Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet ks-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Albert T. Harris
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-albert-t-harris-de447-pkt-ks-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, Albert T. Harris (DE-447) (namesake biography, builder, launch/commissioning, WWII Pacific service narrative, 1951 reactivation, reserve-training duty, striking and sinking; live NHHC page serves 404 - Wayback capture 2024-12-14 of the official page cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Albert T. Harris (DE-447)' - spec block + service narrative + namesake biography
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 13 January 1944 at Newark, N.J., by the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; launched 16 April 1944, sponsored by Mrs. J. D. Harris (mother of the namesake); commissioned 29 November 1944 at the New York Navy Yard, Lt. Comdr. Sidney King in command. Shakedown to the British West Indies December 1944; Pacific via Panama mid-February 1945, via the Galapagos and Society Islands to Manus; assigned to Escort Division (CortDiv) 77 - five months convoy escort and screening of three amphibious operations: demonstration feint at Morotai during the Zamboanga Peninsula (Mindanao) occupation 17-23 April 1945; surface-force cover of the Santa Cruz, Davao Gulf landings 3-4 May 1945; support of the Brunei Bay, Borneo seizure June 1945. Reassigned to the Philippine Sea Frontier July 1945; convoy escort between Philippine islands for the rest of the war. Post-surrender: joined the South China Force for occupation duty - Shanghai and Hong Kong (China), Haiphong and Hongay (French Indochina), Korea, and Formosa. Returned to San Diego 12 February 1946; decommissioned there 26 July 1946. Reserve, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, nearly five years; recommissioned at San Diego 27 April 1951 (Lt. Comdr. W. M. Robinson) as Korea-era fleet expansion released other ships for combat; west coast to September 1951, then transited Panama and joined the Atlantic Fleet as a unit of Escort Squadron 12 at Newport, R.I. Six years eastern seaboard/West Indies operations incl. Fleet Sonar School services, midshipman cruises, and Operation 'Springboard'. Reassigned to naval reserve training duty September 1957 under the Commandant, 3d Naval District - 'the remaining 11 years of her Navy career' operating out of New York. Declared excess August 1968; reported to the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility at Philadelphia 19 September 1968; decommissioned at Philadelphia 21 September 1968; struck from the Naval Vessel Register 23 September 1968; sunk as a target off the Virginia capes 9 April 1969. Two battle stars for World War II. Spec block: dp. 1,350; l. 306'0"; b. 36'7"; dr. 13'4"; s. 24.3 k. (tl.); cpl. 222; a. 2 5", 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 3 21" tt, 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (hh.), 2 dct.; cl. John C. Butler.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1969
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1944; wartime crew (design complement 222); postwar/NRT crews 1951-1968
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. It omits the October 1961-November 1962 Berlin Crisis recommissioning that NavSource records (see ev-02) and does not state the reserve-duty assignment date beyond 'September 1957' (NavSource reads 1 December 1957). Live NHHC page returns 404; Wayback capture of the official page cited. The spec block reads beam 36'7" while NavSource reads 36'10" extreme - minor conflict noted in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-albert-t-harris-de447-01
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[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Albert T. Harris (DE 447) page - building and operational data chronology (Wayback capture 2025-05-12; live host unreachable this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/06/447.htm - 'Building and Operational Data' block + commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource building/operational chronology for this hull, adding detail beyond DANFS: keel laid 13 January 1944 at Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Port Newark, N.J.; launched/christened 16 April 1944; commissioned 29 November 1944 at the New York Navy Yard; decommissioned 27 July 1946 at San Diego after 1 year 8 months of service, having steamed 39,876 miles; inactivation completed 17 January 1947 at San Diego, assigned to Submarine Group Two, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; recommissioned 27 April 1951; homeport Newport, R.I. September 1951 (Escort Squadron 12); assigned to naval reserve training, 3d Naval District, at the New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn 1 December 1957 (Reserve Escort Squadron 2); reassigned to NRT at the Naval Reserve Center, Whitestone, N.Y. 7 February 1961; RECOMMISSIONED for the Berlin Crisis at Whitestone 2 October 1961 (Cmdr. H. T. Kadison, USNR), homeport Newport as a unit of Escort Squadron 12; decommissioned 8 November 1962, reassigned to NRT duty at Whitestone (Reserve Destroyer Squadron 30); annual N.Y. Naval Militia reserve cruises 1963-1968 (Caribbean, Guantanamo Bay, Bahamas/Key West); decommissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 21 September 1968; struck from the NVR 23 September 1968; sunk as target off the Virginia Capes 9 April 1969. Complement listed as 14 officers / 201 enlisted; propulsion '2 D Express boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp, 2 screws', 24 kts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1969
