Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Hesperia' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (published 2015-07-16). Live page returns 404 as of 2026-09-22; text verified via Wayback capture 2025-04-01 and the hazegray.org DANFS transcription (capture 2022-09-10). [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Wayback capture https://web.archive.org/web/20250401180200/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/h/hesperia.html ; hazegray mirror https://web.archive.org/web/20220910055231/http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/auxil/aks13.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS narrative: Hesperia (AKS-13), originally Sam Dale, was launched under Maritime Commission contract by Delta Shipbuilding Co., New Orleans, La., 18 November 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Marie Owen; converted to Navy use by Norfolk Naval Shipyard and commissioned 1 April 1945, Lt. Comdr. William G. Dutton in command. After shakedown she loaded general stores and sailed 16 May 1945; via the Panama Canal she reached Pearl Harbor 13 June 1945, Ulithi 6 July, and anchored in Buckner Bay, Okinawa, 21 July, issuing stores to fleet and shore units through the end of hostilities in mid-August. She departed Okinawa 26 August for Manus (arrived 7 September, reloaded, sailed 22 September); weathered the great typhoon that had devastated Okinawa en route to Korea, arriving Jinsen 17 October; over the next month she serviced nearly 100 ships and small craft in the Korean and Chinese occupations from Jinsen and Taku; returned to Guam 29 November 1945, loaded, sailed 20 December for Yokosuka (arrived 26 December) where she issued stores to over 500 ships and small craft and occupation shore activities. She departed for the United States 2 March 1946, arrived San Francisco 30 March, then made two further supply voyages - one to Pearl Harbor, one to Pearl Harbor and Kwajalein - before returning to San Francisco 23 December 1946; she decommissioned 27 February 1947, was delivered to the Maritime Commission, and joined the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Ship's company (~195 complement); Norfolk Navy Yard conversion workforce (Dec 1944 - Apr 1945)
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy narrative of construction and service; contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or survey statement and supports no asbestos claim. DANFS does not state the decommissioning location (narrative sequence implies San Francisco; NavSource states Pearl Harbor - carried as a gap). The Kwajalein supply voyage is consistent with, but does not by name describe, her Operation Crossroads support assignment (see ev-03 for federal documentation).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hesperia-aks13-01
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[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, Vessel History Database - HESPERIA (AKS-13), Ship History Detail 2202, incl. digitized Reserve Fleet Division vessel status card (2202_4096AF.jpg); linked former-name record SAM DALE, Detail 13139 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Detail 2202 milestone table (Entry/Acquisition 2/27/1947; Disposition/Withdrawal 4/17/1973) and status-card image /cards/2202_4096AF.jpg
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD Vessel History Database record (Detail 2202) and digitized NDRF status card: HESPERIA (AKS-13), former name Sam Dale, type 'EC2 Mil. Aux.', built by Delta S.B. 1944, hull no. 2825; entered the reserve fleet at Suisun Bay (fleet M-11) on 2-27-47 at 1300 hrs; 859 bbls Bunker C fuel oil aboard at entry. Card records: 'Sold scrap under PD-X-955, 3-19-73 to Tung Ho Steel Corp. for $198,000'; date withdrawn from fleet / delivered 1015 PST 4-17-73. Ships-papers note: 'Re storage bin installation. See SB memo 9-6-56. Filed "Gratia" SB.' Database characteristics: length 441.50 ft, beam 56.80 ft, displacement 14,350 t (summer) / 4,023 t (light); fate 'Sold - Scrap.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1947-1973
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government-custody milestones (NDRF entry, sale, delivery). Status card handwriting partially legible (read from scan). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. The 'Gratia' cross-reference is a filing artifact (sister ship AKS-11), not evidence about this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hesperia-aks13-02
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[3]Weitz, R., Thomas, C., Klemm, J., Stuart, J., & Knowles, M., 'Analysis of Radiation Exposure for Naval Units of Operation Crossroads, Volume III (Appendix B) Support Ships,' DNA-TR-82-05V3 / SAI-84-1567-VOL-3 (Defense Nuclear Agency contract DNA 001-82-C-0012), March 1982 - USS HESPERIA (AKS-13) entry at p. 215-216 [other_primary]
- Locator
