Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]NHHC, DANFS entry 'Kankakee (AO-39), 1942-1973' (Gary J. Candelaria; updated 4 June 2024). Live history.navy.mil URL returned 404 on 2026-09-24; cited via Wayback capture 2025-12-09. [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS ship entry, full narrative text (Wayback capture of canonical NHHC URL)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC DANFS entry: Colina laid down 1941-07-31 at Sparrows Point, MD by Bethlehem Steel Co. under Maritime Commission contract (M.C. Hull 146); launched 1942-01-24, sponsored by Mrs. D. A. Little; acquired by the Navy 1942-03-31 through the Maritime Commission from Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., N.Y.; renamed Kankakee (AO-39) and commissioned at Norfolk 1942-05-04, Capt. William H. Mayes in command. WWII: fuel cargo Baton Rouge to Coco Solo; San Francisco conversion 1942-07-14 to 08-23; Noumea and Service Squadron 8 refueling in the Solomons campaign; replenished Saratoga and Princeton for the Rabaul strike (1943-11); Kavieng/Rabaul replenishment (1944-02/03); Palau-Yap-Woleai and Saipan support; station tanker at Kossol Roads then Ulithi; TF 38 replenishment for Luzon/Formosa/China coast/Indochina (1944-11 to 1945-01); Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Third Fleet Japan operations; Tokyo Bay 1945-09-20. NOTS 1946-02-28; MSTS as T-AO-39 from 1949-10-01 incl. Mare Island overhaul; Pusan 1952-01-10; repeated Sixth Fleet deployments; decommissioned 1955-11-30 to Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Recommissioned 1956-12-20 (Cmdr. George R. Wells) for MSTS; Exercise Strikeback at Portland 1957-09; arrived Port Arthur 1957-11-04, decommissioned the next day; berthed Beaumont reserve fleet 1957-11-21 1520. Reinstated and withdrawn from Beaumont 1961-08-06 (Berlin Emergency); recommissioned 1961-11-29 New Orleans (Capt. Mervin O. Slater), ServRon 4, Newport; Cuban quarantine support refueling 89 ships 1962-10-24 to 12-05; Mediterranean deployment 1963 (269 ships, 29M+ gallons); Gemini recovery duty 1965. Decommissioned in reserve Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 1968-06-27; decommissioned 1968-07-29; MARAD custody James River 1968-11-27 1250; title to MARAD 1969-06-30 noon; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 1973-06-01; sold for scrap 1976-03-16 to Luria Brothers & Company, Inc.; removed 1976-04-20 1100. Six battle stars WWII, one Korea.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1941-1976
- Population
- Crew (complement 261 per DANFS/status card); shipyard workers at documented repair/overhaul/conversion events
- Limitations
- Synthesized official ship history - establishes identity, construction, service, custody, and disposal chronology. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or industrial-hygiene content; supports no asbestos claim. The 2024 text names 'Gemini 4' for the March 1965 recovery (the older DANFS text says Gemini 3; Gemini 4 flew in June 1965) - internal inconsistency logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kankakee-ao39-01
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[2]MARAD ShipHistory database - KANKAKEE (AO-39) Detail 2837 (status cards 2837_5277AF.jpg, 2837_5277BF.jpg); COLINA Detail 7439 (status card 1I8_01.png + custody/title card PDF) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 2837 milestone table + status-card scans; Detail 7439 + /documents/fbc92bbc-4b62-4237-86f1-f7a75dc1f647.pdf
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record and vessel status cards (Form MA-383) document: MARAD type T2-A; builder Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding Division; built 1942; MC hull 146; LOA 501'5", breadth 68', DWT 13,800, speed 16.7 kn, complement 19 officers/242 enlisted. Custody chain: berthed Beaumont NDRF 1957-11-21 1520 CST (USMA custody, Navy-reimbursable title - Navy ltr 1957-08-08, reply 1957-08-20; title notes Navy letter 1958-11-28/MARAD reply 1958-12-10); withdrawn 1961-08-06 0910 CST 'Navy - Perm. Transfer (Berlin emergency)'; entered James River 1968-11-27 1250 EST; title transferred to MARAD 1969-06-30; withdrawn 1976-04-20 1100 EST, 'Sold for scrap under PD-X-1004, 3-16-76 to Luria Brothers & Co., Inc. for $306,500.00.' The companion COLINA record (ShipHistory 7439) and custody/title card (COLINA.pdf) record DWT 16,535, gross 9,930, net 5,007, bale capacity 141,158 bbls, MC hull 146, 'Basis to W.S.A. 3-31-42 4:00PM EWT @ Baltimore, Md. from Socony Vacuum Oil Co.' with 'Act 1936' noted (Merchant Marine Act of 1936), the operator table showing delivery to the Navy Dept. by purchase at Baltimore 1942-03-31 4:00 PM, and the renaming to Kankakee (AO-39).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1976