- Population
- Crew and Naval Reserve trainees aboard 1957-1968
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (volunteer photo-archive chronology) cross-checked against DANFS: it conflicts with DANFS on the 1946 decommissioning date (27 vs 26 July) and supplies the entire 1961-62 Berlin Crisis recommissioning that DANFS omits - both carried as documented conflicts rather than silently reconciled. Documents dates and assignments, not materials or asbestos content. Live host unreachable via direct fetch this session; Wayback capture cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-albert-t-harris-de447-02
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[4]USS Albert T. Harris (DE-447) ship-submitted war history: forwarding letter, Serial 021, 8 January 1946, to the Chief of Naval Operations (Director of Naval History), with enclosure 'War History of U.S.S. Albert T. Harris (DE 447)' - chronological assignment/operations table (NavSource-hosted scan of the official document) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-447 page, 'Albert T. Harris History' section, image 06447wh.jpg (Wayback capture 2024-05-27)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own official war history survives as a photographic scan: an 8 January 1946 forwarding letter (Serial 021) signed by the commanding officer transmitting the ship's war history to the Director of Naval History, plus a multi-page chronological table of the hull's wartime assignments, operations, and bases - a contemporaneous primary document corroborating the DANFS narrative of CortDiv 77 escort duty, the Mindanao/Borneo amphibious screens, and post-surrender occupation service in the Philippines, China (Shanghai, Hong Kong), French Indochina (Haiphong, Hongay), Korea, and Formosa areas.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Wartime crew 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Image scan at legibility-limited resolution - the document's existence, date, and general structure are verified but individual table rows were not fully transcribed this session; the original is a NARA-record type document (war diaries/action reports, RG 38) and the deck logs are the stronger retrieval target. Contains no materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-albert-t-harris-de447-03
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[5]John C. Butler-class (WGT type) profile - BuShips design group 6: 2 'D' Express boilers 435 psi/750F, 2 Westinghouse geared turbines, 12,000 shp, 24.3 kt (BuShips Ships' Data Jan 1945, shipscribe.com scan; navypedia block map: Babcock & Wilcox boilers for the DE-438-452 Federal/Newark block) + Atlas class profile litigation context (Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec, W.D. Wash. 2:17-cv-00537, evaporator-insulation theory naming class sister DE-446) [other_primary]
- Locator
- john-c-butler-class.class.json (class-f worktree) + navypedia us_de_tev_wgt boiler block map + CourtListener docket 6100500 (as cited in the class profile)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a WGT-type destroyer escort built January-November 1944 with two superheated 'D' Express boilers and geared steam turbines would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, steam-line lagging, gaskets and packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. The class-profile litigation record (Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec, W.D. Wash. 2:17-cv-00537, pretrial/exhibit-list level) names class sister USS Brannon (DE-446) and recites a Navy-specified insulation theory on a Griscom-Russell evaporator - with the same filings conceding insulation aboard 'could have included fiberglass, mineral wool or other non-asbestos insulation.' The Navy insulation-spec suite identified in that docket (BuShips Manual ch.39 NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) 1945; spec 32F3a asbestos insulating felt 1945; BuEng ch.13 1933/39) is the era-controlling documentation and an unretrieved archival lead.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1969
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding Port Newark construction trades 1944; crew 1944-1968
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The DE-446 litigation material is allegation/exhibit-list level for a DIFFERENT hull and is class context, not evidence about DE-447; the spec documents themselves were not retrieved. Establishes no quantities, no locations, and no individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-albert-t-harris-de447-04
