Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet eb-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-babbitt-dd128-pkt-eb-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Babbitt I (Destroyer No. 128 / DD-128 / AG-102) - extended NHHC entry (Raymond A. Mann; updated Robert J. Cressman; published 2021-11-02). Live page returns 404 to automated fetch; content verified via Wayback capture 2025-04-01 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS 'Babbitt I' page, specification block + full service narrative; Wayback capture 20250401074941
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Extended DANFS record for this hull (Destroyer No. 128: displacement 1,211 normal; length 314' 4.25"; beam 30' 11.25"; draft 10' 0.5" full load aft; speed 35 k.; complement 133; armament 4x4", 2x3", 12x21" TT; class Wickes): laid down 19 February 1918 at Camden, N.J., by New York Shipbuilding Company; launched 30 September 1918, sponsored by Miss Lucille Burlin, niece of the building yard's chief engineer; commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard 24 October 1919, Cmdr. William E. Eberle in command; Division 16, Flotilla 5, Destroyer Squadron 4, Pacific Fleet from January 1920; designated DD-128 17 July 1920; decommissioned San Diego 15 June 1922; refurbished winter 1929-30 to replace Thompson (DD-305) and recommissioned 4 April 1930; Battle Fleet to 1931, then Scouting Force (DesDiv 7, DesRon 3, Charleston base); Naval Torpedo Station Newport 1932; Indianapolis (CA-35) shakedown February 1933; Rotating Reserve DesRon 19 and reduced-commission Training Squadron periods 1933-35; DesDiv 30 permanent midshipman-training duty at the Naval Academy ~18 months; Norfolk overhaul November 1936-January 1937; Special Service Squadron, Guantanamo Bay base, 1937-39; Neutrality Patrol from September 1939; Philadelphia Navy Yard overhaul Dec 1939-Feb 1940; New York Navy Yard Sept 1941 (4x4" battery replaced by 6x3" DP); first radar at Boston Navy Yard Nov 1941; Iceland convoy-escort base (Reykjavik/Hvalfjordur) Oct 1941-Aug 1942; Boston Navy Yard availability Sept-8 Nov 1942 (No. 4 boiler removed, replaced by fuel bunkers; Oerlikons fitted); SC-121 and HX-229 convoy defense March 1943 (11 depth-charge attacks, 53 depth charges on a U-boat contact 19 March); Londonderry/Moville/Lissahally; NY-Curacao-Aruba-North Africa tanker convoy circuit 1943-44; ASW group around Card (CVE-11) Oct 1943; repairs New York Navy Yard Dec 1943-Jan 1944; last transatlantic escort Feb-Mar 1944 (Casablanca); Staten Island/Galveston tanker runs; Greenland supply escort with Yukon (AF-9) Sept 1944 (Yukon torpedoed by U-979 off Reykjavik 22 Sept); Boston Navy Yard overhaul + experimental sound-gear installation Dec 1944-late Jan 1945; Navy Underwater Sound Laboratory, New London, experimental sonar duty from 2 February 1945; reclassified AG-102 10 June 1945; New York Naval Shipyard pre-inactivation December 1945; decommissioned at New York 25 January 1946; name stricken from the Navy Register 25 February 1946; sold to Northern Metals Company, Philadelphia, 5 June 1946, and subsequently scrapped. One battle star, WWII, for defense of Convoy SC-121.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1946
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1918-19; navy-yard workers at documented availabilities (Philadelphia, Norfolk, New York, Boston, 1936-46); ship's company (design complement 133)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, specifications, and service/yard-period history - not materials or asbestos content. Extended (2021) entry supersedes the 1959 print transcription (which reads complement 136 and 'Lucile' Burlin; beam 31'8"; draft 9'4") - the print text remains available via HazeGray/losthistory mirror. Live NHHC URL returns 404 to automated fetch; verified via Wayback capture 2025-04-01 (NHHC bot-protection/404 pattern documented in BATCH-01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-babbitt-dd128-01
-
[3]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, USS Babbitt (DD-128 / AG-102) - operational/building data and machinery (live host refuses automated fetch; read via Wayback capture 20240624172958) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-128 page, 'Operational and Building Data' block + class header
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compilation for this hull: class 'Wickes (Tattnall) - built to Bath plans, built by New York SB.'; displacement 1,211 t; machinery 26,000 SHP, Parsons-design turbines, 2 screws; 35 knots; crew 101; laid down 19 February 1918 by New York Shipbuilding; launched 30 September 1918; commissioned 24 October 1919; decommissioned 15 June 1922; recommissioned 4 April 1930; reclassified AG-102 10 June 1945; decommissioned 25 January 1946; stricken 25 February 1946; sold 5 June 1946 and broken up for scrap. Namesake biography of LT Fitz Henry Babbitt (appointed midshipman 1804; killed 14 January 1815 as first lieutenant of USS President) reproduced from DANFS. Call sign NEPX.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1946
