Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - SANTA LUCIA, Ship History Detail 12042, including digitized WSA/MARAD vessel status card [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 12042; status card image /cards/06449d90-a7a3-431c-a6e3-237964853c4b.png
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record and digitized vessel status card for SANTA LUCIA, U.S. Official No. 232101: built by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. at Kearny, N.J., completed January 1933, type 'Pass.', gross 9,135 / net 3,839 tons, D.W.T. 7,424. Status card records custody chain: basis to War Shipping Administration 2-27-42 7:40 PM at New York from Grace Line, Inc. (bareboat); allocated to Grace Line, Inc. under General Agency Agreement; then Navy Dept. under sub-bareboat charter at New York 8-6-42 12:01 AM; annotated 'Torpedoed and sunk Nov. 9, 1942' and 'Navy Name LEEDSTOWN (#1)'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1933-1942
- Limitations
- Primary government custody record for this exact hull (official number matches). 'Completed Jan., 1933' conflicts slightly with the February 9, 1933 delivery date documented in period trade press - noted as a minor date discrepancy. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-01
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Leedstown I' (Naval Historical Center/NHHC; Wayback capture 2012-11-03 of history.navy.mil/danfs/l5/leedstown-i.htm) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Leedstown I (AP-73)' full entry text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry 'Leedstown I (AP-73)': Santa Lucia, built 1933 by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.; acquired by the Navy 6 August 1942; renamed Leedstown 20 August 1942; commissioned 24 September 1942 with Lt. Comdr. Duncan Cook in command. Departed New York 26 September, arrived Belfast 7 October; sailed from the Clyde 26 October in a convoy of about 37 transports; passed Gibraltar 6 November; attacked 8 November by Heinkel-111s and Junker-88s, an aerial torpedo hitting the stern, destroying steering gear and flooding the after section. Attacked again about noon 9 November - three near misses, one attacker splashed, then two torpedo hits amidships; abandon ship ordered 1320; after a further bombing attack at 1615 she sank near Cape Matifou about 12 miles from Algiers. Awarded one battle star. DANFS header: dp. 9,135; l. 484'; b. 72'; dr. 25'11"; s. 18 k.; cpl. 538; trp. 2,505.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy narrative. DANFS describes the November 9 attack as aircraft action and does not name a submarine for the amidships torpedo hits; NavSource lists the finishing torpedoes as 'possibly' from U-331 and uboat.net attributes them to U-331 - attribution discrepancy noted. DANFS gives no casualty figure (see ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-03). Live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-25; Wayback capture of the NHHC DANFS text is cited. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-02
-
[3]Naval Historical Center / NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, 'USN Ships - USS Leedstown (AP-73), 1942-1942' (HyperWar/ibiblio mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library AP-73 page; photos 19-N-34061 to 19-N-34065
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC Online Library photo page for USS Leedstown (AP-73): 'a 8600-ton transport... built in 1933 at Kearny, New Jersey, as the commercial passenger liner Santa Lucia. She was acquired by the Navy in August 1942, renamed and converted for amphibious assault purposes.' Documents the 8 November torpedoing, the 9 November near-misses and two amidships torpedo hits, and that she 'sank off the Algerian coast with the loss of eight men out of more than five hundred on board when abandon ship was ordered.' Five Bureau of Ships photographs (19-N-34061 through 19-N-34065) show her off the New York Navy Yard on 12 September 1942 with LCM/LCVP/LCP landing craft visible.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942
- Population
- crew and embarked troops aboard at sinking
- Limitations
- The casualty figure (8 lost of more than 500 aboard) is the authoritative NHHC number; uboat.net's database entry claims 59 dead out of a stated complement of 163 - an unresolved discrepancy logged in gaps. Photo captions place her off the New York Navy Yard during conversion, but shipscribe documents the conversion yard as Robins Dry Dock (Todd), Brooklyn - yard-of-work per shipscribe. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-03
-
