Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet ke-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-abercrombie-de343-pkt-ke-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Abercrombie (DE-343) (verbatim transcription via HyperWar/ibiblio, transcribed by Patrick Clancey; live NHHC page serves 404 - NHHC 2022-updated text verified via Wayback capture 20241210194628 of history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/abercrombie.html) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative (ibiblio de343.html; NHHC Wayback 2024-12-10 capture)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 8 November 1943 at Orange, Tex., by Consolidated Steel Corp.; launched 14 January 1944, sponsored by Mrs. C. W. Abercrombie (mother of the namesake); commissioned at builder's yard 1 May 1944, Lt. Comdr. Bernard H. Katschinski, USNR. Spec block: dp. 1,350; l. 306'0"; b. 36'7"; dr. 13'4"; s. 24.3 k.; cpl. 222; a. 2 5", 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (hh.), 3 21" tt.; class John C. Butler. Service: shakedown British West Indies; post-shakedown repairs Boston 25 June 1944; Aruba/Panama transit; Pearl Harbor; Manus 30 Sept; escort-carrier screen for Leyte landings 14-25 Oct (watched portions of the Battle off Samar, not engaged); flagship TG 79.9 Control Group 'Able' for Lingayen, control ship off assault beaches 9 Jan 1945; convoy escort Biak/Mindoro; Kerama Retto with TG 51.1 from 21 March; Okinawa radar-picket and screen duty April-mid-June (~15 air engagements, claimed 2 kills + 2 assists); Third Fleet screen July; occupation escort to Jinsen (Inchon) Korea 15-17 Sept; Wakanoura Wan Honshu occupation duty from 24 Sept; departed Japan 4 Nov, San Pedro 21 Nov 1945; decommissioned San Diego 15 June 1946 (ibiblio transcription reads '9146' - typo; NHHC 2022 text reads 1946); San Diego Group Pacific Reserve Fleet; moved to Bremerton mid-1950s; stricken 1 May 1967; towed to San Diego Nov 1967; sunk as target 7 Jan 1968 by task group built around Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31). Four battle stars WWII. Namesake Ens. William Warner Abercrombie, VT-8 pilot off Hornet (CV-8), killed at Midway 4 June 1942, posthumous Navy Cross.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1968
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange construction workforce 1943-44; wartime and postwar crew (DANFS spec complement 222)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, builder, service history, and disposal - not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returns 404 (documented link-rot pattern); verbatim ibiblio transcription cited with the NHHC 2022-updated text verified via Wayback capture. The ibiblio transcription carries two OCR-level typos ('15 June 9146' and departure '29 August' where NHHC reads '20 August' - the NHHC sequence is internally consistent); NHHC text controls (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-abercrombie-de343-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Escort Photo Index DE-343 USS Abercrombie (compiled building/operational data, spec block, CO list, awards) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/343.htm spec block + building/operational data + CO list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compiled record for this hull: John C. Butler class, type WGT (geared-turbine drive, 5" guns); displacement 1,350 t light / 1,745 t full; length 300' wl / 306' oa; beam 36'10"; draft 11'0" limit; propulsion 2 'D' Express boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp, 2 screws; 24 kts; range 6,000 nm @ 12 kt; complement 14 officers/201 enlisted; armament 2x1 5"/38, 2x2 40mm, 10x20mm, 3x21" TT, 1 Mk10 hedgehog, 8 Mk6 DCP, 2 Mk9 stern racks; call sign N-T-N-P. Building data: keel laid Consolidated Steel Corp. Orange TX 8 Nov 1943; launched/christened 14 Jan 1944; commissioned at Orange City Dock 1 May 1944; decommissioned San Diego 15 June 1946 'after 2 years and 1.5 months of service'; struck from NVR 1 May 1967; sunk as target off California 7 Jan 1968 by task group around USS Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31). CO list: Katschinski (comm. CO to 29 May 1945), Hicks, Higgins, Knight (decomm. CO). Awards: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 4 stars; WWII Victory Medal; Philippine Liberation Ribbon.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1968
- Population
- Crew 1944-46 (NavSource figure 215 total)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation citing official records - not itself an official record. Complement (14/201) conflicts with DANFS (222) and the class BOGP design table (196 + flag) - carried in gaps. Documents service/specs, not materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-abercrombie-de343-02
-
