USS Savannah (AOR-4)

Evidence

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

1. [1]NHHC, DANFS, 'Savannah V (AOR-4)' (published 2022-01-24) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS Savannah V entry, full text (Wayback capture 2025-06-08; live NHHC URL returns 404 - same link-rot defect logged in Batch-01)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry 'Savannah V (AOR-4)' (NHHC, published 2022-01-24): ship-data line (AOR-4: dp. 41,351 f.; l. 658'2"; b. 96'; dr. 33'; s. 20 k.; cpl. 374; a. 2 3"; cl. Wichita); laid down 1969-01-22 by Quincy Shipbuilding Division, General Dynamics Corp., Quincy, MA; launched 1970-04-23 (sponsor Mrs. Ralph L. Shifley); commissioned 1970-12-05, Capt. Bernard P. Williams, Jr. Shakedown Guantanamo Bay; homeport Norfolk; Mediterranean deployment Sep 1971 (TG 60.1, 178 ships replenished by year-end); Vietnam tour Apr-Nov 1972 (Subic Bay; six line swings to the Gulf of Tonkin); Atlantic/Caribbean 1973; Mediterranean Dec 1973-Jun 1974; 'second major overhaul' dated 1982-03-02 to 1982-12-15; Suez transit 1983-01-31, Indian Ocean ops Feb-Apr 1983; Operation Sharp Edge (Liberia evacuation) Jun-Aug 1990; Desert Shield/Storm support; decommissioned 1995-07-28; stricken 1998-10-29; one battle star and Meritorious Unit Commendation for Vietnam service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1969-1998

   Population

   Ship's company (cpl. 374 per DANFS data line)

   Limitations

   Authoritative for identity, construction, career narrative, and milestone dates. Internal inconsistency noted: the 'second major overhaul 2 March-15 December 1982' overlaps the same entry's April 1982 Caribbean drone-platform service - quoted as written, not reconciled; overhaul yard not identified. No asbestos, insulation-material, or abatement content; supports no asbestos claim by itself.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-savannah-aor4-01

2. [2]Naval Vessel Register (NAVSEA/NAVSHIPSO), ship detail page SAVANNAH (AOR 4), last updated 2009-01-29 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NVR AOR-4 detail page, milestone dates / physical characteristics / comments (Wayback capture 2016-11-07; live NVR drops disposed hulls and no longer serves this record)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Naval Vessel Register ship-detail record for SAVANNAH (AOR 4), replenishment oiler (UIC 20123; class AOR 1): builder General Dynamics Corp.; award 1966-07-06, keel 1969-01-22, launch 1970-04-23, delivery 1970-10-28, commission 1970-12-05, decommission 1995-07-28, stricken 1998-10-29; status 'Disposed of by Navy title transfer to the Maritime Administration' with status-change date 2001-07-28; steel hull/superstructure; 659 ft OA, 96 ft beam, drafts 35/37 ft; light 13,236 t / full 39,334 t; steam turbines, 2 propellers; accommodations 29 officers + 458 enlisted; comment: 'JAN 09 MARAD AWARDED A CONTRACT TO ESCO MARINE INC, BROWNSVILLE, TX TO RECYCLE THE SAVANNAH, AOR 4. DISMANTLING COMPLETE 23 SEP 09.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1966-2009

   Limitations

   Authoritative for Navy milestones and disposition (title transfer to MARAD, dismantling completion 2009-09-23). 'Accommodations' is berthing capacity, not the same measure as DANFS's complement (374); both carried separately, not merged. Contains no asbestos or materials content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-savannah-aor4-02

3. [3]U.S. Maritime Administration, Vessel History Database - SAVANNAH (AOR-4), ShipHistory Detail 4439 [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   ShipHistory Detail 4439, characteristics block and milestone table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD ShipHistory database record 'SAVANNAH (AOR-4)' (Detail 4439): year built 1970; General Dynamics; Naval Auxiliary / AOR Replenishment Oiler; 659 ft x 96 ft; displacement 39,334 t full; fate 'Scrapped.' Milestones: 2000-07-27 entered James River Reserve Fleet as a US Navy asset; 2001-07-28 MARAD accepted title from US Navy; 2009-01-21 'Dismantlement contract awarded to ESCO Marine Inc. of Brownsville, TX'; 2009-02-24 'Vessel moved to Chesapeake, VA under dismantlement contract with ESCO Marine.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   2000-2009

   Limitations

   Authoritative for MARAD custody milestones. Contract-award milestone (2009-01-21) vs. contemporaneous press reporting of contract signing (2009-01-27) - minor date variance logged in gaps. No status card or documents are posted for this hull; no asbestos or hazmat content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-savannah-aor4-03

