Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet m-packet.md (8 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED. No name collision found. — real identity: USS La Porte; hull: APA-151; designation: attack transport (APA)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-la-porte-apa151-pkt-m-packet-md
-
[2]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 1945), auxiliaries - transports, attack (APA) section, APA-151 row 144 (shipscribe.com scan of the official BuShips publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 APA tables row 144 (dimensions/personnel/machinery/armament/builder spreads); index entry 'APA151 LA PORTE (ex-M.C.V. Hull 117)'; machinery table prints '2 C.E. hdr.' boilers for this hull while neighboring rows print 'B. & W. hdr.' - boiler make is per-hull, not class-uniform
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 3 carries a per-hull row for LA PORTE APA-151 (APA table row 144, index entry 'La Porte (ex-M.C.V. Hull 117)'): 455'0" overall / 436'6" waterline; beam 62'0"; draft 24'0"; 17.7 knots trial speed; 14,837 tons trial displacement; machinery 1 Westinghouse geared turbine, 8,500 shp, 1 propeller, with 2 Combustion Engineering header-type boilers at 465 psi / 750 deg F; accommodations 56 officers + 480 enlisted, troop capacity 86 officers + 1,475 enlisted, largest boom 35 t; armament 1 x 5"/38 cal (D.P.) + 4 twin and 1 quad 40mm; cargo 150,000 cu ft non-refrigerated, 2,900 DWT cargo / 5,800 DWT total; builder Oregon S.B. Corp., Portland, Oreg.; year built 1944; acquired and commissioned 14 Aug 44.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Construction trades (Oregon SB Portland, 1944); crew of 536 plus up to ~1,561 embarked troops
- Limitations
- Authoritative wartime BuShips publication naming this hull - confirms identity, machinery plant (incl. Combustion Engineering boilers, correcting class-generic B&W descriptions), manning, builder, and key dates. Contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-porte-apa151-01
-
[3]NHHC, DANFS, 'La Porte (APA-151)' entry (live page 404 as of 2026-09-25; verified full text recovered via Wayback capture 2025-12-09, published version dated 2023-10-25); ibiblio HyperWar transcription consulted and consistent [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS > L > La Porte (APA-151); mirror https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/APA/apa151.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC DANFS entry: named for a county in northwestern Indiana; laid down 15 May 1944 under Maritime Commission contract (M.C. Hull 117) at Portland, Oregon by the Oregon Shipbuilding Group; launched 30 June 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Charles N. Niles; commissioned 14 August 1944, Cmdr. Marion C. Thompson in command. Service: departed San Francisco 22 Oct 1944; Milne Bay 8 Nov training; sailed Manus 2 Jan 1945; Lingayen Gulf 11 Jan - debarked troops and equipment under enemy air attack; returned Leyte 16 Jan; departed San Pedro Bay 27 Mar with 1,500 troops for Okinawa (beachhead 1 Apr; kamikaze splashed by AA fire 3 Apr); departed Okinawa 5 Apr, San Francisco ~26 Apr; Ie Shima 14 Jul, disembarked 1,300 Army Engineer replacements; San Francisco 10 Aug; occupation duty - departed SF with 1,146 replacements, debarked Leyte 15 Sep; two months of western Pacific troop lifts into Japan and liberated China; sailed Manila 25 Nov, Seattle mid-Dec; Norfolk 14 Feb 1946; decommissioned 25 Mar 1946; returned to the War Shipping Administration three days later; placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. One battle star for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Crew of 536 plus embarked troops during 1944-1946 operations
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, wartime service, decommissioning, and WSA/NDRF custody transfer. DANFS text predates final disposal and gives no stricken date. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazardous-material statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-porte-apa151-02
-
[4]NavSource Online, Amphibious Photo Archive, USS La Porte (APA-151) file (secondary compilation of NVR/DANFS/award data) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/10/03/03151.htm (DNS-unreachable from this machine 2026-09-25); identical content fetched from navsource.net mirror
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource file 10/03/03151 corroborates DANFS and adds detail: call sign NPOD; commissioned at Astoria, OR; wartime assignment TransRon Eleven (COMO D.W. Loomis USN) / TransDiv Thirty-One; Okinawa Gunto operation 1-5 April 1945; Navy Occupation Service Medal and China Service Medal (extended) periods 9 Oct - 18 Nov 1945; decommissioned 25 Mar 1946 at Norfolk; struck from the Naval Register 12 Apr 1946; returned to WSA 28 Mar 1946 for layup NDRF James River Group, Lee Hall, VA; final disposition sold for scrapping 9 Apr 1973 to Union Minerals and Alloys Corp., delivered 22 Jun 1973; sole commanding officer CDR Marion Clemont Thompson, USN (USNA class 1921-b), 14 Aug 1944 - 25 Mar 1946; awards list adds Philippine Liberation Medal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Population
