USS Griffin (AS-13)

Evidence

10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).

1. [1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), 'Griffin' (AS-13) entry - published 2015-07-13; live history.navy.mil URL returned 404 at access time, text read via Internet Archive Wayback capture 2021-02-26 and hazegray.org DANFS transcription [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS Griffin (AS-13) entry text, paragraphs 1-2; canonical URL https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/g/griffin.html (404 on 2026-09-26); mirror https://www.hazegray.org/danfs/auxil/as13.htm

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry (Griffin, AS-13) documents identity and construction: originally Mormacpenn, a Maritime Commission C-3 type pre-war cargo ship, launched by Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock, Chester, Pa., 11 October 1939; served briefly with Moore-McCormack, Inc.; acquired by the Navy in 1940; renamed Griffin (AS-13) and converted to a submarine tender at Robbins Dry Dock & Repair Co., Brooklyn, N.Y.; commissioned 31 July 1941, Comdr. S. D. Jupp in command. Namesake paragraph identifies Rear Admiral Robert Stanislaus Griffin (b. 27 September 1857, d. 21 February 1933), Engineer-in-Chief and head of the Bureau of Steam Engineering. DANFS stat line: dp. 14,000; l. 492'; b. 71'; dr. 25'10"; s. 17 k.; cpl. 911; armament line partially garbled in the transcription ('a. 1 4", 1 3"').

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1857-1941

   Limitations

   Authoritative for identity, namesake, construction, and commissioning facts. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or condition-survey statement; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page unreachable (404) - standing NHHC link-rot issue noted since Batch-01.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-griffin-as13-01

2. [2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - GRIFFIN (AS-13), Ship History Detail 5934 (incl. digitized status card 5934_AF.jpg 'Record of Ship Sales' and linked MORMACPENN status card, Detail 9874, form MA-199) [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   ShipHistory Detail 5934 characteristics block and status-card scans (/cards/5934_AF.jpg and linked card 51P_01.png under Detail 9874); status card image files downloaded and read 2026-09-26

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD ShipHistory record and digitized status cards document the custody spine: MORMACPENN, C3 cargo design, MA hull no. MC-44, builder's hull 182, Official No. 1387413, 7,886 gross tons, 11,976 DWT, built by Sun SB & DD Co., Chester, Pa.; delivered from shipyard to Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc. 1940-01-18; delivered Moore-McCormack Lines to Dept. of Navy 1940-12-13 and renamed 'GRIFFIN' (AS-13); Dept. of Navy to Maritime Admin. 1973-04-09; Maritime Admin. to Zidell Explorations, Inc. 1973-04-09, purchase, nontransportation use. Companion Record of Ship Sales (form MA-20): sale offering PD-X-956 advertised 1973-03-05, opened 1973-04-04 under two conditions - (1) NTU and (2) scrap hull - awarded under condition (1); contract MA-6928; purchase price $162,888.90; vessel location Vallejo, California; year built 1939; dimensions 492' x 69.5' x 24.5' (max); light displacement 7,700 t., full 14,500 t.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1940-1973

   Limitations

   Authoritative primary custody/sale documentation (MARAD forms MA-199 and MA-20). 'Nontransportation use' is MARAD's scrapping-sale category. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-griffin-as13-02

3. [3]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), 'Griffin' (AS-13) entry - operational narrative (Wayback capture; live page 404); corroborated by NavSource USS Griffin (AS-13) page incl. Mare Island photo captions (overhaul 10 January-9 March 1944) and shipscribe class notes [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS Griffin (AS-13) entry text, paragraphs 3-8; NavSource navsource.net/archives/09/36/3613.htm (navsource.org timed out from this machine; .net mirror fetched successfully)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS operational history: after shakedown and a squadron run to Newfoundland (22 November 1941), Griffin was assigned to the Pacific Fleet and departed 14 February 1942 for Australia; arrived Brisbane 15 April 1942 to tend Submarine Squadron 5 and also repaired merchant ships; departed 11 November 1942, escorted Submarine Division 53 to the Canal Zone via Bora Bora (Balboa 7 January 1943), Oakland 20 January 1943; after repairs at San Diego, Pearl Harbor 4 May 1943-3 January 1944 performing refits, battle repairs, and general upkeep on submarines; Mare Island refit arriving 10 January 1944; Fremantle, Australia 8 May-20 November 1944 (crew founded a rubber fabrication shop); Mios Woendi, New Guinea arriving 9 December 1944, tending submarines and surface craft until 1 February 1945; Subic Bay arriving 10 February 1945 (one of the first Allied submarine repair facilities in the Philippines since 1942; assisted salvage of damaged USS La Vallette); departed 22 March 1945; Midway 14 May-10 September 1945 operating a submarine repair facility; San Francisco 24 September; decommissioned at Mare Island 12 October 1945 and placed in reserve; later transferred to Stockton group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, remaining 'in reserve, in service, tending reserve submarines through 1967.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1941-1967

