Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet im-packet.md (9 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: USS Baker DE-190 → VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-baker-de190-pkt-im-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Baker (DE-190), revised entry by Robert J. Cressman (14 December 2005; published on NHHC site 2021) - live page returns 404; Wayback capture 2024-12-09 cited; older Volume-1 transcription via losthistory.net/hazegray mirror [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS entry 'Baker (DE-190)' (revised, Cressman 2005) - full narrative + specifications block; Wayback capture 2024-12-09
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull (revised entry): originally named Raby; laid down 9 September 1943 at Port Newark, N.J., by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.; launched 28 November 1943 (sponsor Mrs. Margaret Baker, mother of the namesake); commissioned at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, 23 December 1943, Lt. Cmdr. Luke B. Lockwood, USNR; shakedown off Bermuda January 1944; two trans-Atlantic convoy cycles to North Africa (Casablanca, arrived 3 March 1944; Bizerte, arrived 30 April 1944; returned with convoy UGS-39, during which U-616 torpedoed G. S. Walden and Fort Fidler on 14 May - U-616 sunk by eight other destroyers and British aircraft); hunter-killer TG 22.10 built around Card (CVE-11) from 20 June 1944; on 5 July 1944 south of Newfoundland Baker gained sound contact at 1907, ran depth-charge attacks that blew the submarine to the surface, fired on it at 1,200 yards, and laid a 13-charge pattern; Thomas (DE-102) joined and rammed the U-boat, which sank at 1947; Baker rescued 31 survivors - the submarine was U-233, a 1,600-ton minelayer; one battle star earned for this action. Voyage repairs at Navy Yard Annex, Bayonne (25 Aug-7 Sep 1944) and New York Navy Yard (5 Nov 1944). Plane guard for Prince William (CVE-31) out of Newport 4-21 January 1945; TG 22.3 around Bogue (CVE-9) from 8 February 1945; 23 February 1945 storm (winds clocked at 115 knots) inflicted sprung frames, ruptured steam lines, downed lifelines, shorted fire-control circuits, and inoperable sound gear - repaired at Reykjavik; April 1945 operations off the Virginia capes (division mates Thomas, Bostwick, Coffman with Natchez PF-2 sank U-548 there 30 April). Post-war: plane guard Quonset Point for Card and Croatan (CVE-25); Navy Day 21-gun salute to President Truman 27 October 1945; Victory Loan tour with surrendered U-977 (Albany, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh; Wilmington and Lewes; Richmond; Washington - ending 8 December 1945). Decommissioned 4 March 1946, reserve at Green Cove Springs, Fla.; transferred to France under MDAP 29 March 1952; struck from the Navy list 18 April 1952; served France as Malgache (F.724) until decommissioned 1 January 1969; sunk as a target by 6th Fleet units in 1970. Specifications block: 1,240 tons; 306 ft; 36'8" beam; 8'9" mean draft; 21 knots; complement 186; 3 x 3-inch, 2 x 40mm, 8 x 20mm, 2 depth-charge tracks, 8 depth-charge projectors, 1 hedgehog; class Cannon. Namesake: Ens. John Drayton Baker, USNR, VF-42 pilot embarked in Yorktown (CV-5), missing in action 7 May 1942 at the Coral Sea, posthumous Navy Cross.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1970
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding Port Newark/Kearny construction trades 1943; wartime crew (design complement 186)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content - the entry contains no asbestos information. The 'ruptured steam lines' detail (23 February 1945) establishes auxiliary steam piping existed aboard this hull but not its insulation composition. Mirror/archive citations used because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-baker-de190-01
-
[3]Decommissioning-date reconciliation: revised NHHC DANFS ('Decommissioned on 4 March 1946, Baker was placed in reserve at Green Cove Springs, Fla.') + NavSource DE-190 operational data ('04 March 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 2 years and 2 1/4 months of service') + uboat.net Allied Warships ('Decommissioned 4 March 1946') vs. the Volume-1 DANFS transcription ('went out of commission in reserve 4 March 1948', mirrored at losthistory/hazegray and HistoryCentral) and alabordache.fr ('desarme aux USA le 4-03-1948') [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-190 'Building and Operational Data' block; uboat.net ship/1452.html header; losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/escorts/de190.htm (Vol.-1 '1948' text); alabordache.fr Malgache presentation page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The '1948' decommissioning year propagated in downstream records is a Volume-1 DANFS artifact contradicted by the revised NHHC entry and by NavSource's operational data (which is internally consistent: 23 December 1943 + '2 years and 2 1/4 months' = early March 1946) and uboat.net ('End service 4 Mar 1946'). Her documented activity ends with the December 1945 U-977 Victory Loan tour, consistent with a March 1946 decommissioning. The 1946 date is carried; 1948 is not. The uboat.net compilation also supplies the hull's order date (18 January 1942) not present in DANFS.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1946
- Limitations
- Corrects a stale Volume-1 figure repeated by mirror transcriptions and French compilations; the discrepancy is documented rather than silently reconciled. NavSource CO roster extends to a decommissioning officer through 20 June 1946 (Lt.(jg) H. D. Edwards, 'decomm.') - the exact administrative endpoint within 1946 is not further resolved here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-baker-de190-02
-