4. [4]National Archives catalog record 6495125, DoD photo DN-SC-97-00422 (PH1 Robert J. Sitar), Philadelphia Naval Shipyard aerial, 1995-10-30 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NARA catalog entry, photo caption (vessel identification and NISMF storage statement)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA-cataloged DoD photograph DN-SC-97-00422 (30 Oct 1995), aerial view of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard after its 1995-09-30 closure: the caption identifies SAVANNAH (AOR-4) moored at Pier 5 alongside SYLVANIA (AFS-2) and MILWAUKEE (AOR-2), and states the Navy Intermediate Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) continued to store decommissioned and mothballed ships there. Documents the hull's 1995 inactive-fleet layup at Philadelphia between decommissioning (Norfolk, 1995-07-28) and James River NDRF entry (2000-07-27).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1995-2000 (layup window)

   Population

   NISMF caretaker/maintenance crews (inactive ships)

   Limitations

   A caption-level record: it fixes the hull at Philadelphia NSY on 1995-10-30 under NISMF custody but does not date berth entry or departure; exact Philadelphia period bounds unverified. No asbestos or materials content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-savannah-aor4-04

5. [5]Historic American Engineering Record CA-356, USS Wichita (AOR-1) / Wichita-class Navy Replenishment Oiler recordation (MARAD-hosted document) [haer]

   Locator

   HAER CA-356: significance statement, construction section, description section, Appendix A ship list

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   HAER No. CA-356, 'Navy Replenishment Oiler' (recordation of USS Wichita, AOR-1; photographed July 2007 at Suisun Bay NDRF; written summer 2009 by HAER contract historian Brian Clayton): class-level documentation of the seven-ship Wichita class - Navy contract awarded to General Dynamics' Fore River yard, Quincy, MA, 1965-06-02; General Dynamics built six of the seven (National Steel and Shipbuilding, San Diego, built Roanoke AOR-7); steel hull, 658 ft x 96 ft, twin-screw plant of three Foster Wheeler boilers (700 psi, 850 degrees F) feeding two GE turbines at 32,000 shp for 20+ knots; Appendix A ship list names Savannah (AOR-4), decommissioned 1995.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1965-2009

   Population

   Wichita-class crews (class context)

   Limitations

   Class-level recordation of lead ship Wichita - supports class design/builder facts for this sister hull but names Savannah only in the class ship list. Appendix A erroneously lists Savannah at 'NDRF Suisun Bay, CA'; MARAD milestones and the disposal press release place her at the James River Reserve Fleet (see correction row). Full-text search of the report finds no asbestos/insulation-material content - supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-savannah-aor4-05

6. [6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (1979) [gao]

   Locator

   GAO product page HRD-80-2; abstract text indexed from gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf (full text not retrieved - gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, standing defect since Batch-01)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO report HRD-80-2, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (1979): Navy thermal-insulation product specifications were changed in 1973 to specify asbestos-free materials, but asbestos materials had already been purchased and in some cases installed in ships under construction, so 'some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978'; thermal insulation for machinery, equipment, and piping systems was the major shipboard asbestos application; Navy removal policy (1975) removed only damaged insulation, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. This hull was delivered 1970-10-28 - built and delivered under the pre-1973 specification regime.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1973-1979 (policy period); hull construction 1969-1970

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers; ship construction trades (program context)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level documentation; GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, and the report does not name this hull. Application to AOR-4 is era inference only (delivery predates the 1973 spec change); it does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, present-day presence (hull scrapped 2009), exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-savannah-aor4-06

7. [7]Pieno v. Atwood Morrill Co. et al., No. 16-1119-LPS-SRF (D. Del.), Report and Recommendation (Fallon, M.J., filed 2018-06-26); CourtListener docket 6475023 [court_record]

   Locator

   R&R PDF (ded.uscourts.gov), Facts section B.1 'Mr. Pieno's Alleged Exposure History' and per-defendant recommendations

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Pieno v. Atwood Morrill Co. et al., No. 16-1119-LPS-SRF (D. Del.) - asbestos personal-injury action filed 2016-10-19 (Del. Superior Court), removed 2016-12-02. Plaintiff John A. Pieno, Jr. deposed a 1962-1990 Navy career as an aircraft pilot and later commanding officer, including: 'In approximately 1984, Mr. Pieno became Commanding Officer of the USS Savannah ("the Savannah"), a supply ship.' The Report and Recommendation recounts that as captain he was not personally involved in repair/maintenance, recalled pumps and valves being removed and repaired, but could not recall locations or manufacturers; his exposure theory was bystander exposure to others' insulation, gasket, and packing work. NavSource's AOR-4 CO roster lists Capt. John Anthony Pieno, Jr. in command 1986-01-29 to 1987-07-06, fixing the hull attribution to this vessel. Disposition: Magistrate Judge Sherry R. Fallon's R&R (filed 2018-06-26) recommended GRANTING summary judgment to all five moving product defendants (Crosby Valve, Fairbanks, BorgWarner Morse Tec, Flowserve, Warren Pumps) for failure of product identification; plaintiffs filed no opposition to the underlying motions; case terminated 2018-10-12.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   1986-1987 command tour (litigation 2016-2018)

   Population

   One former commanding officer (bystander-exposure allegation)

