Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet iu-packet.md (7 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-biddle-dd151-pkt-iu-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Biddle II (Destroyer No. 151 / DD-151), Naval History and Heritage Command (entry updated by NHHC historian Robert J. Cressman 2024-11-27, published 2024-11-28; earlier text version dated 2006-02-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications parenthetical + namesake paragraph + full service narrative (1918-1946)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull (2024-updated live entry): '(DD-151: displacement 1,090 (standard), 1,154 (normal); length 314'5"; beam 31'8"; draft 9'2" (mean); speed 35.0 knots; complement 159; armament 4 4-inch, 2 3-inch, 2 .30-caliber machine guns; 12 21-inch torpedo tubes; class Wickes)'. Namesake: Continental Navy Captain Nicholas Biddle, killed 7 March 1778 when Randolph blew up engaging HMS Yarmouth. Laid down 22 April 1918 at Philadelphia by the William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Co.; launched 3 October 1918; sponsored by Miss Elise Biddle Robinson, daughter of Capt. James S. Biddle and great-great-grandniece of Captain Biddle; commissioned 22 April 1919, Cmdr. Charles T. Blackburn in command. Mediterranean cruise, returned New York 1 July 1920; redesignated DD-151 from Destroyer No. 151 on 17 July 1920; Division 48, Atlantic Fleet; decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 20 June 1922. Recommissioned 16 October 1939 (Lt. Cmdr. Martin R. Peterson); patrol duty with Destroyer Division 66, Atlantic Squadron, and NROTC training until November 1940; Caribbean patrol November 1940-May 1941 (the 2024 text reads 'Fifth Naval District'; the 2006 text reads '15th Naval District' - conflict carried in gaps); Destroyer Division 66 patrolling out of Key West, Fla. March 1942-February 1945 Caribbean convoy duty except anti-submarine TG 21.13 (18 January-27 February 1944) and Convoy UGS-37 escort to North Africa (24 March-11 May 1944); in the 11-12 April Luftwaffe attack on UGS-37 she went to battle stations less than a half-hour before midnight on the 11th, and seven men were wounded (one at the No. 3 machine gun; six when a 20-mm shell hit the after deck from the starboard quarter). East-coast motor-torpedo-boat training March-July 1945; reclassified miscellaneous auxiliary AG-114 on 30 June 1945; arrived Boston Navy Yard 15 July for conversion; decommissioned 5 October 1945; stricken from the Navy Register 24 October 1945; sold 3 December 1946 and broken up for scrap. One battle star for the defense of Convoy UGS-37 (11-12 April 1944).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1946
- Population
- William Cramp & Sons construction trades 1918-19; crews 1919-1922, 1930-1936, 1939-1945 (design complement 159)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The 2024-updated entry omits a 1930-1936 commission documented in secondary commanding-officer rosters (see gaps). The live page returns HTTP 404 to default tool fetches (WAF/bot-detection behavior) but serves 200 with the full entry via a browser-user-agent fetch; a verbatim Wayback capture of the 2006 text exists at web.archive.org (biddle-ii.html). Does not establish asbestos presence, quantity, location, or any individual's exposure aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-biddle-dd151-01
-
[3]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, USS Biddle (DD-151 / AG-114) page (operational/building data, specifications block, commanding-officer roster, photo captions) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/05/151.htm - specifications block, operational/building data, commanding officers roster, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource build and service record for this hull: Wickes class as built; displacement 1,154 tons; 314'5" (oa) x 31'8" x 9'10" (max); armament 4 x 4"/50, 2 x 1-pdr AA (1 x 3"/23 AA in some ships), 12 x 21" torpedo tubes; machinery '24,200 SHP; Geared Turbines, 2 screws'; speed 35 knots; crew 103; call sign NIQX. Operational/building data: laid down by Cramp, Philadelphia, 22 April 1918; launched 3 October 1918; commissioned 22 April 1919; decommissioned 20 June 1922; recommissioned 16 October 1939 and assigned to Neutrality Patrol; reclassified AG-114 30 June 1945; decommissioned 5 October 1945; stricken 24 October 1945; sold 3 December 1946 and broken up for scrap. The commanding-officer roster (contributors Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves) documents