Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet ig-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (with MIRROR caveat on source)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (with MIRROR caveat on source)
- Evidence ID
- uss-austin-de15-pkt-ig-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Austin II (DE-15)' (Raymond A. Mann; updated Robert J. Cressman, 2022-09-01) - live NHHC URL 404s as of 2026-09-28; text verified via Wayback capture 20240524215954 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS > A > 'Austin II (DE-15)' full entry incl. spec header and narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official entry documents the second Austin: laid down 1942-03-14 at Mare Island Navy Yard as HMS Blackwood (BDE-15) for the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease; launched 1942-09-25, sponsored by Mrs. W. C. Springer; taken over by the U.S. Navy 1943-01-25 and redesignated DE-15; commissioned 1943-02-13, Lt. Cmdr. Herbert G. Claudius, USNR, in command; name Austin assigned 1943-02-19 (commissioned as plain DE-15). CortDiv 14; shakedown San Diego 1943-03-23 to 04-23; convoy escort to Cold Bay; West Coast-Hawaii escort May-Sep 1943; Alaskan Sea Frontier from 1943-09-14 - escort between Alaskan ports, patrols, weather-ship duty, aircraft homing point for just over one year; San Francisco overhaul through 1944-11-17; Pearl Harbor training vessel, Pacific Fleet Submarine Training Command, until 1945-03-20; Forward Areas at Ulithi (ASW patrols, air/sea rescue) from 1945-04-01; Guam/Saipan operations from 1945-06-10 incl. convoy escort to Iwo Jima, Eniwetok, Okinawa; post-hostilities searches for holdouts and B-29 survivors; Truk patrol. Departed Guam 1945-10-12 with CortDiv 14; decommissioned Terminal Island Naval Shipyard 1945-12-21; Pacific Reserve Fleet; stricken from the Navy list 1946-01-08; scrapping completed at Terminal Island 1947-01-09. Spec block: displacement 1,140; length 289'5"; beam 35'1.5"; draft 9'11" full load; 20.0 knots; complement 199; armament 3x3", 6x40mm, 5x20mm, 8 dcp, 1 hedgehog, 2 dct; class Evarts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Ship's complement (199 per DANFS spec block); Mare Island construction trades 1942-43
- Limitations
- Official Navy history; contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information. The live NHHC page returns 404; verbatim text verified via Wayback. The NHHC web edition carries internal year typos - 'departed Alaska on 23 September 1943' and Submarine Training Command duty 'until 20 March 1944' are inconsistent with the entry's own chronology (Alaska join 1943-09-14 + 'just over one year' = Sep 1944; Guam departure 1945-10-12) - the internally consistent 1944/1945 dating, corroborated by NavSource's operational timeline, is used here and the conflict is logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-austin-de15-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels 1945,' Vol. I (NAVSHIPS 250-010), destroyer-escort design-group table (book pp. 234-235) and alphabetical DE roster (book pp. 236-237) - shipscribe.com scan, image-only PDF, rows verified by OCR [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1.pdf, DE design-group table at book pp. 234-235 (group 1 = GMT) and DE roster at book pp. 236-237 (entry 9, AUSTIN DE15)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official record names this hull: roster entry 'AUSTIN ... DE15 | GMT | Navy Yard, Mare Island | contract $1,649,400 | contract date Nov. 1, 1941 | keel Mar. 14, 1942 | launched Sept. 25, 1942 | commission Feb. 13, 1943'. The design-group table assigns group 1 = GMT: 289'5" overall, 35'2" beam, 1,140 tons standard / 1,430 full load, ~21.5 knots trial, accommodations 15 officers + 183 enlisted, armament 3x3"/50 DP plus AA fits, and machinery of two propellers driven by G.M. diesel model 16-278A engines, 6,000 shaft horsepower, diesel-electric tandem-motor drive - no boilers, no turbines, no steam plant.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (publication April 15, 1945)
- Population
- Design complement 15 officers + 183 enlisted (GMT group)
- Limitations
- Establishes design group, builder, contract, dates, and machinery type - not materials, insulation content, or asbestos. 'No steam plant' removes only the boiler/steam-lagging category of applications; it does not bear on exhaust insulation, gaskets, packing, electrical, or other applications. Design-group accommodations (198) conflict with the DANFS spec-block complement (199) - logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-austin-de15-02
-
[4]Era/design inference grounded in BuShips Ships' Data 1945 GMT machinery block + Atlas shipyard dataset record 'mare-island-naval-shipyard' (documented asbestos-era naval yard: Unibestos, Marinite, Transite, Kaylo, Careytemp, packing/gasket/bonnet/refractory products documented in yard evidence) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1.pdf GMT machinery row; Atlas shipyards.json, mare-island-naval-shipyard record
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a diesel-electric destroyer escort built 1942-43 at a Navy yard in the peak asbestos years: with no boilers or steam plant, the boiler-lagging and steam-line categories do not apply; plausible era applications concentrate in engine and exhaust-system insulation, gaskets and packing throughout machinery spaces, electrical insulation and cable, deck coverings, accommodation-space insulation, and brake/friction linings on winches and windlass. The builder yard is documented in the Atlas dataset as an asbestos-era yard with identified ACM product categories.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Mare Island construction trades 1942-43; wartime complement
- Limitations
- Design/era inference only - no hull-specific material schedule, survey, or procurement record supports any of these applications aboard DE-15. Diesel-electric plant narrows the plausible application set vs. steam ships but does not establish or exclude asbestos aboard. Does not establish quantity, location, condition, or individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-austin-de15-03
-
[5]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Journal article DOI landing page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and government shipyard system under which this hull was built at Mare Island Navy Yard (1942-43).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1940-1945