   Population

   Ship's company (~911 wartime complement) plus crewmembers of submarines under refit alongside; reserve-fleet accommodation/caretaker personnel 1945-1972

   Limitations

   Establishes wartime tender-repair mission (refits, battle repairs, torpedo and machinery shops) and the unusually long postwar 'in service, in reserve' accommodation role at Stockton - both exposure-relevant activity facts, but neither mentions asbestos, insulation, or hazardous materials. DANFS text ends ~1967-70; stricken/disposal dates come from NVR/MARAD rows.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-griffin-as13-03

4. [4]Naval Vessel Register, GRIFFIN (AS 13) detail page (nvr.navy.mil/NVRSHIPS/DETAILS/AS13.HTM), Wayback capture 2016-07-27 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NVR AS13 detail table: status line, stricken date, custodian block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Naval Vessel Register detail page for GRIFFIN (AS 13), ex-MC 44, SUBMARINE TENDER, UIC 04622: STATUS 'Disposed of by MARAD sale,' date status changed 04/09/1973; Stricken Date 08/01/1972; Custodian: Maritime Administration (National Defense Reserve Fleet). Page last updated 01/02/2002; captured via Internet Archive 2016-07-27 (live nvr.navy.mil path no longer serves this stricken hull).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1972-1973

   Limitations

   Official Navy register status data; most descriptive fields on this archived page are blank (stricken-hull record). No asbestos or materials content; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-griffin-as13-04

5. [5]shipscribe.com, 'USS Griffin (AS-13) Class' page (Stephen S. Roberts compilation of official construction/disposition data, incl. BuC&R/BuShips correspondence narrative), compiled 12 Jul 2008 [other_primary]

   Locator

   AS-13 class page: class notes (FY 1941 acquisition narrative), construction and disposition tables, ship notes for MC hull 44

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   shipscribe class compilation (S. S. Roberts, from NARA/Navy records): keel laid 1 May 1939; MORMACPENN = ID-5002, completed 18 January 1940; Navy purchased AS-13 directly from Moore-McCormack while sister AS-14 was acquired through the Maritime Commission; George G. Sharp prepared the contract plans and specifications for the AS-13 conversion (BuShips forwarded the Fulton (AS-11) booklet of general plans for guidance, 20 August 1940); conversion by Robins Dry Dock (Todd), Brooklyn. Machinery: four 7-cylinder two-stroke Busch-Sulzer diesels, single screw via electro-magnetic couplings and reduction gears, 8,500 hp; 16.5 kts; complement 911 (1944); armament evolving 1-5"/51 + 4-3"/23 (1941-42) to 4-3"/50 + 10-14 20mm (1944-45). Ship note: 'In USN reserve 1946-72 (in service in reserve as a reserve fleet accomodation ship at Stockton, Calif., from 2 Jul 59). To buyer 11 Apr 73.' NOTE: shipscribe's disposition table prints '12 Oct 46' for Griffin's decommission - a typo; DANFS, NavSource, and NVR all give 12 October 1945.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1939-1973

   Limitations

   Reputable secondary compilation of official records (not the records themselves); decommission-year typo (1946 vs 1945) corrected against DANFS/NVR. The 'in service in reserve ... from 2 Jul 59' detail and George G. Sharp conversion-plans detail appear only in this compilation. No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-griffin-as13-05

6. [6]NHHC Online Library picture-data pages for photos 80-G-174764/-174765 (official U.S. Navy photographs, NARA collections; ibiblio/HyperWar mirror); NavSource USS Griffin (AS-13) archive citing Mare Island yard photo numbers 1516-44, 1517-44, 1520-44, 1553-44, 1554-44 and NARA 19-N series [other_primary]

   Locator

   ibiblio Online Library picture-data pages g174764c.htm / g174765c.htm; NavSource page photo-caption block (5 March 1944 Mare Island set)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Bureau of Ships documentation of the ship's wartime configuration: camouflage Measure 32, Design 10Ax drawing prepared by BuShips for submarine tenders of the AS-13 (Griffin) class, approved 28 April 1944 (NARA photos 80-G-174764/-174765); NARA RG 19-LCM photos 19-N-48385 (22 April 1943), 19-N-62742 and 19-N-62744 (5 March 1944) document the January-March 1944 Mare Island overhaul in which the superstructure was extended forward of the bridge, the after goalpost mast replaced by a light pole, and the stern 5-inch gun removed. Griffin's divers received Navy-Marine Corps Medals for repairing battle-damaged USS La Vallette (DD-448) at Subic Bay (NavSource photo captions).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1943-1945

