USS Lenoir (AKA-74)

Evidence

10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).

1. [1]DANFS entry 'LENOIR (AKA-74)' - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (1969) Vol. 4, pp. 86, 476; live NHHC page 404s as of 2026-09-22; text verified via losthistory.net/hazegray transcription and HyperWar/ibiblio mirror [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   losthistory.net/hazegray DANFS transcription, aka74.txt (full entry incl. Tolland class statistical summary); HyperWar mirror http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/AKA/AKA-74_Lenoir.html

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS (1969, Vol. 4, pp. 86, 476) documents: Tolland-class attack cargo ship laid down 1944-09-07 by North Carolina Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington, N.C.; launched under Maritime Commission contract 1944-11-06, sponsored by Mrs. John M. Kerr; acquired and commissioned 1944-12-14, Lt. Comdr. Marcus L. Whitford in command. Service: departed Norfolk 1945-01-21, Pearl Harbor 02-20, Eniwetok 03-22/25, sailed Ulithi 04-13 for Okinawa landings, arrived off Hagushi beach 04-17, discharged cargo within 72 hours under air attack without battle damage; then Saipan, Guadalcanal, Guam, San Francisco 07-10; Pearl Harbor 08-25 embarking Army 6th Division for Japan (arrived 10-22); departed 11-04 for Portland, Ore. (arrived 11-18); 'Magic Carpet' voyage from Alameda to Tsingtao, China, and Jinsen, Korea; San Francisco 1946-03-11; Norfolk; decommissioned 1946-06-13; returned to Maritime Commission 1946-06-14; sold 1947 to Lykes Bros. S.S. Co. (operated out of Tampa as MARGARET LYKES), resold same year to Gulf & South American S.S. Co. (GULF MERCHANT). One battle star for WWII.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1944-1947

   Population

   Ship's complement (247 per DANFS header) plus embarked troops; yard workers during construction and Charleston fitting-out

   Limitations

   Official Navy history via verbatim transcription (no live NHHC page and no Wayback capture located). Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information; establishes history only, not any exposure condition aboard. Class statistical summary confirms Foster-Wheeler header-type boilers for AKA-74 specifically.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lenoir-aka74-01

2. [2]U.S. Maritime Administration, Vessel History Database - LENOIR (AKA-74), ShipHistory Detail 2994 (milestones + status-card scans 2994_5573AF/AB, 4HI_01/02) [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   ShipHistory Detail 2994 - vessel particulars, milestones (Entry/Acquisition 6/14/1946), status-card images /cards/2994_5573AF.jpg, /cards/2994_5573AB.jpg, /cards/4HI_01.png, /cards/4HI_02.png (handwritten entries transcribed this pass)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD ShipHistory Detail 2994 + vessel status cards (READ this pass - contents verified from card scans): O.N. 252445; hull 1404; type C2-S-AJ3; built by N. Carolina SB & DD Co., Wilmington, NC, completed 1944-12-14; delivered by builders to USMC at Wilmington 1944-12-14 2:00PM EWT (basis to WSA); received from Navy Dept. as surplus at Lee Hall, Va. 1946-06-14 12:15PM EDT (James River reserve fleet). Card records 'Reconversion vessel': withdrawn from fleet 1946-12-12, towed by Wood Towing Corp. to Newport News and Moran Towing & Transp. Co. to New York (both 12-12), delivered into custody of Sullivan Drydock & Repair Co., New York 1946-12-19; to Lykes Bros. S.S. Co. under GAA 1947-08-29; purchase documents at Baltimore 1947-09-02 / 10-01; resold to Gulf & South American S.S. Co. at Baltimore 1947-10-27, renamed GULF MERCHANT; sold to Delta Steamship Lines, Inc. 1964-11-05 renamed DEL AIRES; sold to Columbia Steamship Co., Inc. 1968-06-28 renamed COLUMBIA TIGER; transferred to Netherlands flag 1970-09-09 renamed ANTILLIAN TIGER.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1944-1971

   Population

   Sullivan Drydock & Repair Co. yard trades (reconversion, 1946-47); merchant crews 1947-1971

   Limitations

   Authoritative for custody milestones, operator chain, and the Sullivan Drydock reconversion yard period (Dec 1946-Aug 1947). Status-card handwriting partially legible; entries transcribed with high confidence. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information - the reconversion custody documents a yard period on this hull, not what materials were disturbed. Supports no asbestos claim. Card ends with the 1970 reflag; the 1971 scrapping appears only in secondary sources.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lenoir-aka74-02

3. [3]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Lenoir (AKA-74) page (02074) vs DANFS transcription and MARAD status card; HyperWar ships-1940-45 compilation page [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 02074 chronology block + spec block + photo captions (incl. US Navy Yard Charleston photo # 64-45, 1945-01-06); losthistory DANFS transcription aka74.txt