- Population
- WWII-era shipyard workers and ship crews (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level scholarship; does not name this hull, the Evarts class, or Mare Island specifically. Supports era context only - not evidence that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, and establishes nothing about quantities, locations, or exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-austin-de15-04
-
[6]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (1979-10-18) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos insulation use, with substitution to asbestos-free insulation specification not occurring until 1973 and some ships delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978. A hull built 1942-43 falls inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979 (report); construction era 1942-1943
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program level)
- Limitations
- Program-level report; fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk, not Mare Island, and the report postdates this hull's entire existence (scrapped 1947). gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches - product-page description used; full text not retrieved. Establishes nothing about this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-austin-de15-05
-
[7]Collins v. Plant Insulation Co., 185 Cal. App. 4th 260 (Cal. App. 1st Dist., Div. 1, 2010), No. A124268; Alameda County Super. Ct. No. RG04143303 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion facts section (employment history) and holding (Prop. 51 apportionment to Navy)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Builder-yard litigation record for the yard that built this hull: published appellate opinion records that Ulysses Collins worked as a structural and pipe welder at Mare Island Naval Shipyard 1976-1994 (and Hunters Point 1960-1973), died of mesothelioma 2005-05-08, and that a jury found insulation supplier Plant Insulation negligent and strictly liable. The appeal reversed fault apportionment for retrial on the question of allocating fault to the Navy under Proposition 51 - confirming Mare Island as a documented asbestos-exposure site.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1960-1994 (exposure window); 2010 (opinion)
- Population
- Mare Island Naval Shipyard construction/repair trades (later era, 1960-1994)
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation evidence, not hull-specific: the opinion names no vessel, and Collins's Mare Island employment window (1976-94) postdates DE-15's 1942-43 construction by more than three decades. Documents era yard exposure conditions only; establishes nothing about materials aboard DE-15. Merits note: verdict was reversed and remanded on apportionment only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-austin-de15-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep (batch helper cl-auth-search.py), 2026-09-28 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-austin-de15-05 through sl-uss-austin-de15-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep attempted but all queries blocked at record close by the saturated shared fleet pacing limiter (~114/hr account-wide); four planned queries - '"USS Austin"' opinions, '"USS Austin" asbestos' opinions, '"DE-15"' opinions, '"USS Austin"' dockets - were repeatedly deferred and none completed. Anticipated collision classes logged in advance: USS Austin LPD-4 (1965-2006) name successor with a materially later exposure window; 'Austin' as party/place name; 'DE-15' as exhibit/marker string.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- PENDING - not a result: no CourtListener data was retrieved this session, so neither a positive nor a negative litigation finding exists for this hull. The sweep is logged as blocked/pending in the search ledger rather than retried into a ban. Absence of a completed sweep says nothing about the existence of docketed or undocketed claims.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-austin-de15-07
-
[9]Batch-4060 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404 + Wayback capture); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. I OCR'd rows; Atlas shipyards.json Mare Island record; California appellate record (Collins); NARA asbestos research guide; CourtListener sweep (blocked - pacing limiter); NavSource (lead only) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-austin-de15-01 through sl-uss-austin-de15-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or located litigation naming USS Austin (DE-15) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was scrapped in 1947, before the asbestos-litigation era, which lowers - but does not eliminate - the likelihood of a naming docket.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - 1942-43 Navy-yard construction is consistent with era-typical materials, but nothing ship-specific was located. The CourtListener portion of the sweep did not complete this session (pacing limiter) and is marked pending, so the litigation leg of this negative finding is incomplete. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-austin-de15-08
-
[10]NARA, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessels up through 1961' (guided topic) - RG 19 BuShips correspondence filed by hull code; RG 24 deck logs; RG 181 shore-establishment records [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov guided-topic page; NARA Guide to Federal Records groups 019/024/181
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): per NARA's asbestos research guide, hull-specific BuShips correspondence for this ship would file under code 'DE15' in RG 19 general/confidential correspondence series (1940-46) and class correspondence under 'DE5 Class' (Evarts, class lead hull); Mare Island Navy Yard construction/outfitting records reside in RG 181 (Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments, San Francisco region holdings); deck logs for DE-15's 1943-45 service are in RG 24.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - not evidence about this hull. Digitization status of the DE-15 file, Evarts-class correspondence, Mare Island construction records, and DE-15 deck logs is unverified; no box-level retrieval performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-austin-de15-09