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[6]Atlas shipyard dataset record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (tier 2): Owens-Illinois, Inc., Industrial Health Survey of Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, NJ (Aug. 30-Sep. 2, 1944; introduced as Owens-Illinois interrogatory exhibit #20 in Heathman v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., Brazoria County TX 1990) + shipbuildinghistory.com Federal yard hull table (hull 416, 'N' = Port Newark yard, DE 447, delivered 11/29/44) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944); shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/federal.htm hull table row 416
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Builder-yard context: the Atlas dataset documents Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. as a tier-2 asbestos-era yard, anchored by a wartime Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey (30 August-2 September 1944) documenting asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex) and boiler insulation work at Federal's Kearny yard - squarely inside this hull's January-November 1944 construction window. HOWEVER, Federal operated two WWII yards, and the shipbuildinghistory hull table places DE-447 (yard hull 416, column 'N') at the separate Port Newark facility, not Kearny - the survey is company-level context for the same builder in the same period, not documentation of the actual building site.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades, Kearny and Port Newark yards, 1944
- Limitations
- Yard-company-level documentation only - NOT a hull-specific finding, and site-mismatched (survey at Kearny; hull built at Port Newark per the shipbuildinghistory hull table). Yard product documentation is not evidence of installation aboard this specific hull; establishes no quantities and no individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-albert-t-harris-de447-05
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[7]Batch-4338 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (Wayback capture of official page); NavSource operational data + ship's war-history scan; shipbuildinghistory Federal yard table; NVR; NPS/NHHC photo index; web search (secondary/tertiary surfaces excluded); CourtListener name/hull sweeps (completed 2026-09-28) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-albert-t-harris-de447-01 through -08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos record located for this hull: no hull survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or museum documentation exists for a hull sunk as a target in 1969 - decades before Navy asbestos abatement programs and with no museum or MARAD custody phase. Web search returns only law-firm marketing list pages claiming asbestos aboard (asbestos-ships.com, shepardlawfirm.com, mesotheliomabook.com) - banned source category, and one (asbestos-ships.com) demonstrably misstates the hull's fate as 'sold for scrapping in 1969' against the official record of sinking as a target. A completed CourtListener sweep (ev-07) found no qualifying asbestos case naming this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era insulation practice makes asbestos probable at the class level (see ev-04), but no source ties material to this hull. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-albert-t-harris-de447-06
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[8]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches (exact ship name + hull designator), all hits per-item classified [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py authenticated queries 2026-09-28: all 5 sweep queries completed (name exact type=o and type=r, name+context type=o, hull-number type=o and type=r) - all hits classified as collisions
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep COMPLETED 2026-09-28 via authenticated helper after spaced retries around fleet pacing exhaustion: 'USS Albert T. Harris' type=o = 0 results; 'USS Albert T. Harris' type=r = 0 results; '"Albert T. Harris" ship OR navy OR vessel' type=o = 1 result (Harris v. Curtis, 139 A.D. 393, N.Y. App. Div. 1910 - a farm-partition case, NAME COLLISION, not this vessel); 'DE-447' type=o = 15 results, ALL identifier collisions ('DE-447'/'DE 447' reciting PACER docket-entry numbers in unrelated matters - e.g., In re Checking Account Overdraft Litig. S.D. Fla. 2011, SEC v. Lauer S.D. Fla. 2006); 'DE-447' type=r = ~100 results, ALL docket-entry-number collisions (e.g., 'STRICKEN PER DE#447' in United States v. Sabatino; 'See DE 447' in United States v. Presendieu). NO qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Coverage is exact-name + hull-number queries on CourtListener opinion and RECAP docket indexes; a case that names the ship only in an unindexed attachment or PACER-only filing would not surface. Zero hits at these surfaces is a real negative result but not proof no filing anywhere references the vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-albert-t-harris-de447-07
