Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]DANFS, Aaron Ward I (DD-132) (builder, dates, service narrative, Royal Navy service as HMS Castleton; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (Aaron Ward I)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 10 April 1919 by Bath Iron Works, Ltd., Bath, Maine; sponsored by Mrs. W. L. Capps (daughter of Rear Adm. Aaron Ward); commissioned 21 April 1919 under Comdr. R. A. Spruance. Atlantic Fleet, Division 13, Squadron 2; station ship at Trepassey Bay, Newfoundland, May 1919 for the NC-1/NC-3/NC-4 trans-Atlantic flight; Pacific Fleet September 1919; Angeles Bay, Mexico seaplane salvage; search for crashed flying boat NC-6 off the Canal Zone and rescue of Woolsey (DD-77) survivors, January-March 1921. Out of commission San Diego June 1922-May 1930 and April 1937-September 1939; Rotating Destroyer Squadrons 21 and 20, June 1932-December 1934; flagship of Destroyer Divisions 5 and 4. Recommissioned 30 September 1939; flagship Destroyer Division 85; arrived Key West 11 December for Neutrality Patrol in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Decommissioned at Halifax, Nova Scotia, 9 September 1940 under the destroyers-for-bases exchange and renamed HMS Castleton. As Castleton: North Atlantic convoy escort; rescued survivors of torpedoed Daydawn and Victoria November 1940; damaged by explosion 19 November 1941, under repair to 20 April 1942; with HMS Newark captured 51 survivors of U-464 on 20 August 1942; reduced to reserve at Grangemouth, Scotland, 13 March 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1945
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1918-19; USN crew 1919-1940 (design complement 159); RN crew 1940-1945
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The HyperWar/hazegray spec-line transcription carries an OCR artifact ('DD-182' in the header line of the mirror text); the hull is DD-132. The narrative omits the laid-down date (NavSource carries 1 August 1918) and the striking date (NavSource carries 8 January 1941). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aaron-ward-dd132-01
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[2]NavSource Naval History, USS Aaron Ward (DD-132) destroyer archive page (building data, machinery line, striking date, disposal; Wayback capture 2024-11-27 - live navsource.org unreachable 2026-09-26) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-132 page, 'As Built' specifications block + 'Operational and Building Data' + 'Fate' lines
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource operational/building data for this hull: class Wickes 'as built'; displacement 1,154 tons; machinery 24,200 SHP, geared turbines, 2 screws; speed 35 knots; crew 103; laid down by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, 1 August 1918; launched 10 April 1919; commissioned 21 April 1919; decommissioned San Diego 17 June 1922; recommissioned 24 May 1930; decommissioned again April 1937; recommissioned final time 30 September 1939; decommissioned and transferred to Britain 9 September 1940, renamed HMS Castleton (I23); stricken 8 January 1941; broken up for scrap in 1947.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1947
- Population
- USN crew 1919-1940; construction trades 1918-19
- Limitations
- NavSource is a compiled volunteer photographic-history reference - corroborating detail (dates, machinery, striking) consistent with DANFS but not itself a primary record. Its 'crew 103' conflicts with the DANFS spec-line complement 159 (carried in gaps); laid-down date 1 August 1918 conflicts with a 11 August figure in secondary infoboxes (carried in gaps). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aaron-ward-dd132-02
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[3]Lt Cdr Geoffrey B. Mason RN (Rtd), 'HMS Castleton (I 23) - ex-US Destroyer including Convoy Escort Movements', Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2, naval-history.net (ed. Gordon Smith) [other_primary]
- Locator
- naval-history.net Castleton page - header details, 1940-1945 service entries, disposal paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Royal Navy service and disposal record for this hull: commissioned into the RN at Halifax 8 September 1940 as HMS Aaron Ward; renamed HMS Castleton 2 October 1940; refit at HM Dockyard Devonport September-November 1940; 17th Flotilla, Western Approaches Command, Liverpool; Atlantic convoy escort (convoy movements tabulated through 1944, incl. OB244); damaged by explosion November 1941; Rosyth Escort Force January 1944; reverted to Air Target Ship October 1944-March 1945; paid off and de-stored 13 March 1945, laid up at Grangemouth; placed on Disposal List after VJ Day; sold to BISCO 4 March 1947 for demolition by P.W. MacLellan; taken in tow 2 January 1948 and arrived at the breaker's yard at Bo'ness on the Forth; ship's bell presented to Castleton, Vermont. Battle honours Atlantic 1940-42 and North Sea 1942-44.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940-1948
- Population
- RN crew 1940-45; Devonport refit workers 1940; P.W. MacLellan breakers, Bo'ness 1947-48
- Limitations
- Compiled service history transcribing Admiralty/official records - secondary, not the underlying documents. The two-step RN naming (commissioned HMS Aaron Ward 8 September, renamed Castleton 2 October 1940) conflicts with the DANFS compression 'renamed HMS Castleton' at the 9 September transfer - carried in gaps. Documents disposal location and dates; contains no asbestos or materials information and no detail on the 1940-41 refit's insulation work.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aaron-ward-dd132-03
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[4]Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr, Gade RL, Drinker P, 'A Health Survey of Pipe Covering Operations in Constructing Naval Vessels,' J. Ind. Hyg. Toxicol. 28:9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030; Bowles O, 'Asbestos,' U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 403 (1937) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030 (article text via journal); USBM Bulletin 403 (1937), asbestos products/heat-insulation sections
