Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet crew-ck-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (name-collision note)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-general-t-h-bliss-ap131-pkt-crew-ck-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, 'General T. H. Bliss' (AP-131) entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (live page; text cross-verified verbatim against hazegray transcription, Wayback capture 2022-09-10) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative + namesake biography
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-05): C4-S-A1 transport (dp. 9,950 lt.; l. 522'10"; b. 71'6"; dr. 26'6"; s. 16.5 k.; cpl. 366; trp. 3,522; a. 4 5", 8 1.1", 16 20mm; cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1), laid down under Maritime Commission contract 1942-05-22 by Kaiser Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond CA, launched 1942-12-19 sponsored by Mrs. Eleanor Bliss Knopf, acquired 1943-11-03, commissioned 1944-02-24 CAPT Burton Davis in command. WWII: >3,600 sailors/marines to New Caledonia (dep. San Francisco 1944-03-27, ret. 1944-05-01 with veterans from Efate and Espiritu Santo); 3,500 soldiers to Oro Bay, New Guinea (dep. 1944-05-10), then via Panama Canal to New York (arr. 1944-07-04 with >2,000 men and patients embarked at Balboa); 11 round-trip transatlantic troop voyages 1944-07-28 to 1945-09-04 (2 Newport, 3 Boston, 6 New York) to Avonmouth/Plymouth/Southampton, Marseilles/Le Havre, Naples, and Oran; first Magic Carpet voyage Boston to Karachi dep. 1945-09-11 ret. New York 1945-10-23; New York-Calcutta round trip Nov-Dec 1945; round-the-world voyage New York eastward via Calcutta and Guam to San Francisco arr. 1946-03-15; occupation troops to Yokohama dep. San Francisco 1946-04-05, arr. Seattle 1946-05-06. Decommissioned Seattle 1946-06-28; returned to WSA 1946-07-02; placed in NDRF at Olympia, WA; sold to Bethlehem Steel Corp., Wilmington DE, April 1964 and renamed Seamar.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942-1964
- Population
- USN crew (~366) and embarked troops/patients (up to ~3,500+/voyage), 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, and full naval service history. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials statements. Note the canonical URL carries the '-ap-131' suffix - the plain '/general-t-h-bliss.html' slug 404s (page-not-found confirmed 2026-10-05); cite the suffixed URL.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-t-h-bliss-ap131-01
-
[3]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-131) - specifications block, chronology, merchant-service notes, commanding-officer roster, awards/campaign ribbons [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/22/22131: chronology list, specifications block, awards table, commanding officers list, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive records: laid down 1942-05-22 as MC type C4-S-A1 (MC hull 654) at Kaiser Shipbuilding Inc. Yard 3, Richmond CA; launched 1942-12-19; acquired from Maritime Commission 1943-11-03; commissioned USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-131) 1944-02-24 CAPT Burton Davis; operated in both Europe-Africa-Middle East and Asiatic-Pacific theaters; Navy Occupation service in the Far East 1946-04-20/26; decommissioned 1946-06-28 at Seattle WA; struck from Naval Register 'date unknown'; returned to Maritime Commission 1946-07-02 for layup in NDRF Olympia WA; transferred to Bethlehem Steel Corp., Wilmington DE, April 1964 (MARAD trade-in) for conversion to commercial operation, renamed SS Seamar (Calmar SS Corp.); sold to C.A. Venezolana de Navegacion, a Venezuelan government-controlled corporation, 1975-01-13, renamed SS Caroni; suffered boiler damage 1979 en route Pto Cabello to St. John (NB), towed to Curacao, found uneconomic to repair; sold for scrapping, towed to Kaohsiung arriving November 1979. Photo captions add: Golden Dragonback certificate for the 180th-meridian crossing dated 1946-03-09; and a U.S. Army Signal Corps photo showing the ship in New York Harbor 1946-06-17 disembarking elements of the 86th Infantry (Blackhawk) Division returning from Europe - the latter in tension with the DANFS terminal itinerary (see gaps). Specifications: 9,950 t lt / 17,250 t fl; 522'10" x 71'6" x 26'6"; 16.5 kt; complement 32 officers + 324 enlisted; troop accommodations 270 officers + 3,595 enlisted; armament four single 5"/38, four twin 1.1" (replaced by two twin 40mm), fifteen twin 20mm; propulsion one Westinghouse geared turbine, two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers 465 psi/765 deg.F, double Falk main reduction gear, three 400 kW 240V DC generators, single propeller 9,000 shp. Commanding officers: Davis (to 1944-11-30), Mansfield (to 1945-08-08), Connelley (to 1946-06-28).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942-1979
