Evidence
4 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-4).
-
[1]DANFS, Houston III (CL-81), Vol. 3 (1968) (builder, rename, dates, torpedo damage and repair narrative, disposal; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative incl. torpedo-damage and disposal paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va., 19 June 1943; originally named VICKSBURG, renamed 12 October 1942; commissioned 20 December 1943, Capt. W. W. Behrens commanding. Pacific via Panama from 16 April 1944; joined the fast carrier force at Majuro 31 May; Marianas strikes and the Battle of the Philippine Sea (19 June); shore bombardment on Guam and Rota 26 June; Palaus/Peleliu September; Formosa strikes 12-14 October - took a torpedo in the engine room 14 October losing power, towed by Boston then Pawnee toward Ulithi, took a second torpedo in the stern 16 October; 'CripDiv 1' decoy episode with Canberra; arrived Ulithi 27 October; temporary repairs, Manus from 20 December, then steamed to the New York Navy Yard arriving 24 March 1945 for a rebuild completed 11 October 1945. Postwar: refresher training; European goodwill tour April-December 1946 (Scandinavia, Portugal, Italy, Egypt); Mediterranean cruise with CruDiv 12 May-August 1947; decommissioned 15 December 1947 at Philadelphia into reserve; stricken from the Navy List 1 March 1959 and scrapped. Three battle stars WWII.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1941-1961
- Population
- Newport News construction trades 1941-43; crew 1943-47; Ulithi/Manus repair parties 1944-45; New York Navy Yard rebuild trades 1945
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404. The DANFS transcription's laid-down date is absent (NavSource/uboat give 4 August 1941, matching the class profile); sale month/buyer (June 1961) supplied by NHHC Online Library (ev-02).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-houston-cl81-01
-
[2]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, 'USS Houston (CL-81), 1943-1961' narrative (torpedo damage, New York Navy Yard reworking, disposal; via ibiblio HyperWar mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library page narrative for CL-81 (torpedo episode, New York Navy Yard reworking, disposal paragraph)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC Online Library narrative for this hull: commissioned December 1943; Pacific war zone from end of May 1944; Marianas/Philippine Sea; Palaus and Philippines September 1944; Formosa strikes mid-October - Canberra torpedoed 13 October and Houston on the 14th, both left without propulsion and taken in tow; a second torpedo hit Houston 16 October; nearly two weeks of towing to Ulithi; drydocking and repair over the next two months, then steamed to the New York Navy Yard 'where she received a complete reworking between March and October 1945.' Postwar Atlantic Fleet service - European/Mediterranean April-December 1946 and May-August 1947; decommissioned December 1947 into the Atlantic Reserve Fleet; stricken March 1959; sold for scrapping June 1961.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1961
- Population
- Crew 1943-47; New York Navy Yard rebuild trades March-October 1945
- Limitations
- NHHC publication hosted on the ibiblio HyperWar mirror; corroborates DANFS and supplies the June 1961 sale month. 'Complete reworking' is the narrative's own characterization - scope beyond that phrase is undocumented. Narrative only; no materials or asbestos data.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-houston-cl81-02
-
[3]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual, NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960) + DANFS/NHHC damage-repair narratives + Atlas shipyard dataset [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSHIPS 250-000 ch. 39 (scan via Garlock bankruptcy repository); DANFS/NHHC damage-repair narratives; shipyards.json records
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: Cleveland-class construction (4 boilers, 4 GE geared steam turbines, ~100,000 shp) in 1941-43 at Newport News 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. The documented disturbance for this hull is the heaviest non-conversion repair in the class: torpedo hits to the engine room (14 October 1944) and stern (16 October), temporary work at Ulithi and Manus, then the New York Navy Yard 'complete reworking' March-October 1945 - a machinery-space reconstruction in the era when disturbed insulation was handled under period practice.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1941-1947
- Population
- Construction trades 1941-43; Ulithi/Manus repair parties 1944-45; New York Navy Yard rebuild trades March-October 1945; crew 1943-47
- Limitations
- Class/era specification and yard-period inference only - no ship-specific asbestos record exists for this hull (ev-04); this row must not be read as establishing that asbestos products were or remain aboard. Does not quantify material; the reworking's insulation scope is undocumented - 'complete reworking' is the NHHC narrative's characterization, not a work package. The New York Navy Yard (Brooklyn) is not in the shipyards.json dataset - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-houston-cl81-03
-
[4]Batch-51 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS + Online Library; CourtListener ship-name and hull-number queries (partial - rate-limited); NVR; museum/disclosure sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-houston-cl81-01 through sl-uss-houston-cl81-05
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: CourtListener name queries completed for this hull ('USS Houston', 'U.S.S. Houston' + asbestos) returned zero hits; the 'CL-81' hull-number query was not completed before the CourtListener daily rate cap was exhausted and is logged as blocked, not as a negative result (see search_ledger). No hull ACM survey, abatement contract, rebuild hazmat disclosure, NVR entry (hull sold 1961, before live-register coverage), or museum record with asbestos data was found in the public sources searched.
- 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. The litigation sweep is INCOMPLETE for this hull - the hull-number query hit the 125/day API cap and remains unrun; 'no result' applies only to the completed name variants. 'Houston' is a high-collision name (city, other hulls) - the zero counts reflect the exact-phrase queries as written. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-houston-cl81-04