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: period literature documents asbestos as standard marine heat insulation in U.S. naval construction practice. Fleischer-Drinker (1946) states 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' (asbestos), with asbestos cloth and asbestos cement likewise used in pipe-covering work at Navy and contract yards. U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 403 (1937) documents asbestos-cement boiler covering from about 1870 and magnesia sectional pipe covering bound with asbestos fiber from 1885 - i.e., asbestos-bound lagging was the standard marine insulation well before this hull's 1918-19 construction. Applied to a Wickes-class plant (four water-tube boilers, two Parsons geared turbines per class design; NavSource lists 24,200 SHP for this hull), era inference supports asbestos-containing boiler lagging, steam-line pipe covering, gaskets, and packing aboard.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1885-1946 (practice window); hull construction 1918-19
- Population
- Navy-yard and contract-yard pipe coverers (1940s fieldwork); era marine steam-plant crews (inference)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - neither source names this hull or class; Fleischer-Drinker fieldwork is WWII-era (1942-45), postdating this hull's construction by over two decades and describing then-current practice; the inference rests on continuity of standard lagging practice, not on any document showing materials installed aboard DD-132. Does not establish presence, quantity, location, or condition of asbestos aboard this specific hull; crew-era exposure is not established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aaron-ward-dd132-04
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[5]Atlas shipyard dataset record 'bath-iron-works' (shipyard-exposure-map shipyards.json, tier 2): 1942 Drinker industrial-hygiene survey of the BIW pipe-covering shop; OSHA inspection 101450294 (1987, asbestos-standard citations with bulk and personal sampling results); documented asbestos litigation involving yard workers [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json 'bath-iron-works' evidence rows ev-bath-iron-works-01/-02/-03/-05
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Builder-yard context: Bath Iron Works, which built this hull 1918-19, is a tier-2 documented asbestos yard in the Atlas dataset - a 1942 Harvard/USMC industrial-hygiene survey recorded a 'fairly serious dust risk' in the yard's pipe-covering shop where asbestos covers for ship piping were cut and fabricated; later OSHA (1987) and litigation records confirm asbestos exposure pathways at the yard.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1987 (yard documentation); hull built 1918-19
- Population
- Bath Iron Works trades (documented 1942-1987)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation only; every dated record in the yard file (1942 survey, 1987 OSHA, litigation) postdates this hull's 1918-19 construction by two decades or more. Documents that the builder handled asbestos insulation materials; does not establish what was installed aboard DD-132.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aaron-ward-dd132-05
-
[6]CourtListener API v4 searches (type=o and type=r), 2026-09-26: exact-phrase "Aaron Ward"; hull-number "DD-132"; "Castleton" asbestos queries [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener /api/rest/v4/search type=o q="Aaron Ward" (35 hits, all name collisions); type=r q="Aaron Ward" (145 hits, all name collisions)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located in CourtListener. Exact-phrase "Aaron Ward" returned 35 opinion-index hits, all personal-name collisions (e.g., Aaron Ward & Sons rug-company tax cases, 1931-33; individuals named Aaron Ward in SEC and civil dockets), and 145 docket hits, all personal-name collisions (predominantly bankruptcy filings). No opinion or docket naming USS Aaron Ward, DD-132, or HMS Castleton in an asbestos or exposure context was found.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26 (search date)
- Limitations
- Search-index coverage limits apply: unindexed state and trial-level filings, settled cases, and claims resolved through asbestos bankruptcy trusts would not appear. Fleet rate limiting interrupted two planned follow-up queries ("DD-132" opinion-text and "Castleton" docket searches) - logged in the search ledger as blocked; name-level sweeps that did run returned only collisions. Absence of docketed litigation does not prove absence of claims or exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aaron-ward-dd132-06
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[7]Batch-3138 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource building data; naval-history.net RN service history; PubMed/USBM era literature; CourtListener name/hull sweeps; marketing ship-list pages excluded [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-aaron-ward-dd132-01 through sl-uss-aaron-ward-dd132-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, museum hazmat disclosure, government sampling, or docketed case naming USS Aaron Ward (DD-132) / HMS Castleton was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Law-firm marketing pages list DD-132 on generic 'destroyers with asbestos' rosters - excluded as sources and carrying no vessel-specific documentation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a scrapped 1919 steam destroyer plausibly carried era-standard asbestos lagging (ev-04), but this record contains no hull-level proof. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aaron-ward-dd132-07
-
[8]NARA Record Group 19 (Bureau of Ships) General Information Books and Bath Iron Works hull records - per the Atlas shipyard dataset's GIB note (ev-bath-iron-works-07: 'General Information Books detailing asbestos specifications for each vessel', WWII-era); also UK National Archives Admiralty records for the 1940 Devonport refit and 1947-48 BISCO disposal file [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG19 GIB series; UK National Archives (ADM/BT series) - not yet queried
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Archival leads not yet retrieved: NARA RG19 General Information Books may hold hull-level material specifications for DD-132 (the yard dataset documents GIBs as per-vessel specification volumes); UK Admiralty/BISCO files may document the September-November 1940 Devonport refit scope and the 1947-48 breaking at Bo'ness, the two events where insulation disturbance is most likely documented.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Lead only - contents unretrieved and unverified; GIB holdings for 1919-built hulls may be thinner than the WWII-era volumes the yard note describes. No claim is made about what these files contain.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aaron-ward-dd132-08