- Population
- NDRF custody/berthing personnel; shipbreaking workers at Luria Brothers (1976, site not stated)
- Limitations
- Authoritative custody/title record - card handwriting partially legible (image read, not OCR). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. The database 'Specific Type: LNG Liquefied Natural Gas' on the Colina detail is an obvious data-entry artifact for a 1942 oiler and is disregarded.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kankakee-ao39-02
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[3]Thomas Wildenberg, 'Gray Steel and Black Oil: Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U.S. Navy, 1912-1995' (Naval Institute Press, 1996), ch. 11 'The Second Group of National Defense Tankers' and Appendix D fleet-oiler table (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- GSBO ch. 11 Kennebec-class section + 'Principal Dimensions of Kennebec' table; Appendix D row AO-39
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The Navy-published fleet-oiler history documents the Kennebec-class National Defense Tanker design this hull was built to: six high-speed subsidized tankers ordered by the Maritime Commission from Socony-Vacuum on 1940-02-09, design adapted by Socony from its Mobilfuel/Mobilube type (Bethlehem, Sparrows Point; naval architect N. J. Pluymert) for 16.5-knot sea speed; machinery a cross-compound double-reduction geared steam turbine rated to 12,000 shp maximum on 375 psi/700F steam, with two Foster Wheeler 'P'-type marine boilers at 450 psi/725F specially designed for the limited machinery space. Kankakee (ex-Colina) is named as a class member acquired immediately upon completion. A steam plant at these pressures/temperatures in 1941-42 construction is era-consistent with asbestos lagging on boilers, steam lines, and turbine casings plus asbestos gaskets and packing.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1941-1942 construction; service through 1968
- Population
- Construction trades (Bethlehem Sparrows Point 1941-42); engineering-plant crew and repair/overhaul workers over the ship's life
- Limitations
- Class-design documentation - the machinery description is the class/lead-ship table and names Kankakee only as a class member; it does not state 'asbestos' and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull. Turbine manufacturer differs by source (Westinghouse per GSBO class table; General Electric per NavSource hull spec block - unresolved). Does not establish quantity, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kankakee-ao39-03
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[4]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 program under which this Maritime Commission tanker hull was built (1941-42) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard government-controlled hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- 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 and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kankakee-ao39-04
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[5]Chilean Line Inc. v. Main Ship Repair Corp., 232 F. Supp. 907 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 17, 1964), CourtListener opinion 8761383 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion opening paragraph (Cashin, D.J.)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Chilean Line Inc. v. Main Ship Repair Corp., 232 F. Supp. 907 (S.D.N.Y. 1964): admiralty libel filed 1964-05-13 to recover approximately $40,000 for repair services furnished to the USS KANKAKEE and the USS FORT SNELLING at the request of Main Ship Repair Corp., the work performed at the Columbia Street Pier, Brooklyn, N.Y.; the United States was a co-defendant. Classification: OTHER LITIGATION - a repair-billing dispute naming the vessel; the opinion contains no asbestos, injury, or exposure content.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1964
- Population
- Repair workers at Columbia Street Pier, Brooklyn (May 1964 event)
- Limitations
- Admiralty contract dispute, not exposure evidence - establishes only that commercial repair work was performed on this hull at a Brooklyn pier in May 1964 (a disturbance/maintenance event of the kind that contacts machinery insulation). Full opinion text not pulled; classification rests on the opinion's own description of the libel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kankakee-ao39-05