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Source discrepancies resolved: (a) laid down - NavSource page text reads '7 September 1943' where DANFS, the MARAD card (built 1944, completed 12-14-44), and every other source read 7 September 1944; a 1943 keel is implausible against a November 1944 launch, and NavSource's own photo caption dates the launch 6 November 1944. DANFS 1944-09-07 adopted. (b) launched - NavSource text '6 September 1944' vs its own caption and DANFS '6 November 1944'; 1944-11-06 adopted. (c) commissioned - DANFS flattens to 'acquired and commissioned 14 December 1944'; NavSource gives temporary commission 12-14 (ferry crew), Charleston Navy Yard arrival 12-16 for fitting out, full commission 12-30. Both retained: commissioned field carries DANFS date with NavSource sequence. (d) complement - DANFS headline 247 = NavSource 23 officers + 224 enlisted; HyperWar compilation page and the DANFS Tolland class accommodation table show 395 (62 officers + 333 enlisted) - a design accommodation figure, not adopted.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Limitations

   Correction row: records known discrepancies so downstream readers do not propagate NavSource's 1943 keel/September launch typos or merge the 395 accommodation figure into complement. Bears on identity/history only - no asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lenoir-aka74-03

4. [4]Corn JK, Starr J. 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding.' Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987), DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700110311

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that WWII-era U.S. shipyards extensively installed asbestos-containing insulation, lagging, and gaskets in naval and Maritime Commission construction - the program era in which this C2-S-AJ3 hull was built (1944). Applied to this hull's documented steam plant (2 Foster-Wheeler header-type boilers, GE geared turbine): the era-relevant applications are boiler and steam-drum insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and accommodation insulation.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1941-1945 (study scope); applied 1944-1971

   Population

   WWII-era shipyard workers (North Carolina Shipbuilding, 1944); wartime crew (era context)

   Limitations

   Era-level scholarship plus type inference; the source does not name this hull or class and does not establish that any specific material aboard this ship contained asbestos. No ship-specific product is verified. Does not establish quantity, condition, present-day presence, exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lenoir-aka74-04

5. [5]Burnette v. Nicolet, Inc., 818 F.2d 1098 (4th Cir. 1986), Prod.Liab.Rep.(CCH)P 11,080 (argued 1986-04-10; decided 1986-07-25) [court_record]

   Locator

   818 F.2d 1098, statement of facts (Burnette's NC Shipbuilding employment)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Appellate record documenting asbestos insulation work at this hull's builder yard during its construction era: the Fourth Circuit's summary-judgment review states that insulator James Burnette 'was first exposed to asbestos in his job as an insulator at the North Carolina Shipbuilding Co. in October 1943' - the same Wilmington yard that built MC hull 1404 (laid down September 1944, delivered December 1944); his work there was on 'incompleted hulls sitting powerless on the water or in land-based construction shops.' The opinion resolves jurisdiction/summary-judgment questions, not exposure merits.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1943-1986

   Population

   North Carolina Shipbuilding Co. insulators/trades (1943-45 era)

   Limitations

   Yard- and era-level documentation only - the opinion does not name this hull or any vessel and does not establish that asbestos products were installed aboard MC hull 1404. It supports the builder-yard pathway inference, not a ship-specific finding. The merits disposition was a defense summary-judgment affirmance on jurisdiction grounds.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lenoir-aka74-05

6. [6]Sheffield v. Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp., 595 So. 2d 443 (Ala. 1992), Nos. 1900970-1900975 (decided 1992-02-28) [court_record]

   Locator

   595 So. 2d 443, appellant roster (shipowner list) and product-identification analysis

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Operator-level asbestos litigation touching this hull's merchant operators: the Alabama Supreme Court's consolidated review of former merchant seamen's asbestos claims lists among the shipowner-appellants Gulf and South American Steamship Co., Inc. - owner/operator of this hull as SS Gulf Merchant 1947-1964 - and Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., Inc. - operator of this hull as SS Margaret Lykes in 1947. Plaintiffs Shaw, Sheffield, and Young (sea service ending 1982, 1968, and 1960 respectively) alleged exposure to asbestos products aboard ships on which they served; the court affirmed summary judgment against the seamen on product-identification grounds as to the OCF claims, while reversing in part and remanding on related issues (including a Kaylo-exposure inference for one plaintiff). The opinion's Foster-Wheeler boiler discussion concerns vessels the plaintiffs served generally - not identified to any hull.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   service periods ending 1960-1982; opinion 1992

   Population

   Career merchant seamen (3 plaintiffs); G&SA/Lykes fleet crews (context)

   Limitations

   The opinion names no vessels - whether any plaintiff served aboard this hull is unknown and cannot be established from the text. Operator-level context only: it documents that two of this hull's merchant operators faced career-seaman asbestos litigation, not that this hull carried asbestos or that any plaintiff sailed aboard her. The summary-judgment affirmance is a merits-level negative for those plaintiffs, not exposure evidence.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lenoir-aka74-06

7. [7]Abadie v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 804 So. 2d 11 (La. App. 5th Cir. 2001) - 'Addressing Individual Appeals: Patrick Henry Clark' (Nos. 00-CA-352 c/w 00-CA-344 to 00-CA-856, decided 2001-04-11) [court_record]