   Population

   Ship's company and Mare Island yard workers, Jan-Mar 1944 overhaul

   Limitations

   Documents the Mare Island yard period and 1944 reconfiguration as events. The photos and captions contain no asbestos, insulation, or materials statement - the asbestos scope of the 1944 yard work is inference only (not asserted). Medal detail is personnel decoration context, not exposure evidence.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-griffin-as13-06

7. [7]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

   AJIM 11(3):359-373, article-level citation (era documentation)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding of the World War II era - the period in which this 1939-1940 Maritime Commission C3 hull was built and converted (1940-41) to a submarine tender. As a diesel-propelled ship she carried no propulsion boilers; era-typical asbestos applications aboard a ship of this type and period would have been machinery/exhaust insulation, piping gaskets and packing, and accommodation-space insulation, but no application aboard this hull is documented.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1939-1945 era documented; article 1987

   Population

   WWII-era shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarship on WWII U.S. shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel, and Griffin's construction (1939-40) marginally predates the wartime build-up it primarily covers. Establishes era context only - not asbestos presence, quantity, location, exposure, or causation aboard this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-griffin-as13-07

8. [8]CourtListener API v4 /search (type=o) via cl-auth-search.py helper [court_record]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-griffin-as13-06 through sl-uss-griffin-as13-09

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener opinion search (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-26): '"USS Griffin"' = 0 opinions; '"Griffin" "submarine tender"' = 0; '"Mormacpenn"' = 9 hits, all Moore-McCormack Lines admiralty/cargo litigation 1955-1975 (vessel-name collisions - several likely concerning the second MORMACPENN, the 1946-built replacement ship, not this hull; none asbestos); '"Griffin" asbestos ship' = 174 hits, all surname/party-name collisions on review of captions; '"AS-13"' = 1,874 hits, all statute/form-number string collisions on caption review, none hull-relevant. No opinion naming this hull or hull number involves asbestos exposure.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   2026-09-26

   Limitations

   CourtListener covers published opinions, not all dockets; an unopinioned MDL-875 docket entry or complaint naming the ship would not surface here. Pleading-stage allegations were not found in the opinion corpus - absence of a located opinion does not prove absence of a filed claim. Hit-level classification here is caption-based; a refined '"AS-13" submarine OR navy OR ship' follow-on query and docket-type (type=r) searches were paced/blocked by the shared fleet limiter - open limitation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-griffin-as13-08

9. [9]Batch-2701 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS via Wayback + hazegray; MARAD ShipHistory + status cards; NVR (Wayback); NavSource; shipscribe; CourtListener name/hull queries; web-level asbestos queries [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-griffin-as13-01 through sl-uss-griffin-as13-11

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum or NDRF hazmat record, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched - DANFS text, MARAD ShipHistory (Details 5934 and 9874) and its status-card scans, the archived NVR detail page, NavSource, and the shipscribe class compilation contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement for this vessel; CourtListener returned no asbestos opinion naming the ship, hull number, or MORMACPENN.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   2026-09-26

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1939-40 hull converted and operated through 1972 (with a long in-service reserve role) is era-consistent with contained asbestos-containing materials. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-griffin-as13-09

10. [10]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Navigation/deck logs), RG 38 (CNO records incl. war diaries), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission); NARA ship logbook guidance [other_primary]

    Locator

    https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/038.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html ; record-group mapping only

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 deck logs for USS Griffin (1941-1945); RG 38 ship war diaries (an AS-13 war diary for February 1945 covering the Subic Bay period is excerpted on NavSource); RG 19 Bureau of Ships records, including the George G. Sharp contract plans/specifications for the AS-13 conversion and BuShips RG 19-LCM photo series (19-N-48385; 19-N-62742/-62744; camouflage design 80-G-174764/-174765, approved 28 April 1944); RG 178 Maritime Commission construction records for MC hull 44 (Sun contract MC-44); Mare Island overhaul records (Jan-Mar 1944) and 1945 decommissioning/mothballing paperwork; MARAD PD-X-956 sale file and contract MA-6928 (1973).

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-26

    Study period

    1939-1973 records

    Limitations

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

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-griffin-as13-10