Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
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[1]DANFS, Manchester (CL-83), Vol. 4 pp. 211-12 (1969) (builder, dates, Mediterranean and Korean War narrative, disposal; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative incl. disposal paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 25 September 1944 by the Fore River Shipyard, Bethlehem Steel Corp., Quincy, Mass.; launched 5 March 1946; commissioned 29 October 1946, Capt. Peter G. Hale in command. Shakedown Caribbean; Boston home port; experimental plastic bridge cover fitted for first transatlantic crossing; Mediterranean deployments April 1947-March 1949 (Truman Doctrine support); transferred to the Pacific Fleet March 1949 via Long Beach; Far East May-November 1949 (Tsingtao, Yellow/East/South China Seas). Undergoing overhaul at San Francisco when Korea erupted; work speeded and she sailed 1 August 1950. Three Korean combat tours: TF 77 Yellow Sea operations and Inchon fire support 15 September 1950; Wonsan, Hungnam evacuation support, Taiwan Strait patrol; flagship of TF 95 blockade force December 1951; Wonsan siege and east-coast bombardment through May 1952; third tour January-July 1953 (Wonsan, bombline) - the only Cleveland-class cruiser still on active duty at the war's outbreak per NHHC. WestPac deployments 1954 and 1955; Operation 'Glory' January 1956 (Korean War unknown dead to Hawaii). Entered the Reserve Fleet at San Francisco 27 February 1956; decommissioned 27 June 1956; struck from the Navy list 1 April 1960; sold 31 October 1960 to the Nicolai Joffe Corp. Nine battle stars Korea.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Bethlehem/Fore River construction trades 1944-46; crew 1946-56 incl. Navy boilermakers (Bowers plaintiff's rating); San Francisco overhaul trades 1950
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404. The 1946-50 service window in the Bowers litigation (ev-04) falls inside this entry's Mediterranean/Far East narrative - consistent.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manchester-cl83-01
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[2]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, 'USS Manchester (CL-83), 1946-1960' narrative (Mediterranean deployments, Korean War, disposal; via ibiblio HyperWar mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library page narrative for CL-83 (service summary, disposal sentence)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC Online Library narrative for this hull: commissioned October 1946; four Mediterranean deployments 1947-49; transferred to the Pacific fleet March 1949 and cruised the western Pacific May-November; 'by then the only one of the twenty-seven Cleveland class cruisers still on active duty following the late 1940s reductions in Naval strength'; sent to Asiatic waters after the Korean War outbreak - Inchon fire support mid-September 1950, Korean-coast bombardment through May 1951, Taiwan Strait patrols October-November 1950; two more combat deployments November 1951-May 1952 and January-July 1953 including the prolonged siege of Wonsan; WestPac deployments 1954-55; brought Korean War unknown servicemen to Hawaii January 1956; decommissioned June 1956; sold for scrapping October 1960.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1946-1960
- Population
- Crew 1946-56
- Limitations
- NHHC publication hosted on the ibiblio HyperWar mirror; consistent with DANFS. Narrative only; no materials or asbestos data.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manchester-cl83-02
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[3]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual, NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960) + DANFS specifications block + Atlas shipyard dataset [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSHIPS 250-000 ch. 39 (scan via Garlock bankruptcy repository); DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json records
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: Cleveland-class construction (4 boilers, 4 GE geared steam turbines, ~100,000 shp) completed 1946 at Bethlehem/Fore River falls in the documented Navy asbestos-insulation era; the 1960 BuShips Technical Manual insulation chapter enumerates the era-standard suite - 85%-magnesia and amosite pipe covering, asbestos felt, chrysotile cloth/tape lagging, asbestos millboard, finishing cement, molded block. The Bowers plaintiff's rating - Navy boilermaker 1946-50 - is the era trade most associated with boiler/fireroom insulation work. Documented disturbance windows for this hull are limited: the speeded-up San Francisco overhaul of summer 1950 and routine availabilities; no conversion or reconstruction.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1944-1956
- Population
- Construction trades 1944-46; San Francisco overhaul trades 1950; crew 1946-56
- Limitations
- Class/era specification and yard-period inference only - the material list names era-standard products, not confirmed installations on this hull; does not quantify material. The hull's ship-specific asbestos record is the Bowers litigation (ev-04), which supplies claimant exposure evidence, not a materials survey.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manchester-cl83-03
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[4]Bowers v. Fibreboard Corp., 66 Wash. App. 454, 832 P.2d 523 (Wash. Ct. App. 1992) (Seinfeld, J.; consolidated with Eldredge v. Fibreboard Corp.; CourtListener opinion 1182288) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener opinion 1182288 (washctapp); docket 13352-1-II, 13353-9-II; parallel citation 66 Wash. App. 454 / 832 P.2d 523
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Affirmed judgment reciting service aboard this hull: the opinion's recitation of the record describes plaintiff decedent Richard Williams as a Navy boilermaker who 'served on the U.S.S. Manchester between 1946 and 1950' and later died of mesothelioma. The consolidated asbestos trial (Bowers/Eldredge) produced jury findings of liability and damages against Fibreboard and co-defendants; the Court of Appeals affirmed (filed 16 July 1992). Litigation stage: AFFIRMED JUDGMENT - the highest stage this batch reached; the recited service is part of the trial record underpinning the verdict.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1946-1950 (service); trial 1990-91; affirmed 1992-07-16
- Population
- Richard Williams (Navy boilermaker aboard USS Manchester 1946-1950); consolidated Bowers/Eldredge plaintiff groups
- Limitations
- The opinion recites claimed and tried exposure evidence; it is not a Navy materials survey and does not identify which defendants' products were aboard (Fibreboard and co-defendants were tried on product-identification and duty theories). 'U.S.S. Manchester' is identified as CL-83 by name plus the 1946-50 service window (the only USS Manchester afloat then). Retrieved via CourtListener search API (opinion text fetch returned the case metadata page; full opinion text not re-verified line-by-line this session - recitation confirmed via search-result text and secondary case summaries). Does not establish exposure of any other crew member or the presence of any specific product.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manchester-cl83-04
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[5]Batch-51 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS + Online Library; CourtListener ship-name and hull-number queries (partial - rate-limited); NVR; museum/disclosure sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-manchester-cl83-01 through sl-uss-manchester-cl83-05
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Beyond the Bowers opinion (ev-04), no additional ship-specific asbestos record was located: the 'USS Manchester' (no periods) and 'CL-83' CourtListener queries were not completed before the daily rate cap was exhausted and are logged as blocked, not as negative results; the class-profile's completed 2026-09-16 'USS Manchester' + asbestos sweep returned zero (it used the no-periods variant, which is why Bowers - punctuated 'U.S.S.' - escaped it). No hull ACM survey, abatement contract, scrapping hazmat disclosure, NVR entry (hull sold 1960, before live-register coverage), or museum record with asbestos data was found in the public sources searched.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- The litigation sweep is INCOMPLETE for this hull - two of three CourtListener queries hit the 125/day API cap and remain unrun; additional qualifying opinions may exist. Absence of further located records does not prove absence. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility beyond the documented Bowers matter.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-manchester-cl83-05