USS SHANGRI-LA (CV-38)

Evidence

7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).

1. [1]DANFS, 'Shangri-La (CV-38)' - NHHC ship histories (migrated entry) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS migrated HTML entry, name-note and spec-block paragraph plus 1944-52 narrative

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry documents construction and career: Shangri-La (CV-38) laid down 15 January 1943 at Portsmouth, Va., by the Norfolk Navy Yard; launched 24 February 1944, sponsored by Mrs. James H. Doolittle; commissioned 15 September 1944, Capt. James D. Barner in command. Spec block: displacement 27,100; length 888'0"; beam 93'0" (waterline), extreme width 147'6"; draft 28'7"; speed 32.7 knots (trial); complement 3,448; armament 12 5-inch, 44 40mm, 60 20mm; aircraft 80+; class Essex. WWII service with TF 58/38 included strikes on Okinawa and the Japanese home islands and flagship duty for Vice Adm. John S. McCain; she supported Operation Crossroads at Bikini in 1946, then decommissioned to the Reserve Fleet at San Francisco 7 November 1947. Recommissioned 10 May 1951; reclassified attack carrier CVA-38 in 1952.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1943-1952

   Limitations

   Authoritative Navy history for milestones; contains no asbestos or insulation-material content. Spec block lists class as 'Essex' - she was a long-hull (Ticonderoga-group) Essex variant.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-shangri-la-cv38-01

2. [2]DANFS, 'Shangri-La (CV-38)' (migrated entry); NHHC 'SCB-27' program page (modernization list) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS paragraphs covering the 1952-55 Puget Sound rebuild, 1961-63 and 1964-65 overhauls, 1970 Yokosuka drydock, and 1971 Boston preinactivation work; NHHC SCB-27 page, Shangri-La entry

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS and the NHHC SCB-27 program page document repeated exposure-relevant industrial periods: decommissioned 14 November 1952 for modernization at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where over roughly two years she received an angled flight deck, twin steam catapults, and overhauled elevators and arresting gear at a cost of approximately $7 million ('virtually a new ship' per DANFS); the NHHC program page identifies the work as an SCB-27C reconstruction begun October 1952 and extended to include SCB-125 features, recommissioned January 1955. Later yard periods: major overhaul at New York Naval Shipyard in 1961-63 including electrical and engineering renovation; extensive Philadelphia overhaul in winter 1964/spring 1965; 12 days in drydock at Yokosuka, Japan, July 1970; and preinactivation overhaul at the Boston Naval Shipyard South Annex before decommissioning 30 July 1971.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1952-1971

   Limitations

   Documents the scale and timing of industrial work aboard (a ~$7M near-total rebuild plus repeated overhauls) without describing insulation or asbestos materials - yard periods are exposure-relevant context, not material findings. The one ship-specific material account comes from the BVA adjudication row, which covers the 1952-56 period overlapping this rebuild.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-shangri-la-cv38-02

3. [3]Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 1042638 (decided 2010; docket 07-36 959; appeal from VA RO Columbia, SC) [court_record]

   Locator

   Findings of Fact no. 2 and 'Service Connection for a Pulmonary Disorder' analysis section

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Official VA Board of Veterans' Appeals decision contains an adjudicated finding of in-service asbestos exposure aboard this hull. The veteran served on active duty November 1952 to October 1956; he alleged asbestos exposure while working aboard USS Shangri-La, reporting that he worked in the engine room, which was full of asbestos, and that he was exposed while removing asbestos insulation from pipes (July 2009 VA Asbestos Questionnaire: the only time he was exposed was aboard USS Shangri-La). The decision does not fix which portion of his 1952-56 service was spent aboard (the ship was herself decommissioned for the Puget Sound rebuild November 1952-January 1955). The Board found his statements credible and 'sufficient to establish that he was exposed to asbestos during active duty service,' consistent with his engineer MOS under M21-1 Part VI para. 7.21. Formal finding of fact: 'The Veteran was exposed to asbestos during service.' The claim itself was DENIED: the Board also found no asbestos-related pulmonary disorder and that the diagnosed pulmonary disability was unrelated to service, including in-service asbestos exposure.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   Service 1952-1956 (aboard dates not fixed in the decision); decision 2010

   Population

   Navy veteran aboard CV-38 November 1952-October 1956; engine-room duties including pipe insulation removal; pulmonary-disorder claim denied

   Limitations

   Stage discipline: this is a VA adjudication record, not a tort finding - the Board credited the veteran's exposure account under the benefit-of-the-doubt standard while DENYING service connection for lack of any asbestos-related disorder. It establishes that one claimant's shipboard work aboard CV-38 likely involved asbestos (engine-room pipe insulation); it does not establish a hull-wide inventory, exposure for other crew, causation for any individual, or legal liability.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-shangri-la-cv38-03