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[6]Consolidated: NHHC DANFS (Wayback 2025-12-09); MARAD status cards 2837; NavSource AO-39 page; NavalCoverMuseum KANKAKEE AO-39 page; NARA Navy Deck Logs index entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS narrative; status-card fields; NavSource data block and CO table; NARA navy-online panel for Kankakee
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved or flagged: (a) MC type - MARAD ShipHistory/status cards and the DANFS header say 'T2-A'; GSBO Appendix D lists 'Kennebec/T2'; NavSource renders 'T2-SA'; specialist tanker references carry 'T2-SO'/design 'T2'. T2-A adopted (two authoritative records concur). (b) Second decommissioning - DANFS: arrived Port Arthur 1957-11-04, 'decommissioned the next day' (11-05); NavSource and Wikipedia carry 11-04 (NavSource places it at New York). 11-05 adopted. (c) Final decommissioning - DANFS: in reserve at Philadelphia NSY 1968-06-27, decommissioned 1968-07-29; NavSource carries 1968-07-27; NavalCoverMuseum 1968-06-27. Two-stage record carried. (d) Stricken - DANFS says 1973-06-01; NavSource/Wikipedia/NavalCoverMuseum say 1973-01-01 - conflict unresolved, both carried. (e) Turbine - GSBO class table: Westinghouse (lead ship); NavSource hull block: General Electric - unresolved. (f) The NARA deck-log index lists final 'Decommission: January 1973' - actually the strike month, conflated.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1957-1976
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies in secondary framings; does not affect identity or custody timeline materially. None of the compared sources contains asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kankakee-ao39-06
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[7]Batch-1885 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; MARAD ShipHistory 2837 + 7439 + title card; NavSource; GSBO; aukevisser; NARA deck-log index; CourtListener opinion searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kankakee-ao39-01 through sl-uss-kankakee-ao39-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or docketed asbestos-disease case naming this hull (Colina / Kankakee / AO-39 / T-AO-39 / MC-146) was found in the public sources searched - DANFS, MARAD ShipHistory and status cards, custody/title card, GSBO, NARA deck-log index. CourtListener: 'USS Kankakee' returned 1 hit (the 1964 Chilean Line repair libel - non-asbestos); '"Kankakee" asbestos' returned 15 hits, all Illinois city/county name collisions; '"AO-39"' returned 2 string collisions. The hull was scrapped in 1976, so no museum-condition or NPS record exists. A marketing-page claim (mesothelioma.net) that tankers received 'additional fortification' of asbestos is excluded per source rules.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1941-42 high-pressure steam plant and repeated yard overhauls are era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and scrapping-era (1976) condition documentation was not located. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kankakee-ao39-07
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[8]NARA 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' index (Kankakee AO-39 panel); NARA RG 24/RG 181 record-group guides; MARAD PD-X-1004 reference on status card [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA navy-online deck-log index, Kankakee (AO-39) entry; status card 2837_5277AF withdrawal reason
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): NARA has DIGITIZED deck logs for this hull covering 1956-12 through 1957-11 and 1961-11 through 1968-06 (catalog.archives.gov month-level entries; WWII logs are not in the digitized set - physical RG 24 logbooks plus war diaries). NHHC ship command-operation reports (OPNAV 5750-1) for 1961-68 not located online but may exist in the archive. MARAD contract file PD-X-1004 (1976 Luria Brothers sale) and NDRF vessel files may document pre-disposal condition handling. Yard work records for the documented Mare Island 1942 conversion and MSTS-era overhaul, the 1953 San Francisco Naval Shipyard (Hunters Point) regular overhaul (NARA-photo caption), and the 1968 Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in-reserve period sit in RG 181 shipyard records.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1956-1976 records
- Limitations
- Record-location mapping only - the digitized deck logs were confirmed to exist but were not read page-by-page; existence of asbestos-specific content (or work descriptions naming insulation) inside them is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kankakee-ao39-08