- Population
- Crew 1919-1946 (NavSource lists 101)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive; all milestone dates corroborated by the extended DANFS entry (ev-01). Crew figure (101) conflicts with extended DANFS (133) and print DANFS (136) - carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos/materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-babbitt-dd128-02
-
[4]U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images, Photo NH 56678 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library picture-data page for NH 56678
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC photograph NH 56678: 'USS Babbitt (Destroyer # 128) At anchor in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in January 1920' - official photographic record confirming hull identity during the early post-shakedown cruise; the Babbitt entry in the NHHC Online Library B-name index (Destroyer # 128, later DD-128 & AG-102, 1919-1946) resolves to this image.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1920
- Population
- Crew, January 1920 (Guantanamo Bay)
- Limitations
- Photographic record only; contains no materials or asbestos information. Sole image listed for this hull in the Online Library index at access time.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-babbitt-dd128-03
-
[5]NavSource class header ('Wickes (Tattnall), built to Bath plans') + Wickes-class machinery data in secondary naval references (historyofwar.org; naval-encyclopedia.com) + Atlas shipyard dataset 'new-york-shipbuilding' record [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-128 class header; Wickes-class machinery tables (historyofwar.org, naval-encyclopedia.com); shipyards.json 'new-york-shipbuilding'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: DD-128 is a Bath-plans ('Tattnall') Wickes-class destroyer with Parsons geared turbines (26,000 shp, 2 screws per NavSource); class references assign the DD-125-130 group four White-Forster water-tube boilers (the extended DANFS narrative independently places at least a 'number 4 boiler' aboard before its 1942 removal). Steam destroyers of 1918 construction carried asbestos boiler insulation, steam-line lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing as period standard, and the builder (New York Shipbuilding, Camden) is a tier-1 Atlas-documented asbestos yard (product list incl. Ehret 85% magnesia insulation, Pabco Caltemp block, Johns-Manville Transite panels, asbestos gaskets/packing; workforce cohort findings).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1946
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1918-19; ship's company and navy-yard workers 1919-1946
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no hull-level material specification, survey, or work package was located for DD-128; boiler type/count rests on secondary naval references for the DD-125-130 group, not an official source for this hull. Yard-level findings describe New York Shipbuilding generally (largely later-era), not this 1918-19 build. NARA RG 19 General Information Books hold per-vessel material specs - not retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-babbitt-dd128-04
-
[6]Extended DANFS narrative (ev-01) - documented navy-yard repair/alteration availabilities aboard this hull [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Extended DANFS service narrative (ev-01), per-period availability passages
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Documented yard/maintenance events on this hull (disturbance events): refurbishment and equipment transfer at San Diego alongside reserve-fleet piers, winter 1929-30; regular overhaul at Norfolk, November 1936-January 1937; Philadelphia Navy Yard overhaul December 1939-February 1940; New York Navy Yard September 1941 (main battery replaced: four 4"/50 SP out, six 3"/50 DP in); Boston Navy Yard 4-12 November 1941 (first radar installation); Boston Navy Yard 16-24 December 1941 (overhaul); Boston Navy Yard 10 September-8 November 1942 availability (starboard reduction-gear repair; No. 4 boiler removed and replaced with additional fuel bunkers; .50-cal machine guns exchanged for 20-mm Oerlikons); New York Navy Yard repairs June 1943 and December 1943-January 1944; Norfolk availability 17 June-3 July 1944; Boston Navy Yard overhaul + experimental sound-gear installation December 1944-late January 1945; New York Naval Shipyard pre-inactivation December 1945-January 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1929-1946
- Population
- Navy-yard trades at the named yards during each availability; ship's force assisting
- Limitations