a commission DANFS omits: '(Decommissioned June 20 1922 - December 6 1930)' followed by COs serving December 1930 - 11 November 1936 (Zimmerman, Bennion, McClung, Partello, Haines, Speight), then '(Decommissioned November 11 1936 - October 16 1939)' - i.e., a 1930-1936 commission. Photo captions on the page place the hull at Norfolk Navy Yard circa 1931 (with Leary DD-158 and Blakely DD-150), in drydock with Dickerson (DD-157) circa 1935-36, at Charleston Navy Yard 22 October 1942 (NH 45523) and 26 September 1943, and note her final-configuration appearance with the aft torpedo mounts removed and the aft stack and its boiler removed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1946
- Population
- Cramp construction trades 1918-19; crews across three commissions 1919-1945
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archive transcribing official records and contributed photographs; the CO roster and captions are compiled from records but are not themselves an official document. The 1930-36 commission dates conflict slightly with the NavalCoverMuseum entry (recommissioned 1 May 1930 vs roster's December 1930 window) - carried in gaps. Asbestos content is not addressed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-biddle-dd151-02
-
[4]Rushworth, 'The Navy and Asbestos Thermal Insulation,' Naval Engineers Journal (2005); Franke et al., 'Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: a state of the science evaluation (1900-1970)' (2011); Atlas shipyard dataset records for philadelphia-naval-shipyard, charleston-naval-shipyard, boston-naval-shipyard (builders/yard asbestos documentation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Naval Engineers Journal 2005 (abstract via doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-3584.2005.tb00336.x); Franke et al. 2011 state-of-science review; shipyards.json records 'philadelphia-naval-shipyard', 'charleston-naval-shipyard', 'boston-naval-shipyard', 'norfolk-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: peer-reviewed reviews of U.S. Navy asbestos practice document shipboard asbestos thermal insulation in use from the 1880s through the 1950s, spanning this hull's entire 1918-1945 service life. A flush-deck destroyer built in 1918 with a four-boiler, two-shaft geared-turbine steam plant (24,200 shp per the NavSource block for this hull) would have carried period-standard asbestos-containing boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Class references identify Cramp-built Wickes hulls as carrying the Bath design (Parsons geared turbines with Normand, White-Forster, or Thornycroft boilers - not the Bethlehem/Yarrow fit). Documented navy-yard contact points for this hull - Philadelphia Navy Yard (1922 decommissioning and 1922-30 lay-up), Charleston Navy Yard (October 1942 and September 1943), Boston Navy Yard (1945 AG-114 conversion) - are yards in the Atlas dataset with asbestos-product documentation at yard level.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1946 (vessel); 2005-2011 (era reviews)
- Population
- Cramp construction trades 1918-19; crews 1919-1945; navy-yard workforces at documented yard periods
- Limitations
- Class/era and yard-level inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The cited reviews cover era practice and do not name this hull; yard-level documentation does not establish that asbestos work occurred on this vessel during any yard period. Builder William Cramp & Sons is absent from the Atlas yard dataset, so builder-yard asbestos context is undocumented. No insulation specification, survey, or material test for this hull was located; nothing quantifies material or establishes any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-biddle-dd151-03
-
[5]Moran Towing & Transp. Co. v. United States, 80 F. Supp. 623 (S.D.N.Y. 1948) [court_record]
- Locator
- 80 F. Supp. 623, at 626-627 (facts of the PC-451 mission); CourtListener opinion 8714125
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Published federal admiralty opinion naming this hull in a contemporaneous operational context: PC-451 had been 'ordered out of Key West on December 24, 1941 to patrol the Florida Straits against submarines and to meet and escort to the southward a troop convoy ... she was accompanied by the USS Biddle - a 1200 ton destroyer.' The opinion resolves the collision suits arising from the PC-451/Nancy Moran collision of 26 December 1941; the only commissioned USS Biddle in December 1941 was DD-151 (TB-26 disposed of; DDG-5 and DLG-34 not yet built). Classification: other litigation (admiralty collision), not asbestos litigation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-12-24 to 1941-12-26 (event); 1948 (opinion)
