Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]research packet jb-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-bancroft-dd256-pkt-jb-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS Vol. I (1959; repr. 1964), Bancroft II (DD-256) entry (verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. I, Bancroft II entry - specification block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 21 March 1919 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, Mass.; sponsored by Miss Mary W. Bancroft; commissioned 30 June 1919, LCDR H. S. Haislip in command. Atlantic Fleet training to 26 November 1919, then reserve commission; out of commission at Philadelphia 11 July 1922; recommissioned 18 December 1939, Atlantic Squadron east coast; decommissioned at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and transferred to Great Britain in the destroyer-land bases exchange 24 September 1940; allocated to the RCN as HMCS St. Francis. Specification block: 1,215 tons, 314'4" x 31'8" x 9'10", 35 knots, complement 122, 4 x 4" + 1 x 3" + 12 x 21" TT, Clemson class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1918-1945
- Population
- Fore River construction trades 1918-19; USN crew 1919-1922 and 1939-1940 (design complement 122)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content; the entry does not state a laid-down date or a Navy-list striking date. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404 (standing NHHC link-rot issue per BATCH-01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bancroft-dd256-01
-
[3]Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources (BUAR), exempted shipwreck site record: HMCS St. Francis (Commonwealth of Massachusetts, mass.gov) [other_primary]
- Locator
- mass.gov BUAR exempted-site page for HMCS St. Francis - Vessel Details, The Shipwreck, Dive Site Conditions, Historical Background, Salvage sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Commonwealth of Massachusetts wreck record for this hull: Clemson-class steel destroyer (ex-USS Bancroft DD-256), built 1919 at Quincy by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp.; owners USN 1919-1940, RCN 1940-1945, Boston Metals Company 1945. Sold June 1945 to Boston Metals Company of Baltimore; under tow of tug Peter Norman on 14 July 1945 after transiting the Cape Cod Canal, collided in fog in Buzzards Bay with the collier Windward Gulf (BUAR spelling; RCN history and NavSource read Winding Gulf - conflict in gaps), was holed, and sank on an even keel in ~60 ft about 2 miles off Acoaxet near Westport with no loss of life. Site coordinates 41°27'42"N 71°06'20"W. Boston Metals formally abandoned the wreck to the U.S. Government; declared a menace to navigation and dynamited nearly flat; in 1953 diver Bill George blasted open the engine room and removed most machinery for scrap; ~30 ft of bow remains. BUAR classifies the site as an exempted shipwreck (recreational diving, no permit; major disruption prohibited). BUAR also documents the 1940 refit: bridge and pilot house enclosed; during the escort refit one boiler removed to increase fuel capacity, 4-inch guns replaced with AA weapons, torpedo tubes replaced with depth-charge projectors.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945-1953 (loss and salvage); site record current
- Population
- Tow/salvage crews 1945; hard-hat salvage divers 1953; recreational divers (present)
- Limitations
- Official state wreck record - documents loss, position, and post-sinking salvage (dynamite flattening; 1953 machinery removal), but is silent on hazardous materials or asbestos content aboard. The 1940 refit detail (boiler removal, armament changes) documents machinery-space disturbance events without insulation scope. Does not establish ACM presence, quantity, or exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bancroft-dd256-02
-
[4]HMCS St. Francis (I93), Ships of the Royal Canadian Navy transcription (readyayeready.com), corroborated by forposterityssake.ca [other_primary]
- Locator
- readyayeready.com shipview.php?id=1397 - 'The History of HMCS ST. FRANCIS' + Statistical Data block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- RCN service record for this hull: keel laid 4 November 1918 (the DANFS entry does not state a laying date; forposterityssake.ca and NavSource concur on 04 Nov 1918); turned over to the RCN at Halifax 24 September 1940 as HMCS St. Francis (Town class, pennant I93); searched for Admiral Scheer after the HX.84 attack 5 November 1940; Halifax to Clyde 15-26 January 1941; EG-4 Western Approaches (Greenock); Newfoundland Command mid-ocean escort from St. John's to early December 1942; Halifax refit December 1942-April 1943; brief C.2 group; Shelburne repairs late 1943; allocated to HMCS Cornwallis as training ship February 1944; paid off at Sydney 11 June 1945; sold for scrap; in tow for Philadelphia, sank off Rhode Island 14 July 1945 after colliding with the American SS Winding Gulf. RCN complement: 10 officers and 143 crew.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1945