   Locator

   804 So. 2d 11, Clark individual-appeal section (vessel list; Avondale employment 1964-1972); two-vessel name analysis via NavSource 09/13/135046 (Gulf Merchant II, C3-S-37d, MA 136, Avondale 1964) and Wikipedia G&SA fleet table (newbuilds assumed replaced ships' names)

   Finding type

   litigation_product_id

   Finding

   Qualifying asbestos litigation containing a vessel-name mention that plausibly - but not verifiably - refers to this hull: in an affirmed asbestos verdict for Avondale shipyard mechanic Patrick Henry Clark (employed at Avondale various periods 1964-1972), his trial testimony lists vessels he worked on at Avondale including 'Gulf Crater, Gulf Shipper, Gulf Merchant, Louise Lykes, Elizabeth Lykes, Ruth Lykes, Letitia Lykes, Genevieve Lykes, Mason Lykes, Mallory Lykes, Stella Lykes, Frederick Lykes, Howell Lykes, Dolly Turman, and Velma Lykes.' This hull carried the name SS Gulf Merchant from October 1947 until 1964-11-05; a second, different vessel - the Avondale-built C3-S-37d Gulf Merchant (MARAD MA hull 136), laid down and launched at Avondale in 1964 - assumed the same name on delivery, and the rest of Clark's list likewise reads as an Avondale newbuild/repair worklist. Given that Clark worked AT Avondale and the Avondale-built Gulf Merchant (II) was under construction there in exactly his employment window, the mention most plausibly refers to the later hull, not this one.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1964-1972 (employment); opinion 2001

   Population

   Avondale shipyard mechanic (1 plaintiff); crews of the named vessels (context)

   Limitations

   Name-ambiguous: the opinion does not hull-identify 'Gulf Merchant.' If it were this hull, the exposure window collapses to Jan-Nov 1964 (Clark began at Avondale in 1964; this hull was renamed Del Aires 1964-11-05) and would be an Avondale repair job - plausible but unproven. The Avondale-built Gulf Merchant (II), under construction at Clark's own workplace in 1964, is the more probable referent. Recorded so a future pass does not attach this hit to hull 1404 without evidence. The jury's exposure finding concerned Avondale workplace conditions, not a finding about any vessel's materials; affirmed on appeal for several defendants (affirmed-stage for the case, unverified as to this hull).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lenoir-aka74-07

8. [8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]

   Locator

   GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or when required for repairs, modified in 1979 toward selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place on active Navy hulls for decades.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1979

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review (not this hull)

   Limitations

   Program-level Navy documentation that never governed this hull: she left naval service in June 1946 and was scrapped in 1971, before either policy existed. Context bounding the 'Navy-era' asbestos picture only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403); content via product-page description, consistent with prior batches.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lenoir-aka74-08

9. [9]Batch-1056 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC via losthistory + HyperWar mirrors; NavSource 02074; MARAD ShipHistory 2994 + status-card scans (read this pass); CourtListener API v4 (authenticated) name/hull/merchant/operator sweeps; NARA Catalog [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-lenoir-aka74-01 through sl-uss-lenoir-aka74-14

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or asbestos litigation naming this hull under any of her six names was found in the public sources searched. 'USS Lenoir' and 'AKA-74' return zero opinions; 'AKA-74' docket hits are 'a/k/a' artifacts and document-number collisions; 'Lenoir' + asbestos hits (15) are NC county/city and TN town name collisions; 'Margaret Lykes' hits resolve to two different vessels (a 1944 in-rem case on an earlier hull, and the Avondale-built M/V Margaret Lykes delivered January 1964 - the ship at issue in Alfred v. M/V Margaret Lykes, 398 F.2d 684 (5th Cir. 1968), and the likely referent in later RECAP dockets); 'Gulf Merchant' surfaces one qualifying asbestos case (Abadie - probable later-hull collision, see ev-07) plus company-name non-asbestos hits; 'Del Aires,' 'Columbia Tiger,' and 'Antillian Tiger' return only unrelated collisions. Operator/yard sweeps surfaced the Burnette (builder yard), Sheffield (merchant operators), and the Lykes/Delta asbestos docket volume - none naming this hull.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   2026-09-22

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 steam-driven C2 hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and nothing searched negates that inference. 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-lenoir-aka74-09

10. [10]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 26 (U.S. Coast Guard - merchant vessel logbooks) [other_primary]

    Locator

    archives.gov record-group guide pages (024, 178, 026); merchant logbook guidance https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/merchant-vessels-pl.html

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 Navy deck logs for AKA-74 covering the Dec 1944-Jun 1946 commission; RG 178 U.S. Maritime Commission records for MC hull 1404 - construction/outfitting files at the builder yard and the disposal/reconversion file for the Sullivan Drydock custody (1946-47), which MC supervised; RG 26 merchant-vessel logbooks for the 1947-1971 merchant career (distributed regionally by port of submission).

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-22

    Study period

    1944-1971 records

    Limitations

    Record-group mapping only - not evidence about this hull. NARA Catalog did not return machine-readable results this pass; digitization status of AKA-74 deck logs and the hull-1404 files is unverified; no box-level retrieval performed.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lenoir-aka74-10