- Population
- Crew aboard during the December 1941 patrol window
- Limitations
- Establishes the vessel's presence on anti-submarine/convoy patrol out of Key West in December 1941 - a service-history fact only. The opinion contains no materials, maintenance, or asbestos information; it does not bear on exposure aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-biddle-dd151-04
-
[6]Lowcountry Digital Library (College of Charleston), Charleston Naval Shipyard Photographs collection, item 'USS Biddle' (Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum contributing institution) [museum_official]
- Locator
- LCDL catalog record lcdl:680 (Charleston Naval Shipyard Photographs); NHHC Online Library picture-data sheet for photo NH 45523 (ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/images/h45000/h45523c.htm)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official U.S. Navy photograph record for this hull at a navy yard during wartime service: the catalog entry reads 'US Navy Yard, SC, Sept. 26, 1943. USS Biddle (DD 151), Starboard Bow, Down View. File 9-26-43-17.' - i.e., the hull photographed at Charleston Navy Yard on 26 September 1943, during her Caribbean convoy-duty years. A second official photograph, NH 45523 ('USS Biddle (DD-151) - Underway off the Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina on 22 October 1942,' collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command), documents an earlier wartime yard presence at the same yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-10-22; 1943-09-26
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard workforce and crew during the 1942-43 yard periods
- Limitations
- Documents in-yard presence on two wartime dates only; the photographs and catalog records contain no work-order, materials, or asbestos information - whether the October 1942 or September 1943 stays involved repair, overhaul, or only transit/availability is not stated. Charleston Navy Yard carries asbestos documentation at yard level in the Atlas dataset; that does not establish yard-period asbestos work on this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-biddle-dd151-05
-
[7]NHHC Online Library picture-data sheets and photo captions (NH 45523; NavSource-captioned Norfolk Navy Yard c.1931 and drydock c.1935-36 views) + NARA archival leads [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/images/h45000/h45523c.htm (NH 45523); NavSource captions; archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (digitized-logs index - DD-151 absent)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for this hull: NHHC holds photograph NH 45523 (underway off Charleston Navy Yard, 22 October 1942); NavSource captions place the hull at Norfolk Navy Yard circa 1931 and in drydock with USS Dickerson (DD-157) circa 1935-36. NARA RG19 'General Information Books' hold per-vessel material specifications that could document this hull's as-built insulation fit - not retrieved; WWII-era deck logs for DD-151 exist in paper in RG24/RG313 but are not in NARA's digitized online deck-log collection (the online index lists only the later USS Biddle DDG-5).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1945 (photo subjects and archival coverage)
- Limitations
- Photo/archival leads only - none of these sources is stated to contain asbestos or materials data; the RG19 General Information Books are the standard archival path for hull-level material specifications and were not pulled. Photo numbers verified via the ibiblio OnlineLibrary picture-data sheet and NavSource captions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-biddle-dd151-06
-
[8]Sullivan v. A.W. Chesterton Inc. et al., No. 2:18-cv-03622 (E.D. Pa.), asbestos personal-injury removal docket (suitNature '368 P.I. : Asbestos'); Notice of Removal exhibits, ECF No. 1-3 and Joinder of Removal, ECF No. 16 [court_record]
- Locator
- RECAP gov.uscourts.paed.546546: ECF No. 1-3 (state-court civil cover sheet/work history, p.~14 of PDF: 'USS Biddle, DL 6-34, 1/8/69-8/8/69' + machinist-mate exposure allegation); ECF No. 16 (Joinder of Removal, paras. 2, 8 - 'USS Biddle (DL-6-34): January 8, 1969 to August 8, 1969'; 'BIW also built the USS Biddle (DL-6-34)')