- Population
- RCN crew 1940-1945 (153 complement); refit/repair workers at Halifax, Pictou, Shelburne
- Limitations
- Private transcription of the official RCN ship history (cf. hazegray's DANFS mirror) - reputable but not itself the government source. Conflicts with Mass.gov BUAR on the collier's name (Winding vs Windward Gulf) and tow destination (Philadelphia vs Baltimore) - both carried in gaps. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bancroft-dd256-03
-
[5]DANFS specification block (4-boiler steam plant, 35 kt) + hazegray Fore River production record (hull 336, Quincy main yard) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Fore River Shipyard record (tier 3, yard-level asbestos product documentation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; hazegray.org/shipbuilding/quincy/fore1.htm hull-336 row; shipyards.json record 'fore-river-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Clemson-class flush-deck destroyer built 1918-19 at Bethlehem's Fore River yard (yard hull no. 336, per the Fore River production record) with a four-boiler, geared-turbine steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler and pipe lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing; the Atlas shipyard record for Fore River Shipyard (evidence tier 3) documents boilers, pipes, turbines, fireproofing materials, gaskets, packing, asbestos wire insulation, asbestos cement, and asbestos-containing paint at yard level.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1918-1945
- Population
- Fore River construction trades 1918-19; USN/RCN engineering crew 1919-1945
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no hull-level specification, survey, or abatement record was located for DD-256; this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding. NavSource attributes 26,500 shp Curtis turbines; the DANFS spec block gives speed (35 kt) and complement (122) but not machinery detail. hazegray fore1.htm production list accessed via search-index capture (site unreachable by direct fetch 2026-09-27).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bancroft-dd256-04
-
[6]CourtListener API v4 sweep: "USS Bancroft" (type=o and type=r) and "DD-256" (type=o), authenticated, 2026-09-27 [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results (queries in search_ledger sl-05 through sl-08)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation located naming this hull: "USS Bancroft" returned zero opinions and zero RECAP dockets; "DD-256" returned one opinion hit - Jeffrey Machado v. ... (Mass. Superior Court, docket 2017-2056, a wage/labor class action) - a name collision with no vessel relevance. No case naming USS Bancroft, DD-256, or HMCS St. Francis as an exposure site was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Absence of a CourtListener hit does not prove absence of litigation - state-court and non-digitized filings are outside the index, and the name collides with USS Bancroft (DD-598), a Benson-class WWII destroyer also built at Fore River (any future 'USS Bancroft' hit requires hull disambiguation). The 'HMCS St. Francis' opinion query was fleet-throttled at research time (see search_ledger sl-08); completed queries are zero/collision only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bancroft-dd256-05
-
[7]NARA, Records of the Bureau of Ships, Alphabetical Series of Ship Engineering Drawings - 'Plans for the Destroyer USS Bancroft (DD-256)'; item 'USS Bancroft (DD-256): Plan of Hold', catalog.archives.gov id 78116383 (DPLA aggregation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DPLA item 3fb3f245a7c5b54364030b951c904d31; NARA catalog.archives.gov/id/78116383
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds a per-hull Bureau of Ships engineering-drawings series for USS Bancroft (DD-256), including 'Plan of Hold' - hull-level plans are the standard location for material and insulation specifications and are the unmined archival lead for ship-specific construction materials.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1918-1919 (drawings); catalog entry undated
- Limitations
- Catalog-level evidence only - the drawings were not retrieved and may or may not itemize insulation materials; the aggregator's '1896-09' created date is an apparent metadata artifact (DD-256 dates to 1918-19). NARA catalog page is JS-rendered and did not return text to automated fetch; DPLA record cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bancroft-dd256-06