Evidence
4 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-4).
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[1]DANFS, Helena III (CA-75), Vol. III pp. 289-291 (1968) + Bauer & Roberts disposal bracket (builder, dates, Korea combat narrative, Regulus fit, disposal; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative + bracketed disposal paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: received her name while building after the cancellation of CL-113; launched at Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass., 28 April 1945; sponsored by Mrs. John T. Haytin, wife of the mayor of Helena; commissioned 4 September 1945, Capt. A. H. McCollum in command. Boston outfitting; Navy Day celebration New York 27 October 1945; Guantanamo shakedowns; February 1946 round-the-world cruise carrying Admiral H. Kent Hewitt as Commander, Naval Forces Europe/12th Fleet; Far East via Suez, Tsingtao 18 June 1946; departed Shanghai 22 March 1947; further China-coast deployment April - December 1948; Long Beach conversion to helicopter operations May 1949; NROTC Galapagos cruise; Operation 'Miki' amphibious exercise; Philippines/Japan early 1950 with the Joint Chiefs of Staff embarked 2 February. Korea from July 1950: first fired on Tanchon marshaling yards 7 August; flagship of the Bombardment Task Group; diversionary fire covering the Inchon landing 15 September; aid at Samchok and the recapture of Pohang; Long Beach November 1950 for the twice-postponed overhaul; TF 77 duty from Sasebo April 1951; hit by shore gunfire late July (light damage; 'war dance' maneuver destroyed seven gun positions and an ammunition dump); radar picket for the Rashin strike; bombline support for the 8th Army; presented the first Korean Presidential Unit Citation to a naval unit by President Syngman Rhee aboard at Yokosuka 20 September 1951; Hungnam-Hamhung fire support. Long Beach 8 December 1951 - entire battery of nine 8-inch guns replaced; 'Lex Baker One' exercise February 1952; third Korean tour June - November 1952; special mission carrying President-Elect Eisenhower and prospective cabinet members from Guam to Pearl Harbor (disembarked 11 December); Far East August 1953; 7th Fleet flagship at Yokosuka from 11 October 1954; led the fleet in the February 1955 Tachen Islands evacuation (18,000 civilians, 20,000 troops); Far East January - July 1956; nine months of exercises including firing of the Regulus I missile from her launching gear; Far East April - October 1957; major overhaul completed 31 March 1958; 1958 Quemoy crisis patrol to within 10 miles of the mainland; HOI WONG rescue at Bombay Reef 9-10 October 1958; Operation 'Blue Star' 1960; Australia visit April 1960; extensive overhaul June - November 1960; permanent flagship of Commander, 1st Fleet from mid-January 1961; 1962-63 inactivation availability at Long Beach Naval Shipyard; 1st Fleet flag shifted to SAINT PAUL (CA-73) 18 March 1963; out of commission in reserve 29 June 1963; San Diego. [Stricken from the Navy Register 1 January 1974; sold for scrap 13 November 1974 - Bauer & Roberts supplement.] Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation; Korean Service Medal with four stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Bethlehem/Fore River construction trades 1943-45; crew 1945-63; Long Beach yard trades 1949, 1951, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1962-63
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content; the Regulus firing is documented as an exercise event and the launcher installation is inferred from it (installation date ~July 1956 per secondary tables). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helena-ca75-01
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[2]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual, NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960) + DANFS specifications block + Atlas shipyard dataset [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSHIPS 250-000 ch. 39 (scan via Garlock bankruptcy repository); DANFS specifications block and overhaul/conversion narrative; shipyards.json records 'bethlehem-shipbuilding', 'fore-river-shipyard', 'long-beach-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: Baltimore-class construction (4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 4 GE geared steam turbines, ~120,000 shp, 565 psi/850 deg F) in 1943-45 at Bethlehem/Fore River falls squarely in the documented Navy asbestos-insulation era; the 1960 BuShips Technical Manual insulation chapter enumerates the era-standard suite - 85%-magnesia and amosite pipe covering, asbestos felt, chrysotile cloth/tape lagging, asbestos millboard, finishing cement, molded block. Documented disturbance periods for this hull: the May 1949 Long Beach helicopter conversion; the 1950-51 overhaul; the December 1951 wholesale 8-inch battery replacement; the 1956 Regulus I launcher installation (DANFS-documented firing exercises); the major overhaul completed 31 March 1958; the June-November 1960 extensive overhaul; and the 1962-63 Long Beach Naval Shipyard inactivation availability.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1963
- Population
- Construction trades 1943-45; Long Beach yard trades 1949-63; crew 1945-63
- Limitations
- Class/era specification and yard-period inference only - no ship-specific asbestos record exists for this hull (ev-03); this row must not be read as establishing that asbestos products were or remain aboard. Does not quantify material; removed-material scope is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helena-ca75-02
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[3]Batch-62 search ledger (this record) + baltimore-class profile CourtListener sweep, class-e/baltimore-class.class.json sl-baltimore-class-05 / ev-baltimore-class-07 (2026-09-16) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-helena-ca75-01 through -06
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: the class-level CourtListener exact-phrase sweep ('USS <name>' + asbestos) covering all fourteen Baltimore-class hulls on 2026-09-16 returned no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull; a fresh per-ship re-query on 2026-09-18 was blocked by API throttle (HTTP 429, 125/day shared quota) and deferred per the backoff rule rather than retried. No hull ACM survey, abatement contract, scrapping hazmat disclosure, NVR entry (hull sold 1974, before live-register coverage), or museum record with asbestos data was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- 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 aboard - it establishes only that no qualifying ship-specific documentation was found in the searched repositories. State-court and unindexed matters are outside the sweep's coverage; the fresh per-ship hull-number query remains an open deferred item. 'Helena' collides with CL-50 (sunk at Kula Gulf 1943) and city names - the sweep's zero-hit result is nonetheless what the repository returned. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helena-ca75-03
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[4]Navypedia 'Baltimore heavy cruisers' member table + modernization ledger (hull 1507, laid down 9 September 1943; Regulus I fit 7/1956) - secondary compiled reference [other_primary]
- Locator
- navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_cr_baltimore.htm member table row CA-75 + Modernizations section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary class-table data for this hull: laid down 9 September 1943 (Bethlehem Fore River hull 1507; the DANFS entry omits the date); stricken 1.1974 (consistent with the DANFS supplement's 1 January 1974); the modernization ledger lists the Regulus I launcher installation (3 RGM-6) at 7/1956 - consistent with DANFS's record of Regulus firing exercises in the 1956-57 period.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Secondary compiled reference, not a primary record - used for the laid-down date and the launcher-installation timing; the Regulus firing itself is DANFS-documented (ev-01). Build and disposal values cross-checked against DANFS where overlapping.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helena-ca75-04