Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]Shipscribe U.S. Navy auxiliary ships data sheets, 'USS Mars (AFS 1) Class' page (Stephen S. Roberts compilation from SCB design records, Navy registers, and NARA RG 19 entries; compiled 2021-08-05) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AFS-1 class page: technical section, construction table, disposition table, ship notes (AFS-7 row), class notes (SCB 208/705.65/705.66 design history)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-design compilation naming this hull in the Mars (AFS-1) class tables: SAN JOSE ordered 7 Jul 1967 (FY 1967); keel 8 Mar 1969; launched 13 Dec 1969; commissioned 23 Oct 1970; disposition row - inactivated/struck 27 Jan 2010; fate 'Navy sale' 2012. Ship note: 'FY 1967. To MSC 2 Nov 1993. Towed from Pearl Harbor to Brownsville Dec 2012, completion of dismantlement reported 9 Oct 2013 by All Star Metals LLC.' Class data: design SCB Project Nos. 208, 705.65, and 705.66 (705.66 change of 13 Aug 1965 covers AFS-7); 9,852 t light / 17,381 t full; 581' oa / 530' pp x 79' x 27' max nav; 4-3"/50T as built; accommodations 42 officers + 445 enlisted; 21 kts; steam turbine, 3 boilers (600 psi), 22,000 hp, 1 screw. Contract-design history notes that 'with very few exceptions commercial standards were invoked in the design and procurement of both hull and machinery components'; AFS-7 received SRBOC Mk 36 in 1981 and basic SLQ-32 antennas.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1967-2013
- Population
- NASSCO construction workforce (1969-70); USN crew 1970-93; MSC civil-service mariners 1993-2010; All Star Metals breaking workforce 2012-13
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary transcription of official SCB/Navy register and NARA records, not the registers themselves; figures used where consistent with DANFS/NavSource. Boiler rating 600 psi conflicts with NavSource's 580 psi - variance logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-san-jose-afs7-01
-
[2]DANFS, 'San Jose (AFS-7)' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command - verbatim transcription via historycentral.com mirror (live NHHC entry page not located - standing NHHC link rot, cf. BATCH-01) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- historycentral.com DANFS transcription, 'San Jose AFS-7' - spec block and full narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records: San Jose (AFS-7) laid down 8 Mar 1969 by National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, Calif.; launched 13 Dec 1969; christened by Mrs. Robert Ellis III for the sponsor, her mother Mrs. George L. Murphy; commissioned 23 Oct 1970, Capt. James H. Morris in command. First combat stores ship of the Pacific Fleet Service Force to receive the U-1500 computer system; home port Alameda from Feb 1971 (arrived 10 Feb; first PACFILL load; final contract trials March); BC Centennial observance Jul, Seattle Aug; received two UH-46 helicopters from HC-3 detachment 10 Sep; departed Alameda 11 Sep 1971 for first WestPac; Subic Bay 27 Sep; first simultaneous vertical replenishment 6 Oct; first underway replenishment of a carrier task group 7 Oct; freight deliveries Danang, Cam Ranh Bay, Vung Tau; Singapore port visit; five-plus line swings; departed Subic 16 Mar 1972 via Guam and Pearl Harbor to San Diego. Second 7th Fleet deployment Aug 1972-Jun 1973 (arrived Subic 12 Sep 1972; departed Sasebo 11 Jun 1973; San Francisco 22 Jun); local operations through Jun 1974 (entry's coverage ends). 'San Jose earned three battle stars for service in the Vietnam War.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1969-1974
- Limitations
- Primary Navy historical entry - authoritative for construction and service history through mid-1974; the entry ends there (written mid-1970s) and does not cover 1974-1993. Spec block reads 'a. 8 5"' - an armament figure inconsistent with the documented four twin 3"/50 mounts (transcription-level defect, flagged in gaps). Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-san-jose-afs7-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USS San Jose (AFS-7) / USNS San Jose (T-AFS-7), file 09/52/5207 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/52/5207 - chronology, Vietnam campaign table, awards list, spec block, CO table, photo captions (incl. 10 Aug 1981 Guam homeport shift; 6 Dec 2012 tow-out)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline and spec block corroborate and extend DANFS: laid down 8 Mar 1969 National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego; launched 13 Dec 1969; commissioned 23 Oct 1970 CAPT James H. Morris; Vietnam campaign table - Consolidation I (21 Oct 1971; 28 Oct-5 Nov; 9-27 Nov), Consolidation II (4-9 and 20-29 Dec 1971; 14-24 Jan; 9-18 and 23-25 Feb 1972), Vietnam Ceasefire (16-29 Sep; 10-21 Oct; 3-17 Nov; 1-14 Dec 1972; 27 Dec 1972-9 Jan; 26 Jan-3 Feb; 3-15 and 21-23 Mar 1973); three battle stars. Decommissioned and placed in service by MSC 2 