4. [4]Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. A25021343 (2025) and Citation Nr. 25001557 (2025) [court_record]

   Locator

   A25021343 'Findings of Fact' TERA discussion; 25001557 asbestos-analysis paragraphs

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Two further official VA adjudication records name USS Shangri-La in asbestos-exposure contexts. (1) Citation Nr. A25021343 (2025): a May 2024 VA memorandum found that a veteran, as a machinist's mate, had non-deployment-related exposures 'to include fuel products, industrial solvents, various chemicals, and asbestos while performing duties aboard Navy ships USS Halibut and USS Shangri LA,' and the May 2024 rating decision conceded participation in a toxic exposure risk activity (TERA); the claim on appeal was for chronic kidney disease and was denied. (2) Citation Nr. 25001557 (2025): a veteran contended asbestos exposure aboard USS Shangri-La, reporting that he slept underneath insulated asbestos pipes; VA examiners found no asbestosis or pleural plaques and attributed his asthma to other causes, and service connection was denied.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   Decisions 2025; service periods span the ship's commissioned era

   Population

   Two separate claimants with alleged asbestos exposure aboard CV-38; non-asbestos-disease claims

   Limitations

   Both are claimant-specific VA records: the first concedes asbestos as a TERA for one machinist's mate aboard the ship (the claimed disease was kidney disease, not asbestos disease); the second is a denied claim in which VA examiners found no asbestos disease. Neither is a hull survey or a finding that asbestos was present in any particular compartment; each is reported at the administrative-adjudication stage.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-shangri-la-cv38-04

5. [5]DANFS, 'Shangri-La (CV-38)' (migrated entry), final disposal paragraphs [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS final two paragraphs (MarAd disposal sequence and Taiwan sale)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Disposal chain per DANFS: stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 15 July 1982 and transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal 'as is, where is,' initially offered for scrapping within the U.S. Low offers led the Navy on 31 July 1986 to authorize sale without the domestic-scrapping restriction, then on 4 August 1986 to withdraw her from MarAd 'for potential use as [a] maritime museum in Florida.' On 17 December 1987 the Navy advised MarAd the museum project would not continue. On 17 June 1988 ex-Shangri-La was sold to Lung Ching Steel Enterprise, Ltd., a Republic of China corporation, for scrapping in Taiwan in connection with a trade-in of the Central Gulf Lines freighter Dawn; she was broken up in Taiwan as of 26 June 1989.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1982-1989

   Limitations

   Fully DANFS-verified disposal chain; the entry does not describe any hazardous-material survey or removal before scrapping, and 1980s commercial breakup predates hazmat disclosure practices.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-shangri-la-cv38-05

6. [6]Batch-57 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API throttle + alternative opinion sweeps [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-shangri-la-cv38-03 and sl-uss-shangri-la-cv38-04

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   CourtListener could not be swept for this hull: the opinion-search API returned HTTP 429 throttling ('Request was throttled. Rate limit exceeded: 125/day') on the first batch-wide query, and a retry confirmed the daily limit was exhausted; per batch instructions, retries were stopped. Alternative searches of CourtListener-indexed and state/federal opinion text via web search surfaced no qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Shangri-La or CV-38 - surfaced 'Shangri-La' matters were name collisions (e.g., Shangri-La Construction, a nursing-home operator, hotel entities) and 'CV-38' hits were docket-string noise. The ship-specific exposure record rests on the VA adjudication decisions instead.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   2026-09-18

   Limitations

   The CourtListener sweep is incomplete by external constraint - the throttle means absence of a found case is NOT evidence of absence. State-court filings, settled matters, and unindexed opinions remain unexamined. Recorded as a search limitation, not a substantive finding.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-shangri-la-cv38-06

7. [7]Essex-class profile (class-a/essex-class.class.json); NHHC SCB-27 program page [other_primary]

   Locator

   Class profile era-application list; NHHC SCB-27 page Shangri-La entry

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Class/era context only: Shangri-La is a long-hull (Ticonderoga-group) Essex-class carrier built 1943-44 with the class's eight-boiler/four-turbine steam plant, constructed and rebuilt during the peak era of Navy thermal-insulation specifications. Her 1952-55 Puget Sound reconstruction (SCB-27C extended with SCB-125 features) stripped and rebuilt much of the ship; Essex-class era applications generally included thermal insulation on steam systems, boilers, and piping - but no hull-specific inventory for CV-38 was located and none is asserted.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-18

   Study period

   1943-1955 (construction and rebuild era)

   Limitations

   Context only - no ship-specific asbestos inference is drawn from class, era, boilers, or steam propulsion. The ship-specific finding rests solely on the VA adjudication rows.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-shangri-la-cv38-07