USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116)

Name
USS General M. C. Meigs
Hull designation
AP-116
Vessel class
General John Pope-class (P2-S2-R2)
Evidence tier
Tier 2
Evidence entries
8
Record ID
uss-general-m-c-meigs-ap116
Dataset version
2026.10.12-rc.1
Canonical URL
https://asbestosatlas.org/ships/uss-general-m-c-meigs-ap116

Evidence

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

  1. [1]DANFS, 'General M. C. Meigs' (AP-116) entry (verbatim transcription by hazegray; live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
    Locator
    DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative
    Finding type
    vessel_history
    Finding
    DANFS records: P2-S2-R2 transport (11,450 t lt; 622'7" x 75'6" x 25'6"; 21 kt; cpl. 418, trp. 5,289; 4x5", 16x1.1", 20x20mm; General John Pope class), launched 1944-03-13 under Maritime Commission contract by Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny NJ, sponsored by Mrs. Henry R. Arnold, acquired 1944-06-02, commissioned 1944-06-03 at Bayonne NJ under CAPT George W. McKean USCG. WWII: two Newport News-Naples round trips (1944-07-10 to 09-01); embarked 5,200 Brazilian Expeditionary Force troops at Rio - the first Brazilian troops carried by an American transport - to Naples (arr. 1944-10-06), returned with troops, civilians, 460 German POWs via Bizerte/Oran; further US-Italy-North Africa-via-Brazil round trips through 1945-03-08; Panama/Puerto Rico run 1945-03-25 to 04-07; Le Havre, Naples, Brazil shuttles through August; Magic Carpet fleet from 1945-10-02 incl. Norfolk-Naples-Karachi run and Far East voyage reaching Nagoya 1946-01-10; arrived San Francisco 1946-01-24, decommissioned 1946-03-04, turned over to WSA for American President Lines. Korea: taken over 1950-07-21, assigned to MSTS, civilian crew, 19 Far East cruises; Reduced Operational Status 1955; transferred to MARAD 1958-10-01, NDRF Olympia. Six Korean War battle stars.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1943-1958
    Population
    USCG crew (~418) and embarked troops (up to 5,289/voyage), 1944-1946; civilian MSTS crew, 1950-1958
    Limitations
    Establishes identity, construction, manning (USCG), and full service history. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials statements. Live NHHC page 404 on 2026-09-18 - cited via verbatim transcription (Wayback capture of hazegray DANFS mirror).
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-general-m-c-meigs-ap116-01
  2. [2]Naval Historical Center (NHHC) Online Library, 'USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116), 1944-1972. Later USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116)' ship page (HyperWar/ibiblio mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
    Locator
    NHHC Online Library ship page, narrative paragraphs 1-4
    Finding type
    vessel_history
    Finding
    NHHC narrative records the postwar trail: one of two class ships in commercial service (with General W. H. Gordon, AP-117); delivered to a San Francisco shipyard April 1946 for austere conversion, chartered to American President Lines June 1946; P2-S2-R10 full liner-conversion design prepared but not carried out; APL returned her to the Maritime Commission reserve fleet June 1949; MSTS acquired her July 1950, refitted with civilian crew as USNS T-AP-116, in the Far East by late August 1950; modernized at Portland, Oregon September 1953-February 1954 (WWII lifeboats/davits replaced; empty centerline gun positions fitted); last trans-Pacific voyage May 1955; MSTS Ready Reserve at Everett April 1956; stricken from NVR and transferred to MARAD October 1958, Olympia reserve fleet. January 1972: departed Bremerton under tow by MSTS salvage ship Gear (T-ARS-34) for Suisun Bay; gale off Cape Flattery parted the tow lines; blew ashore just south of Portage Head and broke in half around a large rock pinnacle; portions of the wreck still visible in 2006.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1946-1972
    Population
    Conversion/modernization yard workers (1946 SF; 1953-54 Portland - yards unnamed)
    Limitations
    Naval Historical Center text; authoritative for disposition narrative. Names neither the 1946 San Francisco conversion yard nor the 1953-54 Portland modernization yard. Contains no asbestos/materials statements.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-general-m-c-meigs-ap116-02
  3. [3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - GENERAL M. C. MEIGS (AP-116), Detail 1830 [marad_nrc]
    Locator
    ShipHistory Detail 1830, vessel data + milestone table
    Finding type
    historical_record
    Finding
    MARAD ShipHistory record: U.S. Official No. 249811; built 1944 by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock; type Naval Auxiliary; missions World War II and Korean War; custody milestones - Entry/Acquisition 1949-06-08 (return from APL charter to reserve fleet), Disposition 1971-11-02 with notation 'VESSEL DAMAGED PRIOR', Withdrawal 1971-11-02.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1949-1971
    Limitations
    Authoritative for government custody milestones. The 'VESSEL DAMAGED PRIOR' notation (1971-11-02) predates the documented grounding (1972-01-09) by two months - meaning unresolved, not interpreted here. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-general-m-c-meigs-ap116-03
  4. [4]Clark, Finley (NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service), Patten (NMFS Mukilteo), DeNike (WA State Dept. of Ecology), 'Long-Term Chemical and Biological Effects of a Persistent Oil Spill Following the Grounding of the General M. C. Meigs,' 1975 Conference on Prevention and Control of Oil Pollution, pp. 479-487 (interagency team incl. EPA Region X); full text via Clallam County MRC [other_primary]
    Locator
    Paper abstract + Introduction (pp. 479-481); NOAA repository symposium volume noaa_47509 cover note
    Finding type
    environmental_record
    Finding
    Peer-reviewed interagency study of this hull's wreck: grounding at Portage Head on 1972-01-09 released Navy Special Fuel Oil continuously into an open-ocean intertidal community; hull broke into two parts forming a breakwater, the fantail later separated, and the stern section was torn apart by wave action over ~2.5 years while the bow remained in position; oil moved over the rock shelf as a single large spill in the first two days, then as discrete globules incorporated into Wreck Cove beaches; biota hydrocarbon-uptake and population studies ran 1973-01 to 1974-08 (e.g., a Phyllospadix scouleri sample one month after grounding retained oil at 41% of dry weight; Fucus residual 160 PPM after one year). A companion NOAA Puget Sound oil-pollution symposium volume records ~116,000 gallons of oil aboard, part spilled and continuing to be released.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1972-1974 (study window)
