USS Knox Victory (AGM-7)

Evidence

9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).

1. [1]Morgan v. Dow Chemical Co. et al., No. 3:17-cv-00269-JWD-UNA (M.D. La. June 21, 2017), Ruling and Order (RECAP docket gov.uscourts.lamd.51164, docs. 1, 101) - notice of removal and remand ruling [court_record]

   Locator

   M.D. La. docket 3:17-cv-00269, Ruling and Order of June 21, 2017 (doc. 101), Factual Background section; notice of removal (doc. 1) para. 5

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Docketed asbestos action naming this hull: Curtis D. Morgan, a sheet-metal tacker at Avondale Shipyards Feb. 28 - Aug. 9, 1966 (inside the ship's documented Apollo conversion, June 1965 - Oct. 1966), sued 78 defendants for asbestos-caused mesothelioma in Louisiana state court (18th JDC, Iberville Parish, No. 76625, filed Feb. 23, 2017). His pleading named no vessels; at deposition Avondale produced medical records showing six injuries aboard "USS Huntsville" Mar. 14 - Jun. 18, 1966, and Morgan - who could not remember the ship - agreed he worked aboard if the records showed it, and agreed it was his belief he "would have worked around the insulators on the HUNTSVILLE." The removal notice framed this as belief he was "exposed to asbestos on the HUNTSVILLE while working near insulators cutting asbestos-containing products." Avondale removed under the federal officer statute (28 U.S.C. 1442) to M.D. La. No. 3:17-cv-00269; Judge deGravelles granted remand as untimely on June 21, 2017 (fees denied - removal objectively reasonable).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1966 (alleged exposure); 2017 (state filing, deposition, removal, remand ruling)

   Population

   Avondale Shipyards conversion workers aboard the hull, 1965-66 (sheet-metal tacker; insulators)

   Limitations

   Discovery-stage allegation, never merits-adjudicated: the only exposure evidence is plaintiff's belief testimony plus employer injury records establishing work aboard this hull - no court found asbestos present aboard, no product was identified, and causation was never reached. Court records style her "USS Huntsville"; the vessel was USNS (MSTS) - the identification as this hull is confirmed by the Avondale Apollo-conversion window and the Fifth Circuit's footnote describing her Apollo conversion contract. The remand ruling decided only removal timeliness, nothing about exposure.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knox-victory-agm7-01

2. [2]Morgan v. Huntington Ingalls, Inc., 879 F.3d 602 (5th Cir. Jan. 11, 2018), No. 17-30523 (Smith, Prado, Higginson, JJ.) [court_record]

   Locator

   879 F.3d 602, footnote 3 and procedural holding; Court of Appeals docket 17-30523

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Fifth Circuit appeal in the same matter: the court vacated the district court's remand and adopted a bright-line rule that the 28 U.S.C. 1446(b)(3) removal clock runs from receipt of the deposition transcript (not the oral testimony date), then remanded for the district court to decide the substantive requirements of federal-officer jurisdiction in the first instance; Murphy Oil's appeal was dismissed for want of standing. The opinion (Jerry E. Smith, J.) recounts that the USS Huntsville "was converted in the mid-1960s to support NASA's Apollo manned missions," that the Navy hired Ling-Temco-Vaught Inc. for "design, preparation of working plans and other data, modification, renovation, and repair" of the ship, and that Avondale was the subcontractor for the outfitting and delivery work. Plaintiff Morgan died September 14, 2017, during the appeal.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1966 (alleged exposure); 2017-2018 (appeal)

   Population

   Avondale Shipyards conversion workers aboard the hull, 1965-66

   Limitations

   Procedural ruling only: the Fifth Circuit addressed removal timing and appellate standing, and expressly did not reach the merits of federal-officer jurisdiction or any exposure question. The exposure record stays at the deposition-allegation stage; the post-remand jurisdictional determination and any final merits outcome are not located in public sources (see gaps). vLex is a secondary host - the opinion text and reporter citation were cross-checked against the filed PDF (600camp.com mirror of Document 00514303847).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knox-victory-agm7-02