Nov 1993 as USNS San Jose (T-AFS-7), Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force (PM1), MSC Far East; deactivated and struck from Naval Register 27 Jan 2010; final disposition 'sold for scrapping, 1 October 2013, for $995,928, to All Star Metals, Brownsville, TX.' Photo documentation incl. home-port shift to Guam (departing NAS Alameda 10 Aug 1981, USN photo DN-SC-84-05046) and ex-T-AFS-7 under tow out of Pearl Harbor 6 Dec 2012 by tug Roughneck en route Brownsville for scrapping. Spec block: 9,200 t lt / 15,900-18,663 t fl; 581' x 79' x 27' max; 20 kts; complement USS 486 / MSC 49 Navy + 125 civilians; armament four twin 3"/50 as built, unarmed as USNS; 3 x 580 psi B&W boilers, 1 De Laval turbine, 1 screw; 2 UH-46. Awards: NUC, MUC, Navy Expeditionary, NDSM, AFEM (x2), VSM (x3), Southwest Asia Service Medal, GWOT Service, HSM, RVN Campaign Medal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1969-2013
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official; consistent with DANFS and OSD sources. Disposal-date framing (sale 1 Oct 2013) conflicts with shipscribe's Dec 2012 tow / 9 Oct 2013 dismantlement-completion narrative - logged in gaps. Boiler rating 580 psi vs shipscribe 600 psi - logged. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-san-jose-afs7-03
-
[4]Office of the Secretary of Defense, GulfLink - 'United States Navy in Desert Shield/Desert Storm' (official Navy history appendix B ship-presence table) [other_primary]
- Locator
- gulflink.fhpr.osd.mil usnavy_149.html, ship-presence appendix B-5 (SAN JOSE AFS-7, 24 SEP - 13 MAR)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official OSD-hosted Navy history lists 'SAN JOSE AFS-7' in theater 24 Sep - 13 Mar (1990-91) in the Desert Shield/Desert Storm ship-presence appendix - documenting this hull's Persian Gulf War service during both the buildup and the combat phase. NHHC H-Gram 058 (Operation Desert Storm, January 1991) carries a photo caption naming 'the combat stores ship USS San Jose (AFS-7)' among U.S. ships tied up during Operation Desert Shield alongside USS Macdonough (DDG-39), USS La Salle (AGF-3), and USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1990-1991
- Population
- USS San Jose crew, Persian Gulf deployment 1990-91
- Limitations
- Authoritative government history establishing presence dates; contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim. NHHC H-Gram 058 live URLs (PDF and HTML) returned 404 on 2026-09-20 - standing NHHC link rot; H-Gram excerpt verified via search index, not a retrieved document.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-san-jose-afs7-04
-
[5]Navy News Service (NNS), 'Navy Bids Farewell to USNS San Jose,' Pearl Harbor, 18-19 Dec 2009 (mirrored at maritime-executive.com; ceremony imagery via DVIDS VIRIN 091218-N-WP746-193) [other_primary]
- Locator
- maritime-executive.com NNS reprint, 2009-12-20; DVIDS image 1580987 (VIRIN 091218-N-WP746-193)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy News Service report of the 18 Dec 2009 inactivation ceremony aboard USNS San Jose (T-AFS-7) at Pearl Harbor: close of 39 years of service; last of eight combat stores ships to deactivate from MSC's Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force; transferred to MSC in 1993; MSC-era service included underway replenishments in the Arabian Gulf supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, and 2005 logistics support to hospital ship USNS Mercy in the response to the December 2004 Southeast Asia tsunami. DVIDS hosts official Navy photos of the decommissioning ceremony (VIRIN 091218-N-WP746-193, MC2 Mark Logico).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1993-2010
- Population
- MSC civil-service mariners and Navy detachment, 1993-2010
- Limitations
- Official Navy public-affairs product retrieved via mirror (live navy.mil story page not located; DVIDS imagery confirms the ceremony and its 18 Dec 2009 date). NNS gives transfer year 1993 without the day; NavSource/shipscribe supply 2 Nov 1993. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-san-jose-afs7-05
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[6]Samuel Loring Morison, 'U.S. Naval Battle Force Changes 1 January 2010 - 31 December 2010,' U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings (May 2011) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Morison May 2011 USNI PDF, 'Ships/Craft Placed Out of Service' and strike tables
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USNI annual battle-force change list records USNS San Jose (T-AFS-7): 'Inactivated at Pearl Harbor, HI. Out of service on 27 Jan 2010 and stricken' - corroborating the NavSource/shipscribe strike date and the disposal-path sequence (stricken 27 Jan 2010; 'to be disposed of').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2009-2010
- Limitations
- Authoritative professional reference compiled from Navy data; corroborates dates. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-san-jose-afs7-06