[4]'The War History of U.S.S. Abercrombie (DE 343)' - ship-produced wartime booklet (cover numbered 01517), scanned image hosted on NavSource (linked from the DE-343 page as the ship's official war history submitted at war's end) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource scan images/343/06343wh.jpg (2-page booklet spread)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A contemporaneous ship-published booklet titled 'The War History of U.S.S. Abercrombie (DE 343)' (cover serial 01517) survives as a scanned image on NavSource, linked as the ship's war history. Its narrative - produced aboard/by the ship's company at or near war's end - independently corroborates the DANFS service arc: construction at Orange, Galveston fitting-out, West Indies shakedown, Panama transit, Pearl Harbor, Leyte and Lingayen operations, Kerama Retto and Okinawa radar-picket duty, Third Fleet screen, and postwar Korea/Japan occupation service.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (narrative coverage)
- Population
- Crew 1944-45
- Limitations
- Crew-produced morale/history booklet, not an official record - published for the crew, with informal narrative style; hosted as an image scan (no OCR text) so content verification is visual, not full-text. Contains no materials or asbestos content; corroborates the service narrative only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-abercrombie-de343-03
-
[5]Consolidated Steel Co., Orange, Texas - 'USA - DE-339 - DE-372 John C. Butler Class Booklet of General Plans' (booklet dated 29 September 1944; digitized drawing set, archive.org item dejohncbutlerbogp1944v2) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archive.org item dejohncbutlerbogp1944v2, sheets '02 - dimensions & data.jpg' and '11 - midship & type cross section sketches.jpg' examined
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The class's own builder-produced Booklet of General Plans survives digitized: drawn by Consolidated Steel Co. of Orange, Texas - this hull's own builder - dated 29 September 1944, and explicitly covering hulls DE-339 through DE-372, the block containing DE-343. The 12-sheet set comprises cover, title page, dimensions & data, outboard and inboard profiles, bridges, superstructure/main/first-platform/second-platform/hold deck plans, and midship & type cross-section sketches. The dimensions & data sheet carries the design figures (306' oa, design complement 196 ship's company plus flag allowance) and the cross-sections carry compartment labels (aft fireroom B-3, forward engine room B-2, boiler uptake, etc.); the sheets examined are general-arrangement drawings with no insulation-material callouts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange design/build workforce
- Limitations
- Class/block-level design drawings covering this hull's builder block - not a hull-specific document (the booklet names the DE-339-372 range, not DE-343 individually). Sheets examined in-session (dimensions & data; midship/type cross-sections) show arrangement and dimensions only; whether any of the 12 sheets specifies insulation fiber content is unverified - the remaining sheets were not exhaustively reviewed for material notes. Digitized from a redistributed PDF (300 dpi JPGs), not NARA-direct; provenance is the builder's drawing set.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-abercrombie-de343-04
-
[6]NavSource/BOGP propulsion specs (WGT: 2 'D' Express boilers, 2 geared turbines, 12,000 shp) + BuShips Ships' Data 1945 design group 6 (per Atlas john-c-butler-class profile ev-01: 306 ft oa, 1,350 t, 24.3 kt, 12,000 shp, 2 'D' express boilers 435 psi/750F) + navypedia WGT block map (Combustion Engineering boilers for DE-339-372, including this hull) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block; class profile ev-01 (BuShips SDB 1945 group-6 row); navypedia WGT block map (DE-339-372 CE boilers); destroyerhistory.org/destroyers/orange/ (yard scope)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull is a BuShips design-group-6 (WGT) steam escort - per the Atlas john-c-butler-class profile, the class is (with Buckley) one of only two DE classes carrying a full steam plant - built November 1943-May 1944 at Consolidated Steel's Orange, Texas yard (Navy-expanded 1940; 102 DEs built there between the Fletcher and Gearing programs per Destroyer History Foundation). A superheated-steam plant (2 'D' express boilers 435 psi/750F, Combustion Engineering for the DE-339-372 block; Westinghouse geared turbines) and ship construction of that era would have carried period-standard asbestos in boiler and steam-line insulation/lagging, turbine lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, and compartment fire insulation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-46
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - not a ship-specific finding. Consolidated Steel Orange is not in the Atlas shipyard dataset and no dated asbestos-product record for that yard was located; the inference rests on ship type, plant, and build era, not a wartime yard product record. Establishes no quantities and no individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-abercrombie-de343-05