- Population
- USN crew and embarked troops 1944-1946; NDRF layup crews 1946-1964; merchant crews 1964-1979
- Limitations
- Curated secondary compilation of official Navy data, not itself a primary record; corroborated by DANFS and MARAD cards where they overlap. Crew figure (356) and troop accommodations (3,865) differ slightly from DANFS (366 / 3,522) - kept separate, not merged. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-t-h-bliss-ap131-02
-
[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - GENERAL T. H. BLISS (AP-131), Detail 1845 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 1845, vessel data fields + milestone table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database record: GENERAL T. H. BLISS (AP-131), Detail 1845 - year built 1944; official number 294729; shipyard Kaiser Company; MARAD type C4-S-A1; length 496.50 ft; beam 71.50 ft; gross 13,000 t; fate 'Transferred - Foreign'; custody milestones: Entry/Acquisition 1946-07-02, Disposition 1964-04-08 'EXCHANGE PROGRAM', Withdrawal 1964-04-08. Database 'General Type' field reads 'Training (School)' / 'Training Ship' - a classification carried as recorded (see gaps; inconsistent with the hull's documented transport/cargo service).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1943-1975
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones and type/tonnage data. Year built given as 1944 vs completed 1943-11-03 on the status card - flag, not resolved. The 'Training Ship' type fields appear to be a database classification artifact - the hull was a troop transport then a cargo ship. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-t-h-bliss-ap131-03
-
[5]U.S. Maritime Administration vessel status cards for GENERAL T. H. BLISS (AP-131): typed status card and Form MA-199 Reserve Fleet Vessel Data card + handwritten reverse notes, digitized at MARAD ShipHistory Detail 1845 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Status cards tab, images cards/09faba6e-5c8e-4edb-92b4-573de4f328b0.jpg (typed card), cards/1845_3415AF.jpg (MA-199), cards/1845_3415AB.jpg (reverse notes); read from card images
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD digitized status cards (primary artifacts): (a) Typed Vessel Status Card - 'GENERAL TASKER H. BLISS' O.N. 294729 (TAP-131), flag AMER., type 'MILITARY C4', D.W.T. 6,094, gross 13,000, Sp. 17.5; MC Hull No. 654, built by Kaiser Co. Inc. #3 at Richmond Calif., completed 11-3-43; 'Basis to W.S.A. 11-3-43 @ Richmond, Cal. by Builder to USMC (incomplete)'; '7-2-46 8:00PM PST @ Olympia, Wash. from Navy Dept. - Surplus'. Operating history: Navy Dept. (Del. by USMC) (completed), LB agreement, Richmond Cal., delivered 2-17-44; USMC Reserve Fleet, Olympia Wash., 7-2-46 8:00PM PST; Bethlehem Steel Corp. (Exchange), Title, Washington DC, 4-7-64 12 Noon EST; physical delivery from Olympia Wash. 4-8-64 9:18am PST; renamed 'SEAMAR' 5-27-64; 'Converted from Troopship to Cargo vessel 2-18-65'; transferred to Venezuela flag 1/13/75 C.A. Venezolana De Navegacion (Venezuelan government controlled corporation); renamed 'CARONI' 1/13/75. (b) Form MA-199 Reserve Fleet Vessel Data card - type C4-S-A1 (overstamped 'EXCHANGE PROGRAM'), Pass. Cap. 3528, fleet/unit Olympia PHG B-21, ownership WSA, 'KAISER-RICHMOND 1944', date entered fleet 7-2-46, hull no. 654, Contract No. MA-3577 dated April 7 1964 annotated 'Exchange for Portmar', Use Agreement No. 3578, fuel oil at entry 220 bbls Bunker C, termination port last voyage SEATTLE, length 496'7" x breadth 71'6" x depth 43'6", withdrawn 4-8-1964 0918 hrs PST 'Delivered to Calmar SS Corp.'. (c) Card reverse, handwritten: '1 lifeboat 35' removed - del. US Army Transportation Corp 4/30/47' and draft notations.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1943-1975