[4]DANFS specifications block (Cannon class; 21 kt; complement 186) + NavSource machinery/specification detail (4 GM Mod. 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6,000 shp, 2 screws) + Bureau of Ships Ships' Data 1945 Vol. I DET-design roster (DE-162-197 Federal Newark block) + Atlas shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (tier 2; 1944 Owens-Illinois yard survey) + GAO HRD-80-2 product page (Navy asbestos-use era) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; NavSource DE-190 specifications block; SDB1945v1.pdf DET roster grouping DE-162-197; shipyards.json 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944); toxicdocs.org/d/4ayjMMY2q6pqomB4eDk5Nq9op (Heathman interrogatory exhibit list, item 20)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference: DE-190 sits in the April 1945 BuShips roster's DET-design (Cannon-class) block built by Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newark. A Cannon-class destroyer escort built in 1943 with a diesel-electric plant (four GM 16-278A diesel-generator sets, electric drive, 6,000 shp, ~21 kt) would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to a diesel-electric ship - exhaust insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, brake linings, and deck coverings - but no boilers or propulsion-steam lagging. Hull-specific observation within the official record: DANFS documents 'ruptured steam lines' aboard this hull in the 23 February 1945 storm, so auxiliary steam piping (heating/galley service) existed aboard this hull; whether it was asbestos-lagged is not established. Builder-yard context: Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock, Kearny, N.J. is Atlas yard 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (tier 2) with a documented Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey of the yard conducted 30 August-2 September 1944 (asbestos pipe covering incl. Johns-Manville Superex and boiler insulation work in confined spaces, introduced as Owens-Illinois interrogatory exhibit #20 in Heathman v. Owens-Corning, Brazoria County TX).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (USN era); yard survey 1944
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding Kearny construction trades 1943-44; wartime crew 1943-46
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No material schedule, insulation specification, or hull survey for DE-190 is public. The Kearny yard survey (30 Aug-2 Sep 1944) documents wartime yard products and practices nine months after this hull's December 1943 delivery - it evidences what the yard was working with in the same era, not what was installed in this hull. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure. NARA GIB/BuShips material-book retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-baker-de190-03
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[5]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos insulation use with substitution not beginning until the early 1970s - DE-190's 1943 construction and 1943-46 USN service (and her 1952-69 French service) fall inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program scope)
- Limitations
- Program-level era context only; not hull-specific. GAO full text returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches - content via product-page description (standing limitation shared with batch-01 records). Does not establish that any particular material was installed aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-baker-de190-04
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[6]Service historique de la Defense (French Ministry of Defense archives), archive notice AA/375/I/5/232/1 - 'BATIMENT DE COMMANDEMENT (BC), pour operations amphibies : MALGACHE', dates 1952-1968, physical format held at Châtellerault; filed under 'Navires et systemes navals : dossiers techniques des batiments de la Marine et des avaries (1924-1977)' [other_primary]
- Locator
- SHD archive notice ark/950675 (cote AA/375/I/5/232/1), inventory path 'Avaries de batiments > Batiment de commandement (BC) ... Malgache'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official French archive holds this hull's French-era technical dossier and damage ('avaries') file under cote AA/375/I/5/232/1, described as the record of Malgache as a Bâtiment de Commandement (amphibious-operations command ship), covering 1952-1968 - confirming French-custody identity and role for this hull. The dossier is not digitized and was not reviewed; it is the strongest located lead for any French-custody material, refit, or casualty records for this hull (including the amphibious command-ship conversion and the 1970 target sinking context).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1952-1968
- Population
- French Navy crew and dockyard workers, 1952-1969
- Limitations
- Index entry only - establishes that a technical/avaries dossier exists for this hull's French service (1952-1968) at Châtellerault; its contents (refit scopes, casualty reports, material records) are unexamined and may or may not contain asbestos-relevant documentation. Contains no asbestos information in the public index entry. French compilations (alabordache, navypedia) place Malgache at Arzew until December 1962 (then Lorient) and describe the BC conversion; used as leads only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-baker-de190-05
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[7]Batch-4105 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS via Wayback + losthistory/hazegray mirror; NavSource; uboat.net; French SHD archive + French compilations (alabordache, navypedia, postenavalemilitaire); NVR; Atlas shipyards.json; CourtListener API v4 exact-name and hull-number queries via cl-auth-search.py; web-index litigation sweeps (law-firm listicles, site:va.gov vetapp, site:courtlistener.com/justia/casetext) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-baker-de190-01 through sl-uss-baker-de190-13
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-190: no hull ACM survey, abatement contract, material schedule, museum or custodian hazmat disclosure exists (the hull was sunk as a target in 1970; no museum pathway). CourtListener exhausted across both query forms and both databases: '"USS Baker"' opinions (type=o) 0 hits and dockets (type=r) 0 hits; '"DE-190"' opinions 126 hits and dockets 552 hits - all pure string collisions (federal docket-entry numbers 'DE 190' = ECF document numbers incl. NOS '190 Contract' codes, and Puerto Rico reporter citations '190 DPR'); none vessel-related, none asbestos. Web-index sweeps surfaced only law-firm asbestos-ship listicles enumerating this hull (shepardlawfirm.com ship page; asbestos-ships.com ship page; bellucklaw.com and mesotheliomahelp.org Federal Shipbuilding yard pages listing DE-190 among Federal-built hulls) - non-qualifying and excluded per source rules - plus unrelated judge/party name collisions. No BVA/CAVC veteran-claim decision naming DE-190 surfaced in va.gov site sweeps.
- 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 - era materials could have been installed and later removed under French custody with no surviving public documentation; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener exhaustion was complete this session (opinions + RECAP dockets, exact-name and hull-number forms; the 552 'DE-190' docket hits were verified as entry-number collisions on the returned first page - the collision mechanism is uniform across the result set).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-baker-de190-06