   Limitations

   Documents that this hull was named in asbestos litigation by a former commanding officer - NOT an exposure finding. The outcome was defense-favorable at the R&R stage: summary judgment recommended against plaintiffs on product-identification failure for all five movers; the deposition's 'approximately 1984' differs from NavSource's 1986-87 command dates (deposition approximation). Whether a district-judge order formally adopted the R&R was not independently verified; case terminated 2018-10-12. Establishes no causation, no exposure finding, and no legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-savannah-aor4-07

8. [8]MARAD ShipHistory Detail 4439 milestone table; MARAD disposal press release (Jan 2009, carried by Maritime Executive); HAER CA-356 Appendix A [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   Detail 4439 milestones; maritime-executive.com/article/2009-01-29-us-department-transportation-recycle-three-more-ships; Wichita_HAER_Report.pdf Appendix A

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Source discrepancies resolved: (a) Layup location - HAER CA-356 Appendix A lists Savannah (AOR-4) at 'NDRF Suisun Bay, CA' post-decommissioning; MARAD ShipHistory milestones (James River entry 2000-07-27) and the contemporaneous MARAD disposal press release ('the oiler Savannah ... currently moored at the James River Reserve Fleet site') control: the hull was at James River, and the HAER appendix entry is erroneous (the other in-fleet class members were at Suisun Bay). (b) Disposal contract - MARAD milestone 'awarded 2009-01-21' vs. press-reported DOT contract signing 2009-01-27 ($515,726, ESCO Marine); NVR records only 'JAN 09' award and dismantling complete 2009-09-23; both dates carried, not merged.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-25

   Study period

   2000-2009

   Limitations

   Resolves a public-record conflict against an official-but-erroneous appendix entry; MARAD custody milestones are controlling for layup location. No asbestos content in any cited source.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-savannah-aor4-08

9. [9]Batch-2030 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (Wayback), NVR (Wayback), MARAD ShipHistory 4439, NARA 6495125, HAER CA-356, GAO HRD-80-2, CourtListener opinion and docket searches [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-savannah-aor4-01 through sl-uss-savannah-aor4-12

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying affirmative ship-specific asbestos record located beyond the Pieno litigation row: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated exposure finding names this hull in the public sources searched. CourtListener screen (exact name + hull number): Pieno v. Atwood Morrill (qualifying, hull-attributed, defense-favorable R&R); Vesper v. 3M Co. (D.N.J. 15-1322) - name collision resolving to NS Savannah (nuclear ship: opinion describes gasket work on 'the containment vessel reactor' and a New York Shipbuilding-Camden worksite); Redman v. A.W. Chesterton (N.D. Cal. 08-3013) - asbestos docket, 'USS Savannah' mention in an expert declaration, hull not identifiable from the index, remand-stage record; Scruggs v. Getinge USA (D.D.C. 07-2255) - non-asbestos PI, collision; United States v. Ruff, 16 M.J. 917 (CMA 1983) - UCMJ unauthorized-absence case aboard AOR-4, non-asbestos 'other litigation.'

   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 steam plant delivered in October 1970 predates the Navy's 1973 asbestos-free insulation specification (GAO HRD-80-2), and asbestos aboard is era-consistent, not ship-proven. The Pieno record shows the hull named in asbestos litigation but resolved defense-favorably. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-savannah-aor4-09

10. [10]NARA RG 19 / RG 24 record-group guidance; NISMF Philadelphia program records; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 4439 (no public documents); gcaptain.com 'Scrapping the USS Savannah' (program listing for the Break It Down episode) [other_primary]

    Locator

    NARA RG 19 guide; catalog.archives.gov/id/6495125 (NISMF context); vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/4439; gcaptain.com/scrapping-savannah-ruination-tanker/

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads (not retrieved - research-room or reproduction order required; no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships engineering drawings - the Wichita (AOR-1) Booklet of General Plans cited by HAER CA-356 sits in this series; AOR-4 plans may be co-filed. (b) Navy deck logs, RG 24 (1970-1995), NARA College Park. (c) NAVSEA/NISMF Philadelphia inactive-ship custody records for the 1995-2000 layup window, incl. any inactivation work packages. (d) MARAD disposal-contract file for this hull - fee-for-service dismantlement specifications of this period routinely incorporated asbestos/hazmat removal plans; the vessel file (Detail 4439) posts no documents publicly. (e) National Geographic Channel 'Break It Down' episode (aired 2010-07-08) - industry press describes the episode as documenting asbestos removal during this hull's dismantling at ESCO Marine, Brownsville; footage itself not reviewed.

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-25

    Study period

    1969-2009 records

    Limitations

    Lead mapping only - no box-level retrieval; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. The TV-episode reference derives from derivative press summaries, not a reviewed primary source, and is not evidence of asbestos quantity, exposure, or causation. gcaptain's own article also erroneously calls the ship MSC-operated (she was a commissioned USS hull) - not adopted.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-savannah-aor4-10