- Population
- NDRF preservation crews (1946-1964); conversion yard workers (1964-65)
- Limitations
- Primary contemporaneous custody records. Resolve the disposal chain precisely: title to Bethlehem Steel Corp. 1964-04-07 under exchange contract MA-3577 ('Exchange for Portmar'), physical delivery Olympia 1964-04-08 to Calmar SS Corp. Card handwriting/typing partially OCR-aided by direct image read. 'Exchange for Portmar' indicates the government took SS Portmar in trade - corroborated directionally by a 1964-11-19 New York Times item that Calmar exchanged six of its ten Liberty ships for reserve-fleet troopships (secondary). No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-t-h-bliss-ap131-04
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[6]NavSource 09/22/22131 specifications block (machinery, ship-specific); 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 09/22/22131 specifications block; Corn & Starr abstract
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- This hull's documented plant - two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers (465 psi, 765 deg.F), one Westinghouse geared steam turbine, double Falk main reduction gear, three 400 kW turbo-drive ship's-service generators, single screw, 9,000 shp - is a full WWII high-pressure steam installation built under a 1942 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
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942-1979
- Population
- Construction trades (Kaiser Yard 3, Richmond, 1942-44); USN engineering crews and embarked troops 1944-1946; NDRF preservation crews 1946-1964; Bethlehem/Calmar conversion workers 1964-65; merchant crews 1964-1979; scrapping workers 1979
- 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 (hull converted to cargo 1964-65 and scrapped Kaohsiung 1979).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-t-h-bliss-ap131-05
-
[7]GAO-05-264, Maritime Administration: Improved Program Management Needed to Address Timely Disposal of Obsolete Ships (Mar 2005) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO-05-264 product page + accessible text (a245533.html), hazmat passage verified 2026-10-05
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the deteriorating obsolete ships of the National Defense Reserve Fleet - the fleet where this hull lay at Olympia 1946-1964 - 'contain hazardous materials such as asbestos, lead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and residual oils and fuels that are typically found on older ships,' and that MARAD ship disposal must comply with federal hazardous-material and worker-safety statutes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 2005 (publication); 1946-1964 (this hull's layup window)
- Population
- Ship scrapping and NDRF preservation workers (program-level)
- Limitations
- Fleet/program-level documentation post-dating this hull's 1964 exchange - it establishes that NDRF hulls of this vintage typically contained asbestos and that disposal implicates hazmat law, but says nothing about this specific hull, its materials, or the terms of its 1964 exchange or 1979 foreign scrapping (which predates the 1997+ MARAD environmental-assessment era).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-t-h-bliss-ap131-06
-
[8]MARAD ShipHistory Detail 1845 Documents tab (commingled custody card + cross-reference card); disambiguation corroborated by NavSource AP-42 archive and NHHC War Damage Report index (Tasker H. Bliss AP-42 torpedoed off Fedala 1942-11-12) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Documents tab: 'GENERAL TASKER H. BLISS.pdf' and 'PRESIDENT CLEVELAND-1.pdf'; NavSource 09/22/22042 (AP-42); NHHC war-damage-report index for the Fedala action
