Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]DANFS, Hope II (AH-7) - verbatim transcription (live NHHC page unavailable, HTTP 404 on 2026-09-20) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry Hope II (AH-7), full text (hazegray/losthistory transcription mirror of NHHC)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Hope (AH-7) was launched under Maritime Commission contract by Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Wilmington, Calif., 30 Aug 1943; sponsored by Miss Martha L. Floyd; acquired by the Navy the same day for conversion to a hospital ship by U.S. Naval Dry Dock, Terminal Island, Calif.; commissioned 15 Aug 1944, Commander A. F. Richards in command. Manned by a Navy crew carrying Army medical teams; sailed 23 Sep 1944 via Pearl Harbor and Manus to Kossol Passage, Palaus; arrived Leyte Gulf 7 Nov 1944, evacuated casualties to Hollandia, four more Leyte voyages; attacked by torpedo plane 3 Dec 1944 after being trailed by a Japanese submarine, attacked again by aircraft 6 Dec (one bomb close aboard, no damage); Subic Bay 16 Feb 1945 as paratroopers landed on Corregidor; Lingayen Gulf evacuation; departed Leyte 6 Mar for Ulithi; arrived off Okinawa 13 Apr 1945, shuttled Saipan-Okinawa a month under frequent attack despite hospital markings, rescued sailors from damaged ships; departed 12 May; Tarakan 3 Jul 1945 for Balikpapan standby; Manila Bay at surrender 15 Aug 1945; Wakayama occupation duty (arrived 22 Sep); San Francisco 15 Nov 1945; two more Guam/Philippines evacuation voyages; returned San Francisco 22 Mar 1946; decommissioned 9 May 1946; War Department custody 1946-1950; then NDRF Suisun Bay. Data box: displacement 6,000; length 417'9"; beam 60'; draft 27'8"; speed 14 kts; complement 233; armament none.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1950
- Population
- Navy ship's company and embarked Army medical complement, 1944-1946; transported patients
- Limitations
- Official-history narrative establishing identity, conversion, operations, and disposition; contains no asbestos or materials information and supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page 404s (standing link-rot finding from Batch-01); hazegray/losthistory verbatim transcription cited. DANFS entry was written while the ship lay in NDRF ('at present in the National Defense Reserve Fleet'), so it predates the 1978 disposal.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hope-ah7-01
-
[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - HOPE (AH-7), Detail 2235, incl. digitized reserve-fleet status card 2235_4161AF.jpg [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 2235 - characteristics block, milestones table, status card 2235_4161AF.jpg
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record: year built 1943; Consolidated Steel Corporation; Naval Auxiliary / AH Hospital Ship; MARAD type C1-B; 417.75 ft x 60.0 ft; 6,700 gross tons. Milestones: Entry 1/5/1950; Acquisition 1/5/1950; Disposition 3/10/1978 ('CUST 1950 NDRF 1950'); Withdrawal 3/10/1978; fate 'Sold -NTU' (non-transportation use). Digitized status card (read directly): name HOPE, former AH-7; type Turbine C1-B (Hospital); fleet Suisun Bay; built Consolidated 1943; entered fleet 1-5-50; ownership 'from Army'; reason for lay-up 'From Army - USMC Title 12-8-49'; hull no. MC 1015; 'damaged on delivery - see corres. ltr Jan 13, 1950'; 'Sold for NT use under PD-X-1025, 2/16/78 to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. for $130,000.00'; withdrawn/delivered 1255 PST 3/10/78; ship's papers removed 1-26-50.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1978
- Limitations
- Authoritative government-custody record: the status card is a primary document establishing MC hull 1015 (contra NavSource's 'MC hull 490'), Army-to-MARAD transfer mechanics, and the 1978 sale chain. 'Sold -NTU' / 'for NT use' = non-transportation use, i.e., scrapping; the card does not name a breaker's yard or describe scrapping conditions. No asbestos, materials, or condition-survey content; handwritten entries partially legible (read from scan, not OCR-verified).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hope-ah7-02
