source - widely cited in IJN scholarship but the attribution is not confirmed by any official record consulted (DANFS names no attacker). Scuttle position differs slightly from DANFS (11-35S 162-08E vs 11-26S 162-01E). Official confirmation path: post-war JANAC assessment and O'Bannon/Deimos action reports in NARA RG 38/RG 24. Aludra loss consistent with DANFS for AK-72 but not independently verified in this pass.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-deimos-ak78-08