- These are documented repair/alteration periods only - relevant as potential insulation/material disturbance events aboard this hull, but the DANFS narrative records no material content, no asbestos handling, and no worker-protection detail. Yard identities are as named in DANFS; some 'Norfolk'/'New York' mentions may refer to bases rather than the naval shipyard proper.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-babbitt-dd128-05
-
[7]National Archives, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' index - Babbitt (AG-102) entry; digitized logs within series NAID 594258 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978' [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov deck-log index, Babbitt (AG-102), Years: 1945, 1946; catalog.archives.gov/search-within/594258
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA lists digitized deck logs for Babbitt (AG-102) covering 1945 and 1946 - the experimental sonar-duty period at the Navy Underwater Sound Laboratory, the AG-102 conversion, and the New York Naval Shipyard pre-inactivation overhaul. Catalog queries: "Babbitt (AG-102)" AND "1945"/"1946" within NAID 594258.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - log images exist but were not reviewed; deck logs record daily events and locations, not materials, so any AG-102 conversion or overhaul content would be incidental. Earlier logs (1919-1944) exist only as paper logbooks at NARA (RG 24 entry 118 / Special List 44), not digitized.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-babbitt-dd128-06
-
[8]Batch-3135 search ledger (this record): NHHC extended DANFS (canonical URL via Wayback; live 404 to automated fetch); HazeGray/losthistory print-DANFS mirror; NavSource DD-128; NHHC Online Library photo index; NARA deck-log index; CourtListener exact-name + hull-designator sweeps; general web asbestos queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-babbitt-dd128-01 through sl-uss-babbitt-dd128-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, material specification, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or museum/preservation record (hull scrapped 1946, predating the asbestos-litigation era). CourtListener sweeps returned no opinion or docket naming 'USS Babbitt'; the sole 'DD-128' opinion hit (Skipper v. McMillan, Fla. 1st DCA 1977) is a court docket-number collision, not the ship. The only public web results associating 'USS Babbitt DD-128' with asbestos are law-firm marketing listicles (e.g., mesotheliomasymptoms.com) - banned sources carrying generic class boilerplate; excluded per batch rules.
- 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 1918 steam plant makes era-consistent ACM probable but it is not ship-proven. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-babbitt-dd128-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated via fleet-paced helper cl-auth-search.py), 2026-09-26: "USS Babbitt" type=o count 0; "USS Babbitt" type=r count 0; "DD-128" type=o count 1; "DD-128" type=r count 14; "AG-102" type=o count 108; "Babbitt asbestos" type=o count 133 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-babbitt-dd128-05 through sl-uss-babbitt-dd128-10; Skipper v. McMillan cluster id 64560082
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation names this hull. Exact-name sweeps returned zero opinions and zero RECAP dockets for 'USS Babbitt'. All positive hits are collisions: the single 'DD-128' opinion (Skipper v. McMillan, Fla. Dist. Ct. App., filed 1977-09-12) cites the court's own docket number 'No. DD-128' in a breach-of-covenant/attorney-fee appeal - not the ship; 14 'DD-128' docket hits are internal docket/document-number references (e.g., Portier v. City of New York, DoorDash v. City of New York, In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litig.); 108 'AG-102' opinion hits are corporate-form/exhibit/serial-string matches (insurance, telecom, bankruptcy); 133 'Babbitt asbestos' opinion hits are dominated by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt party-name suits (Cook v. Babbitt, D.D.C. 1993; Arch Mineral Corp. v. Babbitt, S.D.W.Va. 1995), plaintiff surnames (Babbitt v. Mitchell, Idaho 1981), and incidental references - none name this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- First-page (20-hit) review for the two high-collision queries ('AG-102', 'Babbitt asbestos'); deeper pagination not pulled - a hull naming could theoretically sit beyond page one, but both strings are generic and no ship-context hit appeared. Exact-name sweeps are complete (count 0). CourtListener coverage is the indexed opinion/RECAP corpus, not all US litigation; state-court complaints outside RECAP are not covered. Sweep was delayed ~45 minutes by fleet-wide pacing saturation but completed within quota.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-babbitt-dd128-08