-
[7]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of wartime pipe-covering operations at Navy and contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in naval-vessel construction of exactly this hull's era and type.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. The amosite quotation is carried from sibling records' verified extraction - 1946 full text not re-verified in this session. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-abercrombie-de343-06
-
[8]Corn, J.K., and Starr, J., 'Historical perspective on asbestos: policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987), PMID 3555021, DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700110311 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 3555021, abstract
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical review documenting 'the extensive use of asbestos as a fireproofing and insulating material in shipbuilding in the 1940s, when World War II industrial expansion brought about a hitherto unprecedented rise in the amount of asbestos utilized' - the era context for this hull's 1943-44 construction, and the policy analysis linking wartime decisions to postwar shipyard-worker asbestos disease.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1940s shipbuilding era (published 1987)
- Population
- WWII-era shipbuilding workers (era context)
- Limitations
- Era/industry-level historical review; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. Citation and abstract verified via NCBI efetch in sibling sessions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-abercrombie-de343-07
-
[9]Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC, W.D. Wash. No. 2:17-cv-00537 - praecipe/pretrial order materials, ECF 738 att. 1 (as cataloged in the Atlas john-c-butler-class profile, ev-03/-04) [court_record]
- Locator
- Class profile ev-john-c-butler-class-03/-04 citing Jack ECF 738.1 pp. 12, 26-27 + exhibit list
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Pretrial materials in Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec name USS Charles E. Brannon (DE-446) - a John C. Butler-class sister hull, though a Federal Shipbuilding (Newark) boat in the Babcock & Wilcox boiler block rather than this hull's Consolidated/Combustion-Engineering block - and recite the DE-era exposure theory: that a Griscom-Russell evaporator installed per Navy specifications was insulated after delivery, that 'asbestos was a critical material during WWII when the Navy installed the distiller on Mr. Jack's ship,' while conceding the insulation aboard Brannon 'could have included fiberglass, mineral wool or other non-asbestos insulation.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- service era WWII/postwar; litigation 2017-2019
- Population
- Machinist's mate aboard USS Brannon DE-446 (sister hull)
- Limitations
- Pretrial-order/exhibit-list level material about a same-class sister hull, not DE-343: allegation/expert-recital stage, never adjudicated, and the quoted material itself concedes non-asbestos insulation was possible aboard DE-446. Documents that DE-class evaporator insulation was litigation-contested; establishes nothing about this hull's materials or any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-abercrombie-de343-08
-
[10]Navy insulation-spec suite identified as controlling era documents in destroyer-escort asbestos litigation: Bureau of Ships Manual ch.39 Thermal Insulation NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) (24 Aug 1945); Navy Department Specification 32F3a 'Felt, Insulating, Asbestos' (Oct 1945); BuEng Manual ch.13 - per Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec (W.D. Wash. 2:17-cv-00537) exhibit-list recital, as cataloged in the Atlas john-c-butler-class class profile [other_primary]
- Locator
- john-c-butler-class.class.json class_notes + evidence rows citing Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec exhibit list (ECF 738 att. 1)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The era's controlling Navy insulation specifications - including an explicitly asbestos-named felt spec - are identified in DE-class litigation exhibit lists and cataloged in this dataset's John C. Butler-class profile. These are the correct next-pull targets for class-level asbestos specification documentation applicable to this hull's design family.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945 (spec dates)
- Limitations
- Identified secondhand via class-level research and a litigation exhibit list for a sister hull; the underlying spec documents were not retrieved in this session, and nothing in this row is specific to DE-343. Retrieval pending - treat as research lead only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-abercrombie-de343-09
-