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration archived document Hope_2235_001.pdf - certified true copy of 16 September 1946 correspondence, Office of the District Engineer (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), to Commanding General, Army Transport Service, San Francisco Port of Embarkation, Fort Mason, Calif., signed I. H. Veal, Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Executive Officer [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD ShipHistory Detail 2235, Documents tab, Hope_2235_001.pdf (2 pp., incl. cover letter and report enclosures)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD holds a scanned 1946 government document naming this hull: correspondence dated 16 September 1946, subject 'Violation of the Oil Pollution Act,' transmitting 'reports on the USAHS HOPE and the SS [illegible]' to the Army Transport Service, San Francisco Port of Embarkation. It documents that by September 1946 the former AH-7 was operating under Army custody as USAHS Hope out of Fort Mason - corroborating the DANFS War Department custody period (1946-1950) and the NavSource 'USAT Hope' designation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1946
- Limitations
- Establishes Army-custody operation as USAHS Hope in Sept 1946 and nothing more; the scan is heavily degraded (machine OCR is largely illegible) and the second vessel name and report contents could not be read. An oil-pollution administrative report - contains no asbestos, materials, or medical-facility information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hope-ah7-03
-
[4]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), USS Comfort (AH-6) class page - compiled from official records: class construction/disposition tables, machinery, class and ship notes [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe AH/AH06.html - class header, construction and disposition tables, class notes, ship notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Comfort class (AH 6-8), MC design C1-B: Hope keel 31 May 1943, launched 30 Aug 1943, acquired 30 Aug 1943, commissioned 15 Aug 1944; builder listed 'Consolidated Steel, Long B.' (Comfort and Mercy 'Consolidated Steel, Wilm.'); MC hull 1015. Class notes: JCS directed Navy on 29 Jun 1942 to acquire three ships (initially Liberty hulls; C1 substituted 9 Sep 1942 for greater beam/stability) for operation as Army-manned-hospital hospital ships under the Geneva Convention; conversions per Army plans under Navy management; ships delivered at launch roughly half-built with no structures above the main deck (Hope 49.5% complete). Hope converted by U.S. Naval Dry Docks, Terminal Island, Cal. Disposition table: decommissioned 9 May 46; stricken 21 May 46; disposal to Army 9 May 46; to NDRF from Army 5 Jan 50; sold by MA 16 Feb 78, to buyer 10 Mar 78. Sister Comfort was kamikaze-struck off Okinawa 28 Apr 1945 while fully illuminated.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1978
- Population
- Conversion workforce, U.S. Naval Dry Docks Terminal Island, 1943-44
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of official records (Shipscribe), not the underlying documents; its 'Long B.' builder attribution conflicts with DANFS/NavSource/shipbuildinghistory (Wilmington) though it is internally consistent with the class note that MC 1015 came from a different yard than Wilmington-built MC 1023 - logged unresolved in ev-uss-hope-ah7-06. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hope-ah7-04
-
[5]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); machinery specification per NavSource/Shipscribe [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373; NavSource 09/12/1207 specifications block; Shipscribe AH06 class/ship notes
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- No ship-specific insulation record located for AH-7. The hull's documented steam plant - three Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers (450 psi, 750 F) driving one Joshua Hendy geared turbine, 4,000 shp, single screw - plus her 1943 Maritime Commission construction and her extensive 1943-44 hospital-ship conversion at a Navy yard (delivered ~49.5% complete with no structures above the main deck, so the entire hospital superstructure, berthing, galleys, and medical spaces were yard-added) all fall within the period when marine steam-system insulation, gaskets, packing, and compartment insulation were commonly asbestos-containing; peer-reviewed scholarship documents extensive asbestos use in WWII-era U.S. shipbuilding.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1978
- Population
- Construction trades (Consolidated Steel, 1943); U.S. Naval Dry Docks Terminal Island conversion workforce (1943-44); Navy crew and Army medical complement (1944-46); Army Transport Service crews (1946-49); NDRF caretakers (1950-78); scrapping workers (1978)
- Limitations
- Era/design inference only - no manual, survey, or hull record names this vessel. Corn & Starr documents WWII shipbuilding generally; it does not name this hull and does not itself establish materials in the 1943 build or 1943-44 conversion. Does not establish presence, quantity, present-day condition (hull scrapped 1978), individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hope-ah7-05
