Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet ey-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-bache-dd470-pkt-ey-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Bache (DD-470) (builder, launch, commissioning, specifications block, WWII service narrative, reserve/escort-conversion record; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404 on all URL variants) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/DD/dd470.html)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 7 July 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y.; sponsored by Miss Louise Bache, daughter of Commander Bache; commissioned 14 November 1942, Commander J. N. Opie III in command. Spec block: dp 2,050; l. 376'5"; b. 39'7"; dr. 17'9"; s. 35.2 k.; cpl. 329; a. 5 5", 10 21" tt.; cl. Fletcher. Service: Atlantic Fleet convoy escort to Halifax; post-shakedown overhaul in New York; departed Norfolk 6 February 1943 escorting HMS Victorious to Pearl Harbor (arrived 4 March); Aleutians May-December 1943 (Kiska bombardment); brief overhaul at Pearl Harbor; joined 7th Fleet 23 December 1943 - New Britain bombardment (26 Dec), Los Negros/Admiralties landings (29 Feb 1944), Ndrillo and Karunia bombardment (4-7 Mar), New Guinea targets (10 Apr-15 Sep), Leyte bombardment (20 Oct), Battle of Surigao Strait as TG 77.3 unit (25 Oct); departed Leyte 29 October 1944 for United States yard overhaul; joined 5th Fleet at Eniwetok 20 February 1945; Iwo Jima air support 28 Feb-5 Mar; Okinawa screening and picket duty from 1 April; slight damage 3 May from a kamikaze that overshot into the sea, then rescued the 74-man crew of stricken LSM(R)-195; 13 May kamikaze strike - plane's wing hit near number-two stack, bomb exploding about seven feet above the main deck, 41 killed and 32 injured, all steam and electrical power lost, fires controlled in 20 minutes, towed to Kerama Retto for temporary repairs; arrived New York Navy Yard 13 July 1945 for permanent repairs; to Charleston, S.C., for inactivation; out of commission in reserve at Charleston 4 February 1946; converted to escort destroyer at Boston Navy Yard in 1950 (reclassified DDE-470, 2 January 1951); recommissioned 1 October 1951; Atlantic Fleet service with six Caribbean and three Mediterranean 6th Fleet cruises; eight battle stars for World War II.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1955 (entry coverage)
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel Staten Island construction trades 1941-42; wartime crew (spec-block complement 329); New York Navy Yard repair workers 1945; Boston Navy Yard conversion workers 1950-51
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. This entry predates the hull's final decade - it gives no laid-down date and does not cover the 30 June 1962 reversion to DD-470, the 6 February 1968 grounding at Rhodes, or the 1 March 1968 striking. Mirror transcription cited because live NHHC DANFS pages return 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bache-dd470-01
-
[3]C. A. Bartholomew and W. I. Milwee Jr., 'Mud, Muscle, and Miracles: Marine Salvage in the United States Navy,' 2nd ed. (Naval History & Heritage Command / Naval Sea Systems Command, Department of the Navy, 2009), p. 288 - official USN salvage history [other_primary]
- Locator
- Mud, Muscle, and Miracles 2nd ed., p. 288 (Bache section) and p. 569 (bibliography); Google Books search-within-volume, item GNBounbWYPkC
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NHHC/NAVSEA salvage history documents the wrecking event for this hull: 'A major salvage job reminiscent of Frank Knox seemed to be in the offing when Bache (DD 470) grounded in high winds and seas 150 yards outside Rhodes harbor, Greece, on 6 February 1968. The response was immediate. Hoist and...' - the section records the Navy's salvage response to the grounding (USS Hoist among the responding vessels). The volume's bibliography (p. 569) cites a Naval Engineers Journal (August 1968) article on the Bache salvage.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1968
- Population
- Crew evacuated ashore (no casualties reported per secondary sources); Navy and contract salvage workers 1968
- Limitations
- Verified via Google Books search-within-volume snippet view (p. 288 and bibliography p. 569); the full passage was not retrievable in snippet view, so the salvage outcome and scrapping details rest on the secondary compilations in ev-03. Documents the grounding and salvage response, not materials or asbestos content; does not establish the hull's final material disposition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bache-dd470-02
-
[4]NavSource Online, Destroyer Photo Archive - USS Bache (DD-470 / DDE-470) page: operational/building data block plus hosted official USN photo captions (NH 95930-95932, USN 1129748, KN-16237); volunteer archival compilation, not an official record [other_primary]
- Locator
- Operational/building data block, navsource.org/archives/05/470.htm (search-snippet verified; direct fetch blocked); ussbache.com/demise via Wayback capture 2022-12-07