- OSTI ID 6354991; full report PDF via https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/6354991 - Hesperia section pp. 214-216 (support-ship information summary, path report, radiation report)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Defense Nuclear Agency technical report DNA-TR-82-05V3 (Nuclear Test Personnel Review dose reconstruction, prepared by Science Applications Inc., March 1982) lists USS HESPERIA (AKS-13) among the 121 non-target support ships attached to Joint Task Force One at Operation Crossroads. Per the ship's information summary: Service Group - Repair and Service Unit providing provisions and logistical support (fuel and water) to other support ships; crew size 139. The path report records her observing Shot ABLE (1 July 1946) from Kwajalein, entering Bikini lagoon after ABLE, observing Shot BAKER (25 July 1946) bearing 272 degrees at 15 miles after 5 days anchored at Rongelap Atoll, berthing in Bikini lagoon (berths 230, 145, 131A, Papa, 269, 191), being inspected by the JTF-1 Radsafe Ship Clearing Board - 'SHIP CLEARANCE WAS GIVEN WITH EXCEPTION OF EVAPORATORS' - and departing Bikini 23 August 1946 (BAKER + 29) en route Kwajalein. Total calculated crew dose while at Bikini: 0.245 REM; ship contamination factor at departure: 2.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1946-07-01 to 1946-08-23 operation; report published 1982
- Population
- 139 crew aboard during the operation (DNA figure; vs. DANFS complement of 195)
- Limitations
- A radiological dose reconstruction, not an asbestos record - establishes ship-specific presence and role at Operation Crossroads and a modeled (not badge-measured) crew dose only. 'Contamination factor' and the evaporator exception refer to radioactive contamination, not asbestos. The report's mission summary says she 'arrived at Bikini prior to the first detonation' while its own path report records her observing ABLE from Kwajalein - internal inconsistency reproduced as written. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hesperia-aks13-03
-
[4]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, 'USS Hesperia (AKS-13)' (navsource.org/archives/09/16/1613.htm) - compilation reproducing DANFS text, US Naval Historical Center photos, and register data [other_primary]
- Locator
- Entry chronology, awards table, specifications block, and photo credits NH 94523-94527 / Mare Island 1680-46
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive entry (compiled from official records): laid down 9 October 1944 as SS Sam Dale, Maritime Commission type EC2-S-C1 (MC hull 2825) at Delta Shipbuilding Co., New Orleans; launched 18 November 1944; acquired by the Navy 9 December 1944 and placed in reduced commission for transit to the conversion yard at Norfolk, VA (LCDR James H. Graves Jr., USNR, Auxships Ferry Crew #5, in command); decommissioned at Norfolk 20 December 1944 and converted at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA; commissioned 1 April 1945, LCDR William G. Dutton, USNR. Navy Occupation Service Medal periods: 7 October - 22 November 1945 and 24 December 1945 - 1 March 1946. Assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.8.1 (Service Group - Repair and Service Unit) for Operation Crossroads, July 1946. Decommissioned 27 February 1947 (entry states 'at Pearl Harbor'); struck from the Naval Register 'date unknown'; sold for scrapping 19 March 1973 to Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corp., Taiwan, for $198,000 (PD-X-955), delivered 17 April 1973. Specifications as listed: 5,240 t (lt) / 14,550 t (fl); 441'6" x 56'11" x 28'4"; 12.5 kts; 15 officers + 180 enlisted; one 5"/38 and four 3"/50 mounts; one Iron Fireman vertical reciprocating steam engine, two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers (220 psi, 450 deg F), three 60 kW 120 V DC turbo-drive generators, single propeller 2,500 shp; cargo 2,500 DWT / 219,018 cu ft non-refrigerated; 37 t boom capacity. U.S. Naval Historical Center photos NH 94523-94527 show her off Norfolk Navy Yard 26 April 1945; Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo 1680-46 shows her amidships plan view at Mare Island 30 April 1946. Campaign ribbons: American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, WWII Victory, Navy Occupation Service (Asia clasp).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Population
- 15 officers + 180 enlisted (listed complement); Auxships Ferry Crew #5 (transit)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a private volunteer compilation, not itself an official publication - carried because it reproduces official records (DANFS text, Navy photo numbers, ferry-crew and task-unit detail) and its sale/stricken data were independently verified against the MARAD status card (ev-02) and DNA report (ev-03). Where it conflicts with DANFS (decommissioning location 'Pearl Harbor' vs. the DANFS San Francisco sequence; armament four 3"/50 vs. DANFS '1 3"'; displacement/speed variants) the conflict is carried in gaps, not resolved by this source. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hesperia-aks13-04
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[5]shipbuildinghistory.com, 'Liberty Ships built by Delta Shipbuilding and J.A. Jones Construction' production table; usmm.org Delta/Jones yard table [other_primary]
- Locator