-
[6]Discrepancy resolution across MARAD status card (Detail 2235), Shipscribe AH06 tables/notes, shipbuildinghistory Consolidated Wilmington yard table and C1 list, NavSource 09/12/1207, DANFS transcription, and Wikipedia (Arlington AP-174 record, lead only) [other_primary]
- Locator
- MARAD Detail 2235 status card fields 7/9/12/19/22; Shipscribe AH06 construction/disposition tables and class notes; shipbuildinghistory consolidatedwilmington.htm and 2c1cargoships.htm; NavSource 09/12/1207 header block; DANFS final paragraph
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Identity and data discrepancies resolved/logged: (a) Merchant identity - NavSource and NavalCoverMuseum describe Hope as 'laid down as SS Fred Morris ... MC hull 490'; both elements are wrong for this hull. The MARAD status card records 'MC 1015'; shipbuildinghistory lists Consolidated yard hull 331 as 'Hope,' MC 1015; MC hull 490 was the actual SS Fred Morris, which became USS Arlington (AP-174). Hope appears never to have carried a merchant name. (b) Builder yard - DANFS, NavSource, HyperWar, and shipbuildinghistory say Wilmington; Shipscribe's table says 'Consolidated Steel, Long B.' consistent with its note that MC 1015 was substituted from a different yard for MC 1023; unresolved, both logged. (c) Stricken date - Shipscribe gives 21 May 1946 (NavalCoverMuseum concurs); NavSource lists 'date unknown'; 21 May 1946 adopted. (d) Army transfer - NavSource 'turned over to the US Army ... 26 April 1946' conflicts with decommissioning 9 May 1946; Shipscribe and NavalCoverMuseum give Army disposal/transfer 9 May 1946, adopted. (e) Scrapping year - shipbuildinghistory says 'scrapped 1975'; MARAD milestones/status card and NavSource give sale 16 Feb 1978, withdrawal 10 Mar 1978; 1978 adopted. (f) Laid-down date - Shipscribe gives keel 31 May 1943 (consistent with a 91-day build to the 30 Aug 1943 launch); shipbuildinghistory lists a 29-May-42 figure of unclear column meaning; Shipscribe adopted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1978
- Limitations
- Reconciles secondary-source conflicts against the primary MARAD status card and the official history; the Wilmington-vs-Long-Beach builder discrepancy and the NavSource Army-transfer date remain logged rather than fully resolved. No asbestos content in any source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hope-ah7-06
-
[7]Batch-785 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource 09/12/1207; MARAD ShipHistory 2235 + status card + Hope_2235_001.pdf; Shipscribe AH06; shipbuildinghistory yard/C1 tables; CourtListener API v4 (throttled) + web-surface checks; NHHC live page check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hope-ah7-01 through sl-uss-hope-ah7-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull under any designation (USS Hope / AH-7 / USAHS Hope / USAT Hope / MC hull 1015) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener web-surface hits were all name collisions: M/V Ocean Hope pollution prosecutions; Star of Hope, 76 U.S. 203 (1869); Hope-A Women's Cancer Center v. State; and material on the Project HOPE ship SS Hope - a different hull (ex-USS Consolation, AH-15). Law-firm marketing lists naming AH-7 (mesotheliomabook.com, freeasbestostesting.com) were located and excluded per source rules.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943 steam hull extensively converted at a Navy yard in 1943-44 is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. CourtListener API was rate-limited (HTTP 429, 125/day, retry-after ~8.4 h) so the opinion/RECAP search is incomplete - a re-run when the quota resets and deck-log/claims-archive work are open leads. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hope-ah7-07
-
[8]usshope.com (ship reunion/veterans site) scan of a period ship-history document for USS Hope (AH-7); companion med-dept.com transcription of the journal of Col. Thomas B. Protzman, MC, commanding the 215th Medical Hospital Ship Complement [other_primary]
- Locator