[4]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USS Leedstown (AP-73) (Wayback capture 2025-05-28; live site unreachable 2026-09-25) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AP-73 archive page: awards, specifications, commanding officers, final disposition
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive entry: acquired by U.S. Navy 6 August 1942; commissioned USS Leedstown (AP-73) 24 September 1942, LCDR Duncan Cook USNR in command (to 8 November 1942); struck from the Naval Register 7 December 1942; assigned Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater, North African occupation / Tunisian operation 8 November 1942; awards include Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive), American Campaign Medal, Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (one star), WWII Victory Medal. Final disposition text: 'hit by enemy torpedo, possibly from U-331, and sunk, 8 November 1942, near Cape Matifou, Algiers.' Specifications: displacement 8,600 t (lt) / 9,135 t (fl); length 484'; beam 72'; draft 26'; speed 18 kts; troop accommodations 2,505.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942
- Limitations
- NavSource is a specialist archive (project-sanctioned as a research lead), not an official record. Its headline 'sunk 8 November' and final-disposition line compress the two-day loss sequence - DANFS and NHHC control: torpedoed evening of 8 November, sunk 9 November. The U-331 attribution is hedged ('possibly') - retained as such. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-04
-
[5]Shipscribe.com, USS Leedstown (AP-73) class page - Stephen S. Roberts compilation of BuShips/BuC&R/CominCh records [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class notes, construction table, ship notes for AP-73
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe USS Leedstown (AP-73) class file (S. S. Roberts, compiled from official records): the four Santa Rosa-class liners were designed by William Francis Gibbs for Grace Line; Navy planners projected them for cruiser (XCA) conversion in pre-war WPL-10 mobilization planning through 1940-41. WSA took over Santa Lucia February 1942 for Army troop movements; she made two voyages to the southwest Pacific before transiting the Panama Canal in July for New York. Per the 1 August 1942 CominCh directive she was one of ten merchant ships ordered to partial combat-load conversion; converted by Robins Dry Dock (Todd), Brooklyn, N.Y., 5 August-24 September 1942, with instructions for 8 Welin davits and stowage for 28-30 landing craft and 2 tank lighters. A 26 September 1942 emergency inspection concluded 'the ship is poorly fitted for the task of a combat-loaded transport' - badly cut up, crowded, poor cargo stowage, much wooden construction throughout - defects CominCh attributed to 'the hasty partial conversion of a not too well built merchant vessel.' Ship notes: 'Ex-merc. SANTA LUCIA (ID-4868C, completed Jan 33)... Torpedoed and bombed by German aircraft and by U-331 off Algiers.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1931-1942 (class planning); Aug-Nov 1942 (conversion/loss)
- Population
- conversion yard workers (Robins DD, Brooklyn, Aug-Sep 1942); embarked troops and crew
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary source quoting official records (Auxiliary Vessels Board, CominCh correspondence) - the quoted 26 September 1942 inspection finding is a primary-grade detail transmitted through this compilation. Robins Dry Dock (Todd) Brooklyn is the documented conversion yard and is not a distinct shipyards.json entry. Contains no asbestos information; 'much wooden construction' is a construction-quality observation, not a materials list.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-05
-
[6]Pacific Marine Review vol. 29 (1932) and vol. 30 (1933), J.S. Hines, San Francisco - construction notes, launch notice, 'Four New Grace Liners' (Dec 1932, pp. 435-436), 'Santa Lucia Delivered' (Mar 1933, p. 87); archive.org scans pacificmarinerev2932paci, pacificmarinerev3033paci [reputable_press]
- Locator
- PMR v.29 Federal Shipbuilding yard table (hull 123, keel 9/28/31); v.29 Nov 1932 'Santa Lucia Launched'; v.30 Mar 1933 'Santa Lucia Delivered'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous Pacific Marine Review construction record for Santa Lucia: Federal Shipbuilding yard table lists 'Santa Lucia, hull 123, sister to above for Grace Steamship Co., New York; keel 9/28/31'; the November 1932 issue reports her launched October 3 (1932), christened by Miss Hilda Holloway; the March 1933 issue ('Santa Lucia Delivered') reports delivery to her owner February 9 (1933) and maiden-voyage departure from New York February 17 for San Francisco via Havana, Colombia, Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Los Angeles. Sisters per the December 1932 'Four New Grace Liners' article: Santa Rosa, Santa Paula, Santa Lucia, Santa Elena, designed and construction-supervised by Gibbs & Cox, Inc., built by Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J.; 508' overall, 484' between perpendiculars, 72' beam, 26' 2.5" loaded draft, 250,000 cu ft cargo, 225 first-class and 65 third-class passengers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1931-1933
