Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]DANFS, Estes (AGC-12) - verbatim transcription (live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-20; Wayback captures exist for the canonical URL) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text, full service narrative; canonical NHHC URL https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/e/estes.html (404 live; Wayback captures 2019-2026)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS establishes identity and service: launched 1 November 1943 by North Carolina Shipbuilding Co., Wilmington, NC as Morning Star; acquired by the Navy 22 February 1944; commissioned 9 October 1944. TF-52 flagship off Iwo Jima (Feb 1945) and Okinawa (Mar-Apr 1945) under RADM W. H. P. Blandy; San Francisco overhaul summer 1945; occupation duty and 7th Fleet/Naval Forces Western Pacific flagship (Tsingtao-Hong Kong) to Jan 1948; decommissioned 30 June 1949; recommissioned 31 January 1951; Korea flagship duty (VADM Kiland, Inchon, Jul-Aug 1951); carried observers to the fall 1952 Marshall Islands nuclear tests; 1953 Arctic supply-expedition flagship; Jan-May 1954 atomic weapons tests at Eniwetok; control ship for Operation Passage to Freedom at Haiphong (Aug-Oct 1954); Tachen Islands evacuation Feb 1955; Marshalls weapons tests Mar-Jul 1956; two WWII and two Korean War battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1962 (DANFS narrative coverage)
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, and service history only. The DANFS entry (written before the ship's later Vietnam-era record) contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation statement and supports no asbestos claim. Laid-down date is absent from DANFS and carried from secondary/association sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-estes-agc12-01
-
[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - ESTES (AGC-12), Ship History Detail 1481, including two digitized vessel status cards [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 1481 milestone table; status card scans /cards/1481_2732AF.jpg (MA-383) and /cards/25L_01.png (MA-199)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record and digitized status cards (Forms MA-199/MA-383) for ESTES (AGC-12/LCC-12): type C2-S-AJ1, MC hull 1353, builder's hull 98, built 1943 by North Carolina Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington NC, ex-MORNING STAR, 'delivered from shipyard to U.S. Navy incomplete'; gross tons 8,258, DWT 10,731. Custody milestones: Navy to Maritime Administration custody at Suisun Bay 1970-07-16; permanent transfer 1971-09-01; withdrawn by Navy for stripping 1977-02-15, returned to fleet 1977-04-07; sold for non-transportation use under contract PD-X-1022 dated 1977-11-08 to American Ship Dismantlers, Inc. for $115,370.69; purchase delivery 1977-11-16; physical withdrawal from Suisun Bay 1977-12-30.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1970-1977
- Population
- American Ship Dismantlers, Inc. scrapping workforce (1977-78) - location of dismantling not stated on the cards
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government-custody and disposal milestones; the MA-199 card head misprints the hull designator as 'LGC-12' (correct: LCC-12 per the MA-383 card and Navy records). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; the sale documents do not disclose whether any pre-sale hazardous-material survey was performed. Supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-estes-agc12-02
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Estes (LCC-12) ex-AGC-12 page (volunteer-compiled archive reproducing official campaign, award, and specification data) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 10/01/0112 via Wayback capture (live fetch failed); campaign tables, specification block, disposition lines
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource photo-archive record for USS Estes (AGC-12/LCC-12): laid down as SS Morning Star under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1353); reclassified LCC-12 effective 1 January 1969; decommissioned 31 October 1969; stricken from the Naval Register 30 July 1976 with custody to MARAD. Vietnam-era campaign table (compiled from official campaign-participation lists): Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Mar-Apr 1961, Jun-Jul 1965); Vietnam Service Medal campaigns - Vietnam Defense (1965), Vietnamese Counteroffensive Phase II (Aug 1966-Jan 1967), Tet Counteroffensive (Feb-Mar 1968), Phases IV-V (Apr-Jul 1968), Vietnam Summer-Fall (Aug-Sep 1969), six campaign stars total; Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon displayed. Specification block: two Combustion Engineering header-type boilers (450 psi, 750F), one General Electric geared turbine, double GE main reduction gears, single screw 6,000 shp; complement 54 officers + 568 enlisted, staff accommodations 103 officers + 338 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1961-1976
- Population
- Crew and embarked flag staff, 1961-1969 deployments
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive, not an official source - used for the Vietnam campaign dates, propulsion specification, and reclassification/striking dates that postdate the DANFS narrative; all overlapping facts (commissioning, decommissioning, disposal) verified against DANFS and MARAD cards. No asbestos, materials, or survey content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-estes-agc12-03