- Crew and embarked troops (1944-1946)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation - used for chronology detail (Astoria commissioning, TransRon/TransDiv assignment, strike date, disposal dates) corroborated against DANFS and the MARAD card where overlapping. The 12 Apr 1946 strike date is NavSource-compiled; no live NVR page exists to verify it. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-porte-apa151-03
-
[5]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - LA PORTE (APA-151), Ship History Detail 2915, incl. digitized USMC Vessel Status Card, permanent-ballast card, and Form MA-20 Record of Ship Sales [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 2915 milestone table; card scans /cards/2916_5421AF.jpg (vessel-data card), /cards/2916_5421AB.jpg (permanent ballast), /cards/947cb13c-d526-4299-b341-932efed04945.jpg (Form MA-20 Record of Ship Sales) - all read directly
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record for LA PORTE (APA-151) plus digitized USMC Vessel Status Card and Form MA-20 Record of Ship Sales: type VC2-S-AP5, built 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Company; 436.50 ft registry length, 62.00 ft beam; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; milestones Entry 3/28/1946, Disposition and Withdrawal 6/22/1973, custody note 'CUST 1946 NDRF 1946'. Status card (Reserve Fleet Division - Vessel Data): name LA PORTE, former APA151; ownership WSA; built Oregon SB 1944; hull MCV-117; entered fleet (James River) 3-28-46; '6/30/66 at 1005 EDST to Norfolk Shipyard for Dry-docking and Bottom Inspection. Returned to fleet 7/1/66 at 1720 EDST. Drydocking cost $5,500. McAllister Towing Cost $3,782.12'; termination port Norfolk; 'Sold for scrap under PD-X-956, 4-9-73 to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. for $111,560' with handwritten 'Luria Brothers & Co., Inc.' notation; delivered 1140 EDT 6-22-73. MA-20: awarded to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. 4-9-73, $111,560.00, contract MA-6927, advertised under PD-X-956 dated 3-5-73 opened 4-4-73 under two conditions (1) NTU (2) Scrap Hull - U.S., awarded under condition (2) Scrap Hull - U.S. 24 months; permanent-ballast card documents poured-concrete/cement-block ballast in lower holds, evaporator room, generator room, dry stores - 'No prints found on ship.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Population
- NDRF James River caretakers (1946-1973); drydock workforce (1966); scrapping workforce (1973)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones, the 1966 maintenance drydocking, and the 1973 sale terms. 'Norfolk Shipyard' on the card does not distinguish Norfolk Naval Shipyard (Portsmouth) from commercial Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock. The Luria Brothers annotation is unexplained in the record (likely scrapping subcontractor). Registry 'General Type: Training (School)' is a database classification artifact inconsistent with the vessel's attack-transport role. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-porte-apa151-04
-
[6]Consolidated era inference - BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v3 per-hull APA-151 row (machinery spec) + Corn & Starr AJIM 1987 (WWII shipbuilding asbestos documentation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 APA machinery table, row 144; AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- No ship-specific material record exists; era/design inference only. La Porte is a VC2-S-AP5 Victory-derived attack transport with a superheated geared-steam plant (2 Combustion Engineering header-type boilers, 465 psi/750 deg F, Westinghouse turbine) built May-August 1944 at Oregon Shipbuilding, Portland - the peak period of asbestos consumption in U.S. shipbuilding. Typical applications for this machinery arrangement in the era: boiler and steam-drum insulation, steam-line and turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets, machinery packing, accommodation insulation, winch/windlass brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944 (construction); 1944-1946 (active service)
- Population
- Construction trades (Oregon SB Portland, 1944); embarked troops and crew under way
- Limitations
- Class/design and era inference, not a hull record - no source searched names this vessel's materials. Does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-porte-apa151-05
-
[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) [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 VC2-S-AP5 hull was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type and naval auxiliary hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- 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 or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-porte-apa151-06
-