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous trade-press primary record; OCR of archive.org scans verified by direct reading of the relevant columns. Launch 'October 3' is stated in the Nov 1932 issue (year 1932 by issue context); delivery 'February 9' in the Mar 1933 issue (year 1933 by context). MARAD card's 'completed Jan., 1933' vs. PMR's Feb 9 delivery is a minor unresolved discrepancy. Contains no asbestos statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-06
-
[7]Pacific Marine Review vol. 29 (Dec 1932), 'Power Plants of Grace Liners,' pp. 443-449; archive.org scan pacificmarinerev2932paci [reputable_press]
- Locator
- PMR v.29 Dec 1932 pp. 443-449, boiler and turbine sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Pacific Marine Review, 'Power Plants of Grace Liners' (Dec 1932, pp. 443-449), describes the machinery of the new Grace liners by name: 'On each of the new liners Santa Rosa and Santa Lucia steam will be supplied by four Babcock & Wilcox boilers' - oil-fired water-tube units with superheaters, internal desuperheaters, economizers, double air casing, and furnaces 'lined with Babcock & Wilcox No. 80 Firebrick and Special Insulation.' Main propulsion: 'two double reduction gear turbine sets of the General-Electric type, each rated 6000 shaft horsepower normal, and 6600 shaft horsepower maximum' driving twin screws; steam at the turbine throttle at high pressure and 300 degrees F superheat; Ingersoll-Rand underslung condensers designed for 28.25 inches vacuum; turbine-driven 500-kW generators. Under normal conditions the vessels operated on three boilers with the fourth as spare.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1932-1933
- Population
- engine-room and boiler-room crew; yard fitters
- Limitations
- Establishes the propulsion plant aboard this hull (named explicitly with Santa Rosa). Documents that insulation products were installed ('Special Insulation' furnace lining; a superheated-steam plant of this rating required lagged piping) but does not state insulation composition and never uses the word 'asbestos' - see ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-08 for the inference row. The OCR'd turbine-throttle pressure (875 psi) conflicts with shipscribe's 430 psi boiler figure and is not asserted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-07
-
[8]Inference combining: Pacific Marine Review Dec 1932 plant description (this hull's boilers/insulation) + Corn & Starr, AJIM 11(3):359-373 (1987) for era documentation [other_primary]
- Locator
- PMR v.29 Dec 1932 pp. 443-449; AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: the 1932 Pacific Marine Review plant description confirms this hull's boilers carried refractory firebrick and 'Special Insulation' and that the plant ran high-pressure superheated steam - a machinery arrangement that in U.S. marine practice of the early 1930s and the WWII conversion era was characteristically insulated with asbestos-containing lagging, gaskets, and packing. The 1942 Navy combat-load conversion at Robins Dry Dock occurred within the documented peak period of asbestos use in U.S. shipbuilding. No located source names asbestos content aboard this specific hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1931-1942
- Population
- Engine/boiler-room crew (merchant 1933-42, Navy 1942); conversion-yard workers (Robins DD, 1942)
- Limitations
- Asbestos content is inference: PMR documents insulation installed but does not name asbestos; era scholarship describes industry practice, not this hull. The vessel was built 1931-33 (pre-war), one era before the peak 1940-45 documentation; her only WWII-era yard exposure was the Aug-Sep 1942 conversion. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not aboard, nor quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-08
-
[9]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 scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during World War II - the era covering this hull's 1942 Navy conversion and service period, and the era of her builder's (Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny) documented heavy wartime workload.