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource operational/building data block (search-snippet verified): 'Laid down by Bethlehem Steel, Staten Island, NY November 19 1941. Launched July 7 1942 and commissioned November 14 1942. Decommissioned February 4 1946 and recommissioned October 1 1951. Reclassified DDE-470 January 2 1951, reverted To DD-470 June 30 1962. Decommissioned March 1 1968. Stricken March 1 1968. Fate: Wrecked on the Island of Rhodes Greece February 6 1968, and scrapped there.' The page also hosts official USN photo captions including NH 95932 (Bache off San Francisco 16 January 1945, during the post-Leyte stateside overhaul window whose yard DANFS leaves unnamed) and the Rhodes grounding photographs (USN 1129748; KN-16237: 'blown ashore by gale force winds on 6 February 1968... damaged beyond economical repair'). The ship-association page (ussbache.com, Wayback capture) reports the wreck was removed by N.E. Vericos Shipping Co., Ltd., a Greek salvage company, and cites contemporaneous press (Washington Post, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor) for the CO's court-martial on negligent-hazarding charges (sentence: reprimand).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1968
- Population
- Crew; Greek salvage workers (N.E. Vericos Shipping Co.), 1968
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer compilation - it supplies the data points DANFS omits (laid down 19 Nov 1941, DD-470 reversion 30 Jun 1962, decommission/stricken 1 Mar 1968, scrapped at Rhodes) but is secondary-sourced only; no primary register page exists (hull predates the online Naval Vessel Register). The association page is a non-authoritative compilation; its salvage-firm and court-martial details are carried as reported by its cited sources, not independently verified. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bache-dd470-03
-
[5]DANFS spec block + Fletcher-class machinery spec (class profile: navypedia + BuShips Ships' Data 1945) + Atlas shipyard dataset record 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' (tier 3; documented products incl. 85% magnesia block insulation, Marinite board, Transite pipe covering, Unibestos, Raybestos cloth, asbestos lagging, gaskets and packing) + GAO HRD-80-2 program documentation [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block + service narrative (yard references); shipyards.json record 'bethlehem-shipbuilding'; fletcher-class.class.json propulsion spec; GAO HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Fletcher-class destroyer built 1941-42 at Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island, with a four-boiler steam plant (class spec: 4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2 GE geared steam-turbine sets, 60,000 shp, 2 shafts) would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation - boiler and turbine lagging, steam-line insulation, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing - as documented for WWII-era naval construction generally; GAO HRD-80-2 records that the Navy did not begin substituting alternative insulation until the early 1970s, placing this hull's entire 1942-1968 life inside the documented asbestos-use era. The builder yard is tier 3 in the Atlas dataset with a documented asbestos product list - though that record is the corporate Bethlehem Shipbuilding entry keyed to Quincy, Mass., and does not separately enumerate the Staten Island division. Documented Navy-yard availabilities for this hull - post-shakedown overhaul and July 1945 permanent repairs at New York Navy Yard, a brief late-1943 Pearl Harbor overhaul, Charleston inactivation, and the 1950 Boston Navy Yard escort-destroyer conversion - are all tier 2-3 yards with their own asbestos records; the late-1944 stateside overhaul yard is unnamed in DANFS (official photo NH 95932 places the ship off San Francisco 16 January 1945).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1968
- Population
- Bethlehem Staten Island construction trades 1941-42; crew 1942-1968; yard workers at documented availabilities (New York Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor, Boston Navy Yard, Charleston, unnamed 1944-45 stateside yard)
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No retrieved source names an asbestos product installed aboard DD-470; yard tier records document the yards, not work performed on this hull; 'Pearl Harbor' and 'Charleston' are DANFS place names (yard work unstated); the late-1944 overhaul yard is unidentified. Does not establish presence, absence, exposure, or causation for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bache-dd470-04
-
[6]Batch-3453 search ledger (this record): DANFS verbatim transcription; NHHC/NAVSEA salvage history (Mud, Muscle, and Miracles p. 288); NavSource/Wikipedia secondary compilations; NARA asbestos research guide + SL-44 ship-number index; Atlas shipyard dataset; CourtListener API v4 sweep; ship-association site (ussbache.com); web-level litigation/material check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bache-dd470-01 through sl-uss-bache-dd470-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-470: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract, no hazmat disclosure, no museum record (the hull was scrapped in place at Rhodes, Greece, in 1968), and no qualifying docketed asbestos case naming this hull at the checked surface (see ev-06, ev-07, and search_ledger). Marketing ship-pages exist for this hull (e.g., mesotheliomahelp.org, mesothelioma.net, navyshipexposure.com) making unsourced equipment-manifest and exposure claims - excluded under the batch's source rules and logged in the report.