[8]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at two Navy yards and two Navy contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in wartime naval-vessel construction of exactly this hull's era and type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized - see the 2026 critique at DOI 10.1177/10482911261446696.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-porte-apa151-07
-
[9]Batch-2223 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS via Wayback + ibiblio HyperWar mirror; NavSource 03151; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 2915 + status card/MA-20 scans; BuShips SDB 1945 v3 per-hull row; CourtListener authenticated API sweeps; NARA record-group guides; NVR; Haskell-class profile member sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-la-porte-apa151-01 through sl-uss-la-porte-apa151-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, material schedule, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or adjudicated exposure record naming USS La Porte / APA-151 / M.C.V. Hull 117 was found in the public sources searched - NHHC DANFS contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement; MARAD record, status cards, and MA-20 sale record contain none; CourtListener 'USS La Porte' returned zero opinions and zero dockets; 'APA-151' hits are all Administrative Procedure Act token collisions (2 Delaware corporate opinions; 35 unrelated dockets); 'La Porte' + asbestos sweeps return only La Porte, Texas/Indiana locality references, attorney surname 'La Porte' (incl. Madison County asbestos plaintiffs' counsel), and Judge Laporte MDL-875 orders - all name collisions, none maritime (see search_ledger).
- 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 - a 1944 geared-steam transport is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and her 27 years in NDRF custody (incl. a documented 1966 drydocking) plus 1973 scrapping are undocumented disturbance phases; construction-phase documentation would sit in NARA record groups not yet pulled. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-porte-apa151-08
-
[10]asbestos-ships.com USS La Porte page (competitor site - examined for collision/accuracy screening only, not cited for any fact); NHHC DANFS and MARAD MA-20 as the controlling sources for the corrected facts; CourtListener collision patterns per search_ledger [other_primary]
- Locator
- asbestos-ships.com/ships/uss-la-porte-apa-151 (claims 'two battle stars', 'fate unknown'); controlling: DANFS one battle star; MA-20 sale 4-9-73
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Correction/disambiguation: (a) the asbestos-ships.com marketing page for 'USS La Porte (APA-151)' claims the ship 'earned two battle stars' and that 'the fate of the USS La Porte remains unknown' - both wrong: DANFS credits one battle star and the MARAD MA-20 documents the 1973 scrap sale. That page is a competitor/marketing source, non-qualifying, and not cited as evidence; its errors are logged so researchers do not propagate them. (b) Name-collision screening: the hull is named for La Porte County, Indiana; 'La Porte' in litigation text resolves overwhelmingly to La Porte, Texas (Gulf Coast city), La Porte, Indiana localities/addresses, attorney Donna L. La Porte / La Porte Law (Madison County asbestos counsel), and Judge Elizabeth D. Laporte (N.D. Cal., who signs MDL-875 asbestos orders). Any 'La Porte' litigation hit must be resolved to a party/context before attribution to APA-151.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Correction of third-party marketing-page errors and a collision map for name-only search hits. The competitor page itself is not evidence of anything about the hull; the corrections rest on DANFS and the MARAD sale record. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-porte-apa151-09
-
[11]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 357 (Maritime Administration); MARAD ShipHistory Detail 2915 Documents/Status Cards as the on-point lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov record-group pages 024/019/178/357; MARAD Detail 2915 status-card annotations
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for USS La Porte 1944-1946 (RG 24, NARA College Park); the ship's war-history submission to SecNav if extant (a sister hull's, Colbert APA-145, is digitized as NAID 77635590 - La Porte's was not located in digitized form); BuShips records incl. VC2-S-AP5 contract plans and Booklets of General Plans (RG 19); USMC/WSA construction and custody records for M.C.V. Hull 117 at Oregon Shipbuilding (RG 178); MARAD/NDRF custody files covering the 1946-1973 James River lay-up incl. the 1966 Norfolk drydocking work order, and the PD-X-956/MA-6927 sale file which would name the actual scrapping site/subcontractor (the status card's 'Luria Brothers & Co., Inc.' annotation suggests Luria Brothers handled breaking).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1973 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for MCV-117 is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-porte-apa151-10