- usshope.com/files/usshope-history.pdf (scanned pages); med-dept.com/veterans-testimonies/timeline-uss-hope-ah-7-colonel-thomas-b-protzman/ ; usshope.com facts page (680-bed figure)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A period ship-history document (scan hosted on the ship's reunion site; provenance unverified) records: Navy-crewed hospital ship with an Army hospital aboard manned by the 215th Army Hospital Ship Complement under Col. Thomas B. Protzman (MC), who reported aboard 23 Aug 1944; ~600-bed capacity with full hospital facilities except an eye clinic; deliberately bombed twice (3 Dec 1944 by a torpedo plane, 6 Dec 1944 by a bomber while fully illuminated) and under artillery fire off Okinawa 27 Apr 1945; first-year totals ~51,000 miles steamed, ~8,400 patients admitted, ~4,500 dental patients, ~900 medical passengers, up to 1,000 tons of supplies carried; weathered four typhoons; nickname 'The Lucky 7.' The companion Protzman journal gives a day-by-day timeline 23 Sep 1944 - 31 Oct 1945.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- 215th Medical Hospital Ship Complement (Army); Navy ship's company; ~8,400 admitted patients in first year
- Limitations
- Period-document scan on a private reunion site - the underlying document appears to be an authentic 1945 ship-produced history but its provenance and completeness are unverified, and the scan OCR is degraded (figures read from legible passages). Patient/bed figures conflict with NavSource's 400-patient specification - kept separate, not merged. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hope-ah7-08
-
[9]NARA record-group mapping: RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 181 (naval district/yard records incl. 11th Naval District / U.S. Naval Dry Docks Terminal Island), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission construction records, MC hull 1015); Army Transportation Corps records for the USAHS/USAT period [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 24 / RG 181 / RG 19 / RG 178 group pages
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 deck logs for USS Hope (AH-7), Aug 1944 - May 1946; RG 181 records of the 11th Naval District / U.S. Naval Dry Docks Terminal Island for the 1943-44 conversion - work-package-level material where insulation and outfitting details would appear if recorded; RG 19 Bureau of Ships conversion plans/specifications (the conversion used Army-supplied plans of Oct-Nov 1942 under Navy management per Shipscribe class notes); RG 178 Maritime Commission construction records for MC hull 1015; Army Transportation Corps / San Francisco Port of Embarkation records for the USAHS/USAT Hope period (1946-49) - the MARAD-archived Oil Pollution Act file shows this correspondence stream exists.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1950 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hope-ah7-09
-
[10]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USAT Hope ex USS Hope (AH-7) page 09/12/1207 - specifications block, campaign table, awards listing, commanding officers, disposition detail (compiled from official records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/12/1207 - specifications block, campaigns table, awards/ribbons block, commanding-officers table, disposition line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource specification/service block: displacement 9,800 t (fl); length 416'; beam 60'; draft 24'; speed 15 kts; complement 80 officers + 436 enlisted; patient accommodations 400; propulsion one J.H. geared turbine, three Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers (450 psi, 750 F), double J.H. main reduction gears, three 300 kW generators, one propeller 4,000 shp. Campaigns: Leyte landings 8-29 Nov 1944; Okinawa Gunto 13 Apr - 12 May 1945; occupation service 2-26 Sep 1945; two battle stars. Awards listed: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 3 & 6 Dec 1944 and Okinawa), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2), WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp), Philippines Presidential Unit Citation, Philippines Liberation Medal. Commanding officers: CDR Albert E. Richards USNR (15 Aug 1944 - Dec 1945); CDR Elmer C. Hurley USNR (Dec 1945 - 9 May 1946). Disposition: sold for scrapping 16 Feb 1978 to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. (PD-X-1025) for $130,000; withdrawn from Suisun Bay 10 Mar 1978.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1943-1978
- Population
- Ship's company (80 officers + 436 enlisted per spec block); patients (400 accommodations)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive drawing on official records; the same page contains two documented errors corrected in ev-uss-hope-ah7-06 ('laid down as SS Fred Morris / MC hull 490' - wrong hull; 'turned over to the US Army 26 April 1946' - vs adopted 9 May 1946) and lists the stricken date as unknown. Used here only for the specifications, campaign/awards listing, and sale detail that are corroborated by DANFS, Shipscribe, and the MARAD status card. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hope-ah7-10