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[7]Harris v. Thomas Dee Engineering Co., Inc., 68 Cal. App. 5th 594 (Cal. Ct. App., 1st Dist., Div. 5, No. A153106, filed 4 Aug 2021; certified for partial publication; Alameda County Super. Ct. No. RG14725868) [court_record]
- Locator
- 68 Cal. App. 5th 594; CourtListener opinions 4905281 and 5065710; Justia a153106; GS Asbestos Case Tracker (2021-09-07)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published appellate opinion naming this hull: decedent Michael Harris served aboard USS San Jose August 1973-May 1974 as a hull maintenance technician whose duties included patrolling the boiler room; contractor Thomas Dee Engineering performed boiler repairs aboard the ship in fall 1973 that tore out existing insulation and refractory material. Harris was diagnosed with mesothelioma March 2014, sued (negligence/strict liability) May 2014, died October 2014; his wife and children pursued wrongful-death and survival claims. The trial court granted Thomas Dee summary judgment on exposure after discounting plaintiffs' expert declaration (fiber 're-entrainment' theory). The Court of Appeal reversed: the declaration was potentially admissible and created a triable issue whether Thomas Dee's refractory work aboard the ship exposed Harris to asbestos. Opinion fn.1 records that in the same case the trial court granted summary judgment to Triple A Machine Shop, Inc., which this court reversed 26 Jun 2019 (A153794, nonpub. opn.), and that the appeal was stayed Feb 2019-Apr 2021 during Thomas Dee's Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1973 exposure period; litigation 2014-2021
- Population
- USS San Jose crew (hull maintenance technician, 1973-74); shipboard repair contractors (Thomas Dee Engineering; Triple A Machine Shop)
- Limitations
- Stage discipline: this is an appellate reversal of a defense summary judgment - the exposure allegation returned to triable-issue status on remand; no trial finding or judgment establishing asbestos exposure aboard this hull was located, and whether the torn-out insulation/refractory contained asbestos is allegation-stage (expert-opinion-supported) only. The companion Triple A reversal is unpublished (Cal. R. Ct. 8.1115) - described as a docketed event via the published opinion's footnote, not as citable precedent. CourtListener opinion text endpoints returned HTTP 202 on retrieval attempts; opinion content verified via indexed excerpts (Justia case summary, exa.ai opinion preview) and defense-firm case-tracker summaries - full-text pull remains an open item.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-san-jose-afs7-07
-
[8]Consolidated era/design inference - documented Mars-class machinery plant (3 boilers ~600 psi, geared steam turbine, single screw) and 1969-70 construction window at NASSCO; contract design 'invoked commercial standards' for hull and machinery [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe AFS-1 class technical/design sections; NavSource spec block; ev-07 opinion
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull carries a three-boiler geared steam-turbine plant built 1969-1970 - squarely inside the Navy's unrestricted-asbestos era and before the 1973 thermal-insulation spec change (see ev-09). For a steam plant of this era and rating, boiler casings and refractory, main and auxiliary steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, heat-resistant deck tile, and accommodation joiner insulation were commonly asbestos-containing. The hull's documented disturbance phases: in-service contractor boiler refractory/insulation tear-out (fall 1973 - the Harris record), ~23 years of commissioned steaming plus 17 years of MSC operation, and the 2012-13 breaking at All Star Metals, Brownsville.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1969-2013
- Population
- NASSCO construction trades (1969-70); crew and embarked detachments (1970-2010); repair contractors (1973 et seq.); All Star Metals breakers (2012-13)
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant and construction era - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming AFS-7 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation. The Harris allegations supply a ship-specific litigation record but not an adjudicated materials finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-san-jose-afs7-08
-
[9]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (Oct 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 report body (spec-change and delivery-window passages) and product page