3. [3]MARAD Vessel History Database, vessel records "KNOX VICTORY (1945)" (Detail/8921) and "HUNTSVILLE (T-AGM-7)" (Detail/2280), incl. scanned vessel status cards (3 card images) [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   MARAD VHD Detail/8921 and Detail/2280; status card images 3XI_01.png, f945ac5e-331f-4225-8f81-3f1e11ba0e79.png, 2280_4241AF.jpg

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD Vessel History Database records and vessel status cards consolidate both names as one hull: KNOX VICTORY (1945), U.S. Official No. 247734, Oregon Shipbuilding Co., Portland, MARAD type VC2-S-AP3, 455 ft x 62 ft, 7,606-7,607 GRT, hull no. MCV-184; name history HUNTSVILLE (T-AGM-7). Status-card operator chain: Olympic SSCo. (GAA, Portland, 5-11-45); Moore McCormack Lines (GAA Baltimore 1-6-46; BB Chester PA 4-29-46; MC/BB Baltimore 1-31-47); Waterman SS Corp. (GAA New York 7-17-47; second Waterman entry 2-4-48, agreement form partially legible); Boland & Cornelius (GAA New York 5-25-48); Reserve Fleet Hudson River (6-11-48); North Atlantic & Gulf SS Co. (GAA 7-27-50); Union Sulphur & Oil (BB New York 8-15-50; GAA 4-25-52); Reserve Fleet Mobile (12-14-53); States Marine Corp. of Delaware reactivation (GAA Mobile 12-12-56; BB New Orleans 2-1-57; deactivation GAA Seattle 10-31-57); Reserve Fleet Olympia (11-8-57); Navy Department permanent transfer at Olympia (8-11-60, 7:45 am PST), renamed HUNTSVILLE (T-AGM-7); MARAD custody Suisun Bay (11-22-74, 1614 PST); sold for scrap under PD-X-997 to National Metal & Steel Corp. (7-17-75, $201,111.19); physically delivered (8-11-75, 1400 PDT).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1945-1975

   Limitations

   Custody/identity record only - the status cards document operators, layups, transfer, and scrap sale but say nothing about asbestos or materials. The card's 1957 Olympia layup controls over DANFS's "1958" and NavSource's Aug-1960 layup lines. The card hull field reads "MCV-184"; NavSource's "MCV hull 1238" conflates the Oregon yard hull number (1238, per shipbuildinghistory.com's VMC/hull# columns) with the MC number.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knox-victory-agm7-03

4. [4]DANFS, "Huntsville" (T-AGM-7) entry (transcription mirror; live NHHC page 404s as of 2026-09-20) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS Huntsville II entry; mirror at losthistory.net/hazegray

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry for Huntsville (T-AGM-7): laid down under Maritime Commission contract as Knox Victory by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, 2 March 1945; launched 13 April 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Charles B. Gilbert; delivered to WSA 11 May 1945; wartime merchant operation under charter to Olympic Steamship Co.; bareboat charters until entering NDRF Olympia (DANFS says 1958 - status card shows 11-8-57). Acquired by the Navy from MARAD 11 August 1960, assigned to MSTS, renamed Huntsville and designated T-AGM-7 on 27 November; converted to a special projects ship by Triple "A" Machine Shop, Inc., San Francisco; began duty as a range tracking ship in 1961. Civilian-manned, operating out of Port Hueneme and Honolulu on Central Pacific patrols from off Mexico to Wake Island and the Marshalls through spring 1965; entered Avondale Shipyards, Westwego, La., 2 June 1965 for Apollo conversion completed 30 October 1966; returned to the Pacific June 1967 operating with Watertown (T-AGM-6) as an improved sea-based tracking station for Apollo.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1945-1969

   Population

   MSTS civilian crew; PMR/NASA technical detachments

   Limitations

   Authoritative for identity and Navy service; contains no asbestos or materials content. Live history.navy.mil DANFS URL 404s (consistent with known NHHC link rot in batch-01); transcription mirror cited. DANFS's "1958" Olympia layup is superseded by the MARAD status card (11-8-57).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knox-victory-agm7-04