- Delta table rows for MC hulls 2820-2825; usmm.org/l/deltajones.html companion table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipbuildinghistory.com (Tim Colton compilation) Delta Shipbuilding Liberty-ship production table: MC hull 2825, Delta yard number 151, name Sam Dale, type EC2-S-C1, keel laid 9 October 1944, launched 18 November 1944, delivered 9 December 1944, with fate note 'To US Navy as Hesperia (AKS 13), to NDRF 1947, scrapped 1973.' The usmm.org Delta/Jones construction table independently maps MC 2825 to 'AKS 13 Hesperia' and records the other Delta-built Acubens-class conversions: MC 2820 William Hackett to AKS-10 Cybele, MC 2821 George W. Cable to AKS-12 Hecuba, MC 2823 John W. Draper to AKS-11 Gratia.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Population
- Construction trades at Delta Shipbuilding, New Orleans (1944)
- Limitations
- Private reference compilations (the standard public yard tables), not government publications - identity, dates, and disposition corroborated by DANFS (ev-01) and the MARAD status card (ev-02). Yard number 151 is from this source only. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hesperia-aks13-05
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[6]U.S. Maritime Commission, Instruction Manual for Operating and Maintaining 2500 H.P. Triple Expansion Marine Steam Engines, EC2-S-C1 Cargo Vessels (mirrored excerpt) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Mirrored excerpt, engine-cylinder insulation section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission instruction manual for the EC2-S-C1 plant - the design of this hull - describes cylinder insulation of magnesia under sheet-iron lagging; insulation products of this era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber, and period steam-system gaskets, packing, and insulation felts commonly contained asbestos. Liberty-type hulls were built to emergency USMC specifications during the period when the federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding; Hesperia retained the EC2-S-C1 plant through her Navy conversion.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Construction trades (Delta Shipbuilding, 1944); Navy engine-room crew; Norfolk Navy Yard conversion workforce
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual names the type, not this vessel, and does not itself state 'asbestos' content (magnesia lagging of the era was typically asbestos-fiber-reinforced, but the manual text is silent on fiber). Asbestos presence aboard this hull is era/design inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hesperia-aks13-06
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[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
- 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 emergency program under which this EC2-S-C1 hull was mass-produced - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- 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 or type and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hesperia-aks13-07
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[8]Batch-1120 search ledger (this record): DANFS (Wayback/hazegray); MARAD ShipHistory 2202 + status card; NavSource; shipbuildinghistory/usmm tables; DNA-TR-82-05V3; CourtListener opinion + RECAP searches; NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hesperia-aks13-01 through sl-uss-hesperia-aks13-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Hesperia (AKS-13) or SS Sam Dale was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion search for 'Hesperia' returned 240 results, all geographic/business name collisions (City of Hesperia CA, Village of Hesperia MI, and related entities) - the name is a high-collision one; 'AKS-13'/'AKS 13' searches returned two unrelated JPMorgan Chase matters; RECAP docket search (1,356 hits) returned only same-name entities. MARAD record and status card, DANFS entry, and the DNA Crossroads report contain no asbestos statement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 2026-09-22
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 EC2-S-C1 hull converted and operated 1944-47 is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and her 26-year reserve-fleet layup and 1973 Taiwan scrapping predate routine documentation. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hesperia-aks13-08
-
[9]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - deck logs), RG 38 (CNO - war diaries), RG 181 (Naval Districts and Shore Establishments), RG 374 (Defense Nuclear Agency / JTF-1 records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov guide-fed-records groups 024, 038, 181, 374
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 holds Navy deck logs 1941-1959 (AKS-13 logs for Dec 1944 - Feb 1947 incl. the Crossroads period; WWII-era logs partially digitized in the National Archives Catalog); RG 38 (Office of the CNO) WWII war-diaries series may hold a Hesperia war diary for 1945-46; RG 181 (Naval Districts and Shore Establishments) holds Norfolk Navy Yard industrial records that could contain the Dec 1944 - Apr 1945 conversion work orders; RG 374 (Defense Threat Reduction Agency predecessor records) holds JTF-1 administrative files beyond the published dose reconstructions.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1973 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-hesperia-aks13-09