USS Lackawanna (AO-40)

Evidence

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

1. [1]NHHC, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Lackawanna II (AO-40)' [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS Lackawanna II (AO-40) entry, full text incl. spec line (live NHHC URL returned 404 on 2026-09-24 - consistent with the NHHC link-rot pattern noted in BATCH-01; cited via Internet Archive capture 2024-12-09)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry 'Lackawanna II (AO-40)' documents construction and wartime service: ex-Conastoga, laid down 1941-12-27 by Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard Inc., Sparrows Point, Md., under a Maritime Commission contract; launched 1942-05-16 (sponsor Mrs. S. J. Dickey); acquired by the Navy 1942-06-20; commissioned 1942-07-10 at Baltimore, Lt. Comdr. S. R. Sands Jr., USCG, in command. Spec line: dp. 21,580; l. 501'5"; b. 68'; dr. 30'9"; s. 16.7 k.; cpl. 287; a. 1x5", 4x3", 4x40mm, 12x20mm, 2 dcp; T. T2. Service: Noumea replenishment 1942; ServRon 8 Central Pacific from 1943-02-16; Gilbert Islands Nov 1943; Kwajalein/Majuro Jan-Mar 1944; Palau/Yap/Truk carrier raids Apr-May 1944; Marianas (Saipan/Tinian/Guam) Jun-Aug 1944; Palaus and Philippines replenishment Sep-Dec 1944; Okinawa Mar-Jun 1945; 3d Fleet raids on Japan Jul-Aug 1945; departed Tokyo Bay 1945-10-12; decommissioned Oakland 1946-02-14; returned to Maritime Commission 1946-07-01; sold to Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., renamed Tatarrax.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1941-1946

   Population

   Crew (DANFS cpl. 287); first commanding officer was USCG

   Limitations

   Authoritative on identity, construction, wartime service, and disposal sequence. Contains no insulation/asbestos statement - supports no asbestos claim by itself. Does not state a stricken date or battle-star count.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lackawanna-ao40-01

2. [2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - LACKAWANNA (AO-40), Ship History Detail 2920 [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   Detail 2920 fields (Year Built, Official Number 241823, Shipyard, Type) + Vessel Name History + Milestones; images Lackawanna_2920_001-004.jpg inspected - all are photographs

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD ShipHistory record for LACKAWANNA (AO-40), Detail 2920: Year Built 1942; U.S. Official Number 241823; shipyard Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard; type AO Oiler; net 5,904 t / gross 9,925 t. Vessel name history: Conastoga (1942), Lackawanna AO-40 (1942-1947), Tatarrax (1947-1962), Thomas A (1962-1965), Padre Island (1965-1967). Milestones: entry/acquisition 1946-06-30; disposition 1947-03-21 'CUST 1946SOLD'; withdrawal 1947-03-21. The four digitized card images on the detail page are photographs of the vessel, not status cards - no hazmat annotation present.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1942-1967

   Limitations

   Government custody/name record; confirms the Tatarrax identity is this hull (linchpin for applying Torrejon v. Mobil). Contains no insulation/asbestos statement; milestone dates are custody events, not disposal detail.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lackawanna-ao40-02

3. [3]Torrejon v. Mobil Oil Co., 876 So. 2d 877 (La. App. 4th Cir. 2004), No. 2003-CA-1426, writ denied, 882 So. 2d 1125 (La. 2004) [court_record]

   Locator

   Opinion text: stipulated facts (eight-vessel list incl. TATARRAX; mesothelioma-asbestos stipulation), jury interrogatories 1-2, JNOV grant, damages award, affirmance; cluster 1656743 / docket 1671226 via CourtListener API v4