5. [5]Shipscribe.com, "USNS Watertown (T-AGM 6, VC2-S-AP3) Class" page (compiled 2021-10-18), citing NARA RG 19 Entry P 62 Box 99 (Design Job Order File 19-60) and Eric Pearson, "NASA's Moonship Fleet," PowerShips No. 314 (Summer 2020) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Shipscribe AGM-06 class page, Class Notes and Ship Notes tables

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Shipscribe class study (Stephen S. Roberts, from NARA RG 19 Entry P 62 Box 99, Design Job Order File 19-60, plus PowerShips No. 314): on 8 June 1960 BUSHIPS Hull Design Branch (Code 440) promulgated draft design criteria for a Pacific Missile Range tracking ship AG(PMR) covering conversion of VC2-S-AP3 hulls KNOX VICTORY (MCV 184) and NIANTIC VICTORY (MCV 100) for "Discoverer follow-on, MIDAS and SAMOS programs," based at Port Hueneme on stations 800-3,000 miles downrange of Point Arguello, each with a 55-man civilian MSTS crew plus 20-man PMR technical group; as many Victory-ship features as possible were to be retained (roll stabilization tank, locked water ballast, cargo hatches plated over). SECNAV established classification AGM (Missile Range Instrumentation Ship) and approved names WATERTOWN/HUNTSVILLE effective 27 Nov 1960. Both converted by Triple A Machine Shop, San Francisco; Huntsville on range about January 1961. Key feature: Fairchild AN/SPQ-8 tracking radar on the foremast stump, first set in Huntsville. Mid-1960s Apollo modification: extra deck level between bridge and forecastle, AN/FPS-105 radar replacing the SPQ-8, $20 million per ship at Avondale, Westwego; Huntsville modified 1965 - Oct 1966, accepted at Air Force Eastern Test Range, Cape Canaveral, 18 Aug 1967. After Apollo missions in 1968 and 1969 she supported the Western Test Range under the Air Force Space and Missile Test Center; slated for 1973 deactivation (~$1M/yr savings) but retained for U.S. surveillance of French nuclear testing at Mururoa Atoll, replacing Wheeling (T-AGM-8), about 90 days June-September 1974; left service near end of 1974; struck 8 Nov 1974; to MA custody 22 Nov 1974; disposal sale 17 Jul 1975; to buyer 11 Aug 1975.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1960-1975

   Population

   MSTS civilian crews (55-man design complement); PMR/NASA technical groups (20-man design; 72 technical personnel Apollo-era); Triple A Machine Shop and Avondale conversion workforces

   Limitations

   Secondary compilation of primary archival records (NARA job-order file) - ship-specific for design/conversion/disposal events, but the underlying NARA file itself was not independently retrieved. No asbestos or materials content; conversion work scopes (disturbance of 1945-era materials) are documented as events, with asbestos scope unaddressed - inference only.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knox-victory-agm7-05

6. [6]Sunny Tsiao, "Read You Loud and Clear! The Story of NASA's Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network," NASA SP-2008-4233 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NASA SP-2008-4233, Apollo-era network ship table (HTV row) and Apollo 11 reentry/splashdown narrative

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NASA's official history of the Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network documents Huntsville's Apollo-era operational role: listed in the Apollo network ship table as "Huntsville" (HTV) with 12-foot Unified S-Band antenna, C-band radar, VHF telemetry downlink, and UHF command uplink; "The Huntsville and Mercury were usually stationed in the Pacific to monitor orbit injection, reentry and recovery." The history recounts that on Apollo 11's return, Hawaii and the Huntsville tracked Columbia to splashdown within about three miles of the recovery ship USS Hornet, and that telemetry received aboard Huntsville and at the Hawaii Station showed no degradation in the cabin environment during reentry - verification of the command module heat-shield design. The Intelsat Pacific satellite served the Pacific ships Huntsville and Redstone.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1967-1972 (Apollo network nominal configuration)