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[4]DANFS construction/era record (HyperWar transcription) + NavSource specification block (boiler/turbine plant) for this hull [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block and service narrative; NavSource specifications section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The documented propulsion plant (two oil-fired Combustion Engineering boilers supplying a geared steam turbine at 450 psi/750F) and the 1943-44 WWII-era Maritime Commission construction and Navy conversion of this C2-S-AJ1 hull place the vessel squarely in the period when steam-plant insulation, boiler and steam-line lagging, valve/flange gaskets, machinery packing, and accommodation-space insulation aboard U.S. Navy auxiliaries were era-standard asbestos applications.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1944 construction/conversion; service life 1944-1969
- Population
- North Carolina Shipbuilding construction trades (1943); conversion-yard trades (1944, yard unverified); engine-room crew and flag-staff spaces
- Limitations
- Era and plant-type inference, not a hull record - no ship-specific insulation survey, specification sheet, or materials list for AGC-12 was located. Does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-estes-agc12-04
-
[5]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 program under which this C2-S-AJ1 hull was built and converted to a naval amphibious flagship, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard Navy and merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- 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 and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-estes-agc12-05
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[6]USS Estes Association, 'History USS Estes AGC-12 1944-1969' (ussestes.org/ShipInfo/A_History.htm) - veterans' association publication, likely drawn from the ship's commissioning-era and cruise-book records [other_primary]
- Locator
- Association ship-history page, construction/conversion paragraph and 1968-69 narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The USS Estes Association ship history reports that the Navy acquired the partially completed hull on 22 February 1944 and that three days later she was towed to Todd Shipyard, Erie Basin, Brooklyn, NY for conversion to AGC-12 (May-Oct 1944 under prospective CO CDR R. O. Mathews); keel date 25 August 1943 and later commanding-officer and Vietnam-deployment narrative (third tour 1968, yard period at Yokosuka Aug 1968, relief by USS Blue Ridge LCC-19) also derive from this association history.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944; 1968-1969
- Population
- Conversion-yard trades (Todd Erie Basin, 1944) - if attribution is confirmed
- Limitations
- Association-published history, not an official source; the Todd Erie Basin conversion-yard attribution is corroborated only indirectly by the MARAD status card entry 'delivered from shipyard to U.S. Navy incomplete' and is not stated in DANFS or NavSource. No asbestos, materials, or survey content; supports no asbestos claim. Conversion-yard records, if extant, are the lead that would confirm or correct this attribution.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-estes-agc12-06
-
[7]Batch-703 search ledger (this record): DANFS (HyperWar transcription + NHHC canonical URL); MARAD ShipHistory 1481 + status cards; NavSource 10/01/0112; shipbuildinghistory.com MC-hull table; ussestes.org association history; VA/BVA index search; CourtListener API v4 (blocked); general web-index litigation query [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-estes-agc12-01 through sl-uss-estes-agc12-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, NRHP/NPS documentation (none exists - vessel scrapped), or managing-agency statement naming this hull was found in the public sources searched. No qualifying docketed asbestos case naming USS Estes/AGC-12/LCC-12 was located; the CourtListener opinion index was unreachable this session (HTTP 429, daily quota exhausted) and the litigation check therefore rests on the general web-index search, which surfaced only law-firm marketing ship lists (excluded per sourcing rules) and no qualifying case.
- 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 1943-44 C2 conversion retaining WWII-era materials through three decades of service is era-consistent with installed asbestos-containing materials. The CourtListener outage means the docket check is incomplete; a follow-up name+hull search is an open lead. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-estes-agc12-07
-
[8]NARA logbook/deck-log guidance (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy and /reproductions); NHHC Operational Archives command-operation-reports holdings [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA deck-log research guidance; NHHC research/archives holdings
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 Entry 118 Navy deck logs, 1941+, at College Park - Vietnam-era logs are being digitized under the Blue Water Navy Act pipeline and Estes logs may appear in the Catalog; NHHC Operational Archives command histories/operation reports for the 1965-69 Vietnam deployments; NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) conversion and overhaul records for AGC-12, incl. the 1944 conversion work and the 1945 San Francisco, 1947 Bremerton, 1951 Hunters Point, and 1968 Yokosuka yard periods; the MARAD disposal file for contract PD-X-1022 (any pre-sale hazardous-material condition report).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1977 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether asbestos-specific documents for this hull exist is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-estes-agc12-08