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the hull's 1941-42 construction inside the documented peak naval-asbestos era, her 25-year service, her kamikaze-damage rebuild (1945) and escort-destroyer conversion (1950-51) are consistent with era-standard insulation and insulation-disturbance events, but that is inference, not a ship-specific documentation finding. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bache-dd470-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep via cl-auth-search.py (fleet-paced): opinion queries "USS Bache" (0 hits), "DD-470" (1 hit - collision), "DDE-470" (0 hits); docket queries "USS Bache" (1 hit - MDL-875), "DD-470" (13 hits - 12 collisions + MDL-875), "DDE-470" (2 hits - collisions) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bache-dd470-07 and sl-uss-bache-dd470-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying docketed asbestos case naming this hull located. Exact-name opinion search returned zero results. The single "DD-470" opinion hit (Sykes v. State, Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1979, 366 So. 2d 841) matches only the court's own docket number on a criminal appeal - a collision, not the hull. Docket-index hits for "DD-470"/"DDE-470" are docket-number or unrelated-name collisions (bankruptcy, criminal, civil dockets) except the MDL-875 master docket (see ev-07). Known 'Bache' collision class: Bache & Co./Prudential-Bache securities litigation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Sweep completed 2026-09-27 under fleet pacing; queries and hit classifications in sl-07/sl-08. Absence of a docketed case does not prove no plaintiff ever alleged exposure aboard this hull - pre-digital state and local filings are outside the index, and plaintiffs typically name shipyards and product manufacturers rather than hulls. Not exculpatory.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bache-dd470-06
-
[8]IN RE: Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), MDL No. 875, U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (master docket, filed 1991-01-17) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener RECAP docket index, MDL No. 875 (JPML), 'USS Bache' match in indexed text
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- The string 'USS Bache' appears in indexed docket text of the MDL-875 master asbestos docket (the JPML consolidated asbestos docket, the umbrella for thousands of individual Navy/shipyard asbestos actions). Whether any individual claim alleges exposure aboard this hull - or whether the string reflects a plaintiff's enumerated ship list, a disclosure, or another filing - is unverified from the public index.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1991-present (docket)
- Population
- Unverified from index
- Limitations
- Docket-text reference only, pleading-stage at most; unadjudicated as to this hull. An MDL master-docket string most commonly reflects an enumerated vessel list inside a complaint or disclosure filing - it does not identify a plaintiff, does not adjudicate exposure aboard the hull, and establishes nothing about materials aboard. Classified down per litigation-stage discipline.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bache-dd470-07
-
[9]National Archives, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' (research guide: VA-claims context; RG 19 Bureau of Ships correspondence path; RG 24 logbooks) + NARA SL-44 ship-number index + NARA cartographic ship-plans guide + association-hosted scanned war diaries (ussbache.com, 1942-45) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/navy/guided-topics/asbestos; archives.gov/files/research/military/logbooks/sl-44-ship-number.pdf (grep-verified, no DD-470 row); archives.gov/research/cartographic/ship-plans; ussbache.com/war-diaries-1944 (Wayback)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's official research guide maps the record path for ship-level asbestos inquiry for this hull: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) correspondence series (1940-1961) filed by hull code DD470; Fletcher-class correspondence under DD445 Class (the guide itself uses a Fletcher-class hull, USS Kidd DD-661, as its worked example); type correspondence under DD as last resort; and private-yard correspondence under QM/Bethlehem Steel for the builder. This hull's construction (1941-42) and nearly all of her service fall inside the guide's mapped window. The SL-44 ship-number index carries no DD-470 row (checked 2026-09-27; '470' hits are LCI(L)(G)-470, LST-470, PC-470, PT-470, SC-1470, YMS-470, YP-470 only) - WWII destroyer deck logs live in RG 24 Entry 118 (NAID 581208). RG 19 hull-series engineering drawings for DD-470 are requestable via the NARA Cartographic Branch ship-plan index. The ship-association site hosts scanned monthly war-diary PDFs (1942-45) that could resolve the unnamed late-1944 overhaul yard; the November 1944 scan is truncated in the Wayback capture (1 MB of a 5.3 MB original).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- Records path for 1941-1968 service
- Limitations
- Research-path guide only - establishes where ship-specific asbestos documentation would live, not that any exists for this hull. No NARA records were retrieved; all paths are leads. Association-hosted war-diary scans are secondary-hosted copies of primary records - content unverified (truncated capture).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bache-dd470-08