[11]This record's search ledger [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-abercrombie-de343-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos documentation located for DE-343: no hull survey, abatement contract, disposal-condition hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming this hull was found in any repository searched. The hull was sunk as a target off California on 7 January 1968 - no surviving structure or museum file exists. NARA catalog returned a JS application shell (no digitized deck log or General Information Book located); BVA public search index requires a key and was not retrievable in-session. 'No ship-specific record located' is itself reported as the finding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of located record does not prove absence of asbestos or of claims - it is the honest state of public documentation. No disposal-condition or hazmat-clearance record for the 1968 target sinking was located in any searched source. Non-digitized NARA holdings (RG19 per-vessel General Information Books, RG24 deck logs) remain unexamined.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-abercrombie-de343-10
-
[12]Stafford, Edward P., 'Little Ship, Big War: The Saga of DE-343' (Naval Institute Press, 2000, ISBN 1-55750-890-9); bibliographic details verified via publisher listings and the kamikazeimages.net book summary (USNI press page blocked to automated fetch) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Press title page; kamikazeimages.net book summary describing Stafford's sources (Deck Log, Action Reports, War Diaries, crew interviews)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A book-length history of this specific hull exists: written by Cmdr. Edward P. Stafford, USN (Ret.), who served as the ship's first lieutenant from construction (March 1944) and later executive officer until May 1946. Per the publisher's description and bibliographic notes, Stafford's research for the book drew on the ship's Deck Log, official Action Reports and War Diaries, his own journal, and interviews with ~30 crewmen - establishing that the ship's deck logs and war diaries exist as primary records (RG24 holdings, undigitized in located form).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (coverage); book published 2000
- Limitations
- Published secondary history (Naval Institute Press), not an official record; not reviewed in full text this session - existence and research basis verified via publisher and bibliographic listings. Documents that primary records exist; contains no asbestos-relevant content in any located excerpt. Its value here is as an archival lead to the deck logs/action reports/war diaries it cites.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-abercrombie-de343-11
-
[13]CourtListener API v4 sweep (opinion index type=o and RECAP docket index type=r) for 'USS Abercrombie', 'Abercrombie', 'DE-343' via cl-auth-search.py (authenticated, fleet-paced) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-abercrombie-de343-04 through -07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep: exact-name opinion query '"USS Abercrombie"' (type=o) returned 0 results - no published opinion names this vessel. Bare hull-number query '"DE-343"' (type=o) returned 12 opinions - all reviewed results are tokenization noise (Puerto Rico Spanish-language decisions matching 'De'-prefixed tokens; unrelated federal cases matching pin-cite/docket-number fragments). RECAP docket sweep '"USS Abercrombie" OR "DE-343"' (type=r) returned 198 dockets; all 20 reviewed top results are surname parties or tokenization noise (e.g., United States v. Verdejo-Sanchez, D.P.R. criminal; the Ojeda v. Kallberg Industries/Louis Berger/Kennett Consulting cluster, S.D. Fla./D.N.J. - FLSA labor suits, not asbestos). Collision check '"Abercrombie" asbestos' (type=o) returned 33 opinions - real asbestos-litigation decisions (Aguirre v. Armstrong World Industries, Dillon v. Fibreboard, Zurn Industries v. Allstate) in which 'Abercrombie' is a surname token (attorneys, parties, judges - e.g., defense counsel John B. Abercrombie in Broussard v. Schlumberger), never the vessel. Classification: no qualifying asbestos litigation, no other litigation naming the vessel; all located hits are name collisions or tokenization noise.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28 (index state)
- Limitations
- Coverage is search-index level, not a PACER-level docket inspection: a pleading could name the hull inside a document that index text does not expose. 'Abercrombie' is a high-collision surname (Abercrombie & Fitch employment/IP docket, surname parties) - exact-phrase 'USS' prefix and hull-number strings are the qualifying discriminators; broad-name hits still require classification, not automatic attribution. The sweep does not cover state-court records, bankruptcy trust claims, or non-U.S. jurisdictions. Absence of a located case does not prove no claim was ever filed or settled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-abercrombie-de343-12