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documentation of the Navy's asbestos-policy timeline: product specifications for thermal insulation were changed in 1973 to specify asbestos-free materials, but asbestos materials already purchased continued to be installed, and 'some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978'; the Navy's policy eliminating asbestos where substitutes were designated issued October 1975; per the Navy, 'most ships delivered in the last several years or now under construction have little or no asbestos as thermal insulation,' while all ships retained some asbestos in components such as clutches and electric cables. This hull was delivered October 1970 - before the spec change and squarely within the full-asbestos construction window.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1979 report; policy events 1973-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and crews of the construction era (context)
- Limitations
- Program-level GAO finding; does not name this hull or class and establishes nothing about this ship's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches (standing limitation, cf. BATCH-01); content verified via search-index excerpts of the report PDF and the GAO product page; full-text pull remains an open lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-san-jose-afs7-09
-
[10]Batch-622 search ledger (this record): DANFS via historycentral mirror; NavSource 09/52/5207; shipscribe AFS-1 class page; OSD GulfLink Desert Storm history; NNS/DVIDS inactivation coverage; USNI battle-force list; CourtListener web search; MARAD ShipHistory; NVR; VA BVA indexed check; NARA record-group guidance [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-san-jose-afs7-01 through sl-uss-san-jose-afs7-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated exposure finding naming USS/USNS San Jose (AFS-7/T-AFS-7) was located in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The Harris litigation is documented at allegation stage only (summary judgment reversed; triable issue). CourtListener web-interface results: exact phrase '"USS San Jose"' returned zero opinions; '"AFS-7"' returned three opinions, all non-qualifying for asbestos - Geo-Seis Helicopters, Inc. v. United States (Fed. Cl. 2007, MSC vertical-replenishment bid protest; 'AFS-7' likely denotes this hull operationally but the case is non-asbestos), Lickteig v. Tri-Steel Structures (D. Kan. 2001, steel-fabrication part number collision), and Riemer (Tex. App. 2015, unresolved token - no asbestos caption match); '"San Jose" asbestos' returned 153 opinions dominated by City of San Jose name collisions. MARAD ShipHistory 'San Jose' records are name collisions (Mission San Jose; a 1945 Gulf Shipbuilding R2 reefer). NVR detail pages for AFS-7/T-AFS-7 redirect to the index (record removed post-disposal). VA BVA indexed check returned no decision naming the ship. Law-firm marketing pages (mesothelioma.net dedicated hull page; mesotheliomaveterans.org NASSCO page; asbestosnavy.com ship list) assert asbestos aboard without primary support - excluded source class, logged in the batch report.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1969-70 steam auxiliary is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the Harris record shows litigants alleged shipboard exposure. The CourtListener REST API was HTTP 429 rate-limited throughout (shared 125/day quota on this machine, cf. batch-1000); sweeps ran through the web search interface with spaced queries; opinion full-text endpoints returned HTTP 202 - residual litigation coverage rests on web-interface result counts plus indexed-web checking.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-san-jose-afs7-10
-
[11]NARA, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' guided-topic page + Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships/NAVSEA), RG 24 (deck logs); NHHC command-operation-reports archive; NAVSEA inactive-ship disposal files [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/military/navy/guided-topics/asbestos ; /research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html ; /groups/024.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA's asbestos guided-topic page explicitly scopes its Navy materiel guidance to 1941-1961 - this hull (built 1969-70) post-dates that coverage, so its BuShips/NAVSEA-era records fall in the later SSIC-arranged series of RG 19 (contract design and machinery records for SCB Project 705.66 hull). Navy deck logs for USS San Jose 1970-1993 (RG 24, NARA College Park). NHHC ship command-operation-reports archive - other ships' CORs name San Jose (Ogden LPD-5 1974 UNREP; Gary FFG-51 1988 Gulf escort; Enterprise CVN-65; Chancellorsville CG-62 1995; Ingraham FFG-61 1997); San Jose's own CORs were not located in the digitized set. NAVSEA/Navy sale file for the 2012-13 All Star Metals dismantlement - the most promising disposal-era hazmat lead; TCEQ/EPA facility records for the All Star Metals Brownsville breaking site.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1967-2013 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. The NARA guide's stated 1941-1961 scope predates this hull's construction - applicability of its series mapping to a 1970 hull is unverified. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-san-jose-afs7-11