Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, 'La Salle I (AP-102)' (Naval Historical Center / Naval History and Heritage Command); canonical NHHC URL https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/la-salle-i.html currently returns 404 (standing NHHC link-rot); verified text via Internet Archive capture of the Naval Historical Center page [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text, La Salle I (AP-102); corroborated by NavSource AP-102 archive transcription
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents the identity and service of this hull: laid down 1942-04-29 under Maritime Commission contract as SS Hotspur (MC C2 type) by Moore Dry Dock Co., Oakland; launched 1942-08-02, sponsored by Mrs. Naomi S. Kehoe; acquired by the Navy 1943-03-18; commissioned as USS Hotspur (AP-102) 1943-03-31, Comdr. Fred C. Fluegel in command; renamed La Salle 1943-04-06. Eight battle stars for WWII service (Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Angaur/Palaus, Leyte, Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Okinawa), four Magic Carpet voyages Sept 1945-June 1946, decommissioned Seattle 1946-07-24 and returned to the Maritime Commission 1946-07-25. DANFS data line: dp 5,933; l. 459'2"; b. 63'; cpl. 316; trp 1,310.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Ship's complement (~316) and embarked troops (~1,310 capacity) 1943-46
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, service history, and disposition for this hull only - contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation information whatsoever. The record covers the full hull including the six days it carried the name Hotspur (1943-03-31 to 1943-04-06).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hotspur-ap102-01
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[2]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A Health Survey of Pipe Covering Operations in Constructing Naval Vessels,' Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16; PubMed record
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A U.S. Navy-commissioned industrial hygiene survey of pipe-covering operations at two Navy yards and two Navy contract yards documented that amosite asbestos was 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels' during the WWII construction era, with measured dust counts during cutting/fitting operations. This hull was built at a Navy/Maritime Commission contract yard (Moore Dry Dock, Oakland) and converted for Navy service (General Engineering & Dry Dock, Alameda) in 1942-43 - the same era and contract-yard environment the survey documents.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1946 publication; WWII construction-era conditions
- Population
- Pipe coverers/insulators at WWII Navy and Navy-contract yards (anonymized)
- Limitations
- Era/yard-type documentation, not a hull record: the survey anonymized its four yards (A-D) and neither names Moore Dry Dock nor this vessel; Moore-specific dust-count data has not been separately published. Does not establish asbestos was installed aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation. NOTE: a 2026 paper (doi 10.1177/10482911261446696) calls for retraction of this study for understating asbestos hazard - the survey's methods and conclusions are disputed, which does not change what it documents about period materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hotspur-ap102-02
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[3]Western Asbestos Settlement Trust, California Land Site List (April 2018): 'MOORE DRY DOCK--OAKLAND, CA (ADELINE ST)' - Exposure Level H; corroborated by W.A. Simons Asbestos Trust California Site List (Sep 2020) as carried in the Atlas shipyard record moore-dry-dock-oakland [other_primary]
- Locator
- WAST CA Land Site List p.34, jobsite row 'MOORE DRY DOCK--OAKLAND, CA (ADELINE ST)'
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- The builder yard is an Atlas-documented asbestos site: the Western Asbestos Settlement Trust California Land Site List (April 2018, official trust publication) lists 'MOORE DRY DOCK--OAKLAND, CA (ADELINE ST)' at Exposure Level H (High); the W.A. Simons Asbestos Trust California site list likewise lists the site. Moore Dry Dock built this hull (keel 1942-04-29 through completion 1943-01-18), when its wartime workforce peaked at roughly 37,000.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- Trust list current as of Apr 2018; exposure window to 1999-01-01 (list end date)
- Population
- Moore Dry Dock construction/repair workforce (peak ~37,000, 1943-44)
- Limitations
- Claims-administration site lists document the trust's exposure-level determination for the YARD, not this hull: the listing establishes that the site where this ship was built is treated as a qualifying exposure location for claim purposes, not that asbestos was installed aboard this hull or that any individual was exposed aboard it. Yard-level context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hotspur-ap102-03
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[4]Shipscribe, 'USS La Salle (AP-102) Class' class notes and ship notes (compiled by Stephen S. Roberts from Auxiliary Vessels Board reports and official ship records); corroborated for merchant hull data by shipbuildinghistory.com C2-S-B1 table (MC 284, Moore DD yard 220, delivered 18-Jan-43) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class Notes and Ship Notes table for AP-102; Disposition table; shipbuildinghistory.com merchantships/2c2cargoships.htm hull 284 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe class record (compiled from official Navy/MC sources): AP-102 was merchant SS Hotspur (MC hull 284) completed 1943-01-18; it was 'already being converted by WSA to a troopship able to carry 60 officers and 1500 enlisted passengers' when identified for Navy acquisition, and 'the Navy modified the conversion to provide for a naval crew and armament'; the WSA conversion yard was General Engineering & Dry Dock, Alameda, CA. Disposition table: decommissioned 1946-07-24, struck 15 Aug 1946, disposed to MC 1946-07-25, MA sale 17 Aug 1948. Merchant names: HOTSPUR 1946 (MC), STONEWALL JACKSON 1948, scrapped 1968 as JOHN C.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943 (conversion); 1946-1968 (disposition)