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Torrejon v. Mobil Oil Co. is an affirmed asbestos judgment touching this hull. The parties stipulated that merchant mariner Joseph Torrejon sailed aboard eight Mobil or predecessor vessels - STANVAC CAPE TOWN, SOCONY VACUUM, SACONNET, TATARRAX, SAUCON, SHABONEE, MAGNOLIA, ECLIPSE - during 1941-1949 and 1956, as Oiler, Machinist, Fireman/Watertender, and 1st/2nd/3rd Assistant Engineer; TATARRAX is this hull's merchant identity 1947-1962 (MARAD name history). It was further stipulated that he developed malignant pleural mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure; his treating physician recorded that he 'worked with asbestos when he was a ship's engineer during World War II.' Trial testimony (Mobil's own expert Cushing; former Mobil seaman Rivera) was that asbestos-containing insulation was used on the Mobil ships Torrejon sailed and that a machinist's work included repairing pipes and removing asbestos-containing insulation. The jury found Mobil negligent in exposing Torrejon to asbestos (interrogatory 1: yes) but found the negligence was not a cause of his injuries (interrogatory 2: no); judgment for Mobil entered 2002-11-20. The trial court granted plaintiff's JNOV, awarding $1.8M general plus $35,917.21 special damages ($1,835,917.21 total); the Fourth Circuit affirmed the amended JNOV; the Louisiana Supreme Court denied writ 2004-09-24 (882 So. 2d 1125).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   exposure window 1941-1949 and 1956 (this hull: 1947-49 or 1956); litigation 1995-2004

   Population

   Merchant marine engine-room crew (oiler, machinist, fireman/watertender, assistant engineers) aboard Mobil tankers incl. this hull 1947-1962

   Limitations

   Litigation-stage note (per batch discipline - described exactly): jury found negligence but no causation; the plaintiff verdict is the trial court's JNOV, affirmed on appeal and writ denied - an affirmed judgment, the strongest posture. Limitations: (1) the stipulated vessel list and exposure findings span eight vessels - no per-vessel apportionment ties exposure to TATARRAX alone; (2) any service aboard this hull as Tatarrax falls in 1947-1949 or 1956, i.e., the merchant era - the record establishes nothing about Navy-era (1942-46) conditions aboard AO-40; (3) product-manufacturer defendants (Babcock & Wilcox, Foster Wheeler, Flintkote, Garlock, Owens-Corning, Owens-Illinois, Combustion Engineering) settled or were dismissed before trial - no product finding against any of them; (4) does not establish present-day conditions (hull scrapped 1966-67).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lackawanna-ao40-03

4. [4]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Lackawanna (AO-40) page (compiled archive transcribing DANFS, NVR-style data, and campaign lists) [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.org/archives/09/19/19040.htm - chronology block, campaign table, spec block, CO roster

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Online service-ship archive page for USS Lackawanna (AO-40) records: authorized as SS Conastoga, MC type (T2-SO) tanker hull; laid down 1941-12-27 at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Sparrows Point, MD (MC hull 147); launched 1942-05-16; acquired 1942-06-20; reduced commission 1942-07-10 for transit to Baltimore fitting out (LCDR Simon R. Sands Jr., USCG); full commission 1942-07-31 (CDR Albert L. Toney, USN); nine Asiatic-Pacific campaign credits listed; occupation service 1945-09-02 to 1945-10-13; decommissioned 1946-02-14 Oakland; 'Struck from the Naval Register, 5 June 1946'; 'earned nine battle stars'; returned to MC 1946-07-01 (name reverted to SS Conastoga); merchant chain Tatarrax (1947) / Thomas A (1962) / Padre Island (1965); scrapped 1967 at Vinaroz, Spain. Spec block: 6,013 t (lt) / 21,580 t (fl); 501'5" x 68' x 30'9"; 16.7 kts trial; 18 officers + 269 enlisted; armament 1x5"/38, 4x3"/50, 4 twin 40mm, 4 twin 20mm; cargo NSFO 109,000 bbls + gasoline 689,000 gals; propulsion 1 GE geared turbine, 2 Foster & Wheeler P-type boilers 420 psi/725 F, double GE reduction gears, 2x300kW + 1x50kW turbo generators, single screw 12,000 shp. CO roster confirms USCG first commander, then USN/USNR.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1941-1967

   Population

   Crew 287 (18 officers + 269 enlisted per spec block)

   Limitations

   Secondary compiled archive (volunteer-transcribed official data), not itself a primary record; used to corroborate DANFS/MARAD and for details DANFS omits (struck date, full-commission date, machinery detail, battle stars). Battle-star count conflicts with other compilations (NavSource nine vs. NavalCoverMuseum/Wikipedia eight) - carried in gaps. No insulation/asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lackawanna-ao40-04

5. [5]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual NAVSHIPS 250-000, ch. 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960, page date 15 Apr 1959), as applied to this hull's documented steam plant [other_primary]

   Locator

   BuShips TM ch. 39 sections 39-11 through 39-13 (materials); NavSource spec block supplies the machinery facts