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Commingled-document flag inside this hull's own MARAD record: the Documents tab of ShipHistory Detail 1845 (the Kaiser C4-S-A1 hull, MC 654) contains 'GENERAL TASKER H. BLISS.pdf' - a custody card titled 'GENERAL TASKER H. BLISS, ex President Cleveland' showing War Dept -> U.S. Maritime Commission 1941-10-26 bareboat, USMC -> American President Lines sub-bareboat, and Navy Dept -> WSA 1946-07-02 Olympia surplus lay-up - plus 'PRESIDENT CLEVELAND-1.pdf', a typed cross-reference card reading 'PRESIDENT CLEVELAND --- See GENERAL TASKER H. BLISS'. The 'ex President Cleveland' lineage belongs to the earlier namesake hull (SS President Cleveland 1920 -> USAT Tasker H. Bliss 1941 -> USS Tasker H. Bliss AP-42, sunk by U-130 off Fedala 1942-11-12) and cannot belong to a hull completed in 1943; the card's 1946 Olympia row appears to mirror this hull's Navy->WSA transfer. MARAD's file organization merges documents of two same-name hulls under this record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1946 records
- Limitations
- Citation-hygiene flag, not evidence for this hull: readers of the MARAD record must not attribute the ex-President Cleveland custody chain to this hull, and must not conflate 'General Tasker H. Bliss' (this hull's full MC name) with USS Tasker H. Bliss (AP-42). Whether the card's 1946 row is a filing error or a duplicate entry is unresolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-t-h-bliss-ap131-07
-
[9]Batch-2060 search ledger (this record): live NHHC DANFS (+ hazegray cross-check), NavSource, MARAD ShipHistory + status cards + documents tab, NavalCoverMuseum, GAO-05-264, CourtListener API v4 opinions + RECAP dockets, web index [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-general-t-h-bliss-ap131-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation schedule, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming General T. H. Bliss (AP-131) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, fleet-paced) returned: '"General T. H. Bliss"' opinions - 0 hits; '"General T. H. Bliss"' dockets - 0 hits; '"AP-131"' opinions - 35 hits, all token noise (statute/rule 'AP-131' cites, adversary-proceeding numbers) except one umbrella citation of In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), 3d Cir. 2016, where 'AP-131' is a non-vessel token inside the MDL-875 caption opinion - no case names this hull; '"AP-131"' dockets - 260 hits, all non-vessel noise (adversary-proceeding 'AP 131' numbering across bankruptcy dockets); the authorized '"AP-131" asbestos' opinion variant returned exactly 1 hit - the same MDL-875 umbrella opinion, a non-vessel token match (docket variant blocked by pacing; see ledger -11). Law-firm marketing pages naming the ship exist - a DuBose Law Firm jobsite list entry 'GENERAL T H BLISS AP-131, Richmond, CA' (conflating vessel and builder site), a DuBose tribute to a sailor who served aboard 1943-1946, and freeasbestostesting.com's auxiliary-ships list - all carry no primary support and are excluded by rule.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 2026-10-05
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos - a 1942-44 steam transport is era-consistent with asbestos insulation; the 1964-65 cargo conversion and 1979 foreign scrapping passed without a public materials inventory. Does not establish or defeat any individual exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-t-h-bliss-ap131-08
-
[10]NARA record-group guidance: RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 248 (War Shipping Administration) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Guide to Federal Records, RG 24 / RG 19 / RG 178 / RG 248 group descriptions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no paid reproduction authorized): NARA WWII-era deck logs for AP-131 (RG 24, National Archives at College Park) would document the 1944-46 voyages incl. the 11 transatlantic round trips and Magic Carpet lifts; Bureau of Ships construction/correspondence records (RG 19) and Maritime Commission records for MC hull 654 (RG 178) may hold outfitting/insulation specifications; War Shipping Administration records (RG 248) may document the Olympia layup and 1964 exchange file; the MARAD exchange contract MA-3577 file (1964) and the Calmar conversion contract would be the likeliest records of any insulation disturbance during the troopship-to-cargo rebuild.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942-1964 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for MC hull 654 or the 1964 conversion is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-t-h-bliss-ap131-09