- 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 scholarship; does not name this vessel, her class, or her builder by hull record. WWII-era focus post-dates the 1931-33 construction; applies most directly to the Aug-Sep 1942 conversion at Robins DD. Establishes era practice only - not presence aboard this hull, quantity, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-09
-
[10]Newspaper clipping (Aug 26, 1981), Johns-Manville archive collection, Open Research Library scan 035b8d7f-4697-465f-acd6-bd2a59265f5e - suit by Federal Shipbuilding workers Burgisser and Fiorino [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Archived news clipping, Aug 26 1981 - 25-defendant NJ Superior Court complaint
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Archived 1981 New Jersey press report documents a Superior Court suit by two former Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. (Kearny) employees alleging asbestosis and lung/heart disease from continuous exposure to asbestos dust, particles, and fibers at the yard, naming Johns-Manville companies and officials as defendants - contemporaneous evidence that asbestos-exposure litigation arose from the yard that built this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- suit filed 1981; exposure era referenced includes WWII-era operations
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding (Kearny) yard workers
- Limitations
- Yard-level pleading-stage allegation, not a finding: the report describes a filed complaint; no adjudicated outcome is documented, and the suit predates (1931-33) nothing hull-specific - it addresses yard work generally, not this vessel. Builder-yard litigation context only; does not establish materials aboard this hull. Source is an archived press clipping; suit disposition not located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-10
-
[11]Charles, Roland W., Troopships of World War II, Army Transportation Association, Washington, 1947, p. 249 (digitized copy, 80thdivision.com PDF mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- p. 249, SANTA LUCIA entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Charles, Troopships of World War II (Army Transportation Association, 1947), p. 249, SANTA LUCIA entry: confirms build/operator data (built 1933 by Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny; pre-war operator Grace Lines; 508' oa, 72' beam, 26'2" draft, 9,135 gross tons, 18 kt, turbines (2), 2,505 passengers) and the WSA-period voyage record - departed New York 4 March 1942 via Panama for Australia (Townsville, Brisbane), returned San Francisco 10 May; departed 26 May for Fiji; Panama 3 July; Buenaventura; arrived New York 16 July - then turned over to the Navy and renamed USS Leedstown. The entry also states 'the ship... was torpedoed on 9 November 1942. She was beached to avoid sinking, but was not refloated,' and inserts a voyage to Cochin and Karachi, India returning 21 September 1942.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942
- Limitations
- Army Transportation Corps-associated 1947 compilation; the WSA voyage record (Mar-Jul 1942) is consistent with the MARAD status card. Two statements conflict with authoritative sources and are not adopted: (1) a post-takeover India voyage 'returning 21 September' cannot be reconciled with the documented Aug 5-Sep 24 Robins DD conversion and Sept 12 photos at New York; (2) 'beached to avoid sinking' conflicts with DANFS/NHHC 'sank near Cape Matifou.' Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-11
-
[12]Batch-2145 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS and NHHC Online Library; NavSource; MARAD ShipHistory 12042 + status card; shipscribe AP-73 class file; Pacific Marine Review v.29/v.30 full-text scans; Charles, Troopships of WWII (1947); CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-leedstown-ap73-01 through sl-uss-leedstown-ap73-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific record located: no asbestos survey, material list, abatement record, museum or government hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Leedstown (AP-73) or the 1933 Santa Lucia was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener coverage: 'Leedstown' opinions - 2 hits, both name collisions (United States v. Chrysler Corp., 995 F. Supp. 150 (D.D.C. 1998), an EPA/enforcement case; Sheehy v. Mandeville, 11 U.S. (7 Cranch) 208 (1812)); 'Leedstown' dockets - 12 hits, all bankruptcy cases matching 'Leedstown' in creditor-matrix addresses (Leedstown, Va. place name); '"Santa Lucia" AND asbestos' opinions - 1 hit, collision (Bendon v. Andrade, Bankr. C.D. Cal. 2003); '"Santa Lucia" AND asbestos' dockets - 34 hits reviewed at case-name level, all non-vessel matters; the two most plausible were document-checked and are collisions (a 1946 shrimp trawler exhibit in Savoie v. Pennsylvania General Ins., E.D. La. 2:15-cv-01220; a deck-and-oil barge in an MDL-875 motion exhibit).
- 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 sunk-in-1942 hull was never surveyed and its conversion and loss records were not digitized. CourtListener coverage was completed after fleet-quota delays, but: (a) the search index covers federal/state opinions and RECAP dockets only - state trial-court filings and asbestos-trust claims are outside its scope; (b) 'Santa Lucia' is a high-collision name and spot-checks cannot exhaustively exclude every docket-level mention. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-12
-
[13]NARA Record Groups 19 (BuShips) and 38 (CNO/CominCh wartime records) - identified as leads via NHHC photo citations and shipscribe's quoted inspection finding; not yet retrieved [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC photo captions (NARA Bureau of Ships Collection); shipscribe AP-73 class notes
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (unretrieved): NARA Bureau of Ships photographs 19-N-34061 through 19-N-34065 (referenced by the NHHC photo page) document the ship during conversion at New York, 12 September 1942; the BuShips/CominCh loss correspondence and CO action report for the 8-9 November 1942 sinking (RG 19/RG 38), Robins Dry Dock conversion work orders, and the 26 September 1942 emergency-inspection file quoted by shipscribe are the likely repositories for any materials statements about this hull.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942 (records); leads identified 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Pointers only - these records were not retrieved or read in this batch. Existence of the specific loss report and conversion work orders is inferred from standard Navy wartime records practice, not confirmed by catalog search (NARA catalog API not reachable via automated access during this session).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leedstown-ap73-13