   Population

   NASA flight controllers and technical personnel embarked aboard (72 technical personnel Apollo-era per Shipscribe)

   Limitations

   Documents NASA operational role only - no materials, condition, or asbestos information. Confirms the ship's presence in the Apollo tracking network and the Apollo 11 splashdown tracking role.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knox-victory-agm7-06

7. [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); vc2-s-ap2-victory class profile (sister-type context) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Corn & Starr, AJIM 11(3):359-373; class-c vc2-s-ap2-victory.class.json class notes

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Peer-reviewed historical scholarship 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 1945 Oregon Shipbuilding VC2-S-AP3 hull was built. The class profile for the Victory family notes the type's steam plant (2 boilers, geared turbine, single screw) as the configuration for which era-standard insulation applications applied: boiler/steam-drum insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, accommodation insulation, and winch brake linings.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1945 construction era

   Population

   Construction trades (Oregon Shipbuilding, Portland, 1945); merchant engine-room crews; conversion-yard workers

   Limitations

   Program/era-level documentation - Corn & Starr does not name this hull, and the AP3 type differs from the profiled AP2 (attack-cargo) subtype though the steam plant architecture is shared. Establishes era plausibility only: no hull-level survey, material list, or work-order evidence exists; does not establish presence, quantity, condition, exposure, or causation aboard this vessel.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knox-victory-agm7-07

8. [8]In re American President Lines, Ltd., and 102 Other Shipowner-Defendants in the Ohio Asbestos Litigation (MARDOC), 929 F.2d 226 (6th Cir. 1991); Erdman v. Hudson Waterways Corp., 713 F. Supp. 706 (S.D.N.Y. 1989) [court_record]

   Locator

   Reporter citations; also carried in vc2-s-ap2-victory.class.json (verified there via CourtListener API, batch class-c work)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Fleet-level litigation context for the merchant era: asbestos claims against WWII government-fleet operators proceeded under owner/operator names rather than hull names - MARDOC consolidated maritime asbestos claims against 103 shipowner/operators (6th Cir. 1991), and Erdman documents a seaman's asbestos claim aboard government-owned chartered vessels against a MSTS charter operator. Knox Victory's merchant-era operators (Olympic, Moore McCormack, Waterman, Boland & Cornelius, North Atlantic & Gulf, Union Sulphur & Oil, States Marine) would appear in such records under company names, so hull-name searches structurally undercount the 1945-1957 litigation surface for this vessel.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   1989-1991 (opinions); 1945-1957 (this hull's merchant window)

   Population

   WWII/postwar merchant mariners (class context)

   Limitations

   Operator-level procedural context; neither opinion names this hull or makes any asbestos finding aboard it. Explains why the ship-name search undercounts possible merchant-era claims; does not itself evidence exposure aboard.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knox-victory-agm7-08

9. [9]Batch-728 search ledger (this record): MARAD VHD; DANFS; Shipscribe; NASA NTRS; NavSource; CourtListener API + indirect RECAP/web-index search [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-knox-victory-agm7-01 through sl-uss-knox-victory-agm7-09

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated asbestos finding located for this hull across the sources searched: MARAD records (custody only), DANFS (none), Shipscribe class notes (none), NASA SP-2008-4233 (none), NavSource page (none), and no public record of asbestos handling in the 1975 National Metal & Steel scrapping. The only ship-specific asbestos record located is the Morgan litigation material (ev-01, ev-02) - a discovery-stage allegation.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-20

   Study period

   2026-09-20

   Limitations

   Absence of located public record does not prove absence of asbestos - the Morgan record itself shows the exposure surface running through yard-employer records rather than ship documents. CourtListener API was rate-limited during this batch (HTTP 429, 125/day); ship-name coverage relied on indirect RECAP/web-index discovery, and "Huntsville" is a high-collision name (cities, prisons, other Huntsville-named parties) - additional unindexed hits cannot be excluded. Does not establish or defeat any exposure or eligibility claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knox-victory-agm7-09