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   The hull's documented machinery - two Foster & Wheeler P-type boilers (420 psi, 725 F) driving a General Electric geared steam turbine, 12,000 shp, built 1941-42 under a Maritime Commission contract - is the equipment class whose era-standard insulation suite was commonly asbestos-containing: boiler and steam-drum lagging, steam-line pipe covering (85% magnesia and amosite-fiber types in Navy service), asbestos felt and cloth lagging, millboard, finishing/insulating cement, and flange/valve gaskets and machinery packing. The 1960 BuShips Technical Manual insulation chapter (NAVSHIPS 250-000, ch. 39) enumerates this asbestos material suite for Navy steam plants of the era.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1941-1967 service life; manual 1960

   Population

   Construction trades (Bethlehem-Sparrows Point, 1941-42); Navy/USCG engine-room crew 1942-46; merchant engine crew 1947-67

   Limitations

   Specification-level documentation of the era insulation suite matched to this hull's documented steam plant - not an installation record. The manual postdates the ship (1960 vs. 1942-46 service) and describes the standing Navy spec environment; this hull was built to Maritime Commission contract and naval-fitted, so MC commercial practice and Navy spec both apply by layer. 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-lackawanna-ao40-05

6. [6]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

   AJIM 11(3):359-373, article abstract/body

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Peer-reviewed historical scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as fireproofing and insulation in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and Maritime Commission program under which this T2-type oiler hull was built (keel laid eight days after Pearl Harbor, 1941-12-27, to an emergency MC contract).

   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 documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or any hull 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-lackawanna-ao40-06

7. [7]Fleischer, W.E., et al., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology 28(1):9-16 (1946) [other_primary]

   Locator

   J. Ind. Hyg. Toxicol. 28(1):9-16 (1946) - survey conducted at shipyards incl. Navy vessel construction

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   The U.S. Public Health Service / Maritime Commission-commissioned wartime industrial-hygiene survey of pipe-covering operations in naval vessel construction documented amosite asbestos as an important ingredient of the pipe covering applied to U.S. Navy vessels of this construction era - the same steam-pipe insulation class fitted to this hull's documented plant.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   survey wartime; published 1946

   Population

   Pipe coverers/insulators in WWII naval construction (class context)

   Limitations

   Era survey of materials used in naval-vessel construction generally; does not name this vessel or the Kennebec class. Establishes the era's material practice, not installation aboard this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lackawanna-ao40-07

8. [8]Batch-1886 search ledger (this record): CourtListener opinion+docket searches; NHHC DANFS; MARAD ShipHistory; NavSource; NARA deck-log index; USCG historian's office [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-lackawanna-ao40-01 through -12

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Negative finding for the Navy era: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Lackawanna or AO-40 was located in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only qualifying asbestos litigation touching this hull is Torrejon v. Mobil (ev-03), which addresses the hull's post-Navy merchant identity (SS Tatarrax). CourtListener name searches returned only collisions: Erie Lackawanna Railway, City of Lackawanna and Lackawanna County (NY/PA) matters, the NY 8th Judicial District asbestos cases, and 'The Lackawanna' (W.D.N.Y. 1913/1915) - an earlier namesake vessel predating AO-40.

   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 is not proof of absence - the hull was scrapped abroad in 1966-67, pre-dating modern hazmat-disposal documentation regimes. The Torrejon record covers only the merchant era and only as one of eight vessels.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lackawanna-ao40-08

9. [9]NARA RG 24 deck-log series; USCG Historian's Office vessel-mannning publications; MARAD custody files [other_primary]

   Locator

   NARA Navy deck-log availability page (WWII logs partially digitized); brohan.org NARA log index shows only pre-1940 Lackawanna logs (the Civil War-era namesake)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Archival leads not retrieved this session: NARA RG 24 deck logs for AO-40, 1942-1946 (WWII-era deck-log digitization status for this hull unconfirmed - NARA's online 'Lackawanna' log scans located are the 1866-1885 logs of the earlier sloop-of-war namesake); USCG Historian's Office 'Coast Guard-Manned Naval Vessels in WWII' roster (secondary compilations state AO-40 was USCG-manned and DANFS confirms the first CO was USCG, but the official roster page returned HTTP 403); MARAD RG 357 custody/disposal file for the 1947 sale to Socony-Vacuum.

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1942-1946 records

   Limitations

   Unretrieved leads, not findings. Deck logs would establish underway locations and possibly yard availabilities but rarely record insulation material; the USCG roster would settle the crew-service question, not asbestos.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lackawanna-ao40-09