- Population
- General Engineering & Dry Dock conversion-yard workforce; Navy crew
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of official records (Auxiliary Vessels Board reports, NVR-type data) - reliable for construction/conversion history but not itself a primary document. Documents that a substantial shipyard conversion of this hull occurred; contains no materials or asbestos information. Its 15 Aug 1946 strike date conflicts with NavSource's 20 Aug 1946 - conflict logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hotspur-ap102-04
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[5]Swogger v. Waterman Steamship Corp., 136 Misc. 2d 410, 518 N.Y.S.2d 715 (Sup. Ct. 1987) (CourtListener opinion 6206717); In re Waterman Steamship Corp., 141 B.R. 552 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1992) (CourtListener opinion 1873362) [court_record]
- Locator
- Swogger opinion text (claims description); Waterman bankruptcy chain, Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1986-1996
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Operator-level asbestos litigation: Waterman Steamship Corp., which operated this hull as SS Stonewall Jackson (GAA lease 1948-02-06, purchased 1948-08-18, operated to 1953), was a defendant in mariner asbestos litigation - e.g., Swogger v. Waterman Steamship Corp., 518 N.Y.S.2d 715 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. County 1987), a Jones Act/general maritime mesothelioma claim by a marine engineer against shipowners of ~13 vessels, with third-party claims against asbestos insulation manufacturers and shipyards - and underwent an asbestos-claims-driven Chapter 11 (In re Waterman Steamship Corp., e.g., 141 B.R. 552, Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1992).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1987-1996 (litigation); exposure period WWII-1960s fleet-wide
- Population
- Merchant mariners sailing for Waterman Steamship Corp. (operator-level)
- Limitations
- Operator-level context only: the opinions name the shipowner/operator, NOT this hull - none of the ~13 Swogger vessels is identified as this ship in the located text, and Waterman operated scores of vessels. Establishes that the hull's 1948-53 operator faced documented asbestos claims, not that asbestos was aboard this hull or that any claim involves it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hotspur-ap102-05
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[6]Batch-2036 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket searches (authenticated, fleet-paced); NHHC/DANFS; NavSource; shipscribe; MARAD Vessel History Database; archive.org; NARA mapping [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hotspur-ap102-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming this hull under any of its names (Hotspur, La Salle, Stonewall Jackson, John C.) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener 'Hotspur' opinion and docket hits are all name collisions (Shakespeare's 'Hotspur' trope; the 1874 Oregon admiralty precedent The Hotspur; Hotspur Casinos/Resorts Nevada; Tottenham Hotspur trademark cases); 'USS La Salle' returns zero opinions; 'La Salle' asbestos hits are LaSalle County, Ill. cases and LaSalle Bank; the sole 'Stonewall Jackson' asbestos-adjacent opinion (780 F. Supp. 1093, E.D. La. 1992) involves a different, later Waterman vessel (engine-room fire limitation proceeding; asbestos appears only in cited authority).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the ship was built/converted at documented-era yards during peak asbestos use, left government custody in 1948, and was wrecked and scrapped in 1968, leaving little trail for hull-level records. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Note also the name-collision hazard: asbestos-litigation references to 'USS La Salle' in the wild concern the later LPD-3/AGF-3 (in commission 1964-2005), not this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hotspur-ap102-06
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[7]NARA record-group mapping (established batch-05 method): RG 24 Navy deck logs; RG 38 WWII war diaries; RG 178 USMC Construction Division; RG 248 WSA vessel files [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA record groups RG 24 / RG 38 / RG 178 / RG 248
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival path for hull-specific records: as a commissioned Navy ship (1943-46) this hull's deck logs are in NARA RG 24 and its war diaries in RG 38 (WWII War Diaries series); Maritime Commission construction/contract records for MC hull 284 are in RG 178 (Construction Division, West Coast Director, San Francisco); WSA conversion and operating records for the General Engineering & Dry Dock troopship conversion are in RG 248. None of these holdings was retrieved or surveyed.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping is not evidence about this hull - no box-level retrieval performed; holdings are not digitized in free public sources and require research-room work or paid reproduction. Whether any file documents insulation or asbestos aboard this hull is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hotspur-ap102-07