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Verified name collision on 'USS Biddle': this asbestos personal-injury docket names 'USS Biddle' in the decedent's service history, but the documents' own text shows the hull is DLG-34 (the Belknap-class guided-missile frigate/cruiser, built by Bath Iron Works, in commission 1967-1993) - not DD-151. The complaint's service list reads 'USS Biddle (DL-6-34): January 8, 1969 to August 8, 1969' [sic - 'DLG-34'] between USS Norfolk (DL-1) and USS Lexington; the removal papers note 'BIW also built the USS Biddle (DL-6-34) where Mr. Sullivan served from January 8, 1969 to August 8, 1969.' The alleged exposure was in fire rooms and engine rooms during repairs at Philadelphia Navy Yard prior to the decedent's 1969 service. DD-151 was stricken and scrapped more than two decades before that service window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1969 (alleged exposure); 2018 (litigation)
- Population
- Navy machinist mate (service from October 1967; aboard DLG-34 January-August 1969); lung-cancer decedent (John L. Sullivan)
- Limitations
- Documents a different hull (DLG-34); establishes nothing about DD-151. Carried as a correction row because a CourtListener exact-name search for 'USS Biddle' returns this asbestos docket; unreviewed readers could otherwise misattribute it. Pleading-stage allegation (complaint service history), unadjudicated as to any vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-biddle-dd151-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 sweeps, 2026-09-26: opinion index 'USS Biddle' = 1 hit (Moran Towing - other litigation); 'aboard the Biddle' = 0; 'DD-151' = 8 opinion hits, all identifier collisions; docket index 'USS Biddle' = 1 hit (Sullivan - name collision, hull is DLG-34); 'DD-151' docket sweep blocked by fleet pacing [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-biddle-dd151-04 through sl-uss-biddle-dd151-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener litigation sweep for this hull: exact-name 'USS Biddle' returns one opinion hit - Moran Towing & Transp. Co. v. United States, 80 F. Supp. 623 (S.D.N.Y. 1948), an admiralty collision case in which this hull is named as PC-451's companion on December 1941 anti-submarine patrol (other litigation, not asbestos) - and one docket hit - Sullivan v. A.W. Chesterton (E.D. Pa. 2:18-cv-03622), an asbestos removal docket verified on RECAP full-text review as naming DLG-34, a name collision (see ev-07). 'Aboard the Biddle' returns zero opinion hits. 'DD-151' returns 8 opinion hits, all identifier collisions (New York Appellate Division family-court opinions citing form/exhibit designators; a Texas criminal appeal) - none referencing a vessel. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming DD-151 was located in completed queries. Plausible collision sources for any future hit are the same-name hulls: USS Biddle DDG-5 (in commission 1962-1964 before the 1964 rename to Claude V. Ricketts) and USS Biddle DLG-34/CG-34 (in commission 1967-1993).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- CourtListener coverage is not exhaustive of all courts/eras; absence of a hit does not prove no claim was ever filed. The 'DD-151' RECAP docket sweep and a 'Biddle' + asbestos surname-collision control were repeatedly throttled by the fleet-wide pacing budget this session; those queries are logged as blocked in the search ledger rather than reported as negative results.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-biddle-dd151-08
-
[10]Batch-3157 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live page, 2024-updated, + Wayback capture of the 2006 text); NavSource DD-151 page; Lowcountry Digital Library / Patriots Point Charleston Naval Shipyard Photographs; NHHC Online Library picture-data sheets; Atlas shipyards.json builder check; CourtListener exact-name and hull-designator sweeps; Naval Vessel Register (not applicable - stricken 1945) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-biddle-dd151-01 through sl-uss-biddle-dd151-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: the hull was sold for scrap 3 December 1946 and broken up, decades before the asbestos-litigation era, so no hull survey, abatement record, or hazmat disclosure exists or can ever be generated; the vessel was never preserved as a museum; and no qualifying asbestos case names DD-151 (the only asbestos docket surfaced, Sullivan v. A.W. Chesterton, names DLG-34 - a different hull).
- 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-built steam destroyer is consistent with era-standard insulated fit, but no hull-level evidence exists either way. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-biddle-dd151-09