    Population
    Intertidal biota at Wreck Cove/Portage Head; interagency field teams (1972-1974)
    Limitations
    Documents petroleum pollution and hull breakup of this specific vessel - says nothing about asbestos or other construction materials; no insulation/materials inventory exists in this source. The environmental record neither proves nor excludes asbestos having been aboard.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-general-m-c-meigs-ap116-04
  5. [5]NOAA, Maritime Heritage Resources Management Guidance for Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary - vessel inventory [nps]
    Locator
    Guidance document, vessel inventory list + WISAARD paragraph
    Finding type
    historical_record
    Finding
    NOAA's Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary maritime-heritage guidance inventories 'Steamship General M. C. Meigs, built in 1944, sunk in 1972' among 197 documented vessels; OCNMS transmitted vessel spatial data to the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) in July 2014 for entry in the WISAARD database.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    context
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    2014 (data transfer)
    Limitations
    Confirms wreck location and sinking year in a federal heritage inventory; inventory listing is not an eligibility determination, and the record contains no materials or asbestos information.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-general-m-c-meigs-ap116-05
  6. [6]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116) ex USS (AP-116) - specifications block + chronology; corroborated by Corn & Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' AJIM 11(3):359-373 (1987), doi:10.1002/ajim.4700110311 [other_primary]
    Locator
    NavSource 09/22/22116 specifications block; Corn & Starr abstract
    Finding type
    asbestos_application
    Finding
    This hull's documented plant - four Foster-Wheeler D-type boilers (465 psi, 765 deg.F), two De Laval steam turbines, double De Laval main reduction gears, four 400 kW turbo-drive generators, twin screws, 17,000 shp - is a full WWII high-pressure steam installation built under a 1943 Maritime Commission contract. Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that U.S. WWII shipbuilding used asbestos extensively as fireproofing/insulation and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard ships; the typical application set for this plant type is boiler and steam-drum insulation, turbine casing lagging, steam-line lagging, valve/flange gaskets, machinery packing, accommodation insulation, and brake linings.
    Verification
    inferred
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    class_or_era
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1943-1972
    Population
    Construction trades (Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny, 1943-44); USCG engineering crew; MSTS engine-room crew; conversion/modernization yard workers (1946, 1953-54); salvage/tow crews (1972)
    Limitations
    Machinery configuration is ship-specific (NavSource specs); the asbestos link is era/design inference - no insulation schedule, survey, or material sample for this hull was located. Does not establish quantity, location, condition, or present-day presence (the hull broke up in the surf zone 1972-1976).
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-general-m-c-meigs-ap116-06
  7. [7]In re Joint Eastern and Southern Districts Asbestos Litigation (Robinson v. United States), 891 F.2d 31 (2d Cir. 1989) [court_record]
    Locator
    Opinion, 891 F.2d 31 (No. 1547, docket 89-6109)
    Finding type
    litigation_documented
    Finding
    Second Circuit ruling on mesothelioma claims by a mariner aboard War Shipping Administration vessels; the court barred personal-injury claims against the United States on discretionary-function grounds. This hull operated under WSA charter by American President Lines 1946-1949 - the same wartime/postwar government shipping program the ruling addresses.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    context
    Documentation level
    class_or_era
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1989 (opinion); 1946-49 (this hull's WSA window)
    Population
    WSA-era merchant mariners (class context)
    Limitations
    Fleet-level jurisdictional precedent; does not name this hull, does not find asbestos conditions aboard any specific vessel, and establishes only the litigation posture for WSA-era mariner claims. Reporter citation: 891 F.2d 31 (2d Cir. 1989).
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-general-m-c-meigs-ap116-07
  8. [8]Batch-153 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC, NHHC Online Library, NavSource, MARAD ShipHistory, NOAA/OCNMS, CourtListener API v4 + web-indexed court records, USCG Historian historic-ships list [other_primary]
    Locator
    search_ledger rows sl-uss-general-m-c-meigs-ap116-01 through -08
    Finding type
    historical_record
    Finding
    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation schedule, abatement contract, or docketed case naming General M. C. Meigs (AP-116 / T-AP-116) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener API v4 was rate-limited (HTTP 429, 125/day) during the session - only web-indexed court records were checkable, and they show name collisions (e.g., Meigs County) rather than this vessel. Law-firm marketing pages listing the ship among 'asbestos Navy vessels' exist but carry no primary support and are excluded by rule.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    negative_finding
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    2026-09-18
    Limitations
    Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos - a 1944 steam transport is era-consistent with asbestos insulation, and the hull's in-situ breakup (1972-76) means materials went into the marine environment undocumented. Does not establish or defeat any individual exposure claim or legal eligibility.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-general-m-c-meigs-ap116-08

Attribution

Compiled by
Paul Danziger; Rod de Llano
Publisher
Danziger & De Llano, LLP
License
CC-BY-4.0
Citation
Danziger, P., and De Llano, R. (2026). AsbestosAtlas Navy Vessel Asbestos Exposure Dataset. Danziger & De Llano, LLP. DOI: not yet assigned
Dataset version
asbestosatlas-ships-2